

The instruction appears as either: 'f' loud 'ff' fortissimo, meaning very loud or 'fff' very loud. A dynamic instruction meaning the music should be played loudly. Flat can also mean that a note is out of tune, sounding lower than it should in this case.įorte (Italian: 'strong'). Indicated by a stylised ♭ sign, shows that the note before which it is place should be lowered by a semitone. Some of the hardest instrumental works are large scale etudes by composers such as Chopin and Liszt. An instrumental composition intended to improve or tax certain aspects of technique. An instruction meaning that a passage should be played with expression, or expressively.Įtude (French: 'study'). Description of: whether instrumentalists are playing together a group of performers.Įspressivo (Italian: 'expressive'). A piece of music in the form of a lament.Įnsemble. A dynamic instruction meaning to gradually play quieter.ĭynamics. Usually abbreviated to 'D.C.' at the end of a section of a piece, meaning go back to the beginning and play either to the end (Da capo al fine) or to the sign, which looks like a stylised "S" (Da capo al segno).ĭiminuendo (Italian: Literally 'diminishing'). Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee on a toy piano, by Julian Clef Dĭa Capo (Italian: 'from the beginning'). Iestyn Davies explains here.Ĭrescendo (Italian: 'growing') A dynamic instruction meaning to gradually play louder. 2 remains one of the most popular works in the genre.Ĭountertenor.
RELAX SYN FULL
A piece of instrumental music for soloist contrasted by an ensemble (either a small group of musicians or a full orchestra).

Dame Joan Sutherland was one of the greatest coloratura sopranos of all time.Ĭoncerto. A type of decoration, usually in singing that is ornate and richly ornamented. Usually a section which indicates the end of the piece or section is approaching.Ĭoloratura (Italian: 'colouring'). Several symbols drawn at the end of a stave, indicating the pitch of the notes written on that stave.Ĭoda (Italian: 'tail'). The tail end of a piece of music. Rimsky Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee is a particularly exciting example of a work built around the chromatic scale.Ĭlef. For example, in the scale of C major (the white notes on the piano), they black keys (sharps and flats) are the chromatic notes. Notes which do not belong to the diatonic scale. The sounding of two or more notes at the same time.Ĭhromatic. The most famous Chorales of all were written by Bach.Ĭhord. Generally the music moves in block chords. A French song, from the middle ages to the 20th century.Ĭhorale. Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien is certainly in high spirits.Ĭhanson.
RELAX SYN FREE
(Italian: 'caprice'). A lively piece of music, usually free in its form and short. 140 (Wachet Auf) for a beautiful example.Ĭapriccio. Some cantatas use solo voices without chorus or choir. A choral work that uses solo voices with an instrumental (usually orchestral) accompaniment. A cantata is generally a choral work of some length that also uses solo voices, usually with instrumental accompaniment. Cadences can either suggest the sentence isn't over, or provide a type of musical 'full-stop'.Ĭantata. Two chords at the end of a piece which provide a type of 'punctuation' at the end of a musical phrase. The most famous example is Ravel's Boléro.

Generally slow and undulating, Chopin's famous Berceuse is the most well known example of the form.īolero. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are a fine example of this.īerceuse. It is usually notated with numbers indicating what chords can be used, so the continuo player can embellish the lines. A form of bass line used in music from the Baroque period. Composers include Monteverdi, Purcell, Rameau, Bach, Vivaldi and Handel.īasso Continuo (Italian: 'continuous bass'). A period in art and music from around 1600-1750. Gerald Finley is a world class example of a baritone.īaroque. Chopin, Mendelssohn, Fauré and Offenbach all wrote works imitating the form.īaritone. A boating song, generally describing the songs sung by gondoliers in Venice. A vertical line through the stave, to mark the music into sections, each with a set amount of beats within.īarcarolle. A work in dance form imitative of a folk song, with a narrative structure.īar. From the vulgar Latin 'ballare', meaning to dance. Read more: Here’s a genius written representation of musical terms Bīallad. Composers from the Second Viennese School used atonality as a basis for much of their work. The technique is heard in a lot of 20th Century music. Aria (Italian: 'air'). An aria is a song, generally used to describe set-piece songs in Opera.Ītonal Music in which no key can be established.
