Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about musical terms. Questions about symbols should use the "notation" tag.
629
questions
2
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2answers
37 views
Are non-functioning secondary dominants the same as deceptive secondary dominants?
If you have a chord progression like this: V7/V IV
I've seen different websites that have different names for this:
Non-functioning secondary dominant
Deceptive secondary dominant
Secondary ...
3
votes
2answers
61 views
Canceling the rubato sign
Hi if I write rubato in the beginning of a piece, is there an expression to cancel the rubato from here and further, you need to play on time. In other words not rubato?
1
vote
1answer
49 views
What is the correct spelling of Bar chord?
Occasionally I respond to questions here, and I try to be correct in my answers, but in my literature and online investigations I've seen Bar-chord spelled or misspelled at least three different ways, ...
2
votes
1answer
43 views
What is the practical impact or use of a dodecagram?
Looking for an answer about modulation and affects I came across with the term "dodecagram".
So I was interested whether this has been already asked here, as I think it would be quite useful but I ...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
Power Supply vs Battery for Guitar Effect Pedal?
I'd like to get an external battery for my reverb pedal, I have a Strymon Big Sky. But everywhere I look people are talking about "Power Supplies" and I'm not sure if it's the same thing as a battery, ...
2
votes
1answer
35 views
Sonatas for piano and violin?
I'd just like to ask if there's a difference between a sonata (or any duet for that matter) for piano and violin vs sonata for violin and piano? I was watching a performance online and saw comments ...
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Stressing the third beat more than the first in 4/4: is it syncopation?
The definitions of syncopation I've come across generally talk about stressing the offbeat (see, for example, Wikipedia) where "offbeat" sometimes refers to placing the accent in between beats (on the ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
What can I call these sustained tones, under which the harmony changes but does not create dissonance?
In an analysis of Haydn's "Piano Variations in F minor" my student has used the term "pedals" to describe the first 3 Es of the piece in the top line/right hand...and also the 3 Fs at the end of bar 2....
2
votes
3answers
80 views
Does the concept of rhyme make sense when describing music?
We're all familiar with the concept of lyrical rhymes. For example, the words through, curfew and blue all rhyme despite being spelled differently because the sound of their final syllable is the same....
2
votes
3answers
91 views
What to call groups of measures?
I'm making a music game. It's a dancing game to electronic music at 120ish bpm in 4/4 time (I'm assuming).
I have beats, and 4 of those make a measure.
But dancers yell that 5,6,7,8 before dancing, ...
7
votes
5answers
545 views
What's the difference between a rolled chord and a broken chord?
Question is self-explanatory. What's the difference? I don't see it explained at all online, much less clearly and simply.
3
votes
3answers
92 views
Is this an appoggiatura?
Would you call the A going to G in the second group of 16th notes here an appoggiatura? It seems to fit the definition because it is approached by a leap. However, what makes me feel unsure is that ...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
Is there a term for an instrumental descant?
There are many songs that have an instrument (my favorite usually involve a trumpet) playing a high melody (or maybe "melodic flourish") above the main melody. I would call this is a "descant", except ...
7
votes
3answers
328 views
Should the āaā in āpoco a/à pocoā be accented in the original Italian?
This oneās mostly for language nerds:
I usually see āpoco a pocoā spelled without an accent on the āaā, but now and again I see it spelled āpoco Ć pocoā ā itās written that way in some scores, and ...
2
votes
4answers
380 views
A better word for diatonicism?
First, I'd like to say that I'm a non native english speaker, and that I'm an amateur in music theory.
Context : Yesterday someone posted this question : What's the point of diatonicism if we don&...
1
vote
4answers
82 views
Did the music of the common practice period always end with a full measure?
If there are pieces which end with an incomplete measure, then what would be some examples? And is there a term for an incomplete measure at the end? Something that would be the opposite of anacrusis.
2
votes
2answers
115 views
Two types of chromatic chord progressions?
