Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about the terms used to describe music or the language used within the musical field. Questions about symbols should use the "notation" tag.
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Is "shower" a known term among professional orchestras?
In the English translation of "Absolutely on Music," Seiji Ozawa recounts an episode at La Scala in which the musicians of the orchestra rallied behind him:
Page 236 from the paperback:
...
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How is the phrase "composers of the canon" likely to be understood? (from the opening of the 2022 film Tár)
The 2022 feature film Tár (also IMDB) is recognized as having some degree of accuracy and trueness with respect to music and direction, so I think it's OK to premise my question as follows.
The film ...
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What does “mm. 1-6” mean in music terms?
What does the expression “mm. 1-6” mean in music terms? My homework is requiring me to find the embellished notes (non-chord). The excerpt is from Clara Wieck Schumann, Larghetto, Op. 15, No.1. But ...
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Is there a name for this chord progression?
Is there a name for this chord progression happening at the end of a riff before returning to the tonic which is Cm ?
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Chopin's Op. 66 Fantaisie-Impromptu - "ed. accel." - what does it really mean?
I came across the Josef Friedrich edition of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66 that claims to follow the recently discovered manuscript of the piece in Chopin's autograph. This edition is also ...
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Can the term "iso-polyphony" be used generally, or is it considered only Albanian?
According to Unesco article on Albanian folk iso-polyphony,
The term iso is related to the ison of Byzantine church music and refers to the drone accompanying polyphonic singing.
Wikipedia and many ...
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Is there a name for the fundamental beat in drum and bass (not the amen or funky drummer samples)
Most of the Drum and Bass tracks I listen to have a main section where there is a very simple characteristic pattern that has the snare on 2 and 4 and the kick drum on 1 and the 'and' of 3.
so in 8ths ...
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What is the TYPE of software called that allows you to compose and synthesize music?
So, I don't know the first thing about music.... but that doesn't mean I don't want to mess around and see what I can come up with. I've always wanted to try and compose something digitally, on a PC.
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What are the intervals in terms of tonal value? [duplicate]
The obvious thing to say right away is that intervals can be perfect, major and minor. I think this is no secret to anyone. At the same time, perfect intervals cannot be major and minor and vice versa....
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What instrument is between the double bass and octobass?
The double bass (2× bass) and octobass (8× bass) are each instruments. Is there an instrument occupying the 4× bass slot between them? If so, what’s it called? If not, why not?
(Thanks for the ...
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What's the terminology of a notation where the stem is on the opposite side of the usual location?
Sometimes in a piano score I find notes with stems on the opposite side of the usual location such as in Myra Hess's transcription of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring where the downward stem is to the ...
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What are so-called 'parallel modes' modes OF?
'Mode' is an inherently relational term roughly synonymous of 'way' or 'manner' in which something can manifest itself, and, therefore, to say that something finds itself, functions, appears, etc. in ...
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What do you call the part at the end of a song where the singer(s) sing a single line very quickly?
I was listening to the soundtrack of Schmigadoon Season 2 (Schmicago?), and I noticed that the last bit of the song Bustin' Out had the singers sing a line at a much higher tempo compared to the rest ...
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CDEF Why doesn't this fancy chord have a fancy name?
I accidentally discovered a chord consisting of these four notes F,E,D,C 6 years ago. I was immediately fascinated by it.
I was a music novice at that time and knew nothing. In other words, this ...
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what do you call it when your melody sets up a tension and then answers that tension by resolving it?
I'm trying to remember the term for a riff or melody or theme where the first half ends on sort of a questioning or tension note then sort of repeats itself but the second half ends on a strong ...
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Figure or other general terms for building blocks of accompaniment (or melody)
As some might know, I am yet another nerd with more theory books on the shelf than piano practice, believing music can be made with computers. Still without any touch of A.I. in use, but in a sense ...
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Looking for a term to refer to a certain drums pattern (not a drumroll)
In popular (i.e., non-classical) music, especially in rock/pop and similar styles: is there a term used to refer to a pattern where the drums delineate a transition between two distinct passages, or ...
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Does there exist a closed definition of music?
First off, I know there exists great subjectivity in music. But excluding things like preferred composer, style, or genre...Is it possible to create a closed definition for music?
I've come across a ...
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Guitar technique terminology: adjacent strings held together to create percussive rattle/buzz
I recently watched a video of Márton Stummer playing a song where he purposely used his fretting hand to hold adjacent pairs of strings together to create a percussive rattling/buzzing sound. The link ...
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Bass line goes bom bom bom bom
I’m a middle aged man, shamefully late to classical music. I’ve noticed that in a lot of pieces at the end of what I think of as a line, the deeper sounding instruments round it off with a bom-bombom-...
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What's the name of the form of the song "12 Days of Christmas"?
What's the name of the form of the song 12 Days of Christmas, or the "style" of the composition, where a new "verse" is accumulated as follows:
A
BA
CBA
DCBA
EDCBA
FEDCBA
GFEDCBA
...
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Does the jazz term 'head' refer to both instrumental and vocal themes?
For some reason I associate the term 'head' with bebop era and elaborate instrumental melodies, not with songs with lyrics. Does it sound natural to 'play the head' of a Tin Pan Alley song (which ...
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What does it mean for a chord to be relative to the Dominant?
From Max Reger's Modulation:
"...relative (E minor) to the Dominant (G major) of C major [...] this E minor (1st inversion) which is also relative to the subdominant (G major) of D Major..."...
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Terminology for stringed notes between the nut and the head tuners
After the end of the guitar fretboard, it is still possible to attack each string in this little space between the nut and the tuners.
