Essentials of Music

ONLINE GLOSSARY

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

oboe A double-reed instrument made of wood with a nasal, "reedy" timbre. The player blows directly into a double reed (two thin strips of cane bound together), setting them in vibration.

Example: Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, "Waltz of the Flowers"
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octave Interval between two tones seven diatonic pitches apart; the lower note vibrates half as fast as the upper and sounds an octave lower.

ode Secular composition written for a royal occasion, especially popular in England.

offbeat A weak beat or any pulse between the beats in a measured rhythmic pattern.

ondes Martenot Electronic instrument that produces sounds by means of an oscillator.

open ending The first ending in a medieval secular piece, usually cadencing on a pitch other than the final.

open form Indeterminate contemporary music in which some details of a composition are clearly indicated, but the overall structure is left to choice or chance.

opera Music drama that is generally sung throughout, combining the resources of vocal and instrumental music with poetry and drama, acting and pantomime, scenery and costumes.

opera buffa Italian comic opera, sung throughout.

opéra comique French comic opera, with some spoken dialogue.

opera seria Tragic Italian opera.

oral tradition Music that is transmitted by example or imitation and performed from memory.

oral transmission Preservation of music without the aid of written notation.

oratorio Large-scale dramatic genre originating in the Baroque, based on a text of religious or serious character, performed by solo voices, chorus and orchestra; similar to opera but without scenery, costumes or action.

orchestra A performing group of diverse instruments; in Western art music, an ensemble of multiple string parts with various woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

Example: Grieg, "Homage March"
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The full forces of the nineteenth century orchestra are heard in this example.

orchestral bells See chimes.

orchestration The technique of setting instruments in various combinations.

Ordinary Sections of the Roman Catholic Mass that remain the same from day to day throughout the church year; as distinct from the Proper, which changes daily according to the liturgical occasion.

ordre See suite.

organ Wind instrument in which air is fed to the pipes by mechanical means; the pipes are controlled by two or more keyboards and a set of pedals.

Example: Bach, "Toccata in D minor"
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This familiar theme features the pipe organ's keyboards (usually two or more) and pedals (for low pitches, played with the feet).

organal style Organum in which the tenor sings the melody (original chant) in very long notes while the upper voices move freely and rapidly above it.

organum Earliest kind of polyphonic music, which developed from the custom of adding voices above a plainchant; they first ran parallel to it at the interval of a fifth or fourth and later moved more freely.

ornamentation See embellishment.

ostinato A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout a work or a section of one.

Example: Monteverdi, "Lament of the Nymphs"
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In this example, a short (four-note) descending pattern in the bass is heard throughout under the voices.

overture An introductory movement, as in an opera or oratorio, often presenting melodies from arias to come. Also an orchestral work for concert performance.

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