key signature

The key signatures of D major and b minor both have two sharps.

(music) An indication of the key of a composition, giving the number of sharps or flats in the corresponding scale.


envelope

PIE word
 *h₁én
From French enveloppe. The engineering sense is derived from flight envelope. The verb is from the noun.

(music) The shape of a sound, which may be controlled by a synthesizer or sampler.


pattern

From earlier patten, paterne, from Middle English patron (“patron; example”), from Old French patron, from Medieval Latin patrōnus (“patron”). Doublet of padrone, patron, and Patronus.

skemo

intelligible arrangement which has a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship

Pattern 10 is open in figure 3.9, showing the 64 notes in the pattern (each pattern in this song has 64 beats).

2008, Karen Collins, Game Sound, page 59

A MOD file contains a number of short audio samples, and instructions or a “pattern” for how and when those samples are to be played.

2017, Gerard Goggin, Mark McLelland, The Routledge Companion to Global Internet Histories, page 444

(computing, music) A sequence of notes, percussion etc. in a tracker module, usable once or many times within the song.


flag

(music) A hook attached to the stem of a written note that assigns its rhythmic value


morna

en-noun

morna (countable and uncountable, plural mornas)

She [Cesária Évora] is most famous for singing morna, which roughly translates to “songs of mourning.” As with many other kinds of folk music, morna songs are handed down from generation to generation, tracing dominant themes in a people's history.

2005, Kate Tuttle, “Evora, Cesaria”, in edited by Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates (Jr.), Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Oxford University Press, page 593

(uncountable, music) A genre of Cape Verdean music and dance.


alternative

From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). Compare alternate.


cob

en-noun

cob (countable and uncountable, plural cobs)

Of uncertain origin. The word has many disparate senses, which are likely of diverse origin. The specifics of these origins have long been debated, as has the question of which senses arise from which origins. At least the swan sense originated in Middle English cobbe (“male swan; gang leader; bully”). Some other senses likely originated as a variant of cop (“head, top, peak, summit”). In other senses, the word may be related to cub, itself of obscure origin but possibly from Old Norse kobbi (“seal”). However, many alternative etymologies have been proposed to account for some or all senses of cob; various sources have related it, for example, to English cot (“cottage”), Welsh cob (“top, tuft”), or German Kübel (“large container”). All these etymologies are disputed, and the exact origins of cob cannot be known with any certainty.

inh

(music, historical) A cylinder with pins in it, encoding music to be played back mechanically by a barrel organ.


horn

en-noun

horn (countable and uncountable, plural horns)

From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną. Compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂-nó-m, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”). Compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Proto-Slavic *sьrna, Old Church Slavonic сьрна (sĭrna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”), Persian سر (sar), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”).
(telephone): From the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes.

cog

hunting horn

(countable, music) An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.

(informal, music, countable) Generally, any brass wind instrument.

рог

informal: generally, any brass wind instrument


double

half

antonym(s) of “made up of two matching or complementary elements”

→ Gulf Arabic: دبل (dabal)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

a double bass

(music) Of an instrument, sounding an octave lower.

contra

in music, of an instrument, sounding an octave lower


double

(music) Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately.

The saxophone is a valuable and rewarding double, and opens up many gigs that aren’t available to players of just the “orchestral” woodwinds.

2020 January 4, Bret Pimentel, “Woodwind doubling and saxophone problems”, in Bret Pimentel, woodwinds

(music) A secondary instrument with which a musician is skilled.


double

en-verb

double (third-person singular simple present doubles, present participle doubling, simple past and past participle doubled)

doubles (present singular third-person)
doubling (participle present)
doubled (participle past)
doubled (past)

(music) To duplicate (a part) either in unison or at the octave above or below it.

(music, intransitive, usually followed by "on") To be capable of performing (upon an additional instrument).

dubblera

music: to be capable of performing upon an additional instrument


ping pong

en-noun

ping pong (countable and uncountable, plural ping pongs)

→ Chinese: 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú)

→ Greek: πινγκ πονγκ (pingk pongk)

→ Italian: ping pong

→ Japanese: ピンポン (pin pon)

→ Korean: 핑퐁 (pingpong)

→ Portuguese: pingue-pongue

→ Russian: пинг-понг (ping-pong)

→ Spanish: ping pong

Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.

Most ping pongs were 35- to 45-gallon drums. The larger drum had room for more notes; the tones were also louder and clearer and could be sustained longer.

2012, Angela Smith, Steel Drums and Steelbands: A History, page 158


lattice

→ Japanese: ラティス (ratisu)

From Middle English latis, from Middle French lattis (“lathing”), from Old French lattis, from latte (“a lath”), from Frankish *lattā, *lattu (“a lath”), from Proto-Germanic *lattǭ, *lattō, *laþþō (“board; plank; ledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)latn-, *(s)lat- (“beam; log”). Cognate with Old High German latta (“lath”), (German Latte), Old English lætt (“lath”), Middle Low German lāde (“plank, counter, sales counter”), German Laden (“shop”). More at lath.

cog

(music) A model of the tuning relationships of a just intonation system, comprising an array of points in a periodic multidimensional pattern.


grasshopper

/ˈɡɹɑːsˌhɒpə(ɹ)/

/ɡɹæsˌhɒpə(ɹ)/

/ˈɡɹæsˌhɑpəɹ/

From Middle English grashoppere, alteration of earlier grashoppe, from Old English græshoppa (“grasshopper”). Equivalent to grass + hopper.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gäärshupper, Dutch grashupper, grashipper, German Low German Grashüpper, Gresshüpper, German Grashüpfer, Danish græshoppe, Swedish gräshoppa, Norwegian gresshoppe.

John Geib […]patented the hopper with two separate escapements, one of which soon became adopted in the grasshopper of the square piano

1894, “Pianoforte”, in Encyclopædia_Britannica

(music) In ordinary square or upright pianos of London make, the escapement lever or jack, so made that it can be taken out and replaced with the key.


speaker

From Middle English speker, spekere, an alteration (with change of suffix) of Old English speca, spreca (“speaker”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekô (“speaker”), equivalent to speak + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Spreeker (“speaker”), West Frisian sprekker (“speaker”), Dutch spreker (“speaker”), German Low German Spreker (“speaker”), German Sprecher (“speaker”).

puhuja

linguistics: producer of a given utterance

(music) A key on a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family (cf octave key on other instruments) which induces the instrument to overblow.


great

mediocre

antonym(s) of “person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim”

From Middle English greet (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, thick, coarse, massive”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub, grind, remove”). Cognate with Scots great (“coarse in grain or texture, thick, great”), West Frisian grut (“large, great”), Dutch groot (“large, stour”), German groß (“large”), Old English grēot (“earth, sand, grit”). Related to grit. Doublet of gross.

cog

(music) The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.


reply

From Middle English replyen, replien, borrowed from Old French replier (“to reply”), from the Latin replicō, replicāre (“I fold back”) (in Late or Medieval Latin "to reply, repeat"), from re + plicō (“I fold”); the noun derives from the verb by nominalisation. Doublet of replicate and replica.


labium

Learned borrowing from Latin labium (“a lip”). Doublet of lip.

lbor

(music) The lip against which pressured air is driven to produce sound in a recorder and in a pipe organ with flue pipes.


figure

→ Japanese: フィギュア (figyua)

From Middle English figure, borrowed from Old French figure, from Latin figūra (“form, shape, form of a word, a figure of speech, Late Latin a sketch, drawing”), from fingō (“to form, shape, mold, fashion”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold, shape, form, knead”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos), Sanskrit देग्धि (degdhi), Old English dāg (“dough”). More at dough. Doublet of figura.

der

Here, Beethoven limits the syncopations and modifications of rhythm which are so prominent in the first and third movements, and employs a rapid, busy, and most melodious figure in the Violins, which is irresistible in its gay and brilliant effect[…]

1888, George Grove, Beethoven's Nine Symphonies: Analytical Essays

(music) Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression.

(music) A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment.


figure

en-verb

figure (third-person singular simple present figures, present participle figuring, simple past and past participle figured)

figures (present singular third-person)
figuring (participle present)
figured (participle past)
figured (past)

(music) To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords.


trio

PIE word
 *tréyes
1715-25; borrowing from Italian trio.

I love his music, but it is a bit disconcerting to realize that you could die in extreme old age and still only be familiar with a mere handful of the baryton trios.

2013, Simon Winder, Danubia, Picador, published 2014, page 281

(music) A piece of music written for three musicians.

trio

a piece of music written for three musicians

(music) A passage in the middle of a minuet, frequently in a different key.


mode

From Old French mode (masculine), from Latin modus (“measure, due measure, rhythm, melody”). Doublet of modus.

der

(music) One of several ancient Greek scales.

(music) One of several common scales in modern Western music, one of which corresponds to the modern major scale and one to the natural minor scale.


development

en-noun

development (countable and uncountable, plural developments)

From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.

(music) The process by in which previous material is transformed and restated.

ανάπτυξη

music: transformation and restatement of previous material

(music) The second section of a piece of music in sonata form, in which the original theme is revisited in altered and varying form.


tom

From generic use of the proper name Tom.


value

value (countable and uncountable, plural values)

From Middle English valew, value, from Old French value, feminine past participle of valoir, from Latin valēre (“be strong, be worth”), from Proto-Italic *walēō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong”).

der

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class V § 812a. Value

The value of a crotchet is twice that of a quaver.

(music) The relative duration of a musical note.


bout

From Middle English bught, probably from Old English *buht (“bend, turn”), an unrecorded variant of Old English byht (“a bend, curve”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhti, from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (“a bend”). Doublet of bight and bought.

(music) A bulge or widening in a musical instrument, such as either of the two characteristic bulges of a guitar.

poski

music: bulge or widening in a musical instrument


battery

en-noun

battery (countable and uncountable, plural batteries)

Korean: 배터리 (baeteori)

Borrowed from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie (“action of beating”), from batre (“battre”), from Latin battuō (“beat”), from Gaulish. Doublet of batterie.

der

(music) A marching percussion ensemble; the section of the drumline that marches on the field during a performance.


final

→ Japanese: ファイナル (fainaru)

→ Swahili: fainali

From Middle English final, fynal, fynall, from Old French final, from Latin fīnālis (“of or relating to the end or to boundaries”), from fīnis (“end”); see fine. Replaced native English endly (“final”).