What is the name of this technique/notes?
I thought of harmonics ...
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Is there a musical term for the "swinging" chord sequences in songs like Thomas the Tank Engine's intro?
I'm not trained in any particular musical discipline so my terminology will be awry here. I'm interested if there's a term for the "back and forth" swinging chord pattern that you can hear ...
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When was the word "octave" first used?
I was rereading Etymology of word "Octave" just now, and I noticed many people, myself included, speculating on the impact of the medieval state of the mathematics, the timing of the ...
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What is the meaning and common use of "ad libitum" ("ad lib.")?
In Latin, "libita" means "will, pleasure", hence "ad libitum" means "at your will / as you please". When preceded by another word, it becomes clear what ...
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What exactly constitutes Unison?
Following on from a recent question regarding 'unison', my research comes up with some diverse explanations.
'Perfect Unison' itself is two or more instruments playing the same pitch, when the ...
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Humming to Brian Eno's "Needles in the Camel's Eye"
The question I have is prompted by the song "Needles in the Camel's Eye" by Brian Eno, in particular the opening instrumental bars. (Though I think I've noticed the phenomenon I'm going to ...
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How are notes named in Japan?
We use A - G or tonic sol fa. Do the Japanese label notes differently? How was their music notated before western colonisation?
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Sad 70's "Wa-wa" electric guitar riff - What is it called?
The sound effect I am alluding to occurs near the end of the Stairway to Heaven guitar solo:
at timestamp 6:25; and also in the closing scene to the Rocky Horror Picture ...
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What's the purpose of annotating "colla parte" in the piano accompaniment of a solo instrument?
I came across 2 mentions of colla parte in Adolf Huber's Student Concertino Op. 6 No. 2 for violin and piano (see score here) in page 3:
According to Oxford Companion to Music the meaning is
"...
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What is the name of this "change" of notes?
Is there a name for when part of a song that is repeatedly sung with the same notes within the song is later sung with different notes?
For example, the notes that Hugh Jackman uses to sing the word &...
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Which word can be used to describe either the beat or the subdivision?
Say I have a metronome that plays a sound on the beat and no sound on any of the subdivisions.
Say my goal is to clap my hands whenever the beat sound is played AND whenever I feel the subdivision(s) ...
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Why is this image from pianochord.org for A11 labeled as an inversion, when its lowest pitch note is an A?
Backstory:
Programmer.
Teaching myself piano.
Programatically building sheet music that will comprehensively cover a great number of chords, as comprehensive as it is reasonably useful and can be ...
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Is "secco" really used in piano music?
Secco is Italian for dry. Many sources define the term within the context of recitativo secco, i.e. with sparse accompaniment. Wikipedia describes an appropriate realization for basso continuo.
Two ...
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What does this “Imo” sign mean?
In the bassoon part of Al fato dàn legge in Mozart’s Così fan tutte — Act I, Scene IV, No. 7, there is this Imo sign:
Can anyone explain its meaning?
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Inversion naming conventions
Does the name of the inversions (first, second, etc.) refer to a specific interval (3rd, 5th, etc.) or just the next chord tone?
For example, a Cmaj7 chord in first inversion starts with the 3rd, and ...
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What is it called when a melodic progression stays the same but the chord progression changes?
I hear this from time to time and love it, but I have no idea what this is called. The melody stays the same, the chord progression changes, and the whole feel of the song shifts. Here is an example.
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What are the terms figure, segment and cell?
According to the Wikipedia article on Cell, it "may be distinguished from the figure", however the definition that is later quoted as "the smallest indivisible unit" is very ...
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What does "prevailing harmony" mean?
While I was reading up on passing tones, I encountered this example:
Example 15–7 presents an expansion of a C-major chord over two beats: the lower voice leaps down from the third of the chord to the ...
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scale degree notation question
While watching Seth Monahan's Youtube videos on Classical harmony and counterpoint,
I noticed that he used ^1 ^2 ^3 ^4 ^5 ^6 ^7 for minor scale.
I have read harmony books on different genres other ...
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What is the difference between a Musical Mashup and a DJ Mix?
The difference between them confuses me.
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Quantification of listed tempos
Where get definitive numbers for tempos in my music book, specifically Mel Bay's (Roger Filiberto's, New Sounds for Electric Bass and Guitar?
Specific examples include wanting BPM of the following ...
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What does Pedale ad lib mean?
I want to know what Pedale ad lib means. I have tried many ways to find out, but I still don’t understand what it means. Can anyone help me please?
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What is it called when the root is omitted from a chord?
The Wikipedia page on chord notation does not mention any specific notation for a chord where the root is omitted. However, omitting the root note is quite commonplace, and the result sounds different ...
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Modes Scales and Keys
Is it correct to refer to modes as keys, or are they simply modes? If they're not keys, how come C Ionian is referred to as the major key, and its relative minor key, Am, (Aeolian), referred to as the ...
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Why is it called Camelot wheel? Why Camelot?
I read on https://dj.studio/blog/camelot-wheel:
The Camelot Wheel is a modern system to help DJs navigate the musical keys of their music.
It's based on the circle of fifths, with the only difference ...
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New tongue drum - no musical experience whatsoever - notes map? [duplicate]
I just purchased a new tongue drum off eBay. The listing title was: "BURNING&LIN Steel Tongue Drum" but under brand on the listing's details page, is: "Unbranded." It is 15&...
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Fuzzy notes or some clearer, well-known term out there for what I mean?
Pondering about a yet-to-implement feature in a DIY software tool, also to be yet well-documented for other computer musicians who might be interested in the future.
The tool is an interpreter or ...
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