Talking About Music - A Dictionary
Version 9/1/2005
by Paul Nelson
For more information see:
This document is a short dictionary of words which may help you to talk about music. It was originally intended for non-musicians who need to communicate with music professionals, but it is useful for anyone who wants a develop a larger verbal arsenal for talking about music.
Copyright © 2005, by Paul Nelson, all rights reserved.
Table of Contents
PART I: Structure - Large and Small
Structure within (or between) sections
Miscellaneous useful descriptive words
Articulation = Attack and Decay
General Descriptions of Harmony
Fooling the Ear, Unexpected Uses of Harmony
Song and Speech and In-between
Big Things: Staves, Measures, Systems
Additional Words (to do later?):
PART I: Structure - Large and Small
Composers usually discuss their work on two different levels: large and small. "Large scale" discussions usually revolve round discussions of structure - how a piece is divided into sections, how those sections are arranged, the 'arc' of an entire work, etc. "Detailed level" discussions are usually about the choices made from moment to moment in a composition - a particular note, chord, sound, or rhythm which may occur at any point in time and how that choice leads the music forward to the next moment.
large scale, global level, structural, or form - All of these terms refer to how the piece is put together as a whole.
detailed level, small scale - When talking about the "detail level", musicians are usually talking about the choices that the composer has made from moment to moment. Almost always, these detailed choices are made with an eye towards a large-scale structure. For example, a particular sound might be chosen to help build (or relax) tension in the work towards (or away from) some high point. Or, a composer will throw in "something different" just to mix things up a bit, i.e. to make sure the work does not get too repetitive, predictable, or boring.
Note that the 'detail level' is just that - detailed. Therefore, you may wish to skip any section below which discusses small details, and just leave these choices to the musicians and composers involved in your project. However, if you are listening to music and at some point it sounds 'wrong', knowing some of the details may help you figure out exactly what aspect of the music may not sound right to you.
Labeling large structures
When talking about 'large structures', usually a composer is referring to an entire piece of music, for example, a entire song, a movement from a symphony, etc.
form, structure - Most musical works are divided into a series of sections, which together make up the "form" of the work. Usually, all sections of a work will be connected in some way or another (see "glue" below). Furthermore, sections are usually arranged in a way to be pleasing to the listener. For example, each section could build intensity from the previous section. Or, perhaps a section is included to provide a break, i.e. something new and interesting to listen to.
The form of a piece is the same as it's structure.
A, A', B, B', A'', etc. - Composers label sections with letters, A, B, C, D, etc. When two sections are the same (or very nearly the same), they will be given the same letter. For example, if a song has an "AABA" form, then this means that it has four sections, and that the same music is used for sections 1, 2, and 4, with contrasting music for section 3. Sometimes, a composer will take the music for one section and then vary it to make something slightly different (but clearly related) to the original section. When this is done, they will label the new section with an apostrophe, such as A' (read: "A-prime"). Sometimes (for example, a theme and variations) the original music may be varied multiple times. Each time it is varied, another apostrophe is added to the section label (for example: A'', A3, A4 - read: "A-double-prime", "A-triple-prime", "A-quadruple-prime", etc.) .
departure, return - Very often composers will use a contrasting section to depart from music which has been established. Later, the same composer will return to the original music. There are dramatic implications to departure and return: the departure represents the excitement/anxiety/stress/instability of leaving 'home', and the return represents the satisfaction of returning to familiar musical territory after having been away. An example of departure and return is in the AABA form. The "B" section represents a departure, and the final "A" section represents the return to the original musical material.
high point, climax, arc - Oftentimes, musical compositions will have a large scale arc. The work will build in intensity and excitement to some high point (also called the climax), and then will quickly finish up.
growth, the 'long line' - More generally, composers will use words like "growth" and "the long line" to describe whatever it is that carries the listener through the composition. Music is often thought of like a "stream running downhill". The listener gets into a boat and is carried downstream by the music. This sense of inevitability of music, the "being carried inevitably to the end" (which can be achieved in many different ways) is discussed as the "growth" or the "long line" of the music.
frame - Sometimes a work will have small amount of music at the beginning which is repeated at the end. Usually this is done as an attention grabbing device, to startle the audience and get them to listen right away. When it is repeated at the end, it has a way of rounding out and completing the entire work.
Sometimes when this is done, it is called a frame for the work, i.e. a small amount of music which comes at both the beginning and the end of a piece and is used to frame it.
introduction, coda - Very often, compositions will start with some ambiguous, introductory music to "get the audience in the mood", before the substantive music is presented. This is called the introduction. Similarly, composers will often tack on extra music to the end of a composition to make sure that the ending feels full and satisfying. This is called the coda.
Specifically, introductions and codas are both sections of music (see 'form' above). What makes them special is 1) they both have very specific functions, 2) they occur only at the beginning or end of a work, and 3) they are not repeated within the work.
transition - Sometimes, composers will create special music to help transition from one section to another. For example, the shift from a slow, soft section to a fast, loud section may be too abrupt for the average listener. When this is the case, a composer may write a short transition to carry the ear from one section to the other. Said another way, transitions give the listener a chance to "catch up" before important new music is presented. Transitions can also have the function of highlighting the similarities between two different sections of music.
glue / cohesiveness - When talking about a large work, composers are often worried about the glue that holds the whole work together. Composers are usually very concerned that every section in a work sounds like it belongs in the work. Sometimes it is very difficult to identify what provides a work this cohesiveness. It can be a harmonic plan, instrumentation, common sound world, musical attitude, common mood or temperament, types of melodies, motives (see below), or simply the composer's style (a combination of all the above).
narrative, non-narrative - Most music, especially the works of classical and romantic composers, is "narrative". That is, the music carefully leads the listener from moment to moment, like a story in a book. Typically, musical themes (i.e. melodic fragments) will be reused and changed as the music progresses, and the music will use melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic elements to build to a clear climax.
