Glossary of
Useful Musical Terms!
The headline says it all… This is a glossary of useful Musical Terms for singers as well as musicians to refer to. It is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it is already rather comprehensive. To know more about the common terms you would need to know as a singer, click on this link now.
The musical terms in this list are arranged in Alphabetical Order for ease of usage. Some alphabets are skipped over due to lack of terms for that specific alphabet.
If you wish to read up more about other basics of singing, click on this link to find out more.
Enjoy, and hope this list is useful for you!
| Musical Terms | Meaning or Description | |
|---|---|---|
| ~~ A ~~ | ||
| Absolute Pitch | Ability to determine the exact pitch of a note as played on a musical instrument just by listening to it | |
| A Cappella | One or more singers performing without instrumental accompaniment | |
| A Tempo | To sing or play as per the original tempo of the song | |
| Accelerando | To gradually quicken the tempo of the song | |
| Accent | Rhythmically significant stress in a line of verse | |
| Accidentals | Any of various signs that indicate the alteration of a note by one or two semitones or the cancellation of a previous sign. | |
| Accompaniment | Music that is played as background to a solo singer or lead instrumentalist | |
| Ad Libitum (Ad Lib; Latin) | At liberty; the performer decides how to sing or play the respective section or notes | |
| Adagio | Slow | |
| Alto | Lowest female voice part in a choir group | |
| Allegro | Lively and quick | |
| Andante | At a moderate tempo | |
| Arpeggio | When the notes of a chord are played quickly, one after another. Usually used as accompaniment for a song, for example, broken chords. | |
| ~~ B ~~ | ||
| Bar | Unit of music contained between 2 bar lines; measure | |
| Baritone | Mid ranged male singing voice | |
| Bass | Lowest of the male singing voices | |
| Bass Clef | A symbol placed on the fourth line of a staff to indicate that the fourth line of the staff corresponds to the F next below middle C; F clef. | |
| Beat | Basic unit of musical rhythm, a single stroke of a rhythmic accent | |
| Bridge | A transitional passage that connects 2 sections of a composition or song. Usually placed after the chorus of a song. | |
| Broken Chord | A chord in which the notes are not played simultaneously at once, but in some consistent sequence. Notes are played either consecutively one after another, or 2 notes by 2 notes in a specific order. | |
| ~~ C ~~ | ||
| Cadence | A musical term referring to a chord sequence that brings an end to a musical phrase | |
| Canon | Musical form where a melody or phrase is imitated by individual instrument or voice parts at various intervals of the song. The melody or phrase may be repeated backwards, inverted, or even at various tempos. | |
| Cantabile | In a singing style | |
| Capo | Head; the beginning | |
| Choir | 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in specific harmony | |
| Chord Progression | A series of chords played in succession | |
| Chorus | A group of singers; The main hook of a song that is repeated many times | |
| Chromatic Scale | A musical scale that includes all the notes within an octave, including sharps and flats. Total of 12 distinct notes within a chromatic scale. | |
| Clef | Symbol at the beginning of the staff that decides the pitch of the notes on the staff. Most common clefs are the treble and bass clef. | |
| Crescendo | A musical term for dynamics direction; gradually getting louder | |
| Coda | Tail; closing section appended to a movement or song | |
| Coloratura | Colouration, ornamentation of a vocal line or phrase. Can also refer to a Soprano voice suited for such colouration or ornamentation. | |
| Common Time | The time signature of 4/4; four beats per measure, each beat a quarter note (a crotchet) in length. 4/4 is often written on the musical staff as ‘C’. | |
| Compound Time | Metrical time such that 3 beats are counted as one; each beat is divisible by 3 | |
| Contralto | Lowest female classical singing voice part | |
| Countertenor | Highest male classical singing voice part | |
| Crotchet | Quarter-note; 1 beat in duration | |
| ~~ D ~~ | ||
| D.S. | Dal Segno | |
| Da Capo | To repeat from the beginning of the piece and ending on the final chord of the song | |
| Dal Segno | Repeat from the Dal Segno (D.S.) sign | |
| Dal Segno al Coda | Repeat from the D.S. sign and continue until directed to move to the Coda, a separate ending section | |
| Dal Segno al Fine | Repeat from the D.S. sign and end at the last bar of the song (Fine) | |
| Decrescendo | Gradually getting softer (Same as Diminuendo) | |
| Demi-semiquaver | One out of 32 parts of a Whole Note; 1/16th of a beat in duration | |
| Diminuendo | Gradually getting softer (Same as Decrescendo) | |
| Dolce | Sweetly | |
| Dominant | 5th note of a musical scale | |
| Dynamics | Loudness or softness of a song. Also refers to the musical terms or symbols defining volume in a song. | |
| Duet | Piece of music written for 2 vocalists or instrumentalists, involving parts to be sung or performed in harmony | |
| ~~ F ~~ | ||
| Falsetto | A weaker and more airy voice, usually in the higher pitch ranges | |
| Fermata | Finished, Closed; Usually referred to as a Pause. A rest or note is to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor. | |
| Fifth | An interval of a distance of 5 notes | |
| Fine | End of song | |
| Flat | To diminish the respective note by 1 semitone | |
| Form | Musical term referring to the structureans-serif” size=”2″> | |
| ~~ E ~~ | ||
| Eighth | An interval of a distance of 8 notes | |
| Encore | Additional song(s) or item(s) performed due to audience request, as indicated by resounding applause or noise, after the last song of a concert or performance. Can also refer to performing the relevant passage of a composition once more. | |
| Enharmonic | 2 notes that differ in name but refer to the same pitch. For example, C sharp and D flat. | |
| Expressivo | To play or sing expressively | |
| Forte | Loud | |
| Fortepiano | Loud then immediately soft | |
| Fortissimo | Very loud | |
| Fourth | An interval of a distance of 4 notes | |
| ~~ G ~~ | ||
| Glissando | Sliding quickly between 2 notes | |
| Grave | Serious and slow | |
| ~~ H ~~ | ||
| Harmony | 2 or 3 tones played together that create a pleasant sound or musical effect, often to back up the melody or solo singer. Can also refer to the study of chord progressions. | |
| ~~ I ~~ | ||
| Interlude | Instrumental music played between scenes in an opera or play. Can also refer to the music break in a song when the singer does not sing. | |
| Interval | Distance in pitch between 2 notes | |
| Inversion | A chord that is not played with the root note at the bottom, but with the other notes of the chord taking the bass position | |
| ~~ K ~~ | ||
| Key | A system of tones and pitches based on the respective key note | |
| Key Signature | The sharps and flats indicated at the beginning of a song, referring to the key of the song or piece of music. | |
| ~~ L ~~ | ||
| Largo | Broadly, slowly | |
| Leading Note | 7th note of a musical scale | |
| Legato | To be sung or played smoothly | |
| Lento | Slowly | |
| ~~ M ~~ | ||
| Major | One of 2 modes of the tonal system. Music that is written using the major key has a positive or happy character. | |
| Measure | Period of a musical piece that indicates a complete cycle of the time signature; for example, in 4/4 time, a measure has 4 crotchet beats. | |
| Mediant | 3rd note of a musical scale | |
| Medley | Musical term referring to sections of various songs that are performed one after another forming one complete song on its own | |
| Mezzo | Medium, Half | |
| Mezzo Forte | Moderately Loud | |
| Mezzo Piano | Moderately Soft | |
| Mezzo Soprano | The second highest female classical singing voice part, just below the Soprano voice | |
| Minim | Half-note; 2 beats in duration | |
| Minor | One of 2 modes of the tonal system. Music that is written using the major key has a negative or sad character. | |
| Modulation | To transition to another key | |
| ~~ N ~~ | ||
| Natural | To return the note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished by a sharp(s) or flat(s) | |
| ~~ O ~~ | ||
| Octave | Musical term referring to 2 notes that are 8 full tones apart, indicating the start and end of a scale | |
| Opera | Performance of a drama where words are sung to instrumental music and not spoken | |
| ~~ P ~~ | ||
| Passaggio | The parts of a singing voice where register transitions occur | |
| Pause | To suspend or stop momentarily | |
| Pedal | To engage the piano or keyboard pedal and cause the respective notes or chords to sound for a longer duration | |
| Pentatonic Scale | A musical term referring to a musical scale consisting of only 5 basic tones. Often used in Oriental or Chinese music. | |
| Pianissimo | Very soft | |
| Piano | Soft, gently | |
| Pre Chorus | The section of a song between the verse and the chorus | |
| Presto | Very fast tempo | |
