Essentials of Music

ONLINE GLOSSARY

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

tabla Pair of single-headed, tuned drums used in north Indian classical music.

tabor Cylindrical medieval drum.

tag Jazz term for a coda, or a short concluding section.

tala Fixed time cycle or meter in Indian music, built from uneven groupings of beats.

tambourine Percussion instrument consisting of a small round drum with metal plates inserted in its rim; played by striking or shaking.

Example: Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, "Trepak"
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In this example the tambourine is heard prominently at the repeat of the main melody.

tam-tam See gong.

Te deum Song of praise to God; a text from the Roman Catholic rite, often set polyphonically.

tempo Rate of speed or pace of music. Tempo markings are traditionally given in Italian; common markings include grave (solemn; very, very slow); largo (broad; very slow); adagio (quite slow); andante (a walking pace); moderato (moderate); allegro (fast; cheerful); vivace (lively); presto (very fast); accelerando (getting faster); ritardando (getting slower); and a tempo (in time; returning to the original pace).

tempo rubato See rubato.

tenor Male voice of high range. Also a part, often structural, in polyphony.

tenor drum Percussion instrument, larger than the snare drum, with a wooden shell.

ternary form Three-part (A-B-A) form based on a statement (A), contrast or departure (B), and repetition (A). Also three-part form.

Example: Mouret, "Rondeau"
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The structure of this dance is ternary (A-B-A), with an opening melodic idea (played by trumpet), a contrasting idea (heard in the strings and woodwinds), followed by a return of the first idea. The form thus has a logical symmetry and balance.

terraced dynamics Expressive style typical of Baroque music in which volume levels shift based on the playing forces used.

tertian harmony Harmony based on the interval of the third, particularly predominant from the Baroque through the nineteenth century.

texture The interweaving of melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) elements in the musical fabric. Texture is generally described as monophonic (single line), heterophonic (elaboration on a single line), homophonic (single line with accompaniment), or polyphonic (many voiced).

thematic development Musical expansion of a theme by varying its melodic outline, harmony or rhythm. Also thematic transformation.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No.5 in C minor, first movement
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The composer elaborates and varies the opening idea in this example, thus revealing the theme's capacity for growth.

thematic transformation See thematic development.

theme Melodic idea used as a basic building block in the construction of a composition. Also subject.

Example: