electropop

Coordinate term: synthpop

I said, I bet that you look good on the dancefloor / Dancing to electropop like a robot from 1984

2005, Alex Turner (lyrics and music), “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”, performed by Arctic Monkeys

Electropop songs are essentially pop songs, often with simple, catchy hooks and dance beats, but they differentiated from those of electronic dance music genres in that the songwriting takes precedence over danceability.

2017, Norman Abjorensen, Historical Dictionary of Popular Music, Rowman & Littlefield, page 160

(music) a genre fusing electronic and pop music; technopop


post-punk

→ Russian: постпа́нк (postpánk)

Its tight, jabby songs, influenced equally by minimalist post-punk and sentimental white soul, end just when you think you’ve figured them out.

2008 April 4, The New York Times, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

(music) A rock music genre that followed punk rock and was more artistic and experimental, laying the foundations for alternative rock.


nu skool

Informal respelling of new school; compare old skool.

(music) Designating various style of popular music typically incorporating breakbeats; opposed to old school.


meane

(archaic, music) The middle voice of a three-voice polyphonic musical composition.


plica

en-noun

plica (countable and uncountable, plural plicas or plicae)

From Medieval Latin, from Latin plicare (“to fold”).

(music) A neume, in the form of a tail at the end of a ligature, indicating an additional note.


lazzo

(theater) A stock comedic routine or physical action, traditionally associated with commedia dell'arte.


coupler

(music) A device that connects two keyboards of an organ together so that they play together.


ESC

Eurovision Song Contest
w:Eurovision Song Contest

(music) Initialism of Eurovision Song Contest.


diapente

From Latin
, from Ancient Greek διά (diá, “through, across”) + πέντε (pénte, “five”).

uder

(music, obsolete) The interval of the fifth or the harmonic ratio 3:2.


diatessaron

en-noun

diatessaron (plural diatessarons or diatessara)

diatessarons (plural)
diatessara (plural)

From Latin
, from Ancient Greek διά (diá, “through, across”) + τεσσάρων (tessárōn) (genitive plural of τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”)).

(music, obsolete) The interval of a fourth or the harmonic ratio 4:3.


blue-eyed

blue-eyed soul; blue-eyed jazz

Characteristic of or pertaining to white people; Caucasian.

(music) Written or performed by white people.


nuntius

Borrowed from Latin nūntius (“messenger”).


shock rock

(music) A genre of rock music typified by elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.


musical notation

en-noun

musical notation (usually uncountable, plural musical notations)

(music) A system that represents music through the use of written symbols.


arpeggiation

arpeggiation (countable and uncountable, plural arpeggiations)

(music) The act of arpeggiating, of spreading a chord out instead of playing the notes simultaneously.


exode

(Ancient Greek drama) The final chorus; the catastrophe.


bar line

(music) A vertical line in musical notation used to separate two bars or measures.


virtuosically

en-adv

virtuosically (comparative more virtuosically, superlative most virtuosically)

more virtuosically (comparative)
most virtuosically (superlative)

(chiefly music) In the manner of a virtuoso; with virtuosity


passagework

en-noun

passagework (usually uncountable, plural passageworks)

More octaves ensue, followed by chromatic passagework with filigree scales.

1987, Harold C. Schonberg, The Great Pianists, page 189

(music) An ornamental passage in a musical work, often resembling a scale; or the performance of such a passage


bassline

bassline (countable and uncountable, plural basslines)

(music, countable) The relatively low-pitched instrumental part of a piece of popular music.

(music, uncountable) A music genre, closely related to UK garage, that originated in South Yorkshire and the West Midlands in the early 2000s, having a four-on-the-floor rhythm and a strong emphasis on bass, with chopped-up vocal samples and a pop music aesthetic.


program music

(music) A form of art music, generally without vocal parts, that attempts to convey a scene, image, or mood.


set to music

en-verb

set to music (third-person singular simple present sets to music, present participle setting to music, simple past and past participle set to music)

sets to music (present singular third-person)
setting to music (participle present)
set to music (participle past)
set to music (past)

(music) To adapt a literary work by adding music (and often song)


multireedist

(music) Someone who can perform on multiple reed instruments


fusioneer

They like Sting as much as flamenco, and though the famous Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt is a strong influence, so is fusioneer Al DiMeola […]

1989, “Gipsy Kings Stay True to Musical Roots”, in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

(music) A performer or composer of fusion music


postpunk

postpunk industrial music

(music) Of or pertaining to the period following the punk period


folky

en-adj

folky (comparative folkier, superlative folkiest)

folkier (comparative)
folkiest (superlative)

James Taylor flew into England to see if he could interest the Beatles' Apple label into recording "Carolina In My Mind" and some of his other folky material.

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, page 244

The band opened with a folky little number.

(music, informal) Having the character of folk music


baryton

From the German Baryton, from bary- + Ton. Doublet of baritone and barytone.

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 viol-like stringed instrument (chordophone) mainly played with a bow but with a set of plucked strings as well, originating in European music prior to the 1800s.


kobza

Borrowed from Ukrainian ко́бза (kóbza), itself from Proto-Turkic *kopuŕ.
Doublet of komuz and cobza.

(music) A lute-like stringed instrument traditionally made from a single block of wood, with a medium-length neck, originating in Ukrainian folk music.


folkish

folkish (comparative more folkish, superlative most folkish)

more folkish (comparative)
most folkish (superlative)

universalist

chiefly US; related to their opponents, neopagan groups that support marginalized people

From folk + -ish. (Compare Old English folcisc, and German völkisch.)

neo-völkisch

related to far-right or racist neopagan groups


shoegaze

Historically, it is filed by music critics under the shoegaze genre. I suppose this is because the band used a lot of the same guitar tones as shoegaze outfits from the same time, but it was really a bit too psychedelic to fit the genre.

2011, Courtney E. Smith, Record Collecting for Girls: Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd, One Album at a Time, page 144

Most of the releases from the Boo Radleys during their shoegaze phase feature just such a baroque, as do Killing Time by Bleach (1992; with a prawn) and ... x, y and z by Moose (1992; with a sunflower).[…]In the same way that the image of the sheep is common for EDM releases at this time, the cat comes to typify shoegaze.

2013, Benjamin Halligan, “3: Shoegaze as the Third Wave: Affective Psychedelic Noise, 1965-91”, in Michael Goddard, Benjamin Halligan, Nicola Spelman, editors, Resonances: Noise and Contemporary Music, page 58

The shoegaze influence in the early Oasis sound is just as pronounced as the debt to the grunge of Nevermind. Although they were viewed as something of an anomaly within the shoegaze label Creation, Oasis were nevertheless a neo-psychedelic rock band with a taste for distorted guitars and classic sixties pop, so in fact they fitted in pretty well with the Creation house style.

2014, Alex Niven, Oasis' Definitely Maybe, page 44


shoegaze

en-verb

shoegaze (third-person singular simple present shoegazes, present participle shoegazing, simple past and past participle shoegazed)

shoegazes (present singular third-person)
shoegazing (participle present)
shoegazed (participle past)
shoegazed (past)

Ever the pedestrian, Jason shoegazes to the side of his rhythm section, his body limp against a guitar and greased locks flowing down over his arched brow.

2004, Erik Morse, Spacemen 3 and the Birth of Spiritualized, page 86

(music) To perform in the shoegazing style.


staccatissimo

en-adj

staccatissimo (comparative more staccatissimo, superlative most staccatissimo)

more staccatissimo (comparative)
most staccatissimo (superlative)


muzaky

muzaky (comparative more muzaky, superlative most muzaky)

more muzaky (comparative)
most muzaky (superlative)

[…] whose voice might be nice enough to make you forgive the rotten songs and the Muzaky backgrounds he covered […]

It's difficult to appreciate the innovative breakbeats when they're sandwiched between muzaky sex-talk, and the album mostly fails because of it.

2001, Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, John Bush, All Music Guide to Electronica

Copyright-free music can be a bit tacky and muzaky, but it is a low-budget option.

2002, Moi Ali, Practical Marketing and Public Relations for the Small Business

(informal, music, derogatory) Reminiscent of Muzak; insipid and monotonous.


melodicism

No sense of aloofness or distance diluted his warm melodicism.

2000, Ted Gioia, “Cool Jazz and West Coast Jazz”, in Bill Kirchner, editor, Oxford Companion to Jazz, page 340

(music) A focus on the development of melody


theme song

“Liberty Bell March” is the theme song to Monty Python's Flying Circus.

(music, broadcasting) A song which accompanies a television or radio program, usually as an intro or outro.


electrophone

(music) any instrument designed to create sounds using electric currents


lutelike

lutelike (comparative more lutelike, superlative most lutelike)

more lutelike (comparative)
most lutelike (superlative)

a lutelike instrument

And an African ensemble, with Kewulay Kamara narrating and Missia Sarah Dioubate singing to the accompaniment of the lutelike kora and percussion, offered "A Badenya Greeting: Being of One Mother."

2009 January 2, Allan Kozinn, “Reflecting on Peace in the Quiet Light of Song”, in New York Times

(music) Resembling a lute in form or sound


folklike

folklike (comparative more folklike, superlative most folklike)

more folklike (comparative)
most folklike (superlative)

Fortunately, Lucy Wainwright Roche sings and writes gentle, lapping, folklike songs, and her clear, steady voice feels like a beacon of sorts, slicing straight through the room.

2009 January 2, Amanda Petrusich, Ben Sisario, Jon Pareles, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

(music) Resembling the style of folk music


restage

en-verb

restage (third-person singular simple present restages, present participle restaging, simple past and past participle restaged)

restages (present singular third-person)
restaging (participle present)
restaged (participle past)
restaged (past)

In 2006 the Wrong Gallery restaged this work at the Frieze Art Fair to much less outcry but with its disturbing questions intact.

2009 January 2, Roberta Smith, “Widely Known for Obscurity”, in New York Times

(theater, transitive) To stage (a production) again; to bring (a production) to the stage again.


restaging

(theater) A subsequent performance on the stage.

A staging again; thus:
A subsequent performance on the stage.


pickin' and grinnin'

From Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap there was a lot less pickin’ and grinnin’ and a lot more soft rockers and heartbroken love ballads.

1987 March 20, Scott Mervis, “Country Slickers”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 2009-01-03, page 19

In this city of guitars and grits, Andersen is the ambassador of pickin’ and grinnin’.

2008 June 25, Joe Edwards, “Guitar-playing 'ambassador' greets visitors at Nashville's Hall of Fame”, in USA Today, retrieved 2009-01-03

(chiefly US, music, idiomatic) Vigorous playing of folk or country music on a stringed musical instrument, especially the guitar or banjo, while smiling broadly.


ciranda

Borrowed from Portuguese ciranda, which is from Spanish zaranda (“sieve”), from Andalusian Arabic سرند, from Persian سرند (“sieve”).

(music) A traditional Brazilian children's dance.


mysterioso

(music) Alternative spelling of misterioso


trancey

en-adj

trancey (comparative more trancey, superlative most trancey)

more trancey (comparative)
most trancey (superlative)

Video monitors play the latest clips from Bjork and Peaches while DJs take the dance floor in a trancey direction.

At the foot of the hill, trancey music from a garage party beckoned.

2005, Matt Rauscher, The Unborn Spouse Situation

(informal, music) Resembling or pertaining to trance music, i.e. immersively melodic with a strong electronic dance beat.


pianism

en-noun

pianism (countable and uncountable, plural pianisms)

There is nothing showy in her pianism, nothing cloying about her expressivity.

2009 January 5, Anthony Tommasini, “Reopening a Pianist's Treasury of Chopin”, in New York Times


contradanza

contradanza (countable and uncountable, plural contradanzas)

The music of Cuba has had a worldwide influence on forms of song and dance. René Buch who conceived and directed a musical “collage” called “¡Habana!” at the Repertorio Español on East 27th Street, points out the influence on Spain, for example, which received ‘habaneras’ and ‘contradanzas’ from Cuba; in this century, in the 1920's, the “rumba” and such songs as “El Manisero” and “Siboney” made their way north to become part of United States culture.

1982 December 27, Edward Rothstein, “Music: 40 Songs of Cuba”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, page C12

The programming was far from random. The habanera is a hybrid seed of great potency. An adaptation of the European contradanza by slaves from West Africa, it is not only an early version of a New World rhythm that took over the globe, but also a direct ancestor for much of jazz and rock ‘n’ roll.

2018 March 5, Brian Seibert, “Review: Tapping Out Some New World Rhythms”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

(music) A popular Cuban dance music genre of the 19th century, or a work composed in this genre.


middle eight

(music) The third of four eight-bar sections in thirty-two-bar-form (AABA-form) music.


riffy

en-adj

riffy (comparative riffier, superlative riffiest)

riffier (comparative)
riffiest (superlative)

(informal, music) Characterized by a lot of guitar riffs.


soloistic

soloistic (comparative more soloistic, superlative most soloistic)

more soloistic (comparative)
most soloistic (superlative)

Much the same could be said for the drummer Gerald Cleaver, who brought a lot of color and soloistic ideas into his steady time.

2009 January 9, Ben Ratliff, “Nodding to Tradition While Pursuing the Ideal”, in New York Times

(music) Pertaining to, or characteristic of, a soloist


vallenato

en-noun

vallenato (countable and uncountable, plural vallenatos)

From Spanish vallenato, from valle (“valley”) nato (“born”).

(music, uncountable) A popular style of folk music from Colombia.

100% COLOMBIANO (Tonight) This showcase of upbeat Colombian music includes exuberant salsa from Orquesta Guayacán and Son de Cali, with accordion-pumped vallenatos from the duos of Jorge Celedón-Jimmy Zambrano and Herbert Vargas-Silvestre Dangond, and vallenato-rooted rock from Fonseca.

2007 July 27, The New York Times, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

(music, countable) A piece performed in this style.


haunted house

haunted house (countable and uncountable, plural haunted houses)

بَيْت أَشْبَاح

house believed to be a center for supernatural occurrences

This enigmatic bunch are a reaction to Manchester's musical past, with a blend of haunted house and rave dynamics

2011 March 25, Paul Lester, “New band of the day: Christian AIDS (No 991)”, in The Guardian

(uncountable, music) Synonym of witch house (“music genre”)


highlife

highlife (countable and uncountable, plural highlifes)

(music, uncountable) A genre of music that originated in Ghana in the early 20th century, blending elements of traditional Akan music with Western instruments and ideas.

Then he left the stage and listened to us playing highlifes.

1985, John Collins, African Pop Roots: The Inside Rhythms of Africa, page 76

Several of the city's most prominent ensembles started to incorporate foreign rock 'n' roll numbers into their existing repertories of ballroom, calypsos, and highlifes.

2012, Nate Plageman, Highlife Saturday Night: Popular Music and Social Change in Urban Ghana, page 142

(music, countable) A work or performance in this style.


sakpata

(music) A rhythm used in the vodoun drumming of Benin to invoke Sakpata, the god of smallpox


beatboxer

(music) A performer who imitates the sound of musical instruments, especially percussion, with his or her voice


santur

Borrowed from Classical Persian سَنْتُور (santūr), of uncertain origin; sometimes suggested to be from Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion, “psaltery”).

der

(music) A type of hammered dulcimer played in Persian music


every good boy deserves fudge

(music, mnemonic) A mnemonic phrase to help remember the order of the five lines on a musical treble stave in order from the bottom to the top: E G B D F.


tombak

From Persian تنبک (tonbak). Doublet of dumbek.

(music) A type of goblet drum used heavily in Persian music.


rapmeister

The discussion is both friendly and intense; after two minutes, the rapmeister readjusts his baseball cap, bids the banker goodbye and grins...

1992 December, Black Enterprise, volume 23, number 5, page 66

"Ha, I pity your white ass," says Rapmeister Dommie, twelve going on twenty-nine.

2002, Carl Hiaasen, Basket case, page 242


stickman

Our second stickman was much more behind the scenes. Earl Young was the in-house drummer at Philadelphia Records.

2019, Alon Shulman, The Second Summer of Love: How Dance Music Took Over the World, Kings Road Publishing


bottleneck guitar

en-noun

bottleneck guitar (plural bottleneck guitars)

(music) A technique of playing guitar by sliding a metal tube, or (originally) a glass bottleneck, along the guitar strings to alter the pitch.


maximalist

en-adj

maximalist (comparative more maximalist, superlative most maximalist)

more maximalist (comparative)
most maximalist (superlative)

From maximal + -ist, by analogy with minimalist.

This, his [Frank Stella's] second Museum of Modern Art retrospective, shows him in his second incarnation, turning his back on Minimalist rationality and opting for a “maximalist,” seemingly free-wheeling Baroque complexity that helped set the stage for New-Expressionism.

1987 December 6, Roberta Smith, “Schnabel and Stella: Art, Myth and Ego”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Three elephantine examples of that trend have been in the news of late, and they call into question their underlying maximalist presumption that more is more.

1990 May 27, John Rockwell, “Complete Everything, or Is More Enough?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Mr. Shadbolt's maximalist, when-in-doubt-be-vivid style capaciously suits “Monday's Warriors,” his novel of the wars between the Maoris and the British in New Zealand in the mid-19th century; […]

1992 May 3, Ivan Doig, “Maps Made by Blind Men”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

The biennial also includes a sprawling cityscape by Chris Burden incorporating thousands of model buildings, cranes and automobiles, a maximalist vision where Mr. Ashkin's is minimalist.

1997 April 6, Trip Gabriel, “Trafficking in Toxic Waste and Human Loneliness”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Bach's choral music was once often heard in maximalist renditions, undertaken by large ensembles who by sheer vocal and instrumental weight emphasize the majestic side of his compositions.

1998 May 17, Sarah Bryan Miller, “Classical Brief”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

[Christian] Lacroix's maximalist aesthetic has been at odds with fashion trends in recent years. But fashion is just now beginning to swing back his way, with an emphasis on volume and flounce above sleekness.

2005 January 26, Jess Cartner-Morley, “Ovation for Lacroix as maximalist look makes a comeback”, in The Guardian

At the moment, for example, while a minimalist aesthetic, or the tail end of one, still manifests itself in a lot of painting and music, we are living in age of maximalist novels—books less concerned with le mot juste than with being full-service entertainment centers.

2005 April 17, Charles McGrath, “The Souped-Up, Knock-Out, Total Fiction Experience”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

You might call [Louis] Wain’s ‘mad’ style a version of the outsider mode in its paranoid or maximalist aspect.

2011 July 28, Terry Castle, “Do I like it?”, in London Review of Books, volume 33, number 15, →ISSN

Such a bustling, maximalist extravaganza is in keeping with the excitable energy of the crowd, who are clearly thrilled to revisit the block-party beats of Cruel Summer and tribal doo-wop of Really Sayin’ Somethin’.

2017 November 14, Graeme Virtue, “Bananarama review – hi-NRG poignancy as pop trio return for first proper tour”, in The Guardian

Returning to the sound of her maximalist electro-pop heyday, Gaga explores buried trauma, mental illness and the complexities of fame on this return to form

2020 May 29, Michael Cragg, “Lady Gaga: Chromatica review – Gaga rediscovers the riot on her most personal album”, in The Guardian

[Chappell] Roan draws from the mega-pop of the 2010s, from Lady Gaga to Taylor Swift – then laces it with sexually frank asides and lavish doses of camp, and performs it with a maximalist, absurd aesthetic indebted to drag, John Waters and Freddie Mercury.

2024 August 9, Laura Snapes, “It’s a femininomenon! How Chappell Roan slow-burned her way to stardom”, in The Guardian

(art, music, literature) Preferring redundancy; tending to do or provide more rather than less.


maximalist

Concerning his own purpose in making music, Mr. Babbitt says he would call himself a maximalist: “I try to make music as much as it has ever been or as much as it could be. I may try to put too much into a piece. […]”

1982 October 17, Joan Peyser, “Milton Babbitt's Serialism”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

The music, of course, for all of its determined frivolity, is wonderfully eloquent, and composers as diverse as Webern, the great Minimalist, and Mahler, a great “Maximalist,” have come to worship at the shrine.

1986 August 24, Tim Page, “Opera: ‘Die Fledermaus’ Gets a Change of Cast”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Critics have aptly borrowed those terms to characterize the difference between Mr. Beckett, for example, and his erstwhile master James Joyce, himself a maximalist except in his early works.

1986 December 28, John Barth, “A Few Words About Minimalism”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

In the 1960's, he [Peter Gourfain] was a Minimalist, using wood beams to build allusive and ephemeral constructions. This show is primarily concerned with the artist since he became a maximalist.

1987 April 3, Michael Brenson, “Works by Gourfain at Brooklyn Museum”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

A maximalist, Mr. [Craig] Baldwin is at once a collector and curator of 20th-century visual culture.

2009 January 14, Manohla Dargis, “Star Log: Trippy Sci-Fi Mash-Up Alert!”, in New York Times

David Foster Wallace was a maximalist. His masterpiece, Infinite Jest, is a 1,000-page, polyphonic epic about addiction and obsession in millennial America.

2015 May 25, Chris Power, “A brief survey of the short story: David Foster Wallace”, in the Guardian

Mohawke is known as a musical maximalist, which is a polite way of saying that he lumps prodigiously distorted beats on top of each other, as if playing techno Jenga.

2015 December 11, Ian Gittins, “Hudson Mohawke review – ferocious, apocalyptic electro”, in The Guardian

(art, literature, music) A person with maximalist beliefs or tendencies; someone who prefers redundancy or excess, especially in the arts.


dirgelike

dirgelike (comparative more dirgelike, superlative most dirgelike)

more dirgelike (comparative)
most dirgelike (superlative)

Her “Coronation Theme: Organon,” made of black stereo speakers stacked up to the ceiling, sends dirgelike royal fanfares laced with the noise of shouting crowds shuddering through the room.

2009 January 16, Holland Cotter, “Black History, Alive in Washington”, in New York Times

(music) Resembling a dirge: slow and depressing


monodrama

The Dicapo Opera Theater presents the world premiere of “Lily,” a monodrama composed and performed by the mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock[…]

2009 January 16, “Classical and Opera Listings”, in New York Times

(theater) A play in the form of a monologue


stompy

stompy (comparative stompier, superlative stompiest)

stompier (comparative)
stompiest (superlative)

This Welsh five-piece plays stompy rock ’n’ roll with almost anthemic choruses and a hint of hardcore aggression — the vocalist Matt Davies has an epic scream, although he rarely employs it.

2009 January 16, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

(music) Of a stomping style of dance, or music appropriate to such a dance.


ultrafunky

ultrafunky (comparative more ultrafunky, superlative most ultrafunky)

more ultrafunky (comparative)
most ultrafunky (superlative)

(colloquial, chiefly music) Extremely funky.


melodeon

From French mélodium, with change of ending.

/mɪˈləʊdɪən/

The thin, nearsighted young woman who had been humped over the keyboard of the melodeon, straightened up. The worshipers relaxed a little and began to look about.

1909, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Keziah Coffin

(historical, music) A type of reed organ with a single keyboard.

But Chae said it didn't matter, he'd bring his melodeon and Long Rob his fiddle; and faith! if that didn't content the folk they were looking for a church parade of the Gordons, not a wedding.

1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 147

His brother, Roy, joined him as a dancer - their two-man jigs were much admired - and his nephew, Jamie Wheeler, has become the side's principal musician, on melodeon and fiddle.

2009 January 13, Derek Schofield, “Francis Shergold”, in The Guardian

(music) An accordion where the melody-side keyboard is limited to the notes of diatonic scales in a small number of keys.


trunk-maker

(theater, obsolete) A critic who pounds upon the benches in a show of approval.


folktronica

(music) A musical genre combining elements of folk music and electronica.


countryish

countryish (comparative more countryish, superlative most countryish)

more countryish (comparative)
most countryish (superlative)

Harvard's WHRB (FM 95.3) has everything from the punk-rocky “Record Hospital” at night to the country-ish “Hillbilly At Harvard” on Saturday mornings.

1998 January 24, “Boston: Vital Statistics (The Billboard Spotlight)”, in Billboard, volume 110, number 4, →ISSN, page 52

In “Beach Baby,” a countryish waltz, and “Babys,” a ballad with an itchy piano underlay, Mr. Vernon conjures thoughts of summertime from a distance.

2009 January 18, Nate Chinen, “Sonic Adventures, From a Cappella to Zydeco”, in The New York Times

(music) Having characteristics of country music.


knockabout

(entertainment) A slapstick comedian or comedy.


multiphonic

He prefaced his next song with a row of hard, multiphonic squawks, sounding like a truck horn.

2009 January 22, Nate Chinen, “A Single Jazz Band, by Way of Two Trios”, in New York Times

(music) Having the character of multiphonics: sounding two or more pitches at the same time


predisco

Coordinate term: post-disco

The intimate Sneakers Annex space, which could just as easily pass for a mid-50s combination truck stop/clip joint (except for Mark Mac Lean's clever predisco music), teems with the eternally generic[…].

1988 January 8, Lawrence Bommer, “Live Dancers Tonite”, in Chicago Reader

(music) Of the period in the 1970s preceding the advent of disco music.


skronky

skronky (comparative more skronky, superlative most skronky)

more skronky (comparative)
most skronky (superlative)

MODESELEKTOR (Saturday) This duo, from Berlin, plays skronky, occasionally disconcerting electronic music, and has benefited enormously from the copious—and copiously heeded—praise of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke.

2009 January 23, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

This is the kind of difficulty that has a kinship with skronky jazz, and avant-garde noise, and some hip-hop, and lots of punk rock.

(US, music, slang) Raw and discordant, especially of an electric guitar.


riffwise

My, they all were right up there with the Ted Nugents and Grand Funks riffwise, weren't they?

2000 February 8, George Smith, “Swede Surrender”, in Village Voice


popcraft

They've mastered one of the finer points of popcraft, the ability to create a texture you want to touch.

1988 January 22, Renaldo Migaldi, “Trip Shakespeare”, in Chicago Reader

(music) The art of composing or performing pop music


introitus

/ɪnˈtɹəʊ.ɪtəs/

Five have an introitus (introduction) that stands outside the isorhythmic scheme;¹⁰⁸ some of these introitus are instrumental rather than vocal […]

1954, Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance, W.W. Norton, page 22

As summarized in Example 3.14, nearly all of these introitus […]

1992, Jon Michael Allsen, Style and intertextuality in the isorhythmic motet 1400-1440, volume 1, University of Wisconsin-Madison, page 118

(music) A piece of music played before a mass; a musical introduction of any sort.


calypsolike

calypsolike (comparative more calypsolike, superlative most calypsolike)

more calypsolike (comparative)
most calypsolike (superlative)

The band is called Let Freedom Swing, and in Thursday night’s early set it played […] a calypsolike “We Shall Overcome”; and a version of Herbie Hancock ’s strange bossa nova “I Have a Dream.”

2009 January 24, Ben Ratliff, “Jazz With a Mission, and a Groove”, in New York Times


copublish

en-verb

copublish (third-person singular simple present copublishes, present participle copublishing, simple past and past participle copublished)

copublishes (present singular third-person)
copublishing (participle present)
copublished (participle past)
copublished (past)

(transitive, music business) To have credit as a publisher of (a work published by another).


avanzada

(music) A genre originated from the fusion of Paraguayan polka and guarania with elements of bossa nova and MPB.


chromatic scale

en-noun

chromatic scale (plural chromatic scales)

(music) A scale including all intervals of a particular tuning within an octave.

半音階

a scale including all intervals of a particular tuning within an octave


minimusical

Both shows lean heavily on their Jewish orientation, but where Fiddler is a folk musical of size and substance, Kaplan is a minimusical of sweetness.

1968 April 12, “New Plays: The Education of Hyman Kaplan”, in Time, archived from the original on 2010-10-29

The video consists of a minimusical whose soundtrack sounds as if it were generated by an inexpensive electronic keyboard.

2009 January 25, Randall Stross, “Microsoft Songsmith Is Easy (if Painful to Hear)”, in New York Times


riyaz

(music) The rigorous practice of Hindustani classical music.


duetting

(music) The singing or playing of a duet.


shoop

If you want to know
(Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop)
If he loves you so
(Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop)
It's in his kiss.

1963, Rudy Clark (lyrics and music), “The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)”

But don't it make you feel good (Shoop shoop aaahh)
And don't it make you feel good (Shoop shoop aaahh)
Don't it make you feel good (Shoop shoop aaahh)
And don't it make you feel good (Shoop shoop aaahh)

1982, Bananarama (lyrics and music), “Shy Boy”, in Deep Sea Skiving

I like what ya do when you do what ya do
You make me wanna shoop
Shoop shoop ba-doop

1993, Salt-N-Pepa (lyrics and music), “Shoop”, in Very Necessary

But there comes a point when
When we exhale (yeah, yeah, say)
Shoop, shoop, shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop (yeah).

1995, Whitney Houston (lyrics and music), “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)”

(music) Used as a scat word in song lyrics.


bel canto

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bel canto.wav

Borrowed from Italian bel canto (literally “beautiful singing”).

bor

Bel canto, or the art of beautiful singing, in 17th- and 18th-century Italy cultivated embellishment through ornaments such as cadenzas, scales, and trills which declined as the size, power, and volume of the orchestra increased.

2012 March 22nd, David Blockley, Engineering: A Very Short Introduction (309), Oxford University Press, chapter 1: “From idea to reality”, page 5

(music) An elegant style of singing characterized by beautiful tone and an effortless technique.


ensembling

Some of the violin playing was inaudible during this section, and there was an ensembling problem between horn and trombone[…].

1988 October 7, Dennis Polkow, “New Works by Local Composers”, in Chicago Reader

(music) Playing harmoniously together in an ensemble


cumbia

en-noun

cumbia (usually uncountable, plural cumbias)

From Colombian and Panamanian Spanish cumbia.

There’s […] an accordion- and brass-pumped Colombian cumbia for “Cumbia de Los Aburridos” (“Cumbia of the Bored”).

2007 April 23, The New York Times, “New CDs”, in New York Times

(music) A traditional style of Colombian dance and music, or a piece in this style.


hitmaker

But those who stayed saw a strong set from the hitmaker Akon, who did “I Tried” with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

2007 June 5, Kelefa Sanneh, “In Search of New York at a Hip-Hop Summit”, in New York Times

(music) A musician who frequently produces hits; a star


multiplatinum

Ms. Sparks, 17, was named the winner of the competition, a television phenomenon that has spurred multiplatinum sales for an array of contestants[…].

2007 May 24, The New York Times, “Arizona Teenager Wins ‘American Idol’”, in New York Times

(music) Having exceeded the platinum level of sales on multiple occasions


serialist

(music) Of, pertaining to, or employing serialism


serialist

In the last decade or so, this once unabashedly complex serialist, now 68, seems to have allowed a lyrical generosity into his works.

2007 January 16, Anthony Tommasini, “Serious German Violinist Gets a Rock Star Ovation”, in New York Times

(music) A practitioner or adherent of serialism, an approach to composing which emphasizes the use of a series of notes, especially scales, to achieve coherence


coloristic

Christian Tetzlaff […] played the work with exquisite control and coloristic fluidity.

2007 March 17, Allan Kozinn, “Muscular Approach Accented With a Ghostly Whisper”, in New York Times

(art, music) Of, pertaining to, or focused on coloring or an enhanced use of colour


multitracked

When I turned it up and found it was McFerrin doing his usual multitracked, a cappella shtick, I was at first charmed.

1988 December 23, Ted Cox, “Don't Worry--Turn the Radio Off”, in Chicago Reader


hummable

en-adj

hummable (comparative more hummable, superlative most hummable)

more hummable (comparative)
most hummable (superlative)

It wasn't as though the Dead Kennedys played hummable tunes, but lead singer Jello Biafra is a superstar in his own right.

1988 February 26, Achy Obejas, “Calendar”, in Chicago Reader

(music) Suitable for humming or humming along to.


midtempo

This wry, midtempo track is familiar yet highly personal.

2009 January 31, John Sakamoto, “The Anti-Hit List”, in Toronto Star

(music) At a medium tempo, neither fast nor slow


motivic

In fact, Tucker's use of parallel motion and open fourths as a central motivic element particularly reminded me of Stravinsky's sacred music, especially the quieter sections of Symphony of Psalms and the Mass.

1988 April 8, Dennis Polkow, “Cross Dreams”, in Chicago Reader

(music) Used as, or relating to, a motif.


multitrack

Lush is the only word for Ulrich Schnauss’s “Goodbye” (Domino), an album that makes most multitrack pop confections sound spartan.

2007 July 15, Jon Pareles, “Sounds Dire, Droll, Dreamy and on the Edge of Kitsch”, in New York Times

Having or involving more than one track.


multitrack

en-verb

multitrack (third-person singular simple present multitracks, present participle multitracking, simple past and past participle multitracked)

multitracks (present singular third-person)
multitracking (participle present)
multitracked (participle past)
multitracked (past)

(music) To record on multiple tracks simultaneously (typically with each performer or instrument having its own track)


ranchera

/ɹænˈt͡ʃɛɹə/

Borrowed from Spanish (in Spanish the ending "a" usually is for feminine terms, like in this case, because originally is an adjective for música and/or canción, which are feminine nouns).

(music) A traditional Mexican song performed solo with a guitar.


microtonality

en-noun

microtonality (countable and uncountable, plural microtonalities)

[…] he proved that microtonality and the angular vocal and instrumental lines that typically evoke modernist angst can just as easily create manic comedy.

2007 June 23, Allan Kozinn, “Finding Inspiration in an Unlikely Place”, in New York Times

(music) The use of microtones in composition.


danciness

These and other writers also consciously strive for jazz's full-bodied swingingness, its danciness, its range of allusion, its trickbag of quicksilver improvisational impulses.

1998, Robert G. O'Meally, The Jazz Cadence of American Culture, page 536

The sheer danciness of most Balanchine ballets gives audiences a basically exhilarating time.

2007 September 25, Alastair Macaulay, “An Idiomatic Balanchine, Walking the Walk in Seattle”, in New York Times

(music) The quality of being dancy, suitable to or filled with dance.


chamberlike

en-adj

chamberlike (comparative more chamberlike, superlative most chamberlike)

more chamberlike (comparative)
most chamberlike (superlative)

“Fantasy” (Palmetto) is Mr. Mays’s other recent effort, and on it he presents chamberlike originals and canonical reinterpretations (again including Debussy, Bach and Scriabin).

2007 September 2, Nate Chinen, “That Ticking Sound? It’s Beck’s New Single”, in New York Times


geophone

percussion instrument
percussion instrument

(music) A percussion instrument consisting of a drum filled with pellets, played by swirling it around to produce a sound like shifting earth.


sonero

This annual concert at Madison Square Garden features two salsa giants: Victor Manuelle, a leading young sonero, or improvising singer, who is not above dipping into reggaetón to score a hit, and Gilberto Santa Rosa, an unswerving traditionalist for three decades.

2007 February 9, The New York Times, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

(music) An improvising lead singer in salsa music


songcraft

/ˈsɒŋkɹɑːft/

From song + -craft, sometimes after Old English sangcræft (“singing, poetry; music”).

inh

The purpose of the anecdote is to show the bold recklessness of the warrior, who could amuse himself with his song-craft in the very face of the enemy.

1846, Thomas Wright, “Essay III. The Chansons de Geste, or Historical Romances of the Middle Ages”, in Essays on Subjects Connected with the Literature, Popular Superstitions, and History of England in the Middle Ages. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho Square, →OCLC, page 94

Pause by some neglected graveyard, / For a while to muse, and ponder / On a half-effaced inscription, / Written with little skill of song-craft, / Homely phrases, but each letter / Full of hope, and yet of heart-break, / Full of all the tender pathos / Of the Here and Hereafter;— / Stay and read this rude inscription, / Read this Song of Hiawatha!

1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, pages 8–9

[The] Mother Hips was the first band in the 1990s to emerge from the Chico, California, music scene and introduce itself to the wider world. […] During this era, many area venues frequently invoked a "no original material" policy, but the exemplary song craft and swelling fan base of Mother Hips led many bars and clubs to abandon that edict.

1998, Dean Budnick, “Mother Hips”, in Jam Bands: North America’s Hottest Live Groups: Plus How to Tape and Trade Their Shows, Toronto, Ont.: ECW Press, page 176

A child weaned on Police Academy sequels or, say, the appalling robot pimp in 1984's The Ice Pirates could have no trouble giggling at song parodies like "Eat It" or "I Lost On Jeopardy," but might come to appreciate, however unconsciously, ["Weird Al"] Yankovic's songcraft or the peculiar places his lyrics could go.

2012 July 14, Scott Tobias, “Weird Al’s UHF is uneven, but that just made it ahead of its time”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2013-11-28

(music) The practice or skill of crafting or composing songs.


unstaged

That this incomplete work was presented unstaged, without orchestra, and with little attention to dynamics, and that it was sung by singers difficult to understand, generally in poor French (with no libretto or plot synopsis in the program--either in French or English), prevented this from being the revelatory experience it might have been under better circumstances.

1988 April 1, Dennis Polkow, “Hard Stuff”, in Chicago Reader

(theater) Not formally staged; not presented to an audience on a stage.


torchy

en-adj

torchy (comparative torchier, superlative torchiest)

torchier (comparative)
torchiest (superlative)

[…] the lovelorn Sally sings a torchy blues (the poignant "Losing My Mind"), hypocritical Ben masquerades as a carefree song-and-dance man in the bubbly, Gershwin-esque "Live, Laugh, Love," and so on.

1988 October 21, Albert Williams, “Follies; 1000 Airplanes on the Roof”, in Chicago Reader

"I'd Be Lost Without You" seems somewhat out of place from a vocal viewpoint — Lewis's slightly reedy middle soprano is very expressive and absolutely true, but doesn't have enough dark body to fully deal with the torchy melody. It fares better in the ballads and toe-tappers that comprise the rest of the album.

1989 August 12, Caroline Foty, “Hindsights”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 5, page 7

(music) Having the character of a torch song.


suitelike

suitelike (comparative more suitelike, superlative most suitelike)

more suitelike (comparative)
most suitelike (superlative)

The music of both the symphonic “Florentine Tragedy” and the more suitelike “Dwarf,” whose dances evoke the Spanish court, dramatically mirrors onstage emotions.

2007 July 30, Vivien Schweitzer, “A Double Bill of Viennese Romanticism”, in New York Times


rejoneador

Borrowed from Spanish rejoneador (“lancer”).

(bullfighting) A mounted bullfighter whose task is to provoke the bull


verset

From Middle English verset, from Old French verset; equivalent to verse + -et.

(music) A very short organ interlude or prelude.


overplotted

overplotted (comparative more overplotted, superlative most overplotted)

more overplotted (comparative)
most overplotted (superlative)

Pursuing its preposterous, overplotted premise, Time merrily confuses myth with fact--Romeo and Juliet and Arthur never lived, or they did so under other names.

1988 July 1, Lawrence Bommer, “Channel This, or Die, Yuppie Scum!; Time in a Battle”, in Chicago Reader

(drama) Having an excessively elaborate plot.


dhol

From Hindi ढोल (ḍhol), from Sanskrit ढोल (ḍhola).

On the TV news men in pink and saffron turbans are at the airport, jigging frantically to the music of dhols.

2017, Salman Rushdie, The Golden House, Jonathan Cape, published 2017, page 106


fugato

(music) A fugal passage in a composition that is not a strict or complete fugue.


hambone

HAMBONE — An unconvincing blackface dialectician.

1946, Radio Alphabet: A Glossary of Radio Terms, Hastings House, page 38

Ferrell is the ubiquitous hambone, an affably oblivious man-child prone to shirtless prancing onscreen.

2009 February 15, Rob Salem, “When comedy geniuses unite”, in Toronto Star

(US slang, acting) A ham; an eager or inferior performer

(music, dance) A certain type of dance that involves making noise with the body, especially by slapping parts of the body with one's hands


salsero

This afternoon of Puerto Rican musical pride at Celebrate Brooklyn has a strong lineup, with Tito Rojas, a leading salsero since the 1980s[…].

2007 July 27, The New York Times, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times


splittercore

(music) A subgenre of speedcore with aggressive themes and a particularly high BPM (beats per minute).


clavinet

(music) An electrophonic keyboard instrument, an electronically amplified clavichord with a distinctive bright staccato sound.

klavinetti

electronic clavichord with a staccato sound


urtext

(music, linguistics, anthropology) The original version of a piece of music or text, as created by the composer or writer.


motoric

motoric (comparative more motoric, superlative most motoric)

more motoric (comparative)
most motoric (superlative)

In between were the Bang on a Can All-Stars, a contemporary chamber-music group, playing the part of their repertory — drum-driven, motoric, yet by no means primitive — closest to rock.

2007 May 18, Jon Pareles, “A Tenderhearted Introvert, Crooning in Eclectic Company”, in New York Times

(music, of a rhythm) Based on repetition of a single note length.


marchy

marchy (comparative marchier, superlative marchiest)

marchier (comparative)
marchiest (superlative)

But halfway through, this stateliness devolves into the kind of marchy clatter that Wagner’s Italian counterparts were writing.

2009 February 27, Allan Kozinn, “A Viennese Meal Served With the Dessert First”, in New York Times


lyrist

On “Kabibi” he connects breezily with the Tanzanian singer and thumb pianist Anania Ngoliga; on “Pakugyenda Balebauo,” also in Tanzania, he trades phrases with a lyrist named Warema Masiaga Cha Cha. The title track, which Mr. Fleck wrote in his own style, features the Malian ngoni players Bassekou Kouyate and Haruna Samake.

2009 March 2, The New York Times, “New CDs”, in New York Times


tenorial

tenorial (comparative more tenorial, superlative most tenorial)

more tenorial (comparative)
most tenorial (superlative)

But for sheer Italianate tenorial beauty, Mr. Pavarotti was hard to top.

2007 September 7, Anthony Tommasini, “That Voice: Warm, Urgent, Italian, Singular”, in New York Times

(music) Of, pertaining or proper to the tenor voice


semistaged

The director, Kate Bushmann, made resourceful use of the church in a semistaged production that relied on minimal props[…].

2007 December 17, Steve Smith, “A Young Shepherds Ageless Trek”, in New York Times

(theater) Partially but not entirely staged; thus, partially improvised


mridangam

/mɹɪ.ˈdʌŋ.ɡəm/

Borrowed from Malayalam മൃദംഗം (mr̥daṅgaṁ), from Sanskrit मृदङ्ग (mṛdaṅga). Alternative forms are from various other Indian languages such as miruthangam, mirudhangam are borrowed from Tamil மிருதங்கம் (mirutaṅkam), mridang from Hindi मृदङ्ग (mŕdaṅg) etc.

bor+

A sarangi player set the tone and Kalavati began to sing in her sweet, melodious voce; mridangam and sitar accompanied her.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 145

(music) A percussion instrument used in southern Indian music, consisting of a two-sided drum whose body is usually made from a hollowed piece of jackfruit wood.


megaband

(music, informal) A particularly successful band.


drummerless

Just over a decade ago, the bassist Charlie Haden played a drummerless New York nightclub engagement with the pianist Kenny Barron.

2007 August 3, The New York Times, “Jazz Listings”, in New York Times


barrelhouse

From barrel + house. Originally used to refer specifically to a bar that served whiskey directly from the barrel.

A barrelhouse blues was being shouted over the stamping of feet on a wooden floor. Miss Grace, the good-time woman, had her usual Saturday-night customers.

1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 18, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, published 1971, page 111

(music) A loud, percussive type of blues piano suitable for noisy bars or taverns.


marchlike

en-adj

marchlike (comparative more marchlike, superlative most marchlike)

more marchlike (comparative)
most marchlike (superlative)

His work, “La Devinette d’Arlequin,” seemed less the riddle of its title than a busy, marchlike exercise in calculated harshness […].

2007 April 24, Bernard Holland, “Composers Near and Far, Speaking a Language of Now”, in New York Times


mbalax

Borrowed from Wolof [Term?], meaning "rhythm".

Another local style — the Senegalese funk called mbalax — arrived with the singer Fallou Dieng, a protégé of the Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour.

2008 January 15, Jon Pareles, “To See (and Hear) the World in Five Hours: Unique Sounds Ripe for Import”, in New York Times

(music) A genre of popular dance music chiefly performed in Senegal and The Gambia


stagebound

But the playwright is stagebound: the best he or she can provide (in cinematic terms) is a series of medium-long shots.

1989 December 22, Jack Helbig, “Sleuth”, in Chicago Reader


tambura

He was among the singers in the celebratory chorus of “Yellow Submarine,” and he played tambura (an Indian drone instrument) on “Within You Without You,” harmonica on “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and percussion on “Magical Mystery Tour.”

2008 March 25, Allan Kozinn, “Neil Aspinall, Beatles’ Aide, Dies at 66”, in New York Times

(music) A type of long-necked lute-like stringed instrument found throughout the world.


soukous

The title makes reference to Congolese soukous music, and so does Mr. Koenig’s guitar figure.

2007 June 18, Kelefa Sanneh, “Preppie Afro-Pop and Other Odd Blends”, in New York Times

(music) A genre of African popular music, resembling rumba, that originated in the Congo region in the 1930s.


soundboard

(music) A wide, flat board placed within, or forming part of the body of, a musical instrument in order to improve vibrations and increase volume.


overamplification

en-noun

overamplification (usually uncountable, plural overamplifications)

Although there is some recorded music, the 10 musicians […] add further vitality to the program, despite bad overamplification.

2007 October 16, Roslyn Sulcas, “The Costumes, the Rifles, the Six-Foot Headdresses”, in New York Times

(chiefly music) Excessive amplification.


reductivism

reductivism (countable and uncountable, plural reductivisms)

(music) A minimalist school of music with similar aims.


grand C

Grand C is the highest C on a 76-key keyboard.

(music) the C note exactly one octave above high C


balancing act

(entertainment) A performance that involves balancing things precariously and suspensefully.


narcocorrido

narcocorrido (countable and uncountable, plural narcocorridos)

From Spanish narcocorrido, from narco- (“drug”) + corrido (“ballad”).

(music) A genre of Mexican music based on the polka, depicting drug smugglers, cartels, and other criminal activities.

They were nonjudgmental first-person stories, including the notorious narcocorrido “Pacas de a Kilo,” (“One-Kilo Packets”) told from the point of view of a proud marijuana grower.

2007 February 19, Ben Ratliff, “Singing Stories From Lives Lived Far Away From Home”, in New York Times

(music, countable) Any song in this genre.


benga

(music) A genre of Kenyan popular music in an urban style associated with stringed instrumentation.


rockish

en-adj

rockish (comparative more rockish, superlative most rockish)

more rockish (comparative)
most rockish (superlative)

(music) That has the characteristics of rock music.


polymetric

(poetry, music) Involving more than one metre


overamped

overamped (comparative more overamped, superlative most overamped)

more overamped (comparative)
most overamped (superlative)

(music) Excessively amplified; very loud and distorted.


krautrock

From Kraut (“German”) + rock (“rock music”).

Many krautrock bands arose out of the West German student counterculture and connected leftist political activism with experimental rock music and, later, electronic sounds.

2016, Ulrich Adelt, Krautrock: German Music in the Seventies, University of Michigan Press, page 2

(music, sometimes capitalized) A genre of German experimental rock music from the 1970s.

krautrock

a genre of German experimental rock music from the 1970s


schlager

en-noun

schlager (countable and uncountable, plural schlagers)

From German Schlager (late 19th century), from schlagen (“to hit”), thus similar to English hit (“successful song”, early 20th century).

(music, uncountable) A chiefly European style of popular music with light melodies (often easily danceable) and typically facile, sentimental lyrics.

(music, countable) A piece made in this style.


pomposo

en-adj

pomposo (comparative more pomposo, superlative most pomposo)

more pomposo (comparative)
most pomposo (superlative)

From Italian pomposo (“magnificent”). Doublet of pompous.


pomposo

(music) in a ceremonious and dignified manner


singspiel

en-noun

singspiel (countable and uncountable, plural singspiels)

(music, uncountable) An early German form of opera consisting of spoken dialogue interspersed with song.

(music, countable) An opera in this style.


pop punk

Last fall, Bring Me the Horizon kicked off a new era of their band with a standalone single called "DiE4u", which sounded like a a heavy, metallic take on My Chemical Romance-style pop-punk mixed with the electronic flair of modern emo-rap.

2022 July 6, Eli Enis, “See Bring Me the Horizon's Horrifying, NSFW Video for New Song "sTraNgeRs"”, in Revolver

(music) A genre that combines elements of punk rock with elements of pop music.


trancester

(music, informal, rare) A musician who composes trance music.


mandocello

(music) A string instrument similar to a large mandolin


mallcore

From mall + -core, since it may be played as background music in shopping centres.

[…]a time when the hardcore scene badly needs to overthrow the mallcore bands, the naughty yet non-threatening pop punk groups who wear their tattoos like designer labels instead of inner scars.

(slang, derogatory, music) Popular music that is overproduced, mainstream, corporately controlled, etc., as opposed to popular music that is independent or artistic.

Troves of angst-ridden, mall-invading teens adopted Slipknot as their patron-saint back in 1999 (when the band’s self-titled debut came out), instantly earning the band a “mallcore” seal of disapproval by their critics

2009, Munson the Destroyer, WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE TO HATE SLIPKNOT


unkeyed

an unkeyed flute


silent disco

You heard “oh, Jeremy Corbyn” everywhere: at the silent disco, during Radiohead’s Friday night headlining set, midway through the Other stage appearance by rapper Stormzy, who gamely joined in.

2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian

(music) An event at which people dance to music that is transmitted through wireless headphones rather than played over a speaker system.


tremblement

tremblement (usually uncountable, plural tremblements)

From French tremblement (“a shake, tremble”). By surface analysis, tremble + -ment.


namecheck

en-verb

namecheck (third-person singular simple present namechecks, present participle namechecking, simple past and past participle namechecked)

namechecks (present singular third-person)
namechecking (participle present)
namechecked (participle past)
namechecked (past)

(transitive, intransitive, music, especially in jazz) To announce the name of a person before they play a solo.


decet

From Italian decetto, from dieci (“ten”).

(music) A group of ten musicians; a piece of music written for such a group


manoletina

Named for Manolete, a Spanish bullfighter

(bullfighting) A maneuver in which the bull charges behind the bullfighter into his red muleta.


thrashy

en-adj

thrashy (comparative thrashier, superlative thrashiest)

thrashier (comparative)
thrashiest (superlative)


nerdcore

Many nerdcore anthems — “You Got Asperger’s” by MC Frontalot, “Fett’s Vette” by MC Chris, “View Source,” by Ytcracker (“Eagerly awaiting my macro advances/running with my beta cuz I’m taking chances”) — are as much efforts at comedy as they are attempts at sincere hip-hop.

2007 August 5, Alex Williams, “Dungeons, Dragons and Dope Beats”, in New York Times

A nerdcore track would take loop samples not from popular industrial tracks, but from the synthesizers of a popular NES game like Dig Dug…

Self-styled “nerdcore” rappers wear pocket protectors and rhyme about hard drives.

2008, Benjamin Nugent, American Nerd: The Story of My People

(music, humorous) An intentionally nerdy style of hip-hop music.


overpedal

en-verb

overpedal (third-person singular simple present overpedals, present participle overpedalling or overpedaling, simple past and past participle overpedalled or overpedaled)

overpedals (present singular third-person)
overpedalling (participle present)
overpedaling (participle present)
overpedalled (participle past)
overpedalled (past)
overpedaled (participle past)
overpedaled (past)

(music, intransitive) To overuse the sustaining pedal of a piano, causing the notes to sound too loud.


cuadrilla

From Spanish cuadrilla (“team”). Doublet of quadrille.

(bullfighting) The team which supports the matador.


banderillero

/ˌbændəɹiːˈjeəɹəʊ/

I cheered at the banderilleros’ display / as they stuck the bull in their own clever way[…]

1959, “In Old Mexico”, Tom Lehrer (music)

(bullfighting) A member of the cuadrilla who uses banderillas.

banderillero

one who sticks the banderillas in the bull's neck


banderilla

Borrowed from Spanish banderilla, from bandera (“banner”) + -illa (“diminutive suffix”).

(bullfighting) A decorated barbed stick used in bullfighting to stick into the bulls' shoulders.


rompler

(music, informal) An electronic musical instrument that generates sounds by replaying samples stored in ROM, unable to synthesize sounds or to record new samples.


descabello

(bullfighting) A small sword used by a bullfighter for the final kill in case of a lengthy attempt.


coleta

(bullfighting) A pigtail, a symbol of the matador.


polytonal

(music) That uses two or more tonalities simultaneously.


maqam

Ultimately from Arabic مَقَام (maqām). . Doublet of mugham.

Elsewhere in the evening the young Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar, who has studied both jazz and traditional Arabic maqam patterns and combines them in modal pieces for improvisers, demonstrated with his sextet (including an oud and a santoor, the Persian hammered dulcimer) how hungry jazz still is for sources older than itself.

2008 January 14, Ben Ratliff, “Jazz Showcase Fever Propels a Mini Marathon”, in New York Times

At 18, late for a professional musician, he took up the oud, studying the mysteries of the Iraqi maqam, the complex system of tonal sequences and improvisation passed from master to student.

2008 May 1, Erica Goode, “A Fabled Iraqi Instrument Thrives in Exile”, in New York Times

But he hesitated when approached to do a project that combined maqam with jazz, even though that had been his pre-quest intention.

2009 April 2, Ashante Infantry, “Baghdad jazz”, in Toronto Star

(music) A modal structure characterizing the art of music of countries in North Africa, West Asia and Central Asia.


Madchester

Released late in 1990, the hit album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches was a summation of the Madchester era.

2013 [1998], Simon Reynolds, Generation Ecstasy, Routledge

(music) An alternative rock genre and associated social scene that originated in Manchester, England, in the late 1980s, influenced by indie, psychedelic and dance music.


noncountry

(music) That does not have the characteristics of the music genre country.


manzello

(music) A modified saxello, with an upturned bell.


saxello

(music) A variation on the saxophone, with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell.


ARIA

w:Australian Recording Industry Association

(music) Acronym of Australian Recording Industry Association.


unity of time

(theater, literature) The classical unity stating that the action of a play should take place over no more than twenty-four hours.


str

str.-quartet


rute

Borrowed from German Rute (“rod, switch (slender woody plant stem)”).

bor

(music) A bundle of thin sticks, typically made of wood, sometimes bound in such a way that the binding can be moved so that it varies the tightness of the binding.


half rest

(music) A pause or interval of silence equal in duration to two quarter rests or one half of a whole rest. In common or 4/4 time, its duration is two beats.

(music) A symbol used in musical notation drawn as a solid rectangle directly above the middle line of a staff whose height is half the distance between lines.


semibreve rest

(music) A semibreve rest is a pause or interval of silence equal in duration to two half rests or one half of a breve rest. In common or 4/4 time, its duration is four beats.

(music) A symbol used in musical notation drawn as a solid rectangle directly below the line above the middle line of a staff whose height is half the distance between lines.


whole rest

(music) A pause or interval of silence equal in duration to two half rests or one half of a breve rest. In common or 4/4 time, its duration is four beats.


iron curtain

/ˌaɪən ˈkɜːtn̩/

(theater) A barrier made of iron in a theatre, lowered between the stage and the auditorium for safety or to prevent communication.


perpetuum mobile

en-noun

perpetuum mobile (plural perpetua mobilia)

/pəːˌpɛtjʊəm ˈməʊbɪleɪ/

From Latin perpetuum (neutral inflection of perpetuus “perpetual”) + Latin mōbile (neutrum of mōbilis “mobile, moving”), used together as a noun, thus literally meaning “perpetual mover”. Although often said to literally mean “perpetual motion”, the latter in Latin is mōtus perpetuus. A perpetuum mobile is a device that exhibits perpetual motion.

(musicology) Pieces of music, or parts of pieces, characterised by a continuous steady stream of notes, usually at a rapid tempo.

(musicology) Whole pieces, or large parts of pieces, which are to be played repeatedly, often an indefinite number of times.


flip side

(music, dated, 1930-1980) The B-side of a phonograph record that carried a less popular recording.


catch flies

en-verb

catch flies (third-person singular simple present catches flies, present participle catching flies, simple past and past participle caught flies)

catches flies (present singular third-person)
catching flies (participle present)
caught flies (participle past)
caught flies (past)

(theater, informal) Of an actor: to distract the audience by moving or gesturing when the focus should be elsewhere.


quartal

(music, of harmony) Having a distinct preference for intervals of fourths.


chest voice

(phonology, music) A kind of voice of a medium or low pitch and a sonorous quality ascribed to resonance in the chest, or thorax; voice of the thick register. It is produced by vibration of the vocal cords through their entire width and thickness, and with convex surfaces presented to each other.


head voice

en-noun

head voice (countable and uncountable, plural head voices)

(phonology, music) a kind of voice of high pitch and of a thin quality ascribed to resonance in the head; voice of the thin register. In producing it, the vibration of the cords is limited to their thin edges in the upper part, which are then presented to each other.


daf

From either Persian or Arabic دَف (daf), from Middle Persian 𐭣𐭯 (dap).

MOHAMMAD REZA SHAJARIAN (Thursday) Renowned in his native Iran, the vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian has been performing since the 1960s, and is now widely considered one of the finest classical Persian singers in the world. Mr. Shajarian’s son, Homayoun Shajarian, will provide additional vocals and tombak (goblet drum), while Ensemble Ava, a four-piece, will contribute additional instrumentation on the ancient Persian instruments barbat (short-necked lute), tar (long-necked lute), kamancheh (spike fiddle) and daf (frame drum).

2008 May 30, The New York Times, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in New York Times

(music) A large frame drum, resembling a tambourine, used to accompany popular and classical music in the Middle East.


neofolk

He produced Pink Floyd’s first single, “Arnold Layne,” and helped shape British folk-rock with albums by Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band, Nick Drake and Vashti Bunyan that have directly influenced the current generation of neofolk avant-gardists like Devendra Banhart, Espers, Joanna Newsom and P. G. Six.

2007 March 15, Ben Sisario, “Folk-Rock Memories, Psychedelic but Clear”, in New York Times

(music) A form of experimental folk music influenced by industrial music.


megamusical

Save the C-notes for eye-filling megamusicals or, maybe, a good-for-you drama of intellectual aspirations, preferably with a script from England and a star from Hollywood.

2007 August 2, Ben Brantley, “Titters, Snickers and Guffaws, With a British Accent”, in New York Times

Jukeboxes have frequently been compared to the megamusicals and are considered a direct offshoot.

2022, Kevin Byrne, Emily Fuchs, The Jukebox Musical: An Interpretive History, Taylor & Francis

(informal, theater) A particularly elaborate or successful musical.


biguine

The band had three contrasting lead singers: Mr. Desvarieux, who was gruff and smoky; Mr. Marthely, a buoyant tenor; and Ms. Beroard, whose voice can be bright and poppy or sweetly affectionate. Mr. Naimro’s keyboards could sound like zinging dance-club synthesizers, an accordion, a steel drum or the clarinet used in old Martinican biguine music. Mr. Desvarieux’s guitar sometimes hinted at blues-rock or the intertwining lines of African rock before slipping back into the rhythm section.

2007 August 2, Jon Pareles, “A Wide Range of Sounds, From Antillean to Zouk”, in New York Times

(music) A style of music that originated in Martinique in the 19th century, combining the traditional bélé music with the polka.


unfretted

(music, of a musical instrument) Not fretted; without frets.


sea shanty

(nautical, music) A work song that sailors historically sang in rhythm to their movement.


popera

popera (countable and uncountable, plural poperas)

McLaren is a dozy Pinkerton, an uptight Don José ("Carmen is an animal/uncontrollable stuff..."), and his American-accented voices ride perfect over the beat. "Popera," someone said. The parts may be better than the whole, though.

The popera artist continued his rise to the top of the music charts earlier this year...

2004 August, Indianapolis Monthly, volume 27, number 14

Guests can enjoy the music of strolling musicians performing opera, "popera," and popular music as they sit, relax, and take in the sunset.

2006, Laura Lea Miller, Frommer's Walt Disney World and Orlando with Kids

...blockbuster popera acts handled by pop labels...

2007 November, Billboard, volume 119, number 47

(informal, music, uncountable) A crossover genre combining elements of pop music and classical opera.

(informal, music, countable) A musical or operatic work performed in this style.


keytar

(music) A relatively lightweight keyboard or synthesizer supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, as a guitar is supported by a guitar strap.


hardstyle

hi jack. you just missed the best hardcore/gabba party: "thunderdome - a decade", here in amsterdam. 2 huge rooms filled with 15.000 people (the party had sold out weeks in advance), one room for oldstyle (92-97), one for the newer hardcore/hardstyle (97-02).

2002, mik, “gabber/terror/hardcore”, in uk.music.rave (Usenet)

Boiler Room hosted hard dance specials with young crews from across Europe, while American EDM’s absorption of Dutch hardstyle – a fusion of techno and hardcore – has reached truly terrifying levels through the likes of Guatemalan DJ Carnage.

2020 January 10, Joe Muggs, “Gift of the gabber: the return of dance music’s gloriously tasteless subgenre”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

electronic dance music
electronic dance music

(music) A genre of electronic dance music that combines elements of trance, techno, and hardcore, with origins in the Netherlands and Belgium.


changüí

(music) A style of Cuban music which originated in the early nineteenth century in the eastern region of Guantánamo Province, combining Spanish and African elements.


orpharion

(music) A musical instrument of the Renaissance, part of the cittern family, whose metal strings are tuned like a lute's and plucked with the fingers.


nonjazz

Nonjazz musicians play classical music.

An example of a nonjazz workout is a hip-hop aerobics DVD.


inharmonicity

fundamental frequency
fundamental frequency

(music) The degree to which the frequencies of overtones (known as partial tones or harmonics) depart from whole multiples of the fundamental frequency.


world music

world music (countable and uncountable, plural world musics)

Attributed to ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown (1960s), later primarily used as a marketing term.

(music, rare) Traditional music, as opposed to popular music or classical music.

傳統音樂

traditional music, as opposed to popular music or classical music

While it can be considered a metagenre, world music is really more of a marketing category.

2016, Roy Shuker, Understanding Popular Music Culture, page 123

(music) Music that combines elements from traditional styles from the non-Western world along with modern, popular elements, in order to create something marketed towards Western audiences.

世界音樂

music that combines elements from traditional styles with popular elements


proslambanomenos

(music) The lowest note in Ancient Greek music, appended to the bottom of the scale.


gambist

(music) Someone who plays the viola da gamba


midset

And the band appears comfortable with its pop instincts: a pair of new songs, played midset, were even frothier and looser than its album.

2009 March 17, Jon Caramanica, “Surfing Along a Foamy Wave, Constantly Changing but Ever Cynical”, in New York Times

(music) In the middle of a set, in the middle of a gig.


rechart

en-verb

rechart (third-person singular simple present recharts, present participle recharting, simple past and past participle recharted)

recharts (present singular third-person)
recharting (participle present)
recharted (participle past)
recharted (past)

The boys would never make the stateside pop/rock 45 listings again, though British fans would later rechart the group name with takes on "My Brother Jake," "Little Bit Of Love," and "Wishing Well."

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, page 263

(music) To chart again, to return to the music charts.


Japanoise

While we allow the sounds of Japanoise to challenge our ears, this practice of sound-making reveals not only the limits of origin stories, but also the limits of the concept of “ongaku,” […]

2021 [2001], Timothy Rommen, Bruno Nettl, editors, Excursions in World Music, 8th edition, Routledge, page 204

(music) A genre of postindustrial music of Japan, primarily in the 1980s and 1990s.


mbila

(music) In Southern Africa, an instrument similar to the xylophone, played by striking the bars with mallets.


retard

/ɹɪˈtɑː(ɹ)d/

From Middle English retarden, from Anglo-Norman or Latin, from Anglo-Norman retarder, from Latin retardāre (“to retard”), from re- + tardus (“slow”).

(music) A slowing down of the tempo; a ritardando.


set of pipes

The old man taught the boy to play the flute, and together they constructed a set of pipes—the pipes o' Pan—and out along the river they would play.

1916, Elbert Hubbard, “Savonarola”, in Little Journeys Vol. 7: Eminent Orators

(music) A wind instrument incorporating multiple pipes, such as a panpipe or bagpipe.


piphat

(music) An ensemble of wind and percussion instruments in central Thai classical music.


isorhythmic

(music) Pertaining to or using isorhythm.


isorhythm

en-noun

isorhythm (countable and uncountable, plural isorhythms)

Borrowed from German Isorhythmik, coined in 1904 by composer Friedrich Ludwig (1895-1970) (iso- + rhythm).

In his motets Machaut strove for all-over patterns of rhythmic unity through isorhythms, a system codifying a few set patterns of time value, the number of repetitions of a pattern within a composition depending upon the desired length […]

1953, Herbert Weinstock, Music as an art, page 31

Even when such preconceived structural arrangements are not used, as in the Gloria of the Machaut Mass, the idea of isorhythm is present in the suggestion of recurring and balancing strophic plans.

1955, Oscar Lee Rigsby, The Sacred Music of Elzéar Genet: Historical and analytical study

Meaning simply "same rhythm," isorhythm refers to the practice of using the same rhythmic pattern, called in fourteenth-century treatises a talea ("cutting"), over and over in one or more part as the structural base for a motet or mass movement.

2006, Kyle Gann, The Music of Conlon Nancarrow

(music) A technique that arranges a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern, used in some medieval motets and in more recent works.


goblet drum

(music) A drum (membranophone) with a goblet-shaped body, usually one-headed.

(music) A drum, shaped like a goblet, from the Middle East and North Africa; a darbuka.

دَرْبُوكَة

drum from the Middle-East and North Africa


tumbao

From Cuban Spanish tumbar (“to knock off, fall”).

After all, its encore introduced some new musical elements, including a pulse faintly suggestive of an Afro-Cuban tumbao.

2007 February 12, Nate Chinen, “A Flamenco Master Is His Own Ensemble”, in New York Times

(music) The basic rhythm played on the conga drum and the bass in Afro-Cuban music.


antimusic

antimusic (usually uncountable, plural antimusics)

[…] the current vogue, on the internet, for creating “black midi” files using software to create musical performances with literally millions of notes being played […] is unlikely to appeal to the general listener and we should probably consider it a deviant case of anti-music made for frivolous purposes rather than any kind of polemic.

2015, Samuel Cameron, Music in the Marketplace: A Social Economics Approach, page 2

(music) Any form of music that defies convention to such a degree that some people would not recognise it as musical.

antimúsica

any form of music that defies convention


colorature

(music) An elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries, with runs, trills, leaps, etc.


bongo drum

(music) Synonym of bongo (“either of a pair of small drums of Cuban origin”).


string orchestra

string orchestra (plural string orchestras)

(music) A music group consisting solely of stringed instruments.


philharmonic orchestra

philharmonic orchestra (plural philharmonic orchestras)

(music) A large group of musicians who play together on various instruments, usually including some from strings, woodwind, brass and/or percussion; the instruments played by such a group.


string ensemble

string ensemble (plural string ensembles)

jousiyhtye

A music group consisting solely of stringed instruments


rabiz

Borrowed from Armenian ռաբիզ (ṙabiz). See it for more.

(music) A popular modern Armenian music style that shows Middle Eastern influences and is related to Russian blatnyak and Azerbaijani mugham. Most of the songs have a 6/8 rhythm.


session musician

session musician (plural session musicians)

(music) A professional musician employed by other musicians or singers, either to play live or to make recordings.


downtempo

(music) A genre of house music and ambient music with an ethereal sound and a driving beat.


downtempo

en-adj

downtempo (comparative more downtempo, superlative most downtempo)

more downtempo (comparative)
most downtempo (superlative)


Riemannian

And not only theory: most central European composers of this century were schooled in Riemannian doctrine of one type or another.

1994, Daniel Harrison, Harmonic Function in Chromatic Music: A Renewed Dualist Theory and an Account of Its Precedents, University of Chicago Press, page 7

Or take, for example, the rehabilitation by late-twentieth-century North American theorists of Riemannian Tonnetze as a means to navigate the voice-leading intricacies of much chromatic and post-chromatic music.

2004, Jairo Moreno, Musical Representations, Subjects, and Objects: The Construction of Musical Thought in Zarlino, Descartes, Rameau, and Weber, Indiana University Press, page 1

The paper connects two notions originating from different branches of the recent mathematical music theory: the neo-Riemannian Tonnetz and the property of well-formedness from the theory of the generated scales.

2009, Marek Žabka, “Generalized Tonnetz and Well-Formed GTS: A Scale Theory Inspired by the Neo-Riemannians”, in Elaine Chew, Adrian Childs, Ching-Hua Chuan, editors, Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2nd International Conference, Proceedings, Springer, page 286

(music) Relating to the musical theories of German theorist Hugo Riemann, particularly his theory of harmony, which is characterised by a system of "harmonic dualism".


sadcore

Near-synonym: slowcore

As proof of this, Staub points to the wide variety of press coverage the band received, from spotlights in the usual music media to reports in People, Time, NPR (which identified the band as one of the leaders of the "sadcore" movement), and even Martha Stewart Living […]

Also, The Red House Painters were the first in a wave of bands that followed in AMC's wake, making slow, bleak music that the press would later dub "sadcore" […]

1999, Seán Body, Wish the world away: Mark Eitzel and American Music Club

Despite past disappointments, the undisputed king (and queen) of sadcore return […]

Even in 'serious' rock journalism, every sound was a kind of core: hardcore, slowcore, speedcore, sadcore. What next?

[…] one of the grayest sadcore bands on God's bleak earth, a band that for encores — however rarely it earned them — would slog through Irish jigs […]

2004, Jonathan DiMarco, Good Bullets Make Bad Neighbors

(music, uncommon) A form of alternative rock characterised by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies and slow tempos.


-core

Derived from hardcore (“hardcore punk; a particularly fast and intense form of punk rock”).

gloom + -core → gloomcore

metal + -core → metalcore

rap + -core → rapcore

speed + -core → speedcore

(music) Denoting a genre of music, especially one influenced by hardcore music.


Arabic scale

{\set Staff.midiInstrument=#"clarinet"c'des'e'f'g'aes'b'c2}

(music) double harmonic scale, a scale with two augmented seconds:

\relative c'{c8 cih cis cisih d dih dis disih e eih f fih fis fisih g gih gis gisih a aih ais aisih b bih \bar "|" c2}

(music) quarter tone scale, or 24 tone equal temperament:

\relative c'{c8 cih cis d dih dis e f fih fis g gih gis a aih ais b c2}

(music) 17 equal temperament, a tuning dividing the octave into 17 equal steps:

{c'd'e'f'ges'aes'bes'c}

(music) major Locrian scale, a scale similar to Locrian:


horrorcore

Lots of us remember the pioneering zeal that the Gravediggaz unleashed on their debut disc, 1994's 6 Feet Deep — a ghoulish effort that spawned the so-called horrorcore genre.

(music) A subgenre of hip-hop music with horror-themed lyrics and imagery.


antimetric

(sound engineering, especially music) Going off the rhythm, especially during a transition from one time signature to another.


houselike

houselike (comparative more houselike, superlative most houselike)

more houselike (comparative)
most houselike (superlative)


pianistics

(music) The art or technique of playing the piano.


Aristophanean

Aristophanean (comparative more Aristophanean, superlative most Aristophanean)

more Aristophanean (comparative)
most Aristophanean (superlative)

(dramaturgy, poetry) Of or pertaining to Aristophanes, his plays or his poetry.


antiplay

Samuel Beckett wrote several absurdist antiplays.

(dramaturgy) A play (dramatical production) that deliberately avoids the typical conventions of the play, such as a coherent plot and resolution.

antipeça

a play that deliberately avoids the typical conventions


fipple

Perhaps related to Icelandic flipi (“lip of a horse”)

(music) The mouthpiece of a ducted flute, or the plug forming the floor of the windway.


dodecaphonist

International word formed circa 1950 from Ancient Greek δώδεκα (dṓdeka, “twelve”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”) + -ist, recorded in English since 1953, presumably modeled on German Dodekaphonist.

The pioneering Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg was the leading dodecaphonist.

The schism between the dodecaphonists and the priests of tonality.

1984 April 14, Richard Knisely, “Quintessential Narcissism”, in Gay Community News, page 13

(music) A practitioner or proponent of dodecaphony, i.e. use of the dodecaphonic musical scale, which has twelve tones per octave


nanga

The "shoulder harp" or "nanga" had a boat-shaped sound chest.

1950, Roslyn Rensch, The harp: from Tara's halls to the American schools

The nanga of Nubia is similar; here also, long wooden pegs prevent the strings from slipping.

1975, Sibyl Marcuse, A survey of musical instruments, page 403

The artist uses his voice, he sings his laws to the accompaniment of the nanga, the harp; he twists his body to the rhythm of the drums, to proclaim his rules.

(music) A simple wooden harp or zither used in central and eastern Africa.


guaracha

en-noun

guaracha (countable and uncountable, plural guarachas)

(music, uncountable) A genre of Cuban popular music with rapid tempo and lyrics.

“Harry was there to be able to tell us what is the difference between a guaracha and a mambo and what’s the montuno and who is really the top-notch danzón band,” she said.

2007 February 19, William Neuman, “Amid Squeal of Trains at Times Square, Melody of a Store’s Rebirth”, in New York Times

(music, countable) A piece performed in this style.


montuno

From Spanish montuno (literally “from the mountain”), referring to rural music.

bor

(music) The counterpoint in Cuban salsa music.


archicembalo

(music) A form of harpsichord that had extra keys and strings


white metal

en-noun

white metal (countable and uncountable, plural white metals)

(music) Christian-themed heavy metal, as distinguished from black metal.


zurna

From Turkish zurna, from Ottoman Turkish زورنا (zurna), from Classical Persian سرنا (surnā); see there for more. Cognate with English horn, Latin cornu (“horn”).

(music) A double-reed outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul (bass drum) in Anatolian folk music.


aftertouch

aftertouch (countable and uncountable, plural aftertouches)

(music, uncountable) Pressure sensitivity on an electronic synthesizer, allowing the musician to change the tone or sound of a note after it is struck.


string quartet

(music) A group of four musicians playing string instruments, usually two violins, a viola and a cello.

(music) A musical composition for such a group.


cabler

(entertainment) A cable television network or system operator.


boom bap

Imitative, representing the sounds of the bass drum and snare drum, respectively.

onomatopoeic

Imitative

A beat made with the 808 drum kit isn't boom bap!

The story of Boom Bap is closely associated with the development and practice of sampling, and as such, Boom Bap is often described as a production technique, a sound, a style, or a subgenre.

2023, Michail Exarchos, Reimagining Sample-based Hip Hop: Making Records within Records, CRC Press, page 1997

(music) A style/subgenre of hip hop characterized by hard-hitting drums, usually containing the kick drum/snare drum/hi-hat combination rather than claps, snaps, TR-808 bass drums, cowbells, shakers, and various other percussion sounds used for rhythm.


CMA

Country Music Association Awards
w:Country Music Association Awards

(music) Initialism of Country Music Association Awards.


soullike

en-adj

soullike (comparative more soullike, superlative most soullike)

more soullike (comparative)
most soullike (superlative)

(music) Resembling or characteristic of soul music.


reedist

In what's becoming an annual tradition, Chicago-via-Boston reedist Ken Vandermark is joined by his former Beantown cohort, drummer Curt Newton […].

1993 December 24, Peter Margasak, “Ken Vandermark & Curt Newton”, in Chicago Reader

(music) A musician who plays reed instruments (usually more than one).


Christian rock

(music) A genre of rock music with a Christian theme.


kosmische

Kosmische’s fertility is only matched by its desire to create something totally new, and it is that which has proved inspirational to successive generations of musicians from right across the spectrum.

2010 March 30, Jon Savage, “Elektronische musik: a guide to krautrock”, in The Guardian

Van Hoen produced music throughout the '80s, taking inspiration chiefly from Cabaret Voltaire and kosmische acts like Tangerine Dream. At the time, though, this was an entirely isolated pursuit.

2013 April 22, Angus Finlayson, “Mark van Hoen: Playing with time”, in Resident Advisor

Kosmische the genre was generally beatless, unmoored and astral in character, whereas at Kosmische the club the music was nailed… When the mood was right, you could play almost anything.

2015, David Stubbs, Future Days: Krautrock and the Birth of a Revolutionary New Music, Melville House

(music, also attributive) Ellipsis of kosmische musik.


nontonal

(music) Concerning atonal music with patterns and repetitions; Mildly atonal.


whistle note

(music, voice) A note extremely high in the register, but not falsetto.


by ear

(music) To learn to play (an instrument) or sing by listening to recorded music without reading or memorizing sheet music or without any formal instruction.


soulstress

Chicago-bred new-jack soulstress Chantay Savage performs material from her just-released debut Here We Go (RCA).

1994 August 5, Peter Margasak, “Spot Check”, in Chicago Reader


readthrough

(film, television, theater) An organized reading of the screenplay or script by all of the actors, prior to the actual performance.


toppy

toppy (comparative more toppy, superlative most toppy)

more toppy (comparative)
most toppy (superlative)

(music) Characterised by lots of treble.


beatscape

She pits the lush 70s-style arrangements of Eumir Deodato against the oblique beatscapes of Mark Bell, who as a member of LFO led the UK charge to transform techno from euphoric hedonism into ominous paranoia.

1998 May 29, Peter Margasak, “An Adventurer Plays it Safe”, in Chicago Reader

(music) A musical piece or passage consisting of richly textured beats


biomusic

(music) A form of music based on the sounds of nature.


beauty and the beast

From the traditional fairy tale. See Beauty and the Beast at Wikipedia.