| ~~ Q ~~ | ||
| Quadruple Time | Measure consisting of 4 beats or pulses, with accents on the 1st and 3rd beats | |
| Quartet | A group of 4 musicians performing a piece of music consisting of 4 parts | |
| Quaver | One-eighth of a Whole Note; ½ a beat in duration | |
| Quintet | A group of 5 musicians performing a piece of music consisting of 5 parts | |
| ~~ R ~~ | ||
| Rallentando | Broadening of the tempo, becoming progressively slower. Similar to Ritardando. | |
| Register | A section of the range of an instrument or a voice | |
| Repeat | To play a certain section again | |
| Rest | To stop playing or singing for the specific note duration | |
| Rit. | Abbreviation for Ritardando. Sometimes used for Ritenuto although less frequent. | |
| Ritardando | Musical term for tempo direction; slowing down, decelerating | |
| Ritenuto | Held back, slower. Usually more so and also more temporarily than a ritardando. Ritenuto may apply to a single note, unlike ritardando. | |
| Root | Principal note of a triad | |
| Root Position | Position of a triad and its notes where the root note is in the bass | |
| ~~ S ~~ | ||
| Scale | Musical term referring to successive notes of a key or mode that are either ascending or descending in a specific defined pattern | |
| Second | An interval of a distance of 2 notes | |
| Segno | Sign, usually used in Dal Segno (D.S.) | |
| Semitone | Half of a tone; the basic pitch unit of the classical music system | |
| Semiquaver | One-sixteenth of a Whole Note; 1/8 of a beat in duration | |
| Seventh | An interval of a distance of 7 notes | |
| Sharp | To raise the pitch of the specific note by 1 semitone | |
| Simple Time | Rhythm characterized by 2 or 3 beats or pulses to a measure | |
| Sixth | An interval of a distance of 6 notes | |
| Slur | A curve over certain note(s) indicating that the respective note(s) are to be played or sung smoothly | |
| Solo | To perform or sing alone | |
| Soprano | The highest female classical singing voice | |
| Staccato | To sing or play in a short or detached manner | |
| Staff | 5 horizontal parallel lines on or between which musical notes are written, indicating their pitch or key | |
| Stave | Also means Staff | |
| Subdominant | 4th note of a musical scale | |
| Submediant | 6th note of a musical scale | |
| Supertonic | 2nd note of a musical scale | |
| Sustain | To sing or play a specific note for the specified duration | |
| ~~ T ~~ | ||
| Tempo | Speed of a piece of music or a song | |
| Tenor | The 2nd highest male classical singing voice part | |
| Tessitura | The most comfortable singing range of a singer | |
| Third | An interval of a distance of 3 notes | |
| Tie | A musical term referring to a curved line over 2 notes that indicates that the note is to be held for the duration specified | |
| Timbre | Tone colour and quality of sound that distinguishes an instrument or singer from another | |
| Time Signature | Symbol at the start of a song or music score, indicating the number of beats to a measure or bar | |
| Tonality | Sum of relations existing between the tones of a scale or musical system. Can also refer to the quality of tones. | |
| Tone | Intonation, pitch and modulation of a piece of music or song, affecting the mood, expression or feel | |
| Tonic | 1st note of a musical scale, also called the keynote | |
| Treble | Highest part in harmonized music. Or, highest pitch or range. | |
| Treble Clef | A sign that indicates the G above middle C, placed on the second line of the staff; Also known as the G clef. | |
| Triple Time | Time signature with 3 beats to the measure | |
| Triplet | 3 notes played in the same amount of time as 1 or 2 beats | |
| Tune | Succession of musical notes, melody for instruments or voices | |
| ~~ U ~~ | ||
| Unison | Various singers or instruments singing or playing the same note(s) together | |
| ~~ V ~~ | ||
| Verse | Section of a song usually at the start, leading to the chorus or pre chorus | |
| Vibrato | Rapidly repeated slight pitch variation during a sustained note, to give a richer and more varied sound | |
| Vivace | Brisk, lively and spirited | |
| Voce | Voice | |
| Voice | One of 2 or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrument parts as well as singing voice parts. | |
| ~~ W ~~ | ||
| Whole Note | A whole note is equivalent to 4 beats or 2 half notes | |
| Whole Tone Scale | A musical term referring to a musical scale that consists of only whole-tone notes. This scale only has 6 basic notes. | |
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