Keywords

• Ornamentation refers to decorations to the melody.
• Acciaccatura is a crushed note, played in as short a time as possible, notated as a small note with a diagonal line through the stem to show that it really has no value.
• Lip trills use the lips to produce a trill effect on brass instruments rather than the valves.
• Mordent is a musical ornament involving moving rapidly from one note, to another, then back again.
• Portamento is the sliding from one pitch to another.
• Tremolo is a rapidly repeated note or a rapid alternation between two different notes, the note or notes to be played in this way are shown with one or more lines crossways through the stem to indicate the speed of repetition.
• Trill is a rapid alternation between two note s.
• Turn is a musical ornament consisting of the note above the written note, the written note, the note below and the written note again.
• Articulation in music can be Marcato (marked, i.e., accented) or Legato (played smoothly) or Staccato (played crisply, detached).
• Texture in music refers to the way that the various instrumental or vocal parts relate to one another.
• Monophonic music consists of a single unaccompanied melody line.
• Homophonic music is a musical texture in which all parts move in a similar rhythm creating a chordal effect.
• Polyphonic music is a musical texture where two or more parts move independently of each other.
• Contrapuntal music is two or more independent melodic lines performed at the same time.
• Call and response refers to a musical texture whereby one musician or group of musicians makes a musical statement and this is immediately answered by another musician or group of musicians.
• Imitation in music is one part copying or imitating another, not necessarily at the same pitch.
• Antiphonal music is where a bar or phrase is alternated between two instruments, groups of instruments or singers; from 'anti' (opposite' or 'against') and 'phonos' (voice).
• Unison music is when two or more people perform the same note or melody.
• Harmony in music refers to the chords and cadences used.
• Diminished seventh is a chord built up of minor thirds.
• Dominant seventh is the dominant chord plus an extra note a minor seventh above the root or first note.
• Drone is a harmonic effect where a single note or chord is sustained throughout a musical phrase.
• Imperfect cadence in music is when the last chord is chord V (the dominant) creating an unfinished effect.
• Inverted pedal in music is when the pedal (the sustained or repeated note) is played at a higher pitch than the other parts.
• Inversions in music is when any note from the chord appears as the lowest in pitch other than the root.
• A horn section is a group of wind/brass instruments in rock, soul, jazz etc.
• Automatic Double Tracking (ADT) is a technique for creating a double tracking effect through the use of tape delay, which can also now be done digitally.
• A segue is a smooth, uninterrupted transition from the end of one piece of music to the beginning of another.
• Feedback is a technique using the amplifier to set up vibration with the strings on electric guitar producing a howling effect.
• Staccato is an instruction to play the notes crisply, detached, which is shown in the music by placing dots above or below the notes being played.
• Rap is a vocal part that combines elements of speech, rhythm and chant.
• A rim shot is a technique where the snare drum player places one stick across the rim of the drum, resting on the skin, and then hits this stick with the other stick, producing a short, loud sound.
• Tabla is an Indian drum where the pitch can be altered by pressing on the skin.
• Pizzicato is a technique for plucking rather than bowing a stringed instrument such as the Violin or 'Cello.
• A sitar is a plucked string instrument found mainly in Indian music.
• Tambura is a lute-like stringed instrument producing a drone.
• Vibrato is a technique for making a note vibrate rather than playing/singing it pure.
• Direct Input Transfer (DIT) is a technique for recording directly into the mixing desk or computer with the aid of an amplifier.
• Tone is the sound quality of an instrument or voice.
• The harmonic series is the range of notes available to a brass player by tightening or slackening the pressure of his or her lips on the mouthpiece.