The Classical Music Book

A cappella Unaccompanied

singing by a soloist or group.

Alto The highest male and lowest

female voice; also a term describing

an instrument that is lower in pitch

than a treble instrument.

Aria A vocal piece for one or more

voices in an opera or oratorio.

Atonal Without a recognizable key;

the opposite of tonality.

Baritone The male voice between

tenor and bass, or an instrument

within this tonal range.

Baroque Music composed between

1600 and 1750; describes pieces

from the period before the Classical.

Bass The lowest in tone: describes

the lowest male voice; the lowest

part of a chord or piece of music; or

the lowest instrument in a family.

Basso continuo Harmonic

accompaniment, usually by a

harpsichord or organ and bass

viol or cello, extensively used in

the Baroque period.

Bel canto Meaning “beautiful

song” in Italian; an 18th- and early

19th-century school of singing

characterized by a concentration

on beauty of tone, virtuosic agility,

and breath control.

Cadence The closing sequence of

a musical phrase or composition.

A “perfect cadence” creates a

sense of completion; an “imperfect

cadence” sounds unfinished.

Cadenza Originally an improvised

solo by the soloist in a concerto;

from the 19th century, it became

more formalized, less spontaneous.

Canon A contrapuntal composition

in which the separate voices enter

one by one. In a strict canon, each

part repeats the melody exactly.

Cantata A programmatic piece,

generally for voice and orchestra,

designed to tell a story; a cantata

da camera is a secular piece, while

cantata da chiesa is a sacred one.

Chamber music Pieces for small

groups of two or more instruments,

such as duets, trios, and quartets.

Chord A simultaneous combination

of notes. The most frequently used

are called “triads,” which consist of

three distinct notes built on the first,

third, and fifth notes of a scale. For

example, in the key of C major, the

notes of the scale are C, D, E, F, G,

A, and B; the C major triad consists

of the notes C, E, and G.

Chromatic Based on the scale of

all 12 semitones in an octave, as

opposed to diatonic, which is

based on a scale of seven notes.

Classical The post-Baroque

period, approximately 1750–1820;

also a term used to distinguish

Western music written for a formal

context, such as a church or concert

hall, from informal music styles.

Clef A symbol placed at the

beginning of a musical staff to

determine the pitch of the notes on

the staff; a treble clef, for example,

marks the bottom line of a staff as

being an E, whereas a bass clef

means it should be read as a G.

Coda Literally “tail” in Italian; a

final section of a piece of music,

distinct from the overall structure.

Concerto A large piece for solo

instrument and orchestra, designed

to showcase the soloist’s skills; the

Baroque concerto grosso, however,

has a more equal interplay between

the smaller orchestra (ripieno) and

a group of soloists (concertino).

Consonance A chord or interval,

such as a third or fifth, that sounds

pleasing; opposite of dissonance.

Consort An instrumental ensemble

popular during the 16th and 17th

centuries in England; the term is

also used to describe the music

played by these ensembles as well

as the performance itself.

Contralto Term describing the

lowest of the female voices (alto)

in an opera context.

Contrapuntal Using counterpoint:

the simultaneous playing or singing

of two or more melodic lines.

Counterpoint see Contrapuntal.

Diatonic Based on a scale of seven

notes with no sharps or flats, only

the white piano keys.

Dissonance Notes played together to

create discord (sounds unpleasing

to the ear); opposite of consonance.

GLOSSARY

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