Essentials of Music

ONLINE GLOSSARY

Click on a letter above to look up terms in the online glossary

embellishment Melodic decoration, either improvised or indicated through ornamentation signs in the music.

embouchure The placement of the lips, lower facial muscles and jaws in playing a wind instrument.

Empfindsamkeit German "sensitive" style of the mid-eighteenth century, characterized by melodic directness and homophonic texture.

encore "Again"; an audience request that the performer(s) repeat a piece or perform another.

English horn Double-reed woodwind instrument, larger and lower in range than the oboe.

ensembles Musical performing groups; common Western ensembles include chorus, choir, men's chorus and women's chorus, orchestra, chamber group (such as string quartet), and band (concert, marching, jazz).

entenga Tuned drum from Uganda; the royal drum ensemble of the former ruler of Buganda.

episode Interlude or intermediate section in the Baroque fugue, which serves as an area of relaxation between statements of the subject.

equal temperament Tuning system based on the division of the octave into twelve equal half steps; the normal system used today.

erhu Bowed, two-string fiddle from China, with its bow hairs fixed between the strings; rests on the leg while playing.

espressivo Expressively.

ethnomusicology Comparative study of musics of the world, with a focus on the cultural context of music.

ethno-pop See world beat.

étude Study piece that focuses on a particular technical problem.

euphonium Tenor-range brass instrument resembling the tuba. Also baritone horn.

exoticism Musical style in which rhythms, melodies or instruments evoke the color and atmosphere of far-off lands.

exposition Opening section. In the fugue, the first section in which the voices enter in turn with the subject. In sonata-allegro form, the first section in which the major thematic material is stated. Also statement.

Click on a letter above to look up terms in the online glossary