(music) An aesthetic in heavy metal, etc. that contrasts "angelic" female vocals with male growls or aggressive singing.


strummy

strummy (comparative more strummy, superlative most strummy)

more strummy (comparative)
most strummy (superlative)

In “The Delivery Man,” halfway through, he played electric guitar sparely, which made a huge difference in a very strummy show.

2009 June 12, Ben Ratliff, “Acoustic Set of Country, Rock and Old-Time Tales”, in New York Times


AOR

en-noun

AOR (countable and uncountable, plural AORs)

MTV is a singles medium, as is the hottest (warmest?) new radio strategy God help us, “adult contemporary”; even AOR devotes the contemporary portion of its programming to putative singles.

1990 January 2, Robert Christgau, “1980–1989: Rockism Faces the World”, in The Village Voice

album-oriented radio
album-oriented radio#English

(music, radio format, US, uncountable) Initialism of album-oriented radio.

album-oriented rock
album-oriented rock#English

(music, uncountable) Initialism of album-oriented rock.

(music, uncountable) Initialism of adult-oriented rock.


synthy

en-adj

synthy (comparative more synthy, superlative most synthy)

more synthy (comparative)
most synthy (superlative)

(informal, music) Based upon, or resembling, the sound of a synthesizer.


nonkeyboard

(computing, music) Not a keyboard, or lacking a keyboard.


agitpop

His keenest outrage is reserved for the Bush administration, which he tears into like a good punker should, but Gabel's lyrics and delivery have a subtlety and wit that more didactic agitpop singers lack. "

2006 April 28, Miles Raymer, “Against Me!”, in Chicago Reader

(music) Pop music of an agitational character


antitheater

A.R.T. is a theater group, or rather an antitheater group.

1993 February 5, Bill Wyman, “Calendar”, in Chicago Reader

(dramaturgy) Works of theater that go against theatrical conventions

antyteatr

works of theater that go against theatrical conventions


antirock

In their darkest hour, the antirock interests received a gift from the gods: the quiz-show scandal of 1958.

2002 October 11, Cliff Doerksen, “Same Old Song and Dance”, in Chicago Reader


antirock

Ut's slippery, semi-improvised antirock was shrill and swampy, an unpredictable amalgam of loose strumming and phantom sputtering.

2006 November 10, Jessica Hopper, “Ten Under the Radar”, in Chicago Reader

(music) Rock music that deliberately goes against the usual conventions of the genre

anti-rock

rock that deliberately goes against conventions


soundclash

en-noun

soundclash (countable and uncountable, plural soundclashes)

(music) Any of several forms of popular music based on strongly contrasting elements.

(music, countable) A Jamaican musical contest at which the audience reaction is used to choose the best DJ.


conservatoire

Borrowed from French conservatoire. Doublet of conservatory.

կոնսերվատորիա

school or educational institution that teaches music


overscored

en-adj

overscored (comparative more overscored, superlative most overscored)

more overscored (comparative)
most overscored (superlative)

(music) scored for too many instruments (or types of instrument)


afoxe

"Afros E Afoxes de Bahia" offers a sampling of afros and afoxe groups and features singers such as Gilberto Gil and Margareth Menezes.

1990 December 28, Fernando Gonzalez, “Two Daring Journeys into Brazilian Music”, in Boston Globe

It now brings together son, guajira, guaracha with New Orleans funk, Nigerian Afrobeat, South American cumbia, James Brown rhythms, Haitian compas, Brazilian afoxe, New York City boogaloo and even jam-band stuff predicated on electric guitars as much as hand drums.

2007 May 17, Ben Ratliff, “Cuban Music, Good for Dancing, and for Thinking About as Well”, in New York Times


bassless

(The band is bassless, consisting of guitarist Brace Paine, drummer Hannah Blilie, and Ditto.)

2006 March 3, Jessica Hopper, “Is This It?”, in Chicago Reader


barwalking

He sang in an urgent, desperate sort of chant, and on saxophone he exaggerated the squealing sharpness of the R & B barwalking tradition.

2003 October 31, Peter Margasak, “Punk Primer/Postscripts”, in Chicago Reader

(music) A form of showmanship in which a musician stands on the bar


bashy

bashy (comparative bashier, superlative bashiest)

bashier (comparative)
bashiest (superlative)

The record doesn't refuse to rock: the trebly attack of songs like "Drown" and "Route" is reminiscent of the bashy splendor of the earliest Tupelo releases.

1995 August 4, Bill Wyman, “Son Volt”, in Chicago Reader


basslike

basslike (comparative more basslike, superlative most basslike)

more basslike (comparative)
most basslike (superlative)

On tracks like "Mama's Gonna Make Us a Cake" one guitarist plays basslike parts while the other goes nuts in a scrappy way; for "Evil Operations Classified" Billotte and Wilcox drop into lockstep to exhilarating effect.

2004 April 16, Peter Margasak, “Causal Dots”, in Chicago Reader


beatless

Labradford's debut album, Prazision, was ambient music for indie rockers, blissfully devoid of both high-gloss digitalia and New Age goo--a series of drifting, beatless soundscapes created with analog synthesizers and heavily treated guitar.

1998 April 3, Peter Margasak, “Kranky and Proud of It/”, in Chicago Reader


balladic

balladic (comparative more balladic, superlative most balladic)

more balladic (comparative)
most balladic (superlative)

Still, my favorite moments are the quiet ones, like when Henry, the tell-me-about-the-rabbits-George deviate, croons his balladic confession, "I did a thing."

1989 July 21, Anthony Adler, “Game of Love”, in Chicago Reader

Vedder and the rest of the band are at their best when they're feeling balladic.

1994 December 2, Bill Wyman, “Posture After Posture”, in Chicago Reader


basswork

His basswork is both sure-fingered and mercifully sparse[…].

1994 April 22, David Whiteis, “Ernie Williams”, in Chicago Reader


raplike

raplike (comparative more raplike, superlative most raplike)

more raplike (comparative)
most raplike (superlative)

(music) Resembling hip-hop or the act of rapping.


ballade

Borrowed from French ballade. Doublet of ballad.

"Dead and gone!" as Andrew Lang re-echoes in a sweetly mournful ballade[…]

1915, Richard Le Gallienne, Vanishing Roads and Other Essays

Even a 10-minute Chopin ballade for piano, let alone Messiaen’s 75-minute “Turangalila Symphony,” tries to grapple with, activate and organize a relatively substantial span of time.

2007 December 30, Anthony Tommasini, “A Patience to Listen, Alive and Well”, in New York Times

(music) Any of various genres of single-movement musical pieces having lyrical and narrative elements.


authentic cadence

en-noun

authentic cadence (plural authentic cadences)

(music, chiefly US) A cadence involving the resolution of the dominant chord (V) to the root chord (I).

authentischer Schluss

cadence where dominant chord resolves to the root chord


allegro non troppo

From Italian allegro (“fast”) + non (“not”) + troppo (“too much”).


afrobeat

→ German: Afrobeat

→ Portuguese: afrobeat

→ Spanish: afrobeat

(music) Music that combines West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) with American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion.


salicional

/səˈlɪʃənəl/

From German Salizional, from Latin salix (“willow”) + -al.

(music) A labial pipe organ stop of eight-foot pitch.


beatmatching

(music) The synchronization of beats in two pieces of music, as performed by a disc jockey in order to mix tracks seamlessly.


filin

Borrowed from Spanish filin, itself from English feeling.

(music) A genre that emerged in late 1940s in La Habana, influenced by the melodic and expressive style of vocal jazz.


mirliton

/ˈmɜːlɪˌtɒn/

/ˈmɪɹləˌtɑn/

From French. Coined as a nonce to advertise a new women's bonnet, mirliton came to be applied to any trifle or trinket before acquiring several specific meanings. Compare the English word folderol.

In form the mirlitons resembled flutes, shawms, or other instruments, and were generally furnished with a parchment membrane.

1975, Sibyl Marcuse, A survey of musical instruments, page 172

Whistles, mirlitons, flutes, trumpets or horns, clarinets, and oboes are all played in one or more parts of the continent.

1990, Francis Bebey, African music: a people's art, page 64

The bars have air resonators below, and mirliton membranes are set over holes in the resonators (see Figure 10-3C).

1996, Bart Hopkin, Musical Instrument Design, page 145

(music) The eunuch flute, a kind of kazoo or membranophone.


suspended cymbal

suspended cymbal (plural suspended cymbals)

(music) a cymbal that is suspended horizontally and usually played with one or two sticks


mano sinistra

From the Italian mano (“hand”) and sinistra (“left”).

musical notation
musical notation#English

(music) In musical notation, an instruction for the pianist to use the left hand.


main droite

From the French main (“hand”) + droit (“right”).

(music) In musical notation, an instruction for the pianist to use the right hand.


mano destra

From Italian mano (“hand”) and destra (“right”).


m.d.

From French main droite and Italian mano destra.

(music) Indicating the right (as opposed to 'left') hand. Initialism of main droite or mano destra.


auto-tuner

(music) A device that corrects the intonation of an audio signal without affecting other aspects of the sound, sometimes used to fix off-key singing.


big band

big band (countable and uncountable, plural big bands)

(uncountable, music) The music produced by a jazz big band.


praiser

Palladium execs and praisers gave out close to 1,200 passes for Sonny Burke's opening Tuesday.


laptronica

Blend of laptop + electronica. The term gained a certain degree of currency in the 1990s.

More recently, the notion of using a portable computer on stage became a reality and new forms of music including laptronica, the synthesis of laptop and electronica, were born.

2012, Leigh Landy, Making Music with Sounds, Routledge, page 16

(music, computing) Musical output made with a laptop computer combined with electronic devices, portable enough for live performances.


motorik

en-adj

motorik (comparative more motorik, superlative most motorik)

more motorik (comparative)
most motorik (superlative)

...explores the anti-auto tirades of Peggy Suicide while (ironically) paying tribute to the motorik beat and highway sounds of Neu! and krautrock.

1996, Jim DeRogatis, Kaleidoscope eyes: psychedelic rock from the '60s to the '90s

Kraftwerk and Can both used the motorik style as did later electronic oriented bands like Ultravox...

2006, Steve Taylor, A to X of Alternative Music

...with occasional C-sharp and B chords thrown in there to relieve the tension, and a motorik beat.

2007, Phil Freeman, Marooned: the next generation of desert island discs

(music, informal) Having a rigid, repetitive, driving 4/4 beat, as in krautrock.


hosaphone

(music) A home-made musical instrument consisting of a length of garden hose with a funnel inserted at one end. It is played by blowing it in the manner of a trumpet.


agrément

From French agrément. Doublet of agreement.


wippen

(music) A component of the action of a mechanical keyboard instrument such as a piano or organ


shoegazey

shoegazey (comparative more shoegazey, superlative most shoegazey)

more shoegazey (comparative)
most shoegazey (superlative)

...unaffected harmonies over fairly conventional shoegazey rock, though usually to exceptionally beautiful effect.

1997, Ira A Robbins, The Trouser Press guide to '90s rock

(rare, informal, music) Having elements of the shoegaze style.


nonpiano

Is it that you're trying to create a nonpiano sound?

1991, Edward Strickland, American composers: dialogues on contemporary music

Piano music may profitably be viewed as a musical world distinct from the world of nonpiano music.

2003, J K Randall, Benjamin Boretz, Being about music: textworks 1960-2003

(music) Not of or pertaining to the piano.