(music) The tonic or keynote of a Gregorian mode, and hence the final note of any conventional melody played in that mode.


pitch simultaneity

simultaneity succession
simultaneity succession

(music) Any two or more pitches or pitch classes all of which occur simultaneously, or at the same time. It may be thought of as a more general term for any possible chord. Any chord progression or harmonic progression is then a simultaneity succession, though not all simultaneity successions are harmonic progressions and not all simultaneities are chords.


mezzo

Emily Golden, a mezzo who was adept in an especially wide range of roles;

1983 January 2, John Rockwell, “New Opera May Have a Future After All”, in The New York Times


stratification

en-noun

stratification (countable and uncountable, plural stratifications)


gig

en-verb

gig (third-person singular simple present gigs, present participle gigging, simple past and past participle gigged)

gigs (present singular third-person)
gigging (participle present)
gigged (participle past)
gigged (past)

The etymology of the noun is unknown, but compare Old French gigue (“a fiddle”). The verb is derived from the noun.

(music) To play (a musical instrument) at a gig.

The Rolling Stones were gigging around Richmond at the time.

(film, music, television, theater) To engage in a musical performance, act in a theatre production, etc.

keikkailla

to engage in a musical performance, act in a theatre production, etc.

მუსიკალურ წარმოდგენაში მონაწილეობა


largo

(music) a musical piece or movement in such a tempo


interpolation

en-noun

interpolation (countable and uncountable, plural interpolations)

/ɪnˌtɜː(ɹ)pəˈleɪʃən/

From French interpolation, from Latin
 interpolatio.
Morphologically interpolate + -ion

(music) An abrupt change in elements, with continuation of the first idea.

The melody itself is an interpolation of “The Streets of Cairo,” an Orientalist Tin Pan Alley song originally published in 1895.

2015, Loren Kajikawa, Sounding Race in Rap Songs, page 147

(music) The use of a melody from a previously recorded song, but recreated rather than sampled from that recording.


gradation

gradation (countable and uncountable, plural gradations)

/ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/

/ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/

/ˌɡɹeɪˈdeɪʃən/

Borrowed from French gradation. By surface analysis, Blend of grade + -ation.

(music) A gradual change within one parameter, or an overlapping of two blocks of sound.

(music) A diatonic succession of chords.


durational pattern

durational pattern (plural durational patterns)

(music) Foreground details, such as rhythmic units or rhythmic gestures, as projected against a background metric structure.


metric structure

metric structure (plural metric structures)

(music) Regular rhythmic components of a song, including its metre and tempo.


equal-interval chord

equal-interval chord (plural equal-interval chords)

(music) A chord characterized by one repeating interval.


mixed-interval chord

mixed-interval chord (plural mixed-interval chords)

(music) A chord that does not have one consistent interval.


interval class

interval class (plural interval classes)

(music) An interval measured by the distance between its two pitch classes ordered so they are as close as possible.


pitch class

(music) An equivalence class of all pitches that are octaves apart, and which would be labeled by an integer, not a traditional letter name.


snare

From Middle English snare, from Old English snearu, sneare (“a string; cord”), from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ (“a sling; loop; noose”). Cognate with Old Norse snara. Also related to German Schnur and Dutch snaar, snoer.

inh

(music) A set of stiff wires held under tension against the bottom head of a drum to create a rattling sound.

virvelimatto

music: set of chains strung across the bottom of a drum


dyad

From Ancient Greek δυάς (duás), δυάδ- (duád-) from δύο (dúo, “two”), from Proto-Indo-European *duwó, *duwéh₃ (*dwóh₁). The mathematics sense was coined by American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs in 1884 in the second half of his book Elements of Vector Analysis.

чифт

pair of things standing in particular relation

(music) Any set of two different pitch classes.

dyadi

(music) any set of two different pitch classes


scale

→ Japanese: スケール (sukēru)

From Middle English scale, from Latin scāla, usually in plural scālae (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder”), for *skand-slā, from scandō (“I climb”); see scan, ascend, descend, etc. Doublet of scala.

(music) A series of notes spanning an octave, tritave, or pseudo-octave, used to make melodies.


jam

en-noun

jam (countable and uncountable, plural jams)

→ Armenian: ջեմ (ǰem)

→ Azerbaijani: cem

→ Belarusian: джэм (džem)

→ Bengali: জ্যাম (jêm)

→ Bulgarian: джем (džem)

→ Cantonese: 占 (zim1, zem1)

→ Czech: džem

→ Dutch: jam

→ Estonian: džemm

→ Finnish: jamit

→ French: jam

→ Georgian: ჯემი (ǯemi)

→ Hindi: जाम (jām)

→ Japanese: ジャム (jamu)

→ Kazakh: джем (djem)

→ Korean: 잼 (jaem)

→ Kyrgyz: джем (djem)

→ Macedonian: џем (džem)

→ Malay: jem

→ Polish: dżem

→ Romanian: gem

→ Russian: джем (džem)

→ Saanich: ĆÁM

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Latin script: džȅm

Cyrillic script: џе̏м

→ Sinhalese: ජෑම් (jǣm)

→ Slovak: džem

→ Swahili: jemu

→ Swedish: jam

→ Tajik: джем (džem)

→ Thai: แยม (yɛɛm)

→ Ukrainian: джем (džem)

→ Urdu: جام (jām)

→ Welsh: jam

First attested in the early 18th c. as a verb meaning “to press, be pressed, be wedged in”. Compare dialectal jammock (“to press, squeeze, crush into a soft mass, chew food"; also "a soft, pulpy substance”). Perhaps from Middle English chammen, champen ("to bite upon something, gnash the teeth"; whence modern champ, chomp), of uncertain origin; probably originally onomatopoeic.

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

(countable, popular music) An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal.


jam

en-verb

jam (third-person singular simple present jams, present participle jamming, simple past and past participle jammed)

jams (present singular third-person)
jamming (participle present)
jammed (participle past)
jammed (past)

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

en:play music, especially improvisationally

(music) To play music (especially improvisation as a group, or an informal unrehearsed session).


table

→ Assamese: টেবুল (tebul)

→ Bengali: টেবিল (ṭebil)

→ Gujarati: ટેબલ (ṭebal)

→ Japanese: テーブル (tēburu)

→ Korean: 테이블 (teibeul)

→ Maori: tēpu

→ Nepali: टेबुल (ṭebul)

→ Odia: ଟେବଲ୍ (ṭebal)

→ Telugu: టేబులు (ṭēbulu)

From Middle English table, tabel, tabil, tabul, from Old English tabele, tabul, tablu, tabule, tabula (“board”); also as tæfl, tæfel, an early Germanic borrowing of Latin tabula (“tablet, board, plank, chart”). The sense of “piece of furniture” is from Old French table, of same Latin origin; Old English used bēod or bord instead for this meaning: see board. Doublet of tabula and tavla.

der

(music) The top of a stringed instrument, particularly a member of the violin family: the side of the instrument against which the strings vibrate.


interval

From Middle English interval, intervalle, from Old French intervalle, entreval, from Latin intervallum (“space between, interval, distance, interval of time, pause, difference; literally, space between two palisades or walls”), from inter (“between”) + vallum (“palisade, wall”).

com

(music) The difference (a ratio or logarithmic measure) in pitch between two notes, often referring to those two pitches themselves (otherwise known as a dyad).


frog

→ Esperanto: frogo

→ Hawaiian: poloka

→ Irish: frog

From Middle English frogge, from Old English frogga, from Proto-West Germanic *froggō (“frog”). Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk fraug (“frog”), Old Norse frauki. Related also to English frosk (“frog”), frosh (“frog”), and frock (“frog”).
Possibly related to Saterland Frisian Poage (“frog”), German Low German Pogg, Pogge (“frog”).

(music) The part of a violin bow (or that of other similar string instruments such as the viola, cello and contrabass) located at the end held by the player, to which the horsehair is attached.


study

en-noun

study (countable and uncountable, plural studies)

From Middle English studie, from Old French estudie (Modern French étude), borrowed from Latin studium (“zeal, dedication, study”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- (“to push, hit”). Doublet of etude and studio.

der

(music) A piece for special practice; an etude.


doo

onomatopoeic

child speak

(Ever feel like you've just entered... The Twilight Zone? Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo....)

1995, Phil Farrand, The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers: Volume 2

[…] the bloke who sang about coloured girls going 'doo de doo de doo doo d'de doo de doo de doo' had once had this thing with the guy who produced the debut albums by the Stooges and Patti Smith.

2006, Steve Taylor, A to X of Alternative Music, page 272


pulse

From Late Middle English pulse, Middle English pous, pouse (“regular beat of arteries, pulse; heartbeat; place on the body where a pulse is detectable; beat (of a musical instrument); energy, vitality”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman puls, pous, pus, and Middle French pouls, poulz, pous [and other forms], Old French pous, pulz (“regular beat of arteries; place on the body where a pulse is detectable”) (modern French pouls), and from their etymon Latin pulsus (“beat, impulse, pulse, stroke; regular beat of arteries or the heart”), from pellō (“to drive, impel, propel, push; to banish, eject, expel; to set in motion; to strike”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat, strike; to drive; to push, thrust”)) + -sus (a variant of -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs)).

nb...

pouce, pounce, pouns, pounse, pousse, pouz, puls

der

(music, prosody) The beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse; also, a repeated sequence of such beats.


chord

Variant of cord, with spelling alteration due to Latin chorda (“cord”), ultimately from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”)

He struck the opening chords of the passage; but this time Irene's voice was silent. Victor stopped in the middle of an arpeggio.

1956, Delano Ames, chapter 14, in Crime out of Mind

(music) A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously.


chord

en-verb

chord (third-person singular simple present chords, present participle chording, simple past and past participle chorded)

chords (present singular third-person)
chording (participle present)
chorded (participle past)
chorded (past)

This note chords with that one.

(music) To accord; to harmonize together.


presto

(music) Very fast or quickly; a directive for the musician(s) to play in a very quick tempo.


allegro

(music) A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a quick, lively tempo, faster than allegretto but slower than presto.

快板

tempo mark indicating a quick, lively tempo

alegro

passage to be played in a quick, lively tempo

(music, more, traditionally) An expressive mark indicating that a passage is to be played in a lively or happy manner, not necessarily quickly.

more; traditionally; more; traditionally


tuning fork

(music) A fork-shaped object which emits a tone of a specific frequency when struck, producing a reference note for tuning instruments.


cassation

From German Kassation, from Italian cassazione

(music) A piece of instrumental music of the eighteenth century similar to the serenade, and often performed outdoors.


carillon

Tagalog: karilyon

(music) A set of bells, often in a bell tower, sometimes operated by means of a keyboard (manual or pedal), originating from the Low Countries.

карыльён

a set of bells, often in a bell tower, originating from the Low Countries


treble

PIE word
 *tréyes
From Middle English treble, from Old French treble, from Latin triplus. Doublet of triple.

(music) Pertaining to the highest singing voice or part in harmonized music; soprano.


treble

He starts out by saying that there are three sights, the mene, treble, and quadreble, but actually he discusses only two, the treble and quadreble, both of which are read at the transposition of an octave.

1959, The Musical quarterly - Volume 45, page xlvi

The voices include a counter (always below the tenor), a countertenor (moving above and below the tenor), mene, treble, and quadreble.

1991, Blanche Gangwere, Music history during the Renaissance period, 1425-1520, page 25

The counter involves transposition of the sighted note to the fifth below (for extremely low notes a twelfth), the mene and countertenor do not transpose, the treble transposes to the octave above, and the quadreble to the twelfth above.

2003, Willi Apel, Don Michael Randel, The Harvard Dictionary of Music, page 780

(music) The highest singing voice (especially as for a boy) or part in musical composition.

дискант

(music) A person or instrument having a treble voice or pitch; a boy soprano.


vary

vary (third-person singular simple present varies, present participle varying, simple past and past participle varied)

varies (present singular third-person)
varying (participle present)
varied (participle past)
varied (past)

From Middle English varien, from Old French varier, from Latin variō (“to change, alter, make different”), from varius (“different, various”); see various.

der

(transitive, music) To embellish; to change fancifully; to present under new aspects, as of form, key, measure, etc. See variation.


discord

en-noun

discord (countable and uncountable, plural discords)

Circa 1230, Middle English descorde, discorde; from Anglo-Norman, Old French descort (derivative of descorder), descorde (“disagreement”); from Latin discordia, from discors (“disagreeing, disagreement”), from dis- (“apart”) + cor, cordis (“heart”).
Verb derives from Middle English discorden, from Anglo-Norman, Old French descorder, from Latin discordāre, from discord-, as above.

(music) An inharmonious combination of simultaneously sounded tones; a dissonance.


trap

trap (countable and uncountable, plural traps)

From Middle English trappe, from Old English træppe, treppe (“trap, snare”) (also in betræppan (“to trap”)) from Proto-West Germanic *trappjā (“trap, snare”), from Proto-West Germanic *trappjan (“to step”), from Proto-Germanic *trapjaną (“to tread, stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *drebʰ- (“to step, trip, trample”).
Cognate with Dutch trap (“trap, snare”), German Low German Trapp (“trap”). Akin also to West Frisian traap (“stepping, treading, stairway”), German Treppe (“step, stair”), Old English træppan (“to step, tread”). Connection to "step" is "that upon which one steps". French trappe and Spanish trampa are ultimately borrowings from Germanic.

cog

(music, uncountable) A genre of hip-hop music, with half-time drums and heavy sub-bass.


hurry

en-noun

hurry (countable and uncountable, plural hurries)

From Middle English horien (“to rush, impel”), probably a variation of hurren (“to vibrate rapidly, buzz”), from Proto-Germanic *hurzaną (“to rush”) (compare Middle High German hurren (“to hasten”), Norwegian hurre (“to whirl around”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”) (compare Latin currō (“I run”), Tocharian A kursär/Tocharian B kwarsär (“league; course”)). Related to hurr, horse, rush.
Alternative etymology derives hurry as a variant of harry, which see.

inh

(music) A tremolando passage for violins, etc., accompanying an exciting situation.


rip

From Middle English rippen, from earlier ryppen (“to pluck”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rupjaną, *ruppōną (compare West Frisian rippe, ripje, roppe, ropje (“to rip”), Dutch dialectal rippen, Low German ruppen, German Low German röpen, German rupfen), intensive of *raupijaną (compare Old English rīpan, rīepan (“to plunder”), West Frisian rippe (“to rip, tear”), German raufen (“to rip”)), causative of Proto-Indo-European *roub- ~ *reub- (compare Albanian rrabe ‘maquis’, possibly Latin rubus (“bramble”)), variant of *Hrewp- (“to break”). More at reave, rob.

(music, informal) A kind of glissando leading up to the main note to be played.


cymbal

→ Welsh: symbal m or f

From Middle English cymbal, from Old English cimbal, cimbala and Old French cimbale, both from Latin cymbalum (“cymbal”), from Ancient Greek κύμβαλον (kúmbalon), from κύμβη (kúmbē, “bowl”). See also chime.

I see the Crusaders' tumultuous armies—hark, how the cymbals clang ...

1881–82, Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, "The Mystic Trumpeter"

(music) A concave plate of brass or bronze that produces a sharp, ringing sound when struck: played either in pairs, by striking them together, or singly by striking with a drumstick or the like.


register

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪs.tə/

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪs.tɚ/

From Medieval Latin registrum, from Late Latin regesta (“list, items recorded”), from Latin regerō (“to record, to carry back”), from re- + gerō (“to carry, bear”). Compare Latin registoria (“a treasurer”). Some senses influenced by association with unrelated Latin regō (“to rule”).

der

(music) The range of a voice or instrument.


soul

en-noun

soul (countable and uncountable, plural souls)

→ German: Soul

→ Esperanto: soulo

→ French: soul

→ Hungarian: soul

→ Italian: soul

→ Japanese: ソウル

→ Polish: soul

→ Portuguese: soul

→ Romanian: soul

→ Scots: sowel

→ Spanish: soul

From Middle English soule, sowle, saule, sawle, from Old English sāwol (“soul, life, spirit, being”), from Proto-West Germanic *saiwalu, from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō (“soul”), of uncertain ultimate origin (see there for further information). Cognate with Scots saul, sowel (“soul”), North Frisian siel, sial (“soul”), Saterland Frisian Seele (“soul”), West Frisian siel (“soul”), Dutch ziel (“soul”), German Seele (“soul”) Scandinavian homonyms seem to have been borrowed from Old Saxon *siala. Modern Danish sjæl, Swedish själ, Norwegian sjel. Icelandic sál may have come from Old English sāwol.


rhythmic gesture

en-noun

rhythmic gesture (plural rhythmic gestures)

(music) A durational pattern which does not occupy a whole number of pulses on an underlying metric level.


division level

(music) A metric level faster than the beat level of a piece of music.


zither

Borrowed from German Zither, from Old High German zithara, from Latin cithara, from Ancient Greek κιθάρα (kithára, “a kind of harp”). Doublet of cithara, cither, and guitar.

der

(music) A musical instrument consisting of a flat sounding box with numerous strings placed on a horizontal surface, played with a plectrum or fingertips.

(music, translations) Related or similar instruments in other cultures, such as the Chinese guqin or Norwegian harpeleik; especially any chordophone without a neck, and with strings that pass over the body.


contrametric

(music) Not following the beat or meter.


extrametric

(music) Of a rhythm which is irregular, (which is) outside of the metric structure of the surrounding composition.


intrametric

(music) Confirming the pulses on (i.e. pattern of) the metric level.


metric level

(music) The pulses in a metric structure.


syncopated

en-adj

syncopated (comparative more syncopated, superlative most syncopated)

more syncopated (comparative)
most syncopated (superlative)

(music) of a rhythm, modified by syncopation


syncopation

en-noun

syncopation (usually uncountable, plural syncopations)

From syncopate + -ion. The phonological sense was first attested in English in the 1530's, the musical sense in the 1590's.

(music) The quality of a rhythm being somehow unexpected, in that it deviates from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak beats in a meter.


root

root (countable and uncountable, plural roots)

From Middle English rote, root, roote (“the underground part of a plant”), from late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót (Icelandic rót), from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”); Doublet of wort, radish, and radix.

(music) The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.


ornament

ornament (countable and uncountable, plural ornaments)

/ˈɔɹnəˌmɛnt/

From Middle English ornament, from Old French ornement, from Latin ornamentum (“equipment, apparatus, furniture, trappings, adornment, embellishment”), from ornāre, present active infinitive of ornō (“I equip, adorn”). The verb is derived from the noun.

der

(music) A musical flourish that is unnecessary to the overall melodic or harmonic line, but serves to decorate that line.


bark

From Middle English barken, berken, borken, from Old English beorcan (“to bark”), from the Proto-West Germanic *berkan (“to bark”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerg- (“to make a noise, growl, bark”), from *bʰer- (“to drone, hum, buzz”). Cognate with Icelandic berkja (“to bark, bluster”), Icelandic barki (“throat, windpipe”), dialectal Lithuanian burgė́ti (“to growl, grumble, grouch, quarrel”), Serbo-Croatian brbljati (“to murmur”). For the noun, compare Old English beorc, bearce (“barking”).

recorded barks (noun sense 1) of a dog

.

listen/core

recorded barks (noun sense 1) of a dog

ombox

recorded barks (noun sense 1) of a dog

mbox

recorded barks (noun sense 1) of a dog

(music) The quick opening of the hi-hat cymbal as it is hit, followed by its timely closing.


tone

From Middle English ton, tone, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone”) (possibly through Old French ton), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “strain, tension, pitch”), from τείνω (teínō, “I stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.

der

(music) (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.

(music) (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.


hexachord

(music) A series of six tones denoted with the syllables ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la separated by seconds, the only of which that is a minor second being mi-fa.


combinatoriality

(music) A quality shared by some twelve-tone tone rows by which the row and one of its transformations combine to form a pair of aggregates.


serialism

en-noun

serialism (usually uncountable, plural serialisms)

From serial + -ism. Calque of the German Reihenmusik.

(music) Music, especially from the 20th century, in which themes are based on a definite order of notes of an equal-tempered scale.


transposition

transposition (countable and uncountable, plural transpositions)

From Middle French transposition, from Medieval Latin transpositio.

(music) A shift of a piece of music to a different musical key by adjusting all the notes of the work equally either up or down in pitch.


hemidemisemiquaver

But the young gentleman […] walked down the dark side of the street in peals of laughter, making, ever and anon, little breathless remarks to himself, which his colleague could not hear, but which seemed to have the effect of setting him off again into new hemi-demi-semiquavers and roars of laughter […]

1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard

(music) A sixty-fourth note, drawn as a crotchet with four tails.


demisemiquaver

(music) A thirty-second note, drawn as a crotchet with three tails.


semiquaver

(music) A sixteenth note, drawn as a crotchet with two tails.


manager

→ Albanian: menaxher

→ Burmese: မန်နေဂျာ (mannegya)

→ Catalan: mànager

→ Dutch: manager

→ French: manager
→ Turkish: menajer

→ German: Manager

→ Greek: μάνατζερ (mánatzer)

→ Hungarian: menedzser

→ Italian: manager

→ Japanese: マネージャー (manējā)

→ Korean: 매니저 (maenijeo)

→ Polish: menedżer

→ Romanian: manager

→ Russian: ме́неджер (ménedžer)

→ Scottish Gaelic: manaidsear

→ Spanish: mánager

→ Swahili: meneja

→ Ukrainian: ме́неджер (ménedžer)

(music) An administrator, for a singer or group.


exotica

(music) A genre of American music from the 1950s, characterized by an evocative musical focus on the islands of the South Pacific.


semibreve

From Italian semibreve, ultimately from Latin semi- (“half”) and Latin brevis (“short”).

(music) A musical note four beats long in 4/4 time; a whole note (US)

โน้ตตัวกลม (not-tua-klom, literally “round body note”)


trigon

trigon (countable and uncountable, plural trigons)

From Ancient Greek τρίγωνον (trígōnon, “triangle”), neuter substantive of τρίγωνος (trígōnos, “three-sided”), from τρεῖς (treîs, “three”) + γωνία (gōnía, “bend, angle”). Equivalent to tri- + -gon. Doublet of trigone and trigonon.

der

(countable, historical, music) An ancient triangular harp of Oriental origin which had four strings and was often used for banquet music. Also called sabbeka, sackbut, sambuca.


inversion

en-noun

inversion (countable and uncountable, plural inversions)

/ɪnˈvɜː.ʃən/

(music) The reversal of an interval; the move of one pitch in an interval up or down an octave.

(music) The position of a chord which has a note other than the root as its bass note.

(music) The flipping of a melody or contrapuntal line so that high notes become low and vice versa; the reversal of a pitch contour.


grime

From Middle English grim (“dirt or soot covering the face”), from a specialized note of Old English grīma (“mask”), from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (“mask”).
Possibly influenced by dialectal Dutch grijmsel, Middle Dutch grime, Middle Low German greme (“dirt”), compare Danish grimet (“soiled, stripy”), Norwegian Bokmål grimete (“soiled, stripy”), Norwegian Nynorsk grimete (“soiled, stripy”).

cog

(music) A genre of urban music that emerged in London, England, in the early 2000s, primarily a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop.


REM

Clippings
* (remaining time): Clipping of remaining.
* (remark): Clipping of remark.


minim

(music) A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem.

โน้ตตัวขาว (not-tua-khao, literally “white body note”)


crotchet

/ˈkɹɑt͡ʃ.ɪt/

From Middle English crochet, from Old French crochet (“small hook”), from croc + -et (diminutive suffix), from Old Norse krókr (“hook”). The musical note was named so because of a small hook on its stem in black notation (in modern notation this hook is on the quaver/eighth note). Doublet of crochet, crocket, and croquet.

doublet

(music) A musical note one beat long in 4/4 time.

โน้ตตัวดำ (not-tua-dam, literally “black body note”)


cliff

Suppose a Person hath learnt to sing in the Treble Cliff only, and would sing Notes prick'd in the Tenor Cliff on the middle tine with F# […]


ritardando

Borrowed from Italian ritardando, gerund of ritardare (“to delay, to slow down”).

(music) Gradually decelerating the tempo of a piece of music, especially at the end of the piece.


ritardando

(music) Having a gradually decelerating tempo.


ritardando

en-noun

ritardando (plural ritardandos or ritardandi)

ritardandos (plural)
ritardandi (plural)

(music) An instance of gradually decelerating the tempo of a piece of music.


large

large (countable and uncountable, plural larges)

From Middle English large, from Old French large, from Latin larga, feminine of largus (“abundant, plentiful, copious, large, much”), of uncertain ultimate origin; see there for more. Mostly displaced Middle English stoor, stour (“large, great”) (from Old English stōr) and muchel (“large, great”) (from Old English myċel).

cog

(music, obsolete) An old musical note, equal to two longas, four breves, or eight semibreves.


coda

Borrowed from Italian coda (literally “tail”), from Latin cauda. Doublet of queue.

(music) A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.


equal

en-adj

equal (not generally comparable, comparative more equal, superlative most equal)

more equal (comparative)
most equal (superlative)

From Middle English equal, from Latin aequālis. Doublet of aequalis and egal.

(music) Intended for voices of one kind only, either all male or all female; not mixed.

mies-

music: intended for voices of one kind only, either all male or all female


toaster

→ French: toasteur

→ German: Toaster

→ Hebrew: טוסטר

ja-r

トースター (tōsutā)

→ Japanese: トースター (tōsutā)

→ Korean: 토스터 (toseuteo)

→ Polish: toster

→ Russian: то́стер (tóstɛr)

From toast + -er (agent noun suffix) or -er (patient suffix).

(music, informal, derogatory) An electronic organ, especially a crude one that uses analog technology.

(music) a DJ who accompanies reggae with improvised rhythmic speech.


step

From Middle English steppen, from Old English steppan (“to step, go, proceed, advance”), stepe (“step”), from Proto-West Germanic *stappjan, from Proto-Germanic *stapjaną (“to step”), *stapiz (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“to support, stomp, curse, be amazed”).
Cognate with West Frisian stappe (“to step”), North Frisian stape (“to walk, trudge”), Dutch stappen (“to step, walk”), Walloon steper (“to walk away, leave”), German stapfen (“to trudge, stomp, plod”) and further to Slavic Polish stąpać (“to stomp, stamp, step, tread”), Russian ступать (stupatʹ) and Polish stopień (“step, stair, rung, degree”), Russian степень (stepenʹ). Related to stamp, stomp.

cog

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

Usage note: The word tone is often used as the name of this interval; but there is evident incongruity in using tone for indicating the interval between tones. As the word scale is derived from the Italian scala, a ladder, the intervals may well be called steps.

(music) The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale.

askel

music: interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale


theme

-iːmi (for the sense dealing with the Byzantine empire only)

From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “I put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do). Doublet of thema.

der

(music) The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.


compositional grammar

en-noun

compositional grammar (plural compositional grammars)

(music) consciously employed musical grammar.


natural grammar

natural grammar (plural natural grammars)

(music) A musical grammar which arises spontaneously in a musical culture (as opposed to an artificial grammar).


stability conditions

Time-span and prolongational reductions depend on stability conditions.

(music) Pitch configurations, as considered "out of time".


prolongational reduction

prolongational reduction (countable and uncountable, plural prolongational reductions)

(music) The pattern, as perceived, of tension and relaxation among events in various levels of structure, projected from time-span reduction.


transformational rule

transformational rule (plural transformational rules)

(music) A rule that modifies a well-formed structure (in limited ways).


shakuhachi

/ʃɑkuˈhɑt͡ʃiː/

Borrowed from Japanese 尺八 (しゃくはち, shakuhachi), from 尺 (t͡ɕʰiᴇk̚, an archaic measure of length approximately equal to 30 centimeters) + 八 (pˠɛt̚, “eight”), corresponding to the standard length of the instrument (approximately 55 centimeters).

bor+

Sampled shakuhachi sounds on the E-mu Emulator II were heard in the 1980s in TV ads and also appeared prominently in popular songs, as in the opening section of Peter Gabriel's 1986 “Sledgehammer,”[…]

2019, W. Anthony Sheppard, Extreme Exoticism: Japan in the American Musical Imagination, Oxford University Press, page 419

(music) A Japanese flute which is tuned to a pentatonic scale and is end-blown like a recorder instead of being held transversely like the Western transverse flute.


trichord

(music) any set of three different pitch classes


tetrachord

(music) Any set of four different pitch classes.

(music) A series of four sounds, forming a scale of two-and-a-half tones.


toast

en-noun

toast (countable and uncountable, plural toasts)

→ Bulgarian: тост (tost)

→ Czech: toust, toast

→ Dutch: toost, toast

→ French: toast

→ Romanian: toast

→ German: Toast

→ Greek: τοστ (tost)

→ Hebrew: טוסט (tost)

→ Italian: toast

→ Japanese: トースト (tōsuto)

→ Korean: 토스트 (toseuteu)

→ Maori: tōhi

→ Macedonian: тост (tost)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: toast

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: toast

→ Polish: tost, toast

desctree

→ Russian: тост (tost)
→ Armenian: տոստ (tost)

→ Turkish: tost

→ Ukrainian: тост (tost)

→ Welsh: tost

From Middle English tost, from the verb tosten (see below).
The sense "a person who is honored with a drink and wishes for good health or prosperity," with the accompanying verb "to propose or drink to (a person) as a toast," first appears in print at the very end of the 17th century. The conventional assumption is that the use is metaphorical, "the name of a lady being supposed to flavour a drink like a spiced toast." This is pure speculation, however, as the origin of the sense remains obscure.

(countable, music, slang, Jamaica) A type of extemporaneous narrative poem or rap.


toast

en-verb

toast (third-person singular simple present toasts, present participle toasting, simple past and past participle toasted)

toasts (present singular third-person)
toasting (participle present)
toasted (participle past)
toasted (past)

From Middle English tosten, from Old French toster (“to roast, grill”), from Latin tostus (“grilled, burnt”), from verb torreō (“to burn, grill”).

Toasting over a record does more than change the way that record is perceived by the audience: it creates a new piece of music with joint creative authorship, although the law does not support this characterization.

2014, Richard James Burgess, The History of Music Production, Oxford University Press, page 168

(music, slang, Jamaica) To perform extemporaneous narrative poem or rap.


infinite

en-adj

infinite (comparative more infinite, superlative most infinite)

more infinite (comparative)
most infinite (superlative)

From Middle English infinite, from Old French infinit and Latin infīnītus, from in- (“not”) + fīnis (“end”) + the perfect passive participle ending -itus. Doublet of infinito. Displaced native Old English unġeendodlīċ.

(music) Capable of endless repetition; said of certain forms of the canon, also called perpetual fugues, constructed so that their ends lead to their beginnings.


mesto

Borrowed from Italian mesto and used as a tempo mark.


harmony

en-noun

harmony (countable and uncountable, plural harmonies)

hominy (non-rhotic, father-bother merger, weak vowel merger)

First attested in 1602. From Middle English armonye, from Old French harmonie/armonie, from Latin harmonia, from Ancient Greek ἁρμονία (harmonía, “joint, union, agreement, concord of sounds”), either from or cognate with ἁρμόζω (harmózō, “I fit together”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to join, fit, fix together”). Doublet of harmonia.

der

(music) Two or more notes played simultaneously to produce a chord.

和聲

music: two or more notes played simultaneously to produce a chord

I did not know anything more about music,only about finger exercises, difficult tasks, contradictions in the theory of harmony, and tedious piano lessons from a sarcastic teacher who saw in my […]

2012 December 21, Hermann Hesse, Gertrude: A Novel, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →OCLC

(music) The relationship between two distinct musical pitches (musical pitches being frequencies of vibration which produce audible sound) played simultaneously.


marimba

From Portuguese marimba, via a Bantu source, perhaps Kimbundu marimba (“xylophone”).

The default ringtone for your iPhone is a marimba sound, but if you'd like to change it, start at the Home screen, then tap on the Settings icon.

2009, Scott Kelby, Terry White, The iPhone Book, Third Edition (Covers iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, and iPod Touch), Peachpit Press

percussion instrument
percussion instrument

(music) A percussion instrument with African origins, similar to a xylophone with resonators, but much lower in range and darker in timbre.


drop

From Late Middle English droppe, Middle English drope (“small quantity of liquid; small or least amount of something; pendant jewel; dripping of a liquid; a shower; nasal flow, catarrh; speck, spot; blemish; disease causing spots on the skin”) [and other forms], from Old English dropa (“a drop”), from Proto-West Germanic *dropō (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewb- (“to crumble, grind”).

nb...

dropan, droupe, (Northern England) droipe

afval

small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension

pisara

very small quantity of liquid, or of anything

pisara

that which hangs or resembles a liquid globule

pudotettu esine

(online gaming, video games) item dropped by a defeated enemy

aleneminen

decline in degree, quality, quantity, or rate

afgrond

distance through which something drops, or falls below a certain level

But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which [Justin] Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM [electronic dance music] accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days).

2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-08-06

Just as dubstep has grown in popularity and combined with many different genres, the drop has become a generalized type of which there are many individually varying instances, including dubstep bass-drop. As LA Times critic Randall Roberts notes, even good-girl tween pop idol Taylor Swift uses a drop in her Max-Martin-Produced track “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

2015, Robin James, Resilience & Melancholy, Zero Books

(music) A point in a song, usually electronic music such as dubstep, house, trance, or trap, where there is a very noticeable and pleasing change in bass, tempo, and/or overall tone; a climax, a highlight.

droppi

point in a song where there is a very noticeable and pleasing change in bass, tempo, and/or overall tone — see also climax, highlight


drop

en-verb

drop (third-person singular simple present drops, present participle dropping, simple past and past participle dropped or (archaic) dropt)

drops (present singular third-person)
dropping (participle present)
dropped (participle past)
dropped (past)
dropt (archaic participle past)
dropt (archaic past)

From Middle English droppen, dropen (“to fall in drops, drip or trickle down; to scatter, sprinkle; to be covered with a liquid; to give off moisture; of an object: to drop, fall; of a living being: to fall to the ground”) [and other forms], from Old English dropian, droppian (“to drop”), from dropa (“a drop”) (see further at etymology 1) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns).

спадам

to decrease, diminish, or lessen in condition, degree, value, etc.

laskea

to move to a lower position; to allow to hang downwards — see also lower

laskea

to lower (a sound, a voice, etc.) in pitch or volume

The album Hip-Hop Xmas dropped in time for the holidays.

(intransitive, computing, music, television, colloquial) Of a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.: to enter public distribution.

ilmestyä

of a programme, software, music, etc.: to enter public distribution

(transitive) To lower (a sound, a voice, etc.) in pitch or volume.

(transitive, music) To tune (a guitar string, etc.) to a lower note.

They dropped the album Hip-Hop Xmas in time for the holidays.

That hacker has been threatening to drop my docs [i.e. publish my personal information].

(transitive, computing, music, television, colloquial) To release (a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.) to the public.

julkaista

to release (a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.) to the public

I love it when he drops his funky beats.

That guy can drop the bass like a monster.

To play (a portion of music) in the manner of a disc jockey.

soittaa

to play a portion of music in the manner of a disc jockey

Yo, I drop rhymes like nobody’s business.

(transitive, music)
To perform (rap music).


chromatic

en-adj

chromatic (not generally comparable, comparative more chromatic, superlative most chromatic)

more chromatic (comparative)
most chromatic (superlative)

Borrowed from French chromatique (“chromatic”) or directly from its etymon Latin chrōmaticus, from Ancient Greek χρωματικός (khrōmatikós, “relating to colour; one of the three types of tetrachord in Greek music”), from χρῶμα (khrôma, “colour; pigment; chromatic scale in music; music”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to grind; to rub; to stroke; to remove”), perhaps in the sense of the grinding of pigments) + -τῐκός (-tikós, suffix forming adjectives); analysable as chroma + -tic.

der

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-chromatic.wav

(Ancient Greece, historical) One of three types of tetrachord (the others being the diatonic and enharmonic), with an interval between half and four-fifths of the total interval of a tetrachord.

All the intervals of the scale that are a whole tone (step) distant from each other may be divided into half tones, (small steps), forming an entire scale of small intervals, (half tones), called the Chromatic Scale. […] All the tones (steps) of the scale being thus divided, either by means of the sharp or flat, we shall have for our Chromatic Scale thirteen intervals, of a half tone (small step) each.

1853, William B[atchelder] Bradbury, George F[rederick] Root, assisted by Thomas Hastings, T[imothy] B. Mason, “The Singing Class”, in The Shawm: Library of Church Music: […], New York, N.Y.: Mason Brothers, […], →OCLC, lesson VIII (Dynamics (Power of Sounds)), page 23, column 1

Relating to or using notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which a passage of music is written.

cromàtic

relating to or using notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which a passage of music is written


mechanical

From Middle English mechanical, mechanicalle, mechanycalle, equivalent to mechanic + -al.

On the other hand I heard only recently of a modern marvel — an organ of two manuals and about sixteen or eighteen stops with adequate and modern mechanicals that the pastor assures me has not been touched by repairer or even by tuner in four years!

1914, Expositor and Current Anecdotes - Volume 16, page 353

Some would like the smallest number of foot mechanicals and the greatest number of hand mechanicals; some would like to do away with the crescendo pedal; some would prefer less diapason foundation; others would want a predominance of salty reeds ;

1911, The New Music Review and Church Music Review

Mechanicals within the organ need repair; the tonal resources and much of the voicing might well be expanded and updated.

1961, Thomas Scott Godfrey Burhrman, The American Organist - Volume 44, page 16

(music) A stop on an organ that is operated by a hand or foot control rather than having to be manually set up in advance.


morendo

Borrowed from Italian morendo, present participle of morire (“to die”).


morendo

(music) A portion of music that fades away in volume or tempo.


boy band

(music) A pop group whose members are all (usually attractive) young men.

男子組合

pop group whose members are all young men


dolente

Borrowed from Italian dolente, present participle of dolere (“to hurt, regret”).

(music) Sorrowfully, as if the player were mourning.


allegrissimo

Borrow from Italian allegrissimo, the superlative form of allegro.

(music) A direction in musical notation indicating that the piece should be played very fast and lively.


portato

Borrowed from Italian portato, past participle of portare (“to bring, carry, bear”), from Latin portō.

(music) In an unconnected manner, as opposed to legato, but not as short as staccato.


portato

(music) A mark in music notation indicating this style of playing.


alleluia

From Latin allēlūia, from Ancient Greek ἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa), from Hebrew הַלְּלוּיָהּ (“Praise Jah!”).

הַלְּלוּיָהּ

Down at the corner, carols bugled steamily from a mission soup-kitchen. There's no escape from it, he thought. Turn on the radio, and its alleluia licks you with tremolo tongue.

1953 December, Hortense Calisher, “A Christmas Carillon: A Story”, in John Fischer, editor, Harper’s Magazine, volume 207, number 1243, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38, column 1

(music) A choral composition incorporating alleluia in its text.


triad

PIE word
 *tréyes
From Latin triad-, stem of trias (“three, triad”), from Ancient Greek τριάς (triás).
Sense 3 (“branch of a Chinese underground criminal society”) is due to the word being applied by the British authorities to underground society in Hong Kong based on the geometry of the Chinese character, derived from a name used by some of those societies, 三合會／三合会 (sānhéhuì, “Three Harmonies Society”), referring to the union between heaven, earth, and humanity.

(music) A chord consisting of a root tone, the tone two degrees higher, and the tone four degrees higher in a given scale OR any chord with three notes.


prestissimo

/pɹɛˈstɪsɪməʊ/

(music) Extremely fast, the fastest possible tempo.


prestissimo

/pɹɛˈstɪsɪməʊ/

A delegation of Norman gentry boldly requesting in 1771 the calling of the Normandy estates (which had been abolished in 1666) was despatched prestissimo to the Bastille.

2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 286


cantabile

Borrowed from Italian cantabile (“singable, capable being sung”), derived from cantare (“to sing”). See also Latin cantabilis (“worthy to be sung”).

bor

(music) A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a lyrical manner


cantabile

en-adv

cantabile (comparative more cantabile, superlative most cantabile)

more cantabile (comparative)
most cantabile (superlative)

(music) Played in this style; singingly, lyrically


cantabile

(music) Describing a passage having this mark; singable, lyrical


moderato

Borrowed from Italian moderato. Doublet of moderate.

(music) A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played at a moderate tempo.


ostinato

From Italian ostinato (“stubborn”). Doublet of obstinate.

The piece moves in alluring spans of swirling figures, jagged lines and pointillistic outbursts, often prodded forward by ostinatos in the perky piano.

2009 January 26, Anthony Tommasini, “Pricking Up the Ears to Listen for Echoes of California”, in New York Times

(music) A piece of melody, a chord progression, or a bass figure that is repeated over and over as a musical accompaniment.

ostinato

music: figure that is repeated over and over


complement

en-noun

complement (countable and uncountable, plural complements)

From Middle English complement, from Latin complementum (“that which fills up or completes”), from compleō (“I fill up, I complete”) (English complete). Doublet of compliment.

der

(music) An interval which, together with the given interval, makes an octave.


appoggiatura

en-noun

appoggiatura (plural appoggiaturas or appoggiature)

appoggiaturas (plural)
appoggiature (plural)

/ə.ˌpɒ.d͡ʒə.ˈtʊɹ.ə/

Borrowed from Italian appoggiatura, derived from appoggiare (“to lean”).

The following Adagietto was like a long, melting appoggiatura composed of smaller dying falls and languid resolutions.

