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Musical Terminology
Musical terms are words and phrases that are specific to reading, writing, and playing music.
720 Questions
What does andante e legato mean?
andante e legato means medium slow and smooth. "legato", literally means, "tied together". and andante is about 76-108 beats per minute
What does EQ mean in musical terms?
The abbreviation, "EQ" is short for 'Equalization". Equalization is essentially the process of adding and/or removing specific frequencies from a sound.
There is two different kinds of EQ and they are graphic and parametric. Graphic EQ is most commonly found on mixing desks and they are the small knobs that mainly use the headings, low, mids, and highs. This is of course referring to the frequencies.
Whereas parametric EQ can be a lot more precise. It allows a sound engineer to have absolute control over a sound and remove/enhance frequencies with pin point accuracy. This is most commonly found on effects racks or in software packages.
What does sf mean in musical terms?
that is a musical marking for sforzando which means to suddenly become louder on the note or phrase.
What does commission mean in music terms?
Most of the classical composers were commissioned by royal families. Composers were paid for writing pieces of music for them. Beethoven's closest patron was Archduke Rudolph.
The philosopher who discovered the numerical relationship of musical harmonies was?
Pythagoras of Samos discovered the numerical relationship of musical harmonies.
What does sharp mean in music terms?
It means the tone is 1/2 step above the note given. A full step would be to go from A to B, therefore a half step would be A sharp.
What does alla gavotta mean in musical terms?
'Alla Gavotta' is the Italian phrase that means the piece should be played 'in the style of a Gavotte'.
What does the musical term largo mean?
"Largo" is a slow, plodding, heavy tempo - like the marching of elephants.
When writing a quaver which way must the tail go music?
When writting a quaver in music the tail must always go to the right. Including when upside down.
What does the word theme mean in music terms?
A theme is basically the central topic, subject, or concept the author is trying to point out, not to be confused with whatever message, moral, or commentary it may send or be interpreted as sending regarding said concept
What does air column mean in musical terms?
Music, like all sound is made up of sound waves traveling through the air. On a string instrument, the sound wave originates with a wave (actually many waves) on a vibrating string. Wind instruments don't have a string, and the sound you hear doesn't sound much like the vibrating reed of a woodwind or the vibrating lips of a brass players. We hear a wave that is established in the air inside the instrument.
Of course, air moves through and out of an instrument, but the wave doesn't leave the instrument. A corresponding sound wave, which we hear, is created outside the instrument, but the wave inside the instrument doesn't leave the instrument any more than the wave on a string leaves the string.
We need a term to describe the air that is inside the instrument - the air where the wave is established and that term is "column of air."
Macrons and breves are the marks used by dictionaries to show how a word should be pronounced. More specifically, these pronunciation marks show how to pronounce letters within words. Each sound that can be made as a part of speech is called a "phonogram".
Macrons indicate the "Long" sound of a vowel (a,e,i,o,u in English) or vowel combination (e.g., "æ"), brèves are the "Short" sound indicators.
These pronunciation marks are positioned above the letter to which they apply.
What is the membrane on drum consist called?
The membrane stretched across the top or bottom of a drum is called a 'drum skin' or drumhead.
If you also meant to ask what the membrane consists of then the answer to that is: usually plastic.
What does trimbre mean in music terms?
The word is "timbre," which means the quality or type of sound. For example, a trumpet has a different timbre than a cello.
Ascending up the major scale, the terms for each degree are the tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone, and tonic again. The prefix "super" means above the tonic, and "sub" is below the tonic.
What is tierany form in music?
The term is "ternary," which means there are three sections in a piece. The 1st and 3rd are often similar, if not the same, with a contrasting middle section.
What is a measure in music terms?
A particular metric unit to group a note or notes in music together.
What Music terms that start with d?
The (very) few I can think of are:
demisemiquaver = 1/32nd of a note
double sharp = raising the pitch of a note by 2 semitones
double flat = lowering " " " " " " " "
dolente = sadly
D.C. (da capo) = (al fine) return to the start of the piece and play to the end
D.S. (dal segno) = return to the sign (usually similar to $) and repeat
decresc. = decrescendo - becoming quieter
dim. = diminuendo - " "
dol. = dolce - sweetly
What is 'molto giocoso' when translated from Italian to English?
Molto giocoso! in Italian is "Very merry!" in English.