Non-narrative music is any music which does not have a strong sense of melody or line. For example, a non-narrative piece might instead present a series of sound images. These sound images may blend smoothly from one to the other, or they may shift, jarringly, back and forth. And finally, it is certainly possible to have music which contains both narrative and non-narrative aspects. For example, occasional glimpses of structured narrative emerging from sound images.
Structure within (or between) sections
In addition to the structure of an entire composition, composers are intensely concerned with structure within each section. Each section usually has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and sections are often divided up into a series of musical thoughts, called phrases.
phrase - A phrase is a complete musical thought. It is most closely analogous to a written sentence within a book. While it's possible for a section to only have a single phrase, that's usually not the case. Phrases are usually short, like 5-10 seconds, although much shorter and much longer are, of course, possible. Phrases usually end in a some kind of arrival point (aka cadence - a momentary point of rest), which is the goal of the phrase itself. Don't worry if the arrival point feels unsatisfying. The only truly satisfying arrival point should occur at the end of the piece (and sometimes not even then). As long as the music has momentarily paused, then you've probably reached the end of a phrase.
When listening to music, if you have a hard time telling where one phrase begins and another ends, don't despair. Music which contains very clear phrases often sounds square, simple, and, frankly, boring. Therefore, composers are always finding ways to obscure the beginnings and endings of phrases, so that one phrase blends smoothly into the next and carries the listener easily along with it. Very often, one part of the music (for example, the melody) will come to the end of the phrase while another part of the music (for example, the accompaniment) has already started the next one (see elision below).
cadence, arrival point, goal - These are all the same thing. A cadence is a moment of rest where the music has, even if temporarily, reached some sort of goal or point of completion. Cadences occur at the ends of phrases, sections, and at the end of the composition as a whole.
Some composers may consider a cadence to be a very specific kind of musical chord progression which is used to end a phrase (if this is the case, then use the words arrival point or goal instead). But I think that most composers are more flexible in their interpretation, allowing a cadence to be any method for completing a musical thought and coming to a moment of rest.
question / answer (also known as antecedent / consequent) - Music is very closely related to the spoken word. Composers often think of music as a rhetorical language, in other words, a way of posing questions, answering questions, making statements, persuading the listener to a musical argument, etc.
Often phrases will sound as if they are posing a question. For example, a phrase may end "up" (i.e. on a note which goes up rather than down). Similarly, phrases can also sound as if they are answering a question. Many times, these types of phrases are paired together. For example, the music may ask a question, and then (in the next phrase) will provide the answer. One can hear this most clearly in the works of early classical composers such as Mozart or Haydn.
Question phrases are also called antecedent phrases and answer phrases can also be called consequent phrases. Antecedent and consequent are more specific and allow for pairs of phrases that do not necessarily sound like questions and answers.
half-cadence - When a musical phrase ends in a question mark, composers will call this a "half-cadence". Half cadences feel unsatisfying -- the listener will always want the implied question to be answered by another phrase. For this reason, half cadences are also very useful, because the draw the ear forward and give the listener a reason to continue paying attention.
As with other types of cadences, half cadence can mean a very specific chord progression to some composers. If this is the case, you may wish to refer to phrases which "end in a question mark" rather than saying "a phrase which ends in a half cadence".
deceptive cadence - Generally, a deceptive cadence is any phrase which ends un-expectedly. Deceptive cadences can be very special and distinctive, creating "oh wow" moments in music.
More specifically, deceptive cadences typically require a melody and an accompaniment. A cadence is deceptive if the melody ends up on the proper note to end the phrase, but the accompaniment contains unexpected harmony underneath. For example, if your song is in C-Major, you might expect the phrase to end up on a C Major chord, with the melody playing a 'C'. If, however, the melody ends up on a 'C', but the harmony is an A-Minor chord, then this is an unexpected harmony and therefore a deceptive cadence.
Deceptive cadences are also an example of how composers blur one phrase into the next. In a deceptive cadence, the melody is finishing off the phrase, while the harmony/accompaniment has already moved ahead, to the beginning of the next phrase.
extension / delay - Extension and delay are very similar concepts. Both are used most often at the ends of phrases.
Extension implies that the end of a phrase is extended, thus emphasizing the ending. For example, this can be easily done by simply repeating the last few notes of the phrase over and over, until the ending feels "satisfying enough". Of course, composers have lots and lots of ways to extend endings. Beethoven was especially good at it. Extensions are most often at the ends of sections rather than phrases in the middle of sections.
Delay implies that the end of the phrase is delayed, usually by a temporary excursion. So, if you expect the phrase to end at a certain point, but at the last minute the music temporarily takes you someplace (but then finally ends), that is a delay.
elision - is the process of combining two phrases or sections so that their endings and beginnings overlap. If, for example, the second section has already begun before the first section has ended, this is an example of elision, and the two sections have been elided together.
The more advanced the composer, typically, the more elision is used to make music seamless and flow smoothly from beginning to end. Here are two ways in which elision can work in music: 1) The next section starts up before the first one is ended - this can sound either like an "interruption," or music which swells to the point where it takes the forefront. 2) The previous section is still "tailing off" after the next section has already started. This second method can often sound as if the first section is still "echoing" while the second section has already begun in earnest.
melody, the tune - Melody is that single line of music which is more prominent than the rest of the music, also called the 'tune'. Melody is perhaps the trickiest and least understood part of music. Why is one melody "catchy" and another one "boring" ? No one really knows.
What is certain is that when music has melody, it is the melody which determines the structure of the composition within a section. A melody line can usually be divided up into phrases and small sub-sections, like sentences and paragraphs in a block of text.
Note that this does not mean the composer created the melody first. Very often, a composer will write an accompaniment pattern, and then create a melody which goes over it.
