Essentials of Music

ONLINE GLOSSARY

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

madrigal Renaissance secular work originating in Italy for voices, with or without instruments, set to a short, lyric love poem; also popular in England.

madrigal choir Small vocal ensemble that specializes in a cappella secular works.

maestoso Majestic.

Magnificat Biblical text on the words of the Virgin Mary, sung polyphonically in church from the Renaissance on.

major scale A collection of seven different pitches ordered in a specific pattern of whole and half steps, as shown below:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
whole whole half whole whole whole half

Example: Bach, "Minuet in G"
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The melody in this example is chosen from the pitches of a major scale built on the pitch G.

mambo Dance of Afro-Cuban origin with a characteristic quadruple-meter rhythmic pattern.

mandolin Plucked-string instrument with a rounded body and fingerboard; used in some folk musics and in country-western music.

march A style incorporating characteristics of military music, including strongly accented duple-meter in simple, repetitive rhythmic patterns.

marching band Instrumental ensemble for entertainment at sports events and parades, consisting of wind and percussion instruments, drum majors/majorettes, and baton twirlers.

mariachi Traditional Mexican ensemble popular throughout the country, consisting of trumpets, violins, guitar and bass guitar.

marimba Percussion instrument that is a mellower version of the xylophone; of African origin.

masque English genre of aristocratic entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance, developed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Mass Central service of the Roman Catholic Church.

mazurka Type of Polish folk dance in triple meter.

mbube "Lion"; a cappella choral singing style of South African Zulus, featuring call and response patterns, close-knit harmonies and syncopation.

measure A rhythmic grouping or metrical unit that contains a fixed number of beats; in notated music, it appears as a vertical line through the staff.

Example: Haydn, Symphony No.94 "Surprise", third movement
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In this example, the pattern of accents falls in threes; thus the beats are grouped into measures of three beats each:
(1 - 2 - 3 | 1 - 2 - 3 | 1 - 2 - 3).

medium Performing forces employed in a certain musical work.

melismatic Melodic style characterized by many notes sung to a single text syllable.

melody Succession of single tones or pitches perceived by the mind as a unity.

Example: Brahms, Symphony No.1, fourth movement
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We perceive the pitches of this broad, singing melody in relation to one another, in the same way we hear the words in a sentence as an entire thought.

membranophone World music classification for instruments that produce sound from a tightly stretched membrane that can be struck, plucked, rubbed or sung into (setting the "skin" in vibration). The most common Western instruments of this category belong to the percussion family (timpani, bass drum). The conga drum is a membranophone often used in popular music.

meno Less.

mesto Sad.

metallophone Percussion instrument consisting of tuned metal bars, usually struck with a mallet.

meter Organization of rhythm in time; the grouping of beats into larger, regular patterns, notated as measures. In simple meters, such as duple, triple, and quadruple, each beat subdivides into two; in compound meters, such as sextuple, each beat divides into three.

metronome Device used to indicate the tempo by sounding regular beats at adjustable speeds.

mezzo forte The Italian term for "moderately loud", indicated in the musical score by the marking "mf".

mezzo piano The Italian term for "moderately soft", indicated in the musical score by the marking "mp".

Example: Ravel, Bolèro
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This example, featuring tenor saxophone playing the melody is marked "mezzo piano", or moderately soft.

mezzo-soprano Female voice of middle range.

micropolyphony Twentieth century technique encompassing the complex interweaving of all musical elements.

microtone Musical interval smaller than a semitone, prevalent in some non-Western musics and in some twentieth century art music.

MIDI Acronym for musical instrument digital interface; technology standard that allows networking of computers with electronic musical instruments.

minimalist music Contemporary musical style featuring the repetition of short melodic, rhythmic and harmonic patterns with little variation. See also spiritual minimalism.

Minnesingers Late medieval German poet-musicians.

minor scale A collection of seven different pitches ordered in a specific pattern of whole and half steps, as shown below:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
whole half whole whole whole half whole

Example: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite, "Ase's Death"
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This mournful melody is built from the pitches of a minor scale.

minuet and trio A moderate triple-meter dance form with two main sections (minuet = A, trio = B) that often occurs as the third movement of a symphony.

Example: Haydn, Symphony No.94 "Surprise", third movement
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This example presents the minuet theme only from a minuet and trio.

misterioso Mysteriously.

modal Characterizes music that is based on modes other than major and minor, especially the early church modes.

mode Scale or sequence of notes used as the basis for a composition; major and minor are modes.

moderato Moderate.

Example: Bach, "Minuet in G"
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This cheery dance moves along at a moderate tempo.

modified strophic form Song structure that combines elements of strophic and through-composed forms; a variation of strophic form in which a section might have a new key, rhythm, or varied melodic pattern.

modulation The process of changing from one key to another.

molto Very.

monody Vocal style established in the Baroque, with a solo singer and instrumental accompaniment.

monophonic Single-line texture, or melody without accompaniment.

Example: Gregorian chant, "Kyrie eleison"
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In this chant, only one melody is heard (whether sung by a soloist or by the group) with no accompaniment.

monothematic Work or movement based on a single theme.

morality play Medieval drama, often with music, intended to teach proper values.

motet Polyphonic vocal genre, secular in the Middle Ages but sacred or devotional thereafter.

motive Short melodic or rhythmic idea; the smallest fragment of a theme that forms a melodic-harmonic-rhythmic unit.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No.5 in C minor, first movement
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In this excerpt, a familiar four-note idea, or motive, is sounded twice before it is subjected to further development.

movement Complete, self-contained part within a larger musical work.

MTV Acronym for music television, a cable channel that presents non-stop music videos.

muses Nine daughters of Zeus in ancient mythology; each presided over one of the arts.

music drama Wagner's term for his operas.

music video Video tape or film that accompanies a recording, usually of a popular or rock song.

musical Genre of twentieth century musical theater, especially popular in the United States and Great Britain; characterized by spoken dialogue, dramatic plot interspersed with songs, ensemble numbers and dancing.

musical saw A handsaw that is bowed on its smooth edge; pitch is varied by bending the saw.

musique concrète Music made up of natural sounds and sound effects that are recorded and then manipulated electronically.

mute Mechanical device used to muffle the sound of an instrument.

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