Sometimes chromatic progressions seem to just shift a chord a certain amount of semi-tones with no regards to the scale like chromatic mediants and chromatic planing, chromatic alterations, etc. But ...
3
votes
4answers
97 views
Term for conversion between different tonalities (C major to C minor, etc.)
(Inspired by this recent question:)
If we theorists reserve "transposition" for shifting everything by specific intervals, like every note goes down by a minor 3rd, what do we say when someone ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
What is the formal definition of 'transpose'?
I've heard people use the word "transpose" to describe going from a major key to a minor one. I've heard other people say that's an incorrect usage because you can only transpose in the same tonality....
3
votes
4answers
165 views
Why did Bach call them “Inventions”?
Wikipedia defines a musical invention as a short composition (usually for a keyboard instrument) with two-part counterpoint and goes on to say inventions are mainly associated with Bach.
OK. So ...
1
vote
3answers
90 views
What kind of melodic inversion is this?
My understanding of melodic inversion (strict and diatonic) is taking a melody/motif, beginning on the same note and moving in the opposite direction. However, in the IB Music Revision Guide's ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Is anything that doesn't have a pitch considered noise?
If we take drums for example like snare, kick, cymbals, etc. They don't have a pitch I was wondering if they're in the "noise family" like pink, white, brown noise. Generally, is anything that doesn't ...
4
votes
2answers
71 views
Third resonant frequency when two notes are played
I have noticed that when two notes - relatively spaced apart, more than a tone and less than an octave - are played, there is a third frequency that can be heard, and this frequency lies between the ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
How to pronounce “sul G”?
This is an instruction that you might see in violin music. I normally pronounce Italian musical terms as accurately as my linguistic skills allow. For example, I would pronounce the "c" in "sul ...
4
votes
2answers
73 views
What is the difference between the Romantic and post-romantic periods?
This question came about when I was reading Blair Allen Johnstonās dissertation, āHarmony and Climax in the late works of Sergei Rachmanioffā
He loosely groups the post romantic period within 1890-...
1
vote
2answers
79 views
How to properly repeat an entire song which already has with repeats?
What is the best way to repeat an entire song, including the first and second ending? Basically, I have a very short song that I would like to play through two times, which means also playing through ...
-1
votes
2answers
57 views
Is a midi track in a DAW called a sequencer?
Say we create a midi track in a DAW like Logic or Ableton and we record some notes to it via some midi controller. I'm wondering if that track is now considered to be a sequencer? And if we created ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Are all plugins VST plugins?
Whenever someone mentions a plugin for a daw like Logic, Ableton, etc. Is it always a VST plugin? so 'VST plugin' and 'plugin' is synonymous?
6
votes
2answers
127 views
Jazz, and the adjectives “nasty/disgusting” in context of a good performance
I want to preface this by saying that this is a really dumb question, but here goes.
When describing some praised jazz performance, an adjective that sometimes pops up is "nasty or disgusting" (or ...
5
votes
2answers
104 views
What is the term for a rapid succession of chords in alternating hands?
In piano music there's the technique called blind octaves where you create a rumbling melody over three octaves by playing the melody itself with the thumbs of your left and right hands alternatively, ...
3
votes
2answers
78 views
What is this octotonic scale? [duplicate]
Another post of scale idientification: What scale has these notes : C D Eb F Gb Ab A B? It is a octotonic 8-note ascending scale .
3
votes
3answers
111 views
Implied Meaning of “Original Arrangement”
What is the implied meaning of "Original Arrangement" in the context of, say, a YouTube video ā would the reader think that this is
(1) the arrangement of the piece of music when it was first ...
3
votes
4answers
372 views
What would you call this scale?
Its basically a Dorian Scale with #4
F G Aā B C D Eā F
Don't know what to call it
2
votes
1answer
95 views
How to state the range of a song
My professor wants us to explain the range of a song by stating, for example, "range of an octave plus a 4th" rather than "the range is D to G"... because it may be different if transposed.
My ...
0
votes
2answers
39 views
What is it called when there is a lyrical transition to the chorus/hook?
There are many songs that do this, the latest one I've identified is:
A$AP Mob - Yamborghini High (Official Music Video) ft. Juicy J (youtube,genius)
Specifically this line here:
She make no ...
1
vote
2answers
104 views
What are Upbeats and Downbeats in a 16 Step Sequencer?
I'm trying to figure out the terminology of upbeats and downbeats in regards to a step sequencer. In this image of a 16 step sequencer, each box represents 1/16 of a measure:
Is it correct to say ...
2
votes
3answers
83 views
To what exactly does the Note Value refer?
I'm starting to learn Music Theory and I don't really understand time signatures.
Let's say we have time sig 3/4, so one beat is 1/4, means one 1/4 note is a beat, or a 128th of a Minute at 128 BPM.
...
16
votes
8answers
4k views
Exactly what does “diatonic” mean?
Is the meaning very context dependent, or can it be defined in general terms? Does the meaning change by author or period?
Sometimes it's used to refer to anything that stays within a specific tonal ...
9
votes
1answer
262 views
Is there a name for a violin with five strings?
Is there a distinguishing name for this stringed instrument that is, as best as I an find, otherwise referred to as a "five-string violin?"
6
votes
4answers
226 views
What is the term for skipping notes in a familiar melody, so that the listener imagines them?
There is a technique in composition where certain notes in a familiar melody are entirely skipped, so that they are not played but are still imagined. This usually happens (or is noticeable) in the ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
What is an MC/Producer in Hip-Hop/Rap?
I saw this terminology used in an article I was reading and was wondering what an MC/Producer was. I am not that familiar with rap or hip-hop terminology so was curious what it meant. Thanks.
-1
votes
1answer
66 views
What does the term “ex tempore” mean?
I was going to give an answer and in this quotation about Werckmeister I encountered the term ex tempore.
enter link description here
I first thought this means memorizing and playing by heart.
A ...
1
vote
2answers
60 views
What is it called when the “one” of a phrase, or 8-count is accented?
The verses of the song Whatchugot by Caro Emerald have a very obvious bop every 8 beats.
I'd like to find other pop songs that highlight the 1 of each 8 count, or even better the 1 of each 32-count ...
4
votes
5answers
266 views
What is the technical term for the note names C, D, E, F, G, A, and H?
I'm trying to find out whether my knowledge of the theory is correct, so this question might look a bit silly.
There's the term pitch. Pitch allows objectively tell whether two sounds are equal, and ...
3
votes
1answer
88 views
What Does This Pushing Technique Do?
I have watched a number of guitarists do a certain technique before where they push on the upper body of the guitar near where they strum. I have seen it done on both on acoustic and on electric ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Difference between appoggiatura, acciaccatura and grace note
I seem to get easily confused between the 3 terms. Is an appoggiatura a grace note? How can I distinguish each of them in a music score?
1
vote
3answers
108 views
Shell voices - what does it mean?
Iāve tried to answer a question about voicings in Jazz. I was not sure if it was concerning a 4 part or unlimited part voicing.
Now Iāve seen that Iāve overlooked in the title of the question the ...
4
votes
1answer
465 views
What is the āTrioā in a march?
During a band rehearsal the bandmaster may ask when playing a march: Letās start from the trio!
a) What is meant by this term?
b) where does it come from?
4
votes
2answers
78 views
bumpers and sounders: the same meaning as stinger or different?
Trying to find an answer about searching for the last accentuated note of e.g. a March there have been several answers mentioning stinger.
I wonder where sounders and bumpers are identical? When I ...
24
votes
4answers
5k views
What's the short and accented note at the very end of a song called?
In some songs, there is a short and accented note at the very end, usually as the last note. Is there a special term for this note besides calling it the "last note"?
Examples:
"Hamilton" from ...