(music) A type of musical ornament, falling on the beat, which often creates a suspension and subtracts for itself half the time value of the principal note which follows.

appoggiatura

a type of musical ornament which creates a suspension


single

→ Finnish: sinkku

→ German: Single

→ Japanese: シングル (shinguru)

→ Polish: singiel

From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

(music) A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.

The Offspring released four singles from their most recent album.

(music) A popular song released and sold (on any format) nominally on its own though usually having at least one extra track.


arco

From Italian arco (“bow”). Doublet of arch and arc.

(music) A note in string instrument musical notation indicating that the bow is to be used in the usual way, usually following a passage that is played pizzicato.


period

frequency

antonym(s) of “length of time of recurrence of a periodic phenomenon”

/ˈpɪə.ɹɪ.əd/

From Middle English periode, from Middle French periode, from Medieval Latin periodus, from Ancient Greek περίοδος (períodos, “circuit, an interval of time, path around”), from περί- (perí-, “around”) + ὁδός (hodós, “way”). Displaced native Middle English tide (“interval, period, season”), from Old English tīd (“time, period, season”), as well as Middle English elde (“age, period”), from Old English ieldu (“age, period of time”).

periudhë

history: period of time seen as coherent entity

periodike

length of time during which something repeats

(music) Two phrases (an antecedent and a consequent phrase).


diminuendo

(music) A dynamic mark directing that a passage is to be played gradually more softly


diminuendo

en-adv

diminuendo (comparative more diminuendo, superlative most diminuendo)

more diminuendo (comparative)
most diminuendo (superlative)


diminuendo

(music) describing a passage having this mark


fortissimo

He claims he was doing no more than repeating the standard nationalist account. So he was, but he was also repeating that passionate liberal critique which had resounded, often fortissimo, in British debate when Indian nationalism was still a half-formed dream.

2017 September 7, Ferdinand Mount, “Umbrageousness”, in London Review of Books

(music) Indicating that the piece is played very loud.


fortissimo

en-noun

fortissimo (plural fortissimos or fortissimi)

fortissimos (plural)
fortissimi (plural)

(music) The dynamic sign indicating that the piece should be played fortissimo. Abbreviation: ff.


ocarina

Borrowed from Italian ocarina (literally “little goose”), due to the musical instrument's resemblance to the animal.

bor

(music) A woodwind musical instrument that is closed at both sides to produce an enclosed space, and punctured with finger holes.


glissando

en-noun

glissando (plural glissandi or glissandos or glissandoes)

glissandi (plural)
glissandos (plural)
glissandoes (plural)

(music) Either a continuous sliding from one pitch to another ("true" glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melodic note to another ("effective" glissando).


glissando

en-verb

glissando (third-person singular simple present glissandos, present participle glissandoing, simple past and past participle glissandoed)

glissandos (present singular third-person)
glissandoing (participle present)
glissandoed (participle past)
glissandoed (past)

(music) To play with a glissando or sliding effect.


contrabassoon

Semi-anglicized version of Italian contrafagotto, probably following the model of the English word contrabass (which derives from Italian contrabbasso).

(music) A larger version of the bassoon sounding one octave lower, having a technique similar to the bassoon but offers more resistance in every way.


pianissimo

en-adv

pianissimo (comparative more pianissimo, superlative most pianissimo)

more pianissimo (comparative)
most pianissimo (superlative)


dynamics

(music) The volume with which music is to be performed, denoted by such terms as piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, or forte.


trill

From Middle English trillen, from Italian trillo, trillare. Compare German trillern, Norwegian trille, Swedish trilla.

(music) A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it as an ornament; in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff.


staccato

Borrowed from Italian staccato (“detached, disconnected”), past participle of staccare (“to detach, separate”), aphetic variant of distaccare (“to separate, detach”), from Middle French destacher (“to detach”), from Old French destachier (“to detach”), from des- + atachier (“to attach”), alteration of estachier (“to fasten with or to a stake, lay claim to”), from estache (“a stake”), from Low Frankish *stakkā (“stake”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz, *stakô (“stick, stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“stick, stake”). Akin to Old High German stecko (“post”) (German Stecken (“stick”)), Old Saxon stekko (“stake”), Old Norse stakkr (“hay stack, heap”), Old English staca (“stake”). More at stake.

der

(music) An articulation marking directing that a note or passage of notes are to be played in an abruptly disconnected manner, with each note sounding for a very short duration, and a short break lasting until the sounding of the next note; as opposed to legato. Staccato is indicated by a dot directly above or below the notehead.


staccato

en-adv

staccato (comparative more staccato, superlative most staccato)

more staccato (comparative)
most staccato (superlative)

Now, play the same passage very staccato.


staccato

(music) Describing a passage having this mark.


cover version

Coordinate term: (motion pictures) remake

(music) A version of a song that is a new performance or rerecording of that song by a different artist.


contralto

en-noun

contralto (plural contraltos or contralti)

/kɒnˈtɹɑːltəʊ/

Contraction of contratenor alto, from Latin contratenor altus.

Out in the yard a womanʼs hoarse contralto intoned a hymn.

1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 68

(music) The lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to a similar musical pitch, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.


major scale

{c' d' e' f' g' a' b' c}

In the key of C Major, the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C form a major scale

(music) One of the diatonic scales; a group of notes or musical pitches in a particular pattern, used to make melodies. The pattern for a major scale is: tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone.


crescendo

crescendo (plural crescendos or crescendi or crescendoes)

crescendos (plural)
crescendi (plural)
crescendoes (plural)

climax

antonym(s) of “the climax of a gradual increase”

/kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

/kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).

(music) An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin.

кресчендо

music: instruction to play gradually more loudly


crescendo

/kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

/kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

(music) Gradually increasing in force or loudness.


allegretto

Borrowed from Italian allegretto, diminutive form of allegro.

(music) To be played rather fast and lively.


allegretto

It was only after the conception had received its fullest due, and the vast and complex organism its perfect development, that the certainty arose of an effect on human emotion comparable to that which was born when the opening bars of the allegretto in Beethoven's Seventh Symphony had been played for the first time, and the idea of them was from that moment alive and abroad in the world.

1880, Edmund Gurney, The Power of Sound, page 99

allégretto

a movement that is to be played fast and lively


legato

Borrowed from Italian legato, past participle of legare (“to tie up, tie together, to bind”), learned borrowing from Latin ligō (“tie, bind”). Doublet of ligate.

Play this passage legato, not portato.

(music) Smoothly, in a connected manner.


legato

legato (countable and uncountable, plural legatos)

It is the coördination of the finger and hand as examplified in the proportionate speed of shifting according to the speed of the musical passage, which makes for evenness, continuity, smoothness, and ultimately, a fine legato.

1936, Edward E. Cramer, The Basis of Artistry in Violin Playing, page 49

At the end of the prelude of Caprice V, there is a chromatic ascending and descending scale of forty-eight notes to be played in one bow in legato.

1979, Leslie Sheppard, Herbert R. Axelrod ·, Paganini, page 604

Clementi, in his "Introduction to the art of playing the piano-forte" (1801) still had to advise pianists that : "the best general rule is to keep the keys of the instrument suppressed during the whole length of the note" (p.8) and "whenver the composer leaves the legato or staccato to the taste of the performer, the best rule is to use the legato in most cases and to reserve the staccato in order to give particular passages more spirit and to enhance the higher beauties of the legato."

1989, Siglind Bruhn, Guidelines to Piano Interpretation, page 97

(music) A style of performance characterized by smoothly connected notes.

It schools the mind to watch for the legato all the time, as its absence at the organ is mor prominent than at the piano; but beyond this point it renders little assitance to the pianist.

1893, The Organ: Monthly Journal Devoted to the King of Instruments, page 198

A good pianist, however, will make his audience believe that he is as capable of performing a legato as is a singer or violinist.

1958, József Gát, The Technique of Piano Playing, page 95

Legatos are indicated in both notations by a bow between respective notes.

(music) A passage that is played legato.


interval cycle

(music) That which unfolds a single recurrent interval in a series that closes with a return to the initial pitch class.


diabolus

From Latin diabolus. Doublet of devil, diable, and diablo.


grace

grace (countable and uncountable, plural graces)

From Middle English grace, from Old French grace (modern French grâce), from Latin grātia (“kindness, favour, esteem”), from grātus (“pleasing”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- (“to praise, welcome”); compare grateful.
The word displaced the native Middle English held, hield (“grace”) (from Old English held, hyld (“grace”)), Middle English este (“grace, favour, pleasure”) (from Old English ēste (“grace, kindness, favour”)), Middle English athmede(n) (“grace”) (from Old English ēadmēdu (“grace”)), Middle English are, ore (“grace, mercy, honour”) (from Old English ār (“honour, grace, kindness, mercy”)).

cog

The Trill being the most usual Grace, is usually made in Closes, Cadences, and when on a long Note Exclamation or Passion is expressed, there the Trill is made in the latter part of such Note; but most usually upon binding Notes and such Notes as precede the closing Note.

1683, John Playford, An Introduction to the Skill of Musick: In Three Books, page 47


grace

en-verb

grace (third-person singular simple present graces, present participle gracing, simple past and past participle graced)

graces (present singular third-person)
gracing (participle present)
graced (participle past)
graced (past)

For D and E, the G and A fingers are generally used for gracing, though E is sometimes more conveniently graced by F#.

1987, L. E. McCullough, The Complete Irish Tin Whistle Tutor (New & Revised), page 22

(transitive, music) To add grace notes, cadenzas, etc., to.


clave

From Spanish clave, from Latin clāvis (“key”). Doublet of clef.

(music) A characteristic pattern of beats, especially the 3-2 son clave.


cover artist

(music) A musical artist who makes a cover version of a song.


basso

From Italian basso, from Latin bassus (“short, low”). Doublet of base and bass.

(music) A bass singer, especially in opera.

(music) An instrumental part written for a bass instrument.

(music) The double bass, or contrabasso.


program

→ Malay: program

→ Tok Pisin: program

/ˈpɹoʊˌɡɹæm/

/ˈpɹoːɡɹɑːm/

From French programme, from Late Latin programma (“a proclamation, edict”), from Ancient Greek πρόγραμμα (prógramma, “a written public notice, an edict”), from προγράφω (prográphō, “I set forth as a public notice”), from πρό (pró, “before”) + γράφω (gráphō, “I write”). Doublet of programma.

der

program playback
playing tracks in a custom order


duet

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Italian duetto (“short musical composition for two voices”), diminutive of due (“two”).

