Continuing our glossary of musical terms and the occasional “don’t say that”.
Embouchure - The application of a mouthpiece to a brass or woodwind instrument.
Energico - Play energetically.
Enharmonic Equivalent - Notes that sound the same but are written differently (G# and Ab (for example))
Episode - A section of music within a rondo or a fugue. Creates a contrast.
Exposition - The first section of sonata form where the ideas are introduced.
Falsetto - The voice used by male singers to sing in the female range. The Bee Gees and Mika use this voice a lot.
Figured Bass - A type of notation used for continuo parts. The bass line is written out and has numbers underneath telling the player which chords to play.
Flanger - An intense phaser guitar effect.
Flat - A symbol (b) that indicates to lower a note by a semitone.
Forte (f) - Loud
Fortissimo (ff) - Very loud.
Fugue - A structure from the Baroque period consisting of imitation and counterpoint.
Fusion - A musical genre created by fusing two (or more) genres.
Gigue - A dance from the 17th Century. It has a regular beat and a lively tempo.
Giocoso - Light-hearted and playful.
Glissando (gliss.) - A slide between two notes.
Grandioso - Grandly.
Grave - Very slow and solemn.
Ground Bass - A repeating bass line played with variations.
Hammer-On - Guitar technique whereby the first note is played and the second (and beyond) note is played by adding the finger in the appropriate fret on the same string. It gives a legato sound.
Harmonic Interval - An interval created by two notes played at the same time (to create harmony).
Harmonic Rhythm - The way that chords are played. There are three types:
Regular - The chords change in the same way using the same rhythmic pattern
Static - The chord stays the same.
Irregular - The chords change in an irregular manner.
Hemiola - The music feels like it’s in three when it’s actually in four (or vice versa)
Heterophonic - All parts have different variations of the same tune
Home Key - The key that a piece of music starts and ends in.
Homophonic - The tune is accompanied by chords keeping the same rhythm (more or less).
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