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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Two categories of scales
There are scales like C-Major or Eb harmonic Minor or A-octatonic or G# Mixo(#11) or E-acoustic. Heck, what not, a plenty of scales actually, more you could imagine to be listed here.
And there are ...
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Why don't guitar chords and staff notations match each other?
The G7 chord in root position on a fretboard diagram for guitar looks like this:
But in staff notation, the G7 chord in root position looks like:
The correct representation of the notes on the ...
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When was the term "scale degree" coined? Or where did it originate?
Today is the first time I've heard the term "scale degree". When was the term coined? Or where did it originate?
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What does the phrase “a bar for nothing” mean?
I’ve heard this phrase most commonly used when counting off a song in a jazz context. The MD will say “I’ll give you a bar for nothing” and then count off the song.
What does it mean?
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Different meanings of "third"?
Third can refer to:
an interval (major or minor third)
the pitch class that is one third away from the tonic
the third scale degree
In case of the meaning 2., the pitch class that is one third away ...
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Term for two notes played together only a half step apart
What is the term for two notes played on a piano that are only a half step apart, such as a C and a C# being played together?
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Diminished chord terminology
What’s the terminology for changing a major triad into a diminished chord?
C major – C°7 – Gmin7 – C7 etc.
I can’t remember the term!
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What's wrong with pinky use in classical guitar playing/
In classical guitar music, there is often an inclusion of pima referring to which plucking fingers are suggested for playing certain strings/frets/notes.
Whatever happened to pinky? Is that a frowned-...
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What does "S.D." mean, and why does it have only one staff line?
As you can see in the picture, the fourth line is marked S.D. with a few notes.
What is the meaning of S.D.? And what are these notes (Do, Re, Mi…?) and how are they to be played?
I know it is for ...
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Terminology for Note Hold/Released Fractions in Rhythm?
I'm trying to figure out what (Western musical) terms are most accurate to use in documentation I am writing for an electronic music file format. In these formats there is a parameter that specifies ...
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What is this scale: (Bb, C#, D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb)
I merged Bb major and D major to see what comes up. The scale has the notes: Bb, C#, D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb.
What scale is this?
Can I have chords in this scale?
Let me know!
Notation for the scale:
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Is there a name for the technique of alternating left and right hand in piano?
There is a technique in piano in which one plays a melody by alternating the left and right hand.
A well known example is in Bach's toccata and fugue in D minor, in the toccata part (right after the ...
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8th note value on TuxGuitar
I am studying Les Claypool's bass style, and for this, I am making a single gp5 file with some of his most iconic bass riffs to study. So I got them all together and don't need to open a file for each ...
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Drumming bridge/crescendo
Do drummers have a name for this particular kind of bridge/crescendo, for example:
Life in the Fast Lane - Eagles (3:57)
Who We Are - Camel (4:22)
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What is the difference between "Asynchronous" and "Syncopated" meters?
While working the above problem, I found it difficult to understand the difference between "asynchronous" and "syncopated" meters. I understand that the first meter is a simple ...
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What is this harmony in this pokemon battle theme?
Fair warning: I'm more-or-less a complete neophyte when it comes to music theory.
I Bede's theme from Pokemon Sword/Shield, there's a piano riffing in a descending manner in the harmony in a really ...
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Easiest brass instrument to transpose with?
my real goal is to pick a brass instrument to pick up, but I don't know the right words to research what I want.
I have a strong ear, so certain instruments are easier than others for me.
So one ...
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What's it called when the Melody and Harmony are half a measure out-of-sync?
As an example in caveman speak, the melody goes ONE-2-3-4-ONE-2-3-4, and the harmony goes 1-2-THREE-4,1-2-THREE-4.
I'm not sure this is actually an example of what I'm talking about, but in the intro ...
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Is George Bizet's l'Arlesienne suite an example of counterpoint?
I've always loved the l'Arlesienne suite, and intrigued by the way the two melodies overlap near the end. Is there a specific musical term for this overlap? Is is counterpoint, or round, or something ...
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Why do we "play" an instrument rather than "work" an instrument? [closed]
There's a line in the Steely Dan song Deacon Blues that mentions "working" a saxophone rather than "playing" one. But why do we say "play" rather than "work"? ...
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Is there a term for the number of words in a libretto?
I'm writing a large work (30+ minutes) for chorus and orchestra, and have just finished my first pass at writing the libretto. There is quite a lot of text and I worry it's too many words to fit the ...
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Is there a name for the first beat in a piece (not including the anacrusis)?
I am looking for a specific, distinct name for the first beat in the first bar. The anacrusis or pickup measure should not be considered.
Context
This is for a label in a software for playback-based ...
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What is the preferred musicology term for "classical music"?
What is the preferred, more precise English-language musicology term for the genre of music which North Americans typically call “classical music”? I mean the broader meaning of "classical", ...
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can someone explain (and give examples) what is, or how to describe what the 'STYLE' of a song it in analysing music?
I am struggling to understand in music, when analysing songs, what is meant by 'style'. I know it is different to musical structure. I'm having trouble getting my head around it, can anyone help and ...
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Strange Tempo Marking [duplicate]
I was overviewing some classical sheet music and saw this strange tempo marking.
