161. An anthem is a sacred choral composition, usually based on Biblical or liturgical[34] words. It may or may not have an instrumental accompaniment, and is usually written in fo...
120. The word dynamics (cf. dynamic--the opposite of static) as used in the nomenclature of music has to do with the various degrees of power (i.e., the comparative loudness and so...
110. Innumerable combinations of the words defined in Sec. 109 with one another and with other words occur. Some of these combinations with their approximate meanings follow. The m...
64. Embellishments (or graces) (Fr. agrements) are ornamental tones, either represented in full in the score or indicated by certain signs. The following are the embellishments mos...
84. The minor diatonic scale is used in several slightly different forms, but the characteristic interval between the first and third tones (which differentiates it from the major...
132. A form in music is a specific arrangement of the various parts of a composition resulting in a structure so characteristic that it is easily recognized by the ear. Thus e.g.,...
12. A staff is a collection of parallel lines, together with the spaces belonging to them. The modern staff has five lines and six spaces, these being ordinarily referred to as fir...
1. Broadly speaking, musical instruments may be divided into two classes, viz.: (1) those that have a keyboard and are therefore capable of sounding several tones simultaneously; (...
97. From the standpoint of the eye, a measure is that portion of the staff found between two bars, (in certain cases this space may be less than a measure, as e.g., at the beginnin...
196. A chord is a combination of several tones sounding together and bearing an harmonic relation to each other. The simplest chord is the triad, which consists of a fundamental to...
21. The natural[8] (sometimes called cancel) annuls the effect of previous sharps, flats, double-sharps, and double-flats, within the measure in which it occurs. After a double-sha...
Many conflicting statements have been made regarding the history and development of music writing, and the student who is seeking light on this subject is often at a loss to determ...
76. A scale (from scala, a Latin word meaning ladder; Ger. Ton-leiter) is an ascending or descending series of tones, progressing according to some definite system, and all bearing...
NOTE:--It is usually taken for granted that the student of music is familiar with the significance of such terms as over-tone, equal temperament, etc., and with principles such as...
104. The word time in musical nomenclature has been greatly abused, having been used to indicate: (1) Rhythm; as the time was wrong. (2) Variety of measure-signature; as two-four t...
178. The four elements commonly attributed to music (in the order of their development) are: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Timbre (or tone-color). 179. Rhythm is the regular recurre...
A recent writer[43] on vocal terminology makes the following statement as an introduction to certain remarks advocating a more definite use of terms relating to tone production by...
Lyric--a short, song-like poem of simple character. Also applied to instrumental pieces of like character. Maggiore--major. Marcato il canto--the melody well marked; i.e., subdue t...
49. A dot after a note shows that the value of the note is to be half again as great as it would be without the dot, i.e., the value is to be three-halves that of the original note...
A battuta--with the beat; in strict rhythm. [Transcriber's Note: Corrected error battua in original.] A quatre mains--for four hands. Accompagnamento--the accompaniment. All'unison...
1. Tone: Specific name for a musical sound of definite pitch. Use neither sound, a general term, nor note, a term of notation. 2. Interval: The pitch relation between two tones. No...
1. The note (from nota--Latin--a mark or sign) consists of either one, two, or three parts, () these being referred to respectively as head, stem, and hook. The hook is often calle...
96. Being a list of articles, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and endings, often utilized in compounding terms relating to musical effects. A--preposition--variously translate...
(Sections 144 to 160 relate particularly to terms used in descriptions of monophonic music[33].) [Footnote 33: There is a very pronounced disagreement among theorists as to what te...