Also, it is important to realize that the melody and the rest of the music work together. Not all melodies work with all harmonies, chord patterns, or rhythmic patterns (and vice-versa). It is up to the composer to create a melody which works well with the rest of the music, or, alternatively, which purposefully does *not* work with the rest of the music.
rhetoric, non-rhetorical - All of the ideas in this section, when combined together, make up the "rhetorical language" of music. All of this: phrases, questions, answers, cadences, goal points, etc. is the "rhetoric" of music.
However, not all music is composed this way. Music may be "non-rhetorical", i.e. completely abstract without these small scale structures. For example, a piece of music may present sound images which create an atmosphere or a mood, without having to resort to melodies, phrases, cadences, and so on.
Music doesn't have to always be "going somewhere", it can just exist. Furthermore, some music is composed of "sound objects" which are artfully placed within a sonic landscape. Many composers feel that such music is closer to nature and therefore more beautiful. Such music could be enjoyed in much the same way that you might enjoy the sound of a babbling brook, falling rain, blustery winds, or the crackling of molten lava cooling.
through-composed - When a composition has no repeated sections and little formal structure it is called through composed. In such works, every moment is freshly composed from start to finish.
But it would be a mistake to say that through-composed music has no structure whatsoever. Nearly all music has some sense of departure and return, and often the structure of seemingly unstructured music will become clear as you listen to it more and more.
PART II: Musical Character
When talking about music, discussing musical character can either be really fun or really frustrating. What's fun about it is that anyone can do it. There are no standard musical terms for discussing the character of a music, and so any description is allowed and the more creative the better!
But what can be frustrating is not being able to put your finger on the exact right word to describe the music. The words in this section are just a starting point. Feel free to expand upon them.
Basic Characteristics
energy - Music is energy. Compositions are often referred to as having high energy or low energy. Composing music is a process of manipulating the flow of energy through a composition. Very often composers will talk about building energy (for example, towards the climax of the work) and releasing energy (i.e. giving the listener a chance to take a breath before launching into the next thing).
sounds like <xxx> - You should never be afraid to say "This work sounds like <xxx>" as long as <xxx> is not another composer. Comparing one composer to another is considered to be poor taste (and not that useful) in most composer circles.
However, saying that a composition is like "dawn at the beginning of a hot summer day", "sharks at a feeding frenzy", or "the dance of planets through the cosmos" is great! Just be creative and have fun with it.
human characteristics - Human characteristics, as long as they aren't too general or intellectual, can be used to describe music. For example, all of the following are good descriptions of musical character: obsessive, flighty, fixated, crazy, eccentric, naïve, child-like, temperamental, unpredictable, conventional, gentle.
emotions - Emotions are also good descriptions of music as long as they are not too general or intellectual. Good examples include: angry, violent, delightful, loving, tender, irritating, reverential, sleepy, excited, anxious, sentimental, nostalgic.
Some opposites
The following are some common opposites used to describe musical character. Note that of the following, light and heavy are used the most frequently.
|
light - has the following characteristics: lower volume, higher notes, softer, smoother instruments (e.g. flute is lighter than trumpet), fewer instruments, gentler articulations, more silences, fewer simultaneous instruments playing at the same time. |
heavy - has the following characteristics: loud, lower notes, stronger and harsher instruments, more instruments, less silence, harsher articulations, many instruments playing simultaneously. |
|
stable - recognizable, repeating patterns, unchanging harmonies (or harmonic patterns) and keys. The melody may change, but generally all of the other elements in the sound world are either held constant or repeat in recognizable patterns. |
unstable - constantly changing patterns, harmonies, and keys. Unstable music does not repeat (very much) and goes from place to place quickly without stopping or returning to music from earlier in the composition. |
|
stasis - More stable than "stable". Music which is in "stasis" is unchanging almost to the point of boredom. Also often used for slower music with long held notes. |
motion - Has many meanings: 1) a synonym for "unstable", 2) fast tempo, 3) fast repeated notes, 4) sounds like transportation (i.e. trains, planes, running, galloping, etc.) |
|
grounded - Music often has a "home place," usually a collection of sounds, harmonies, or a key which feels the most relaxed and satisfying. Grounded music 1) has a "home place" which is firmly established, and 2) spends a lot of time in its "home place". In addition, it generally feels stable, solid, and understandable. |
suspended - This is tricky. Music which is purposefully held away from its home place (see "grounded") for extended periods of time is called "suspended". The feeling for the listener is very much the same as being suspended by a rope above the ground. Also, in order for music to feel "suspended" it must also be fairly stable (see above). It just has to be held in a place which has not quite yet returned to "home". |
|
sparse - lots of rests, lots of space, infrequently occurring musical "events" (i.e. new notes or sounds), small number of instruments playing simultaneously, generally slow. |
dense - usually means "many things going on simultaneously" (many instruments playing many complex patterns simultaneously). But it can also be used as a synonym for "intense" (see below). |
|
smooth - no sharp contrasts, gentle attacks to notes, longer notes, slower tempo (though not always), gradual transitions from section to section or phrase to phrase, melody lines with few (if any) skips or leaps, i.e. mostly stepwise |
jagged - sharp contrasts, harsh attacks, often shorter notes and somewhat faster tempi, sharp (or non-existent) transitions from section to section and phrase to phrase, widely ranging melody lines with large skips and leaps |
Miscellaneous useful descriptive words
Here are some other, generally useful descriptions of musical character.
angular - mostly a synonym for "jagged" above, but more focused on the themes or melodies used in the work. Usually contains widely ranging melodies with large skips and leaps that often go up and down and up and down.
lyrical - means "singing". Any music that sounds like it could be easily sung is lyrical. Usually focused on the melody lines and themes in the music.
square, blocky - Often used pejoratively, square or blocky music is considered to be "too regular", with very clear, regular sections and phrases that are all about the same size. predictable is also often used.
clashing - most often used for harmonies and melodies. Clashing is where two recognizable sounds are put together to create harsh (i.e. dissonant) sounds via their juxtaposition. When two things clash, generally the components can still be heard, as well as the harsh sounds of their combination.
crashing - harsh, violent, aggressive music.
wandering, stumbling - music which is unstable (see above). These words further imply that the music has no clear direction or goal.
intensity - Compositions are intense when they are complex (i.e. many instruments and a lot of different things going on), abstract, and dissonant. Also, any music which requires extra effort on the part of the listener (such as formal training, very careful listening, multiple listenings, etc.) is considered to be intense.
Curiously, "intensity" has little relation to the speed or volume of the composition.
bite - For any music that has some attitude to it, typically with harsh, grating sounds, strong attacks, etc.
When using any of these words, feel free to use adverbs. For example, "delightfully wandering", "crazy stumbling", "joyfully clashing", etc.
Additional character words which describe various combinations of tempo (slow/fast, see below) and weight (light/heavy - see above) can be found in the graph below.
Tempo
One of the major elements of musical character is tempo.
Unfortunately, tempo is a tricky subject. Fundamentally, the "tempo" is the speed of the composition, i.e. how fast or slow it is. Unfortunately, every composition really has two tempi: 1) the number of "beats per minute" at which the performer is playing -- this is the technical/mathematical speed of the work sometimes this is called the "metronome setting", and 2) the speed at which the composition "feels".
So, it is possible to have a composition with a very slow "metronome setting" which still feels very fast, and vice versa. Because musicians use the generic word "tempo" for both the metronome setting and the feeling of the work, it can easily become confusing.
tempo - Generally, the "tempo" is a synonym for "metronome setting" (see below), but it can also mean simply how fast a work "feels".
Note that it is perfectly OK to say "faster tempo," "slower tempo," "extremely fast tempo," etc. Musicians say these sorts of things all the time.
metronome setting - The physical number of beats per second in the composition. For example, a tempo of "110" is 110 musical beats (i.e. pulses) per minute. Metronome settings can vary from 20 to 300 or more.
Two metronome settings are the most useful: 60 (i.e. one beat every second) and 120 (i.e. two beats every second). It is not uncommon to see musicians looking at their watch to determine the speed of 60 or 120. Other tempo can usually be determined in relation to these two speeds.
Note that music can have a relatively slow metronome setting but still feel fast, and vice versa. The speed that the composition "feels" is often determined by how much the beat is sub-divided, i.e. how many small, fast, little notes are stuffed into a single beat.
metronome - a physical device which counts off beats per second for musicians, and is often used when practicing.
beat - The "beat" is usually what you tap with your foot when listening the a composition. Each tap of your foot represents one "beat". Similarly, when watching a conductor, each motion of the baton ('baton' is French for 'stick') is a "beat".
Unfortunately, any precise definition of "beat" is very complex and probably beyond the scope of this dictionary. What makes it difficult is that a beat can be subdivided by the composer into multiple smaller values, or multiple beats can be joined together to make longer notes. Often times, especially with more modern compositions, it can be literally impossible to determine the beat.
However, it is perfectly acceptable to say "add a few beats," "remove a beat or two," or "just a half a beat longer" anytime you need to ask a composer to make the music just a bit shorter or longer.
strong beats, weak beats, on beats, off beats - Some beats are stronger (have more emphasis) than others. Usually, the first beat in a group of 2, 3, or 4 (depending on the composition) is called the strong beat, while the beats which follow it are called the weak beats.
For example, hear in your head a slow waltz accompaniment: oom-pah-pah, oom-pah-pah, etc. In this example, the "oom's" are the strong beats and the "pah's" are the weak beats.
Sometimes, strong and weak beats will be called on beats and off beats. As in "on the strong beat" or "off of the strong beat". Similarly, musicians will say that a note which occurs between two beats is "off the beat".
down beat - Usually once every other strong beat (or so), there will be an even stronger beat, called the "down beat". Down beats occur at the starts of measures (see Part VII - Written Music). Measures are small blocks of time (usually a few seconds long) which are strung together to create the composition, and the first beat of every measure is the down beat.
Other descriptions of tempo
There are hundreds, if not thousands of words to describe tempo, especially when you consider that each language (Italian, English, French, German, Russian, etc.) has it's own set of terms. The following terms are the most commonly used by composers.
Fixed tempo descriptions, from slower to faster:
largo - very slow
adagio - slow
andante, walking tempo - These both mean the same thing: a tempo where beats occur about as fast as footfalls when you walk at a normal speed.
moderato - moderate
allegro - Italian for "lively". Generally a fast tempo, but not blazingly fast.
vivace - animated
presto - fast
Changes in tempo (i.e. speeding up or slowing down the tempo):
accelerando - gradually get faster
ritardando, ritard - gradually get slower
piu mosso - Italian for "more movement", i.e. suddenly speed up.
meno mosso - Italian for "less movement", i.e. suddenly slow down.
molto meno mosso - suddenly get a lot slower
Other tempo terms:
ma non troppo - Italian for "not too much". Often used with tempo designations, such as "allegro ma non troppo" (a favorite of Beethoven), as in "fast, but not too fast".
Of course, when talking to musicians, feel free to simply say: "fast, but not too fast".
poco a poco - Italian for "little by little". Most often used when the tempo is getting gradually faster or slower (i.e. accelerando or ritardando). For example, "poco a poco accelerando" meaning "little by little, accelerate".
Of course, feel free to simply say it in English, as in: "get faster, little by little".
Finally, don't be afraid to coin your own terms for tempo. For example, all of the following are perfectly good terms for tempo: peppy, aggressive, crazy fast, like a rocket, zooming, elephantine, glacial, ambling, sauntering, big-band swing, slinky jazz, funk-rock, up-tempo jazz, etc.
PART III: Sound
This section discusses sound at its most basic level. These terms will be no good when discussing music in general (for that, use Parts I or II above). Instead, you will need these terms to discuss specific musical needs you may have for specific points in time.
For example, suppose you are creating an art installation and you are projecting symbols on the wall which get brighter and dimmer. You may wish to have music which is high (i.e. high notes) and which gets louder/softer as the lights get brighter/dimmer.
But you may also need to use these terms to analyze what is "wrong" about a piece of music. Perhaps the composer has chosen the wrong instruments? Perhaps the music feels to dry? Perhaps the notes conflict with dialog when they are too high?
But first, a word or two about "notes" and "sound":
note - A "note" is an actual sound performed or sung by an actual performer. A "note" has volume (how loud or soft it is), pitch (how high or low it sounds), timbre (what instrument is playing), and articulation (exactly how it is being played, the attack and decay of the sound).
In general, composers will use "note" when a sound has pitch (see below for a discussion of pitch).
sound - Sometimes it is very difficult, if not impossible to determine the "pitch" or frequency of a note. When this is the case, composers will use the word "sound" instead, as in "when the chandelier falls, we'll play some loud sound".
Examples of sounds which have pitch: Piano, violin, clarinet, singer, etc. Examples of sounds which do not have pitch: snare drum, shushing or hissing, clicks, soft-shoe, knocking on the door, a window breaking, clapping, etc. Examples of sounds which have pitch but where the pitch is so complex it's impossible to determine exactly what it is: Cymbals, many types of gongs, water droplets, door creaking, etc.
strike, hit - Loud, sharp sounds. Used in place of "note". For example, someone might say "we'll put a big cymbal strike here, where she slaps him", or "the music is punctuated with brass hits."
Pitch = Frequency
pitch - As you probably know, sound is made up of waves which move through the air. When those waves occur in repeating patterns (hundreds of times a second), then humans hear the waves as "pitch".
As discussed above, sounds made by pianos, violins, singers, and clarinets (along with lots of other instruments) all have pitch.
Generally, you should not need to know anything about how specific pitches are labeled. But probably you should at least know about "Middle-C". This is the pitch which is in the center of the piano. In fact, middle-C is in the middle of just about everything. It is the note in the middle of the string section, in the middle of a standard SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) choir, in the middle of a brass section, etc. Almost everyone can play or sing middle-C.
frequency - As stated above, when air waves occur in repeated patterns, hundreds of times a second, then humans hear the waves as having pitch. For example, if you play middle-C on the piano you will be creating air waves that repeat 262 times per second.
The "frequency" of a sound is the exact number of times per second that a wave is repeated. Higher pitches will have higher frequencies.
The most important frequency to know is "A-440". This is the primary reference pitch (designated with the letter A) or frequency (440 times per second) which is used to tune instruments. You will hear the oboe play a note of A-440 when an orchestra tunes before playing.
lower, higher - Use the words higher and lower when talking about pitch. Generally, non-professionals do not need to know the exact names of the pitches. Instead, just say "I want higher pitches" or "I want generally lower pitches" and leave the details to the composer or performer.
pitch range - Pitch range, or more simply just the range, identifies the highest and lowest note that a performer can produce. All singers and instrumentalists have a pitch range, and typically the better performer, the wider is their range.
Especially with singers, you will hear people talk about "high" ranges and "low" ranges. This simply means that they can sing pitches which are higher or lower than normal. For example, a low soprano or a high soprano. Of course this is true of instruments as well. The piccolo has a high range and the double-bass has a low range.
register - When talking about portions of a performer's range, you use the word register. Typically, discussions of register are pretty vague, as in high register (the pitches at the top of the performer's range), low register (low pitches), and middle register.
All of this discussion about register and range is important because most instruments and singers will sound different in different parts of their range. For example, low notes on the flute sound breathy and velvety, whereas high notes on the flute sound incisive and piercing.
So, just because a performer can play a note, doesn't mean that it can be done with the desired volume or quality. For example, when a composer writes for orchestra, part of their job is to choose the best instrument for each pitch, where the performer can easily play the pitch and will produce the right type of note for the character of the music being performed.
tessitura - For any passage of music, the tessitura is the average pitch, i.e. the middle pitch around which the music is centered.
Tessitura is usually used for singers, because music which has a higher tessitura usually requires more physical energy (and better vocal muscles) to sing than music which has a lower tessitura - especially when it is being sung for long periods of time.
Tessitura can either be described as a specific pitch (for example, "the tessitura of this passage is centered around the C above middle-C") or more generically, as in a high tessitura or a low tessitura.
So, where range is more absolute (which pitches can be played and which can not), tessitura is more relative (the pitches are centered around such-and-such).
wrong notes - Performers are just human, and so they make mistakes, just like the rest of us. When a performer plays the wrong pitch, we usually say that they are playing wrong notes. For example, they play a "B" instead of an "A". For a piano player, it would mean pressing the wrong key on the piano keyboard.
Fixing wrong notes is usually pretty easy. The performer just needs time to practice, so they can hear the music properly inside their head.
tuning, intonation - When a performer plays the wrong pitch, but it is just very slightly off, then this is not a wrong note, instead it is a note which is out of tune. When they play a lot of notes which are slightly off, then we say that they have bad intonation or have intonation problems.
Most instruments (violins, guitars, flutes, etc.) can make slight adjustments in pitch, by stretching a string, adjusting the length of a tube, etc. These slight adjustments are called tuning the instrument. This is what happens at the beginning of an orchestra concert: all of the players are tuning their instruments.
So sometimes, when a performer has bad intonation, it is just because their instrument is out of tune. But if not, fixing intonation problems can be very difficult. Most performers spend a great deal of time (years, decades) learning how to play in tune, and if they can't then probably you will need to get a new performer.
Dynamics = Volume
volume - Everyone knows what volume is. It's the dial on the radio or CD player which makes it louder or softer.
louder, softer - Whenever you talk about the volume of sound being produced, always be sure to say louder and/or softer. You could also say more and less, as in "please give me more sound".
But especially do not say lower, higher, down, or up -- as these terms are more typically used for talking about pitch (see above).
dynamics - is the musical category that encompasses all words that talk about volume levels. This can include specific volume levels (loud, soft, medium-loud, etc.) as well as changes in volume (gradually get softer, get suddenly louder, etc.)
Dynamic markings are musical symbols that composers and musicians write on music to identify how loud or soft to play the music.
dynamic range - Is a measure of the range of volume levels inside a piece of music. If a musical work has both very soft and very loud music (like most classical music), it has a wide dynamic range. If, however, it is mostly loud (like most rock music) and does not vary much in volume then it has a very narrow dynamic range.
Dynamic range is very important for sound production, i.e. the technology required to reproduce music on CDs, speakers, etc.
There are many terms used by musicians for volume levels:
fortissimo - very loud (abbrev: ff)
forte - Italian for "strong", means loud (abbrev: f)
mezzo forte - medium loud (abbrev: mf)
mezzo piano - medium soft (abbrev: mp)
piano - soft (abbrev: p)
pianissimo - very soft (abbrev: pp)
And there are also many terms for changes in volume:
crescendo - gradually increase in volume
decrescendo - gradually decrease in volume
molto - used for large changes in volume, as in "molto crescendo" and "molto decrescendo"
subito - used for sudden changes in volume, as in "subito forte" (suddenly get loud) and "subito pianissimo" (suddenly get very soft)
poco a poco - used for slow changes in volume, as in "poco a poco crescendo" (little by little get louder) and "poco a poco decrescendo" (little by little get softer)
swell - When the music "swells", it gets louder.
die away - When the music "dies away", it gets softer until you can't hear it anymore.
hairpins - Hairpins are symbols which people write into music to indicate that the sound is supposed to get louder or softer. They look like this:
Articulation = Attack and Decay
Do you have a piano nearby? Go to the piano and play a single note. Just one.
Suppose the note you played lasts for a second. If you look at the volume of sound that the piano produced during that second of sound, you might get a graph that looks something like this:
In other words, when you struck the key the sound got loud very fast (the attack), and then it stayed about the same for a while (the sustain), maybe getting slightly softer, and then it died away fairly quickly when you released the key (the decay).
articulation - The volume profile for a single note (as in the graph above), is called the note's "articulation". This includes the sharpness of the attack, the amount of sustain, and the length of the decay.
Performers, especially orchestra players, are experts at shaping notes, and much of the character of a piece of music comes from how the notes are articulated.
The following are used to specify the articulations for a series of notes:
staccato - Short, precise notes. Like saying "dot, dot, dot, dot, dot"
legato - Long, blended notes with no noticeable gaps between them. Like saying "rah-rah-rah-rah"
marcato - Very strong notes with harsh attacks, like saying "kak, kak, kak, kak"
separated - Notes with noticeable silent gaps between them.
But feel free to use any adjective you like. Some common adjectives are: smooth, flowing, choppy, sustained, pointed, knocking, banging, pinging, etc.
The following are used to specify the articulation for a single note:
accent - a note which is emphasized, in relation to others around it. This usually means that the note has a sharp attack, but can also mean a little more volume as well.
emphasis - like an accent, but not as strong. As in "give that third note a bit more emphasis".
sfortzando - an especially strong accent.
forte-piano - literally means "loud-soft" in Italian. The note is held loud for a fraction of a second, and then is suddenly soft.
fermata - a note which is held out longer than normal (the sustain portion of the note is abnormally lengthy). These are also called held notes.
Words you might hear in popular musical styles include:
stinger - A loud "snap", usually at the end of a long note or at the end of a phrase. ????
bump - Usually low percussive "thumps". ????
hit - As in "brass hits", these are percussive notes with strong attacks usually used to punctuate a more flowing melodic line.
others???
Instrumentation = Timbre
timbre - Remember that sound is made up of waves which move through the air. In technical terms, timbre (pronounced "TAM-ber") is the shape of those traveling waves.
Timbre is the quality of the sound, or the type of the sound. Timbre is most closely associated with instruments. A flute has a different timbre from an oboe. The flute has a more rounded, breathy sound, whereas the oboe is a more woody, nasal sound. This is because the flute and oboe produce different sound waveforms. This means they have different timbres.
sound world, sound environment - Timbre is most critical when constructing a world of sound. The composer wants to choose a collection of sounds which work together to create an atmosphere within which the music will live.
For example, if you've heard hip-hop or rap music, you an easily envision the urban street environment which it creates using scratching, shouts, aggressive text declamation, and percussion.
Contrast the urban sound environment to one which is more mystical and ethereal, such as might be created by Kaija Saariaho (a modern art-music composer), or Enya (a new-age composer), or even Alanis Morrisette (example: "Uninvited").
These different sound worlds are primarily created by carefully choosing instruments for their timbre - their sound qualities.
instrumentation - The list of instruments which are needed to perform a musical work.
Some common opposites:
The following words are often used when talking about timbre:
|
wet, resonant - Used for sounds that resonate for a long time, meaning it takes a long time for the sound to die away, even after the instrument has been silenced. For example, playing the piano with the pedal held down. Also, standard instruments will sound wet if they play in a very resonant, echo-y space, such as a cave, or tile bathroom. Usually used for the entire sound of a musical work (i.e. all instruments put together, not just a single instrument). When discussing instruments, those which produce "wet" sounds are those which ring or resonate for a long time, such as bells, gongs, vibraphone, guitar (esp. electric guitar), etc. |
dry - A dry sound or space is one that has no resonance, echo, or reverberation in the sound. Standard instruments will sound dry if they are played in a "dry space", such as outside in a field, in a tent (or some other space where all the walls are covered with fabric), or an "anechoic chamber", like a recording studio. Similarly, with instruments, dry sounds are those which do not resonate much. Examples include wood block, violin pizzicato, ratchet, snare drum, etc. |
|
dark - Dark sounds are those which are more woody and mellow. Examples of instruments which are especially dark include double-bass, viola, bass voice, bassoon, French horn. Most instruments will sound darker as they play lower and lower pitches. For example, flute, clarinet, and alto voice all sound wonderfully dark when they produce low notes. |
bright - Bright sounds are more sharp, piercing and metallic (imagine a metal plate being dropped on the ground) Examples include trumpet, violin, glockenspiel (in fact, most mallet instruments), bells, and oboe. Most instruments will sound brighter as they play higher and higher pitches. For example, violoncello and French horn can both sound very bright when they play high notes. |
|
warm - Very similar to "dark", used for mellow, comforting sounds. |
cool, icy - Often high-pitched, crystalline, and metallic. |
|
lush - Rich and warm sonorities, often flowing music with many instruments, full sounds, and sweet harmonies. |
spare - Very few instruments playing simultaneously, dry sounds, lots of silence. |
|
sweet - Can be used for female voices that are light and innocent, or for music which is harmonious, consonant, and generally soothing. |
harsh, grating - Abrasive music with lots of dissonance and scratchy ugly sounds. |
|
muddy - when "lush" goes too far it becomes muddy, too many instruments playing legato music at the same time and in the same pitch range. |
clear, clean - used when the music can be perceived and understood quickly and when the major lines and important points are clearly highlighted to the ear. Music without extraneous sounds, instruments, and melodies is usually very clean. |
Some other common timbre descriptions:
nasal, pinched - Hold your nose and sing. Like that. Often used for oboe, English horn, and muted brass instruments (a mute is a cone that is stuck into the end of the instrument to make the sound more pinched and nasal).
brassy - Like brass instruments. Also used for very strong female voices in the middle register (like Ethel Merman or Liza Minnelli).
woody - Used for instruments that are made of wood, like clarinets, oboes, wood flutes, marimba, etc.
velvety, soft, breathy - Anything with lots of "h" and "s" in the sound, such as flute, soft whistling, very soft strings, etc.
noisy, dirty, scratchy, raspy - Anything with lots of noise (i.e. static, scratches, etc.) in the sound, such as very loud and harsh string playing, and some older singers who have had too many cigarettes.
A variety of other qualitative descriptions: Use these whenever appropriate
clangy, glistening, bell-like, crystalline, buzzy, razzy, incisive, piercing, brushy, shriek, growly, mystical, ethereal, otherworldly, honk
PART IV: Texture
Texture in music is very similar in a lot of ways to texture in fabric. It can contain repeated patterns, multiple intertwining colors of thread, or it might be constructed to be pleasingly random.
Similarly, when musicians talk about musical texture, they could be discussing any of three very different musical concepts:
repeated patterns - Most music contains repeated patterns. When these patterns repeat frequently, they will start to feel like a texture. For example, just say "boom, ba-da boom ba-da boom, ba-da boom" over and over. You have just created a musical texture. Now imagine that someone is singing a song over your pattern, and you can see how a texture can be used to support a melody line.
In popular music, drum loops and grooves are examples of repeated patterns which serve as musical texture. In classical music, these sorts of repeated patterns are called ostinato.
vertical lines / accompaniment - A second meaning for "musical texture" is when talking about the number of distinct musical voices that are playing simultaneously. For example, a piece could have a single, solo voice. Or, it could have two singers singing a duet. Or it could have a single voice with a simple accompaniment of chords on piano or guitar. Or it could have lots of voices all going everywhere at the same time.
These are all forms of "vertical" texture, i.e. the number of independent lines of music playing or singing at the same time, stacked vertically on the musical page. This is in contrast to repeated patterns, which a form of "horizontal" texture, i.e. patterns which repeat over time (shown left to right on a musical page).
environmental sound worlds - A third form of texture is more of an environmental texture and can incorporate both vertical and horizontal forms of texture, as well as timbre (i.e. instrument) choices. This is more of an all encompassing form of texture, where the composer is careful to chose instruments, patterns, and voices to create an environment within which the music lives. For example, a composer might try and replicate the atmosphere of a pine forest with a babbling brook, or a monastic temple, or a NASCAR race in music.
Before we define the words appropriate for each of these three different concepts of texture, it is worth covering vertical and horizontal in more detail:
vertical - Music is unique in the human experience in that it can easily and naturally support layering. With layering, the composer can have multiple strains of music playing simultaneously. For example, the singer, the bass guitar, the drums, and the lead guitar can all be playing at the same time.
In any other art form or human experience, having four different things happening at the same time would be just a noisy mess (imagine watching four different TV programs at the same time, or having four different pictures painted on top of each other with translucent paint). But in music, the composer can make all of the different layers work together, so that each one reinforces the others, to create a unified work of art.
Layers are called the "vertical" dimension of music because they are arranged vertically on a musical score. In the score excerpt below, there are seven instruments playing simultaneously: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet and trombone. These seven instruments are arranged vertically on the page, one on top of the other, showing the different layers of music being played simultaneously.
Another often-used word for layer is line. For example, if you have five singers, each singer might play a different line of music. "Lines" are often used when music is very intertwined.
horizontal - The horizontal dimension in music is time. In a musical score, such as the one above, time is shown progressing from left to right. All of the players start playing from the left hand side and progress to the right hand side going at the same rate of speed (usually following a conductor).
This means that a conductor can look at a score, and at any point in time (at any point from left to right in the score) can see exactly what every instrument should be playing.
Because repeated patterns occur in time (like the "boom, ba-da boom, ba-da boom" example above), they are shown horizontally across a musical score.
Repeated Patterns
Repeated patterns often serve as an "engine" or motoric force which propels the music forward. These types of patterns are often called ostinato or grooves.
ostinato - Simply means a short repeated musical pattern. Ostinato is typically used when talking about repeated patterns in classical music, and usually for patterns which serve as the foundation of the music (i.e. the accompaniment rather than the melody). For example, The Rite of Spring is known for it's heavy reliance on ostinato.
groove - Used in commercial (i.e. pop, rock-n-roll, soul, etc.) music, grooves are repeated patterns usually made up of many instruments working together (typically drums, guitars, and other percussion) creating patterns that repeat, like, every few seconds or so.
Grooves will often start every pattern with a strong "thump" (i.e. drum beat, loud note, etc.) which launches the music forward into the pattern. It then will use other instruments to surprise and excite the ear, gaining interest and momentum into the next repetition of the pattern when it starts all over again.
Grooves are often used as the foundation layer of popular music, over which singers will sing the song.
loop / drum loop - In software programs such as Apple's GarageBand (just one example), you can download "loops". Loops are small fragments of music (a few seconds or less) which can be repeated and layered on top of each other to create grooves. Once you've created a good groove, you can then sing over top of it to make a song.
Since loops are most often used for percussion, you may hear them referred to as "drum loops".
It sounds easy, doesn't it? Create a pattern, loop it, and then sing on top and you can create your own song.
But in fact, professional musicians rarely repeat the pattern exactly the same way twice. If you listen closely, a good group will add notes, change pitches, stretch the pattern, compress the pattern, slightly delay notes, all to create variety and to support the intentions of the song.
vamp - A vamp is a short repeated, instrumental introduction to a song. They are often used in musicals and opera to provide flexibility for the singer. For example, the singer can finish up whatever they are doing on stage and then start singing at the end of any vamp repetition.
Vamps are also used just to set the stage for a song. Famous vamps include the instrumental introductions to "Singing in the Rain" and "New York, New York".
repeat - When used alone, a repeat is usually used to indicate a section of music that should be played two (or more) times. Only when a repeat is shorter (a few seconds or less) and is repeated many many times does it become a grove or an ostinato. If a repeat is only repeated once (i.e. the section of music is played twice) and if it is longer (i.e. 10 seconds or more) then it becomes more an element of musical structure (see Part I) than texture.
motive - A motive is usually a short musical pattern that may be used over and over in a work of music, but not necessarily repeated in a strictly periodic fashion. The most famous motive would be the first four notes of Beethoven's Symphony #5, "dah-dah-dah dummmmm". If you listen carefully to the music that follows, that same pattern is used over and over, in different instruments, with different pitches, and at different speeds.
This is different than a groove or ostinato which repeats the same pattern using (mostly) the same pitches and same tempo with a regular periodicity. Motives are more like mosaic tiles, used over and over in different angles, colors, and positions to build up a larger picture.
Motives are more often used in classical music composition than popular music.
pattern transformations - Composers will often modify patterns as a composition progresses. This is done to increase excitement, propel the motion of the work forward, or to create variety. Typical pattern transformations include adding or removing notes to the pattern, making the pattern play slower or faster (augmentation, diminution), playing the pattern backwards (retrograde), turning it upside down (instead of pitches going up, they go down and vice-versa, called inversion), or dicing up the pattern into small pieces (fragmentation, or, if you want to be cool and up-to-date, 'liquefying').
Lines or Layers of Music
This section contains terms which specify methods for playing notes together at the same time, the "vertical" dimension of music (see horizontal and vertical, above).
chord - A chord is a set of three or more notes played at the same time. One note is just a note, two notes make an interval, three or more notes make a chord. Chords are used everywhere in music. For example, many songs are simply a singer singing the melody while someone plays chords on the piano or on a guitar.
Chords are important in determining harmony (see Part V below).
melody, accompaniment - When music has multiple layers, often one line will be the most prominent. This is usually the line which is highest and/or the loudest, and is often called the melody. In a pop song, it is the person singing. In a violin concerto, it's usually the violin, etc.
The rest of the music, everything but the most prominent line, is called the accompaniment, because it accompanies the melody line. If there is a single person playing all of the rest of the music (for example, someone playing the piano to accompany a singer), that person is called the accompanist.
polyphonic - When music has multiple layers and the layers are very nearly equally important, it is called polyphonic music. Many choral works are polyphonic, most notably the choral music of Bach.
homophonic - Sometimes, in polyphonic music, the different instruments or singers will be tied tightly together, playing or singing different notes but together, in the same rhythmic patterns, and roughly at the same time creating a series of chords. This is called homophonic music. Examples of homophonic music include barbershop quartet songs and brass fanfares.
contrapuntal - When the different layers are more independent, playing different notes at different times with different rhythms and patterns, this is called contrapuntal music. Music which is polyphonic is also typically contrapuntal. The best examples of contrapuntal music are the preludes, fugues, inventions of J. S. Bach.
monophonic - If there is only a single instrument or singer singing or playing a single line, this is called monophonic or solo music. For example, a saxophone player in a subway station plays monophonic music.
Environmental Sound Worlds
All music tries to create a world of sound which evokes emotions and creates an environment that draws in the audience. Texture is a key component (perhaps the single most important component) in creating these worlds of sound.
Very often, modern music is less concerned with independent lines of music and more interested in the overall effect. Many times it may be hard to hear lines at all. Instead, the music may sound more like "clouds of shimmering sounds" gently shifting in color, or "speckled, disjointed organic patterns". Don't worry if this is the case. Not all music is made up of independent layers or lines or repeating patterns.
And so there are many, many different kinds of texture, most of which do not have specific musical terminology to describe them. When this is the case, refer to Part II above, "Musical Character", for help in describing these unique types of musical texture.
Here are some additional words to use when talking about texture:
dense - many instruments playing many different notes all at different times
thin, sparse - a small number of performers, playing notes only every so often
gnarly - highly complex, often non-repeating patterns (like the gnarled patterns in the grain of wood)
busy - fast, complex music, often used as a pejorative to indicate that the music is too complex
intricate - many intertwining lines of music
pulsing - slow repeated notes
PART V: Harmony
Harmony is about color. Pitches can be combined into chords to create sound colors which are bright or dark, warm or cool, steely or woody, or harsh or soft.
Harmony is also about tension and relaxation. Once a piece of music has estab