What does "Tempo 10" mean exactly?
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What is this descending riff of notes referred to as?
In this battle song from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed, between 1:09 and 1:13, there's a jazzy piano riff of notes that steadily descend. Something about it really sticks out to me, and ...
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What's holding arpeggiated chords in piano called?
What does this technique called? Also, what's the proper notation for this? The audio link is attached below.
https://voca.ro/19p4jeWEK5g8
Edit:
It sounds like fast arpeggio repeated over and over ...
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What is musicality (in general)? [closed]
I hope I will find an answer to this question too, even though it is not strictly about music.
But to not lose everything, I ask the question which should be on topic: what is musicality (in general)?
...
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Why is a minor chord or key considered to be "lesser?"
I am trying to understand why the terms major and minor, meaning greater and lesser, are applied to chords and keys. Why is a minor chord considered to be lesser and a major chord greater?
I ...
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What Does Vertical and Horizontal Improvisation Mean?
In a question from around 8 years ago, one answer quoted jazz and rock/blues as using vertical and horizontal improvising, respectively. Never heard those terms. What are they representing?
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What is the difference between an ensemble and a section in an orchestra?
I just got an orchestral library called Iconica by Steinberg which has ensembles, sections and players. The "players" samples are individual instruments but there are also ensembles and ...
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Chords building blocks
Are chords the same building blocks as notes in a song? Like do every song consist of certain chord progressions? You can reharmonize a song by changing the chord progression can't you? But you can't ...
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Scales name convention
Suppose I take the whole step half step pattern from C major scale. Why can't I just impose this pattern to make C# major, D major, D# major, E major, F major ... this way? How to determine if its ...
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What is the best name for a short composition (Suite, Sonata, Partita, etc.)?
I have a short composition and I would like to give it a name but I don't know what term would be more appropriate (Suite, Sonata, Partita, another one?). The composition has a duration of 1:21, uses ...
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How to cancel the term "sotto voce"
I have always understood the term sotto voce to be more of an expressive instruction - a feeling - than a specific dynamic mark. It's used to mark a passage (often in vocal music, but it's not ...
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is there a term besides span or interval to desribe the distance between two frets on the fret board?
I'm a programmer who struggles naming his variables (go figure). Working on a guitar chord api, and already have a designation for the names 'span' and 'interval'. I'm not overly familiar with guitar ...
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What chord do we get by raising the fifth of a minor triad?
Raising the fifth of a major triad gives an augmented triad. For example, you can get from C (C-E-G) to C+ (C-E-G♯) by raising the fifth.
However, what happens if this is done to a minor triad? Doing ...
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Which musical form is a Trez(z)a?
Consider the Intrada con Trezza in D minor by J.H. Schmelzer. The score has two movements: Intrada followed by Treza.
I wondered whether a Trez(z)a is some kind of musical form (like Menuet etc.).
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What is the musical term for a song that uses a higher key for its last chorus?
While listening to a playlist of music from the 1980s / 1990s / early 2000s, I noticed that many of the songs have a pattern where the last chorus is sung in a much higher key than the previous ...
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Why are diminished fifths called tritones?
The word "tritone" basically means three whole tones. In the C major scale, we find this between F and B as F-G-A-B. This interval is also called an augmented fourth. However, a diminished ...
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What is the correct term for "front swing" or "front shuffle"?
Swing and shuffle are generally defined as moving the off-beat closer to the end of the measure. What's the reverse of this?
What is it called when the off/up beat is moved closer to the beginning of ...
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What is the etymology of word "chromatic" (= relating to color) in music?
Regarding "chromatic," I found on Wiktionary:
Latin chrōmaticus, from Ancient Greek χρωματικός (khrōmatikós, “relating to colour; one of the three types of tetrachord in Greek music”)
Then ...
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What do you call it when two different melodies are combined? [duplicate]
Say that Alice has a theme song with a certain melody. Also, Bob has his own theme with a certain melody. But during a scene where Alice and Bob are together, both melodies are played together at once ...
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Is there any name or theory around every other chord changing "early", on the four-beat?
Is there a name for the following chord change rhythm? I was trying to see if I could make an acoustic-strummed version of "King of Wishful Thinking" sound good, and I couldn't help but ...
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What is the name of the drum sound where the hi-hat creates a "riser" by opening after being hit?
There's a very common drumming technique, usually towards the end of a bar, where the hi-hat is hit while being opened creating a "riser" sound.
I had always thought it was called a "...
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What is the definition of folk music and how does it differ from traditional music?
I've been thinking about the terms folk music and traditional music.
Traditional music seems in most cases to mean music without a known author or composer (or sometimes a tune writtten by a person, ...
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What are 3 notes of equal duration in a bar in 4/4 time called?
Three notes of equal duration in one beat are called triplets, but what are 3 notes of equal duration in a bar in 4/4 time called?
I wonder because these occur in the Zombies song "Tell Her No&...
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Is there a name of the stacked fourths melody which appears frequently in Jazz music?
E.g. in Paul Desmond's "Cecilia", around 0'48" (linked below) there is a brass melody consists of the notes C F Bb Eb Ab A, of which the first five notes are stacked fourths. I find ...
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