View source for Glossary of Musical Terms

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== A ==
;a capella 
:solo or group singing without accompaniment
;accelerando
:An increase in tempo
;accent
:Stress on a beat, to make it stand out from others in the measure or phrase
;accompaniment
:Music that is played along with the main theme or voice
;adagio
:Slowly
;allegro
:Lively
;alto
:Normally the lowest female voice, also sometimes sung by high tenors or young boys
;andante
:Moderately slow
;arpeggio
:The notes of a chord played in succession, rather than together
;atonal
:Having no specific key

== B ==

;bar : A section of music with one strong beat and one or more lesser beats
;baritone : A low male singing voice, between tenor and bass
;bass : The lowest male singing voice, or the lowest range of a type of instrument
;beat : The pulse of music, marking its rhythmic pattern
;brass : A type of wind instrument, consisting of a metal tube, with tone regulated by the position of the musician's mouth

== C ==

;cadence: A musical phrase or group of tones punctuating the end of a phrase or composition of music
;chord: Three tones (or more) sounded together
;chromatic: Having to do with sharps and flats
;clef: The symbol at the beginning of a line of written music to signify the range of notes indicated
;contralto: The terms contralto and alto refer to a similar musical pitch, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; ;the equivalent male form is counter-tenor.
;crescendo: A gradual increase in volume

== D ==

;diminuendo: A gradual decrease in volume
;dynamics: The markings in written music that indicate the volume to be used

== F ==

;fermata : A fermata is a symbol used in sheet music to indicate that a note should be held longer than its standard duration. The length that the note can be held is up to the artist or conductor.
;flat: A lowering of the tone by a half-step (Symbol: ♭)
;forte: Loud (Symbol: ''f'')
;fortissimo: Very loud (Symbol: ''ff'')
;fortepiano: Fortepiano is a dynamic instruction that tells an instrumentalist to initially play a note loudly and then quickly decay to a quiet sustained dynamic.  (Symbol: ''fp'')

== G ==

;glissando: A musical effect involving a slide from one note to another


== H ==


harmony: Two or more tones sounding together in a pleasant manner


== I ==


improvisation: Music that does not follow a written score
instrumentation: The writing of music for instruments, or a musical composition
intonation: Exactness of pitch or lack of it


== K ==


key: The home note of a composition; the first note of the predominant scale used
key signature: The sharps or flats at the beginning of a line of music


== L ==


largo: Slow and stately
legato: Smooth
lento: Slow


== M ==
;measure: A bar of music

== N ==
;notation: Written music
;note: A single sound or its representation

== O ==
;octave: a series of eight notes occupying the interval between (and including) two notes, one having twice or half the frequency of vibration of the other.

== P ==
;percussion: A class of instruments that are played by striking a surface with the hand, a stick, or a mallet
;phrase: A segment of music comprising a complete musical thought
;piano: Softly (Symbol: ''p'')
;pianissimo: very softly or quieter. The dynamic range for a pianissimo passage should be quieter than piano, but louder than pianississimo. (Symbol: ''pp'')
;pitch: The frequency of vibration of a note; the ability to distinguish between one note and another
;presto: Fast

== R ==
;register: a particular part of the range of a voice or instrument.
;rest: A pause in written music
;rhythm: The arrangement of notes by duration and accent
;ritardando: A gradual slowing of the music

== S ==
;scale: A series of tones arranged in a specific graduated order
;score: Written music that shows all parts
;sforzando: Forceful, usually accented (Symbol: ''sfz'')
;sharp: A raising of the tone by a half-step (Symbol: ♯)
;solo: For one player (musician), or to be played alone.
;soprano: A high female singing voice
;staccato: The playing of notes in a short, detached manner  (Symbol: . appears over the top of the note)
;staff: A set of five lines used to indicate notes in a written form
;string: A class of instrument played by the vibration of a string or series of strings set to particular tensions

== T ==
;tempo: The speed of a composition of music
;tenor: Normally the highest male singing voice
;theme: A short yet complete musical passage
;tone: A musical sound, or the quality of the musical sound
;tonic: A pitch that is the first degree of a major or minor scale and the tonal center of a piece composed in a particular key
;treble: The highest voice or part of a composition
;trill: A musical effect involving the alternating sounds of a note and the note above it
;turn: A musical effect involving the note, the note above it, the note, and the note below it. Noted with this symbol ~

== U ==
;upbeat: The preparatory sign given prior to the first beat in a bar
;unison: One or more voices or instruments sounding together as one

== V ==
;vibrato: A musical effect involving vibration, used by instrument or voice
;voice: A particular musical line; refers to instrumentation as well as vocal

== W ==
;woodwind: A class of instruments that requires blowing into or across a wooden tube, with tone changed by placement of the fingers over air holes
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