(music) A musical composition in two parts, each performed by a single voice (singer, instrument or univoce ensemble).

дуе́т

a musical composition for two performers

(music) A song composed for and/or performed by a duo.


adagio

/əˈdɑːd͡ʒiəʊ/

/əˈdæd͡ʒiəʊ/

(music) A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played rather slowly, leisurely and gracefully.

慢板

tempo mark indicating that music is to be played slowly


adagio

/əˈdɑːd͡ʒiəʊ/

/əˈdæd͡ʒiəʊ/


adagio

/əˈdɑːd͡ʒiəʊ/

/əˈdæd͡ʒiəʊ/

(music) Describing a passage having this mark.


chant

From Middle English chaunten, from Old French chanter, from Latin cantāre (“sing”). Doublet of cant.

(music) A short and simple melody to which unmetrical psalms, etc., are sung or recited.

(music, Anglicanism) A harmonized melody used in Anglican chant, usually split into two two-bar phrases, to which the words of a psalm are sung by a choir; typically, each musical phrase corresponds to the text of half of a verse.


octet

An octet of waiters sang her "Happy Birthday".

(music) A group of eight musicians performing together.

oktet

(music) A composition for such a group of musicians.


ut

From Middle English ut (“first degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales”), Italian ut in the solmization of Guido of Arezzo, from the opening word Latin ut (“how”) in the lyrics of the scale-ascending hymn Ut queant laxis by Paulus Deacon.

inh

(music, dated) Syllable (formerly) used in solfège to represent the first note of a major scale.


gong

(music) A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a loud resonant sound when struck with a soft hammer.


kit

en-noun

kit (countable and uncountable, plural kits)

From Middle English kyt, kytt, kytte, from Middle Dutch kitte (“a wooden vessel made of hooped staves”). Related to Dutch kit (“tankard”) (see below). The further etymology is unknown. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kitjō-, *kut-, which would be related to the root of Dutch kot (“ramshackle house”), itself of non-Indo-European origin.
The transfer of meaning to the contents of a soldier's knapsack dates to the late 18th century, extended use of any collection of necessaries used for travelling dates to the first half of the 19th century.
The further widening of the sense to a collection of parts sold for the buyer to assemble emerges in US English in the mid 20th century.


quartet

From French quartette, from Italian quartetto. Doublet of cuarteto and quartetto.

The string quartet played some chamber music.

A group of four people or things, particularly

(music) A group of four musicians who perform classical music together.

квартет

four musicians who perform a piece of music together

He composed a string quartet.

(music) A musical composition in four parts, each performed by a single voice or instrument.

The barbershop quartet performed the composition a cappella.

(music) A group of four singers, usually males, who sings together in four-part harmony.


offbeat

From off- + beat; not following the beat (e.g., of a drum that sounds out cadence).

The congregation clapped along on the offbeat.

(music) The beats not normally accented in a measure.


alto

Borrowed from Italian alto (“high”). Doublet of old.

SATB

Initialism of soprano, alto, tenor, bass.


emcee

Pronunciation spelling of MC (“master of ceremonies”).

pronunciation spelling of

[…] mutating into all-star line-ups of emcees spitting hot bars over familiar beats, then to a single crew spitting bars over familiar beats, then eventually to a single crew (or artist) spitting bars over unfamiliar beats.

2021, Jehnie I. Burns, Mixtape Nostalgia: Culture, Memory, and Representation (page 138)

Alternative form of MC in its senses as
(music) A rapper.

Alternative form of MC in its senses as
A rapper.


emcee

en-verb

emcee (third-person singular simple present emcees, present participle emceeing, simple past and past participle emceed)

emcees (present singular third-person)
emceeing (participle present)
emceed (participle past)
emceed (past)

(intransitive, music) To rap as part of a hip-hop performance.


reed

en-noun

reed (countable and uncountable, plural reeds)

From Middle English red, reed, from Old English hrēod, from Proto-West Germanic *hreud, of uncertain origin.
Akin to Saterland Frisian Rait (“reed”), West Frisian reid (“reed”), Dutch riet (“reed”), German Ried (“reed”). No cognates in North Germanic languages, but the existence of an otherwise unattested Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐌹𐌿𐌳 (*hriud) was supposed by the brothers Grimm. They also theorised that the word may have a relation to the retas mentioned in Noctes Atticae (Aulus Gellius). The measuring reed sense is the translation of Akkadian qanûm ("cane") used in the Bible and elsewhere.

(countable, music) Part of the mouthpiece of certain woodwind instruments, comprising a thin piece of wood or metal which shakes very quickly to produce sound when a musician blows over it.

(countable, music) A musical instrument such as the clarinet or oboe, which produces sound when a musician blows on the reed.


tenor

tenor (countable and uncountable, plural tenors)

From Middle English tenour, from Anglo-Norman tenour, from Old French tenor (“substance, contents, meaning, sense; tenor part in music”), from Latin tenor (“course, continuance; holder”), from teneō (“I hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.

der

(music) A musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto.

(archaic, music) A musical part or section that holds or performs the main melody, as opposed to the contratenor bassus and contratenor altus, who perform countermelodies.


retrograde

en-adj

retrograde (comparative more retrograde, superlative most retrograde)

more retrograde (comparative)
most retrograde (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). Retrō is derived from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + *-trō (probably from intrō (“to enter, go into”)); gradus is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- (“to go; to walk”).
The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.

der

/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/

/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/

retrògrad

reverting to an inferior or less developed state — see also declining, regressing

Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.

(music) Having a passage of music played backwards.

retrògrad

having a passage of music played backwards


retrograde

/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/

/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/

(music) The reversal of a melody so that what is played first in the original melody is played last, and what is played last in the original melody is played first.


sour

en-adj

sour (comparative sourer, superlative sourest)

sourer (comparative)
sourest (superlative)

From Middle English sour, from Old English sūr (“sour”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūr, from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour”), from Proto-Indo-European *súHros (“sour”).
Cognate with West Frisian soer, Dutch zuur (“sour”), Low German suur, German sauer (“sour”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian sur, French sur (“sour”), Faroese súrur (“sour”), Icelandic súr (“sour, bitter”),
Polish ser (“cheese”),
Czech sýr (“cheese”),
Slovak syr (“cheese”),
Russian сырой (syroj, “raw”),
Ukrainian сири́й (syrýj, “raw”),
Old Church Slavonic сꙑръ (syrŭ, “moist, cheese”).

cog

Unlike what the name implies, there is nothing inherently wrong with a sour note: It is perfectly well-tuned note that would sound normal in another context (and which presumably would not sound sour to someone unfamiliar with tonal music).

2010, Aniruddh D. Patel, Music, Language, and the Brain, page 201


niente

(music) totally silent, as a musical direction (abbreviated to n. or ∅ in sheet music)


motion

en-noun

motion (countable and uncountable, plural motions)

Inherited from Middle English mocioun, mocion, from Anglo-Norman motion, Middle French motion, and their etymon Latin mōtiō (“movement, motion”), related to movēre, from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move”).

der

perpetual motion machine of the first kind

perpetual motion machine of the second kind

The independent motions of different parts sounding together constitute counterpoint.

1878, George Grove, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians

(music) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. (Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is when parts move in the same direction.)


longa

longæ (plural)
longe (plural)
longas (plural)

(music) A musical note equal to two or three breves, i.e. four or six whole notes.


breve

From Middle English breve, variant of bref, from Old French brieve, breve (feminine form of brief, bref), from Latin brevis (“short”).

(music) A double whole note; a note twice as long as a semibreve.


relative

[ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv]

From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”).

(music) Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.


cult

From French culte, from Latin cultus (“care, adoration; cult”), from colō (“cultivate; protect”).

(neologism, music) Alternative form of kvlt.


breakdown

en-noun

breakdown (countable and uncountable, plural breakdowns)

تَوَزُّع

listing or categorization in great detail

And now it's time for a breakdown!

1992, En Vogue, My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) (song)

The fired-up foursome takes itself very seriously, singing politically charged lyrics, which, in the tradition of Strife and Damnation AD, are strategically placed in the middle of slamming, moshable breakdowns.

1999, CMJ New Music Report, volume 59, number 631, page 28

(music) A musical technique by which the music is stripped down, becoming simpler, varying in heaviness depending on the genre.

The percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Towards nine the three miners said that as they had brought their instruments they might as well tune up, for the boys and girls would soon be arriving now, and hungry for a good old fashioned breakdown. A fiddle, a banjo, and a clarinet - these were the instruments.

1893, Mark Twain, “The Californian's Tale”, in The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories, published 1906

Without a change of countenance, as if he were deaf to her entreaties and threats, he tuned up the banjo, and played a breakdown.

1898, Charles Garvice, Nell, of Shorne Mills, page 4

she soon took up with a traveling shoe salesman who played the banjo, wandered away with him and his shoes, probably to the sound of a banjo breakdown

2005, Joe R. Lansdale, Sunset and Sawdust, page 65

Izzy lays down some big chords while Slash plays the song's banjo breakdown of a theme.

2008, Stephen Davis, Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses, page 102

The grown-ups were lolling around on the porch and in the yard, finger snapping and foot tapping while Samuel played “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on his fivestring banjo

2011, Jenny Wingfield, The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, page 98

The banjo built up to breakdown speed and then took a sidestep into another register, an oddly complex net of notes which stretched out for a time and finally stopped on a full rest.

2011, Madison Smartt Bell, Soldier's Joy

(US, music) Any rapid bluegrass dance tune, especially featuring a five-string banjo.


pick

From Middle English piken, picken, pikken, from Old English *piccian, *pīcian (attested in pīcung (“a pricking”)), and pīcan, pȳcan (“to pick, prick, pluck”), both from Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick, knock”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew-, *bu- (“to make a dull, hollow sound”). Doublet of pitch and peck.
Cognate with Dutch pikken (“to pick”), German picken (“to pick, peck”), Old Norse pikka, pjakka (whence Icelandic pikka (“to pick, prick”), Swedish picka (“to pick, peck”)).

inh

(music) A tool used for strumming the strings of a guitar; a plectrum.


pick

en-verb

pick (third-person singular simple present picks, present participle picking, simple past and past participle picked)

picks (present singular third-person)
picking (participle present)
picked (participle past)
picked (past)

dərmək

to remove a fruit or plant for consumption

whakatete

to pick a fight or argument with someone

He picked a tune on his banjo.

(music) To pluck the individual strings of a musical instrument or to play such an instrument.

zupfen

music: to pluck the individual strings of a musical instrument


hardcore

en-adj

hardcore (comparative more hardcore, superlative most hardcore)

more hardcore (comparative)
most hardcore (superlative)

From hard + core: hard to the core; 1936 (n.); 1951 (adj.)

(music) Faster or more intense than the regular style.

duro

faster or more intense than the regular style


furniture

en-noun

furniture (usually uncountable, plural furnitures)

From Middle French fourniture (“a supply, or the act of furnishing”), from fournir (“to furnish”).


axeman

Ex-Aerosmith axeman Joe Perry has finished recording his first solo effort, "I've Got the Rock 'n' Rolls Again."

1981 June 18, Kurt Loder, “Rolling Stone”, in Anchorage Daily News / King Features Syndicate, page G6

(informal, music) A musician who plays a guitar or saxophone.


rote

From Middle English rote, from Old French rote, probably of German origin; compare Middle High German rotte, and English crowd (“a kind of violin”).

(music) A kind of guitar, the notes of which were produced by a small wheel or wheel-like arrangement; an instrument similar to the hurdy-gurdy.


agitato

(music) A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a restless agitated style.


agitato

(music) Played in a restless agitated style.


agitato

(music) Describing a passage having this mark.


dolce

From Italian dolce. Doublet of douce, doux, and dulce.


gamut

1520s, original sense “lowest note of musical scale”, from Medieval Latin gamma ut, from gamma (“Greek letter, corresponding to the musical note G”) + ut (“first solfège syllable, now replaced by do”). In modern terms, “G do” – the first note of the G scale. Meaning later extended to mean all the notes of a scale, and then more generally any complete range.

(music) All the notes in a musical scale.


phase

From New Latin phasis, from Ancient Greek φάσις (phásis, “an appearance”), from φάω (pháō, “to shine”); compare phantasm and see face.

der

(music) A distortion caused by a difference in the speed of propagation for different frequencies


patch

From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English *plæċċ, *pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic *plakkju, from Proto-Germanic *plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English pleck (“plot of ground, patch”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot”), Low German Plakk, Plakke (“spot, piece, patch”), Dutch plek (“spot, place, stain, patch”), Dutch plak (“piece, slab”), Swedish plagg (“garment”), Faroese plagg (“cloth, rag”).
Or, possibly a variant of Old French pieche, dialectal variant of piece (“piece”). Compare also Old Occitan petaç (“patch”).

tilkku

small piece of material used to clean a gun barrel

flejtuch

piece of greased cloth used to fit a rifle ball to the bore

A synthesizer comes with controls to store patches and edit them. Some high-end synthesizers even have floppy disks for additional patch storage.

1988 November 28, “MIDI: Computers and Music”, in U-M Computing News, volume 3, number 21, The University of Michigan Computing Center, page 11

(music) A sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable).


blue note

(idiomatic, music) The flatted 5th scale degree in the blues scale, also known as the flat five.

(idiomatic, music) Any of the notes that produce the characteristic clashes with the underlying harmony associated with blues music. The flatted third, flatted fifth and flatted seventh can all be considered blue notes when played over major or dominant chord progressions, while only the flatted fifth will clash with minor chord progressions.


fade

From Middle English fade, vad, vade (“faded, pale, withered, weak”), from Middle Dutch vade (“weak, faint, limp”), from Old French fade (“weak, witless”), of obscure origin. Probably from Vulgar Latin *fatidus, from Latin fatuus (“insipid”).

(music, cinematography) A gradual decrease in the brightness of a shot or the volume of sound or music (as a means of cutting to a new scene or starting a new song).


maestro

Borrowed from Italian maestro, from Latin magister (“master”). Doublet of magister, master, and meister.

doublet

You've never been on a ride like this before; with a producer who can rap and control the maestro.

1992, “Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang”, in Andre R. Young, Tracy Curry, Calvin Broadus, Leon Haywood (lyrics), Andre R. Young (music), The Chronic, performed by Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg), Death Row Records

(chiefly music) A master in some art, especially a composer or conductor.


ET

en-noun

ET (countable and uncountable, plural ETs)

(music, countable) Initialism of escape tone.


pad

1554, "bundle of straw to lie on", probably from Low German or West Flemish pad (“sole of the foot”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to pass”), which would make it related to both path and find.

unk

probably

(music) A synthesizer instrument sound used for sustained background sounds.


baggy

en-adj

baggy (comparative baggier, superlative baggiest)

baggier (comparative)
baggiest (superlative)

→ French: baggy

Pop historian Jon Savage listens to the best of the Stone Roses and their contemporaries – from Baby Ford to the Sabres of Paradise – and creates the perfect set of baggy playlists

2011 October 18, Jon Savage, “Stone Roses reunion: three baggy playlists”, in The Guardian

The Birmingham band – now a five-piece after multi-instrumentalist James Balmont joined them – have ditched the loose and baggy guitar pop of 2013’s Where the Heaven Are We? in favour of psych-pop that contorts itself into pulsing Balearic acid house and motorik rhythms.

2015 October 1, Tshepo Mokoena, “Swim Deep: Mothers review – baggy indie kids embrace psych-pop”, in The Guardian

(music) Of or relating to a British music genre of the 1980s and 1990s, influenced by Madchester and psychedelia and associated with baggy clothing.


corno

From Italian corno, from Latin cornu (“horn”). Doublet of corn and cornu.


jazz

en-noun

jazz (usually uncountable, plural jazzes)

→ Japanese: ジャズ (jazu)

Unknown. First attested around 1912 in a discussion of baseball; attested in reference to music around 1915. Numerous references suggest that the term may be connected to jasm and jism.

You dare to bring your jazz songs into my house!

1927, Samson Raphaelson, Alfred A. Cohn, The Jazz Singer, spoken by Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson)

You see, the kids, they listen to the rap music which gives them the brain damage. With their hippin', and the hoppin', and the bippin', and the boppin', so they don't know what the jazz…is all about! You see, jazz is like the Jello Pudding Pop—no, actually, it's more like Kodak film—no, actually, jazz is like the New Coke: it'll be around forever, heh heh.

1995, Mike Reiss, Al Jean, “'Round Springfield”, in The Simpsons, season 6, episode 22, spoken by Bill Cosby

(music) A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time, commonly characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms and improvisation.


kitchen

→ Bole: kicin

→ Hausa: kicin

→ Hindi: किचन (kican)

→ Fiji Hindi: kichin

desc

→ Japanese: キッチン (kitchin), キチン (kichin)

→ Saanich: kəčən

→ Sotho: kitjhine

→ Urdu: کچن (kicin)

→ Xhosa: ikhitshi

→ Zulu: ikhishi

From Middle English kychyn, kytchen, kichene, küchen, from Old English cyċen, cyċene, from Proto-West Germanic *kukinā, a borrowing from Late Latin cocīna, from earlier coquīna (“kitchen; cuisine”), from coquō (“to cook”), from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook, become ripe”).
In other languages, the cognate term often refers both to the room and the type of cooking. In English, the distinction is generally made via the etymological twins kitchen (“room”) (Latin via Germanic) and cuisine (“type of cooking”) (Latin via French).

der

if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen

For obvious reasons the percussion is normally arranged along the back of the platform, whether centrally or to one side, and sometimes also in two tiers, the heavy, noisier instruments behind, and the pitched, agile instruments such as vibraphone, marimba, etc. in front. An outstanding exception, however, exists in Roberto Gerhard's Epithalamion where the composer expressly desired that the all-important kitchen department be spread out in front of the strings and hence nearest the audience.

1981, Norman Del Mar, Anatomy of the Orchestra

(music) The percussion section of an orchestra.


grace note

/ˈɡɹeɪs nəʊt/

From grace (“elegant movement; poise or balance; charming, pleasing qualities”) + note.

There is a manner of gracing the notes or accents in reading, as in singing, but which is always at pleasure. This grace note in music is called appoggiatura, that is, supporter, insinuator. As the quantities of these little notes in music are always taken out of the next note that follows, so it is in speech. Instead of a plain acute accent, thus /, we may use, which corresponds exactly with the small musical grace note, a little circumflex grave-accute, thus ⎝; or acute-grave, thus ⎞; [...]

1821, James Chapman, chapter II, in The Original Rhythmical Grammar of the English Language: Or, The Art of Reading and Speaking, on the Principles of the Music of Speech, Edinburgh: Printed for James Robertson, […], →OCLC, page 30

Grace notes, as their name shows, though not absolutely essential to melody, are employed as embellishments, and also prevent too great uniformity. There are several kinds; the small note, or Appoggiatura, the Trill, and the Turn. An Appoggiatura is a grace note placed above or below a principal note, and is generally half the value of that note; there are instances, however, when its value is greater. [...] A Turn is composed of three grace notes placed before or after a principal note.

1851, [Friedrich] Schneider, “The Elements of Music”, in Schneider’s Practical Organ School, Containing All Necessary Instructions in Fingering, Management of Stops, Pedals, etc., […], Boston, Mass.: Published by Oliver Ditson & Company, […], →OCLC, page 21, column 1

Most of these embellishments are played very quickly, in order that the note, before which they are placed, and to which they are added as grace notes, may lose but little of its value. It is often difficult to guess from which note (whether the preceding or succeeding) the time requisite for the execution of the grace note is to be taken.

1852, Louis Spohr, “On Graces, Ornaments, or Embellishments”, in U[reli] C[orelli] Hill, editor, Spohr’s Grand Violin School: Newly Revised, from the Latest German and English Editions, Boston, Mass.: Published by Oliver Ditson, […]; C. C. Clapp & Co., […]; New York, N.Y.: J. E. Gould & Co., →OCLC, page 136

There are an infinite number of fingering combinations that can be used to play grace notes, and they are all dependent on both the hand position you are playing in and the combination of notes preceding the grace note(s).

2011, Michel Merhej Baklouk, with Nicole LeCorgne, “Unit 1 – Basic Technique Building”, in Classical Riqq Technique, Pacific, Mo.: Bill’s Music Shelf; republished [U.S.A.]: Mel Bay Publications, 2018, part II (Lessons), page 54

(music) A musical note, indicated on a score in smaller type with or without a slash through it, played to ornament the melody rather than as part of it. Its note value does not count as part of the total time value of the measure it appears in.

forşlaq

musical note played to ornament the melody


pastoral

/ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/

From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

(music) A cantata relating to rural life; a composition for instruments characterized by simplicity and sweetness; a lyrical composition the subject of which is taken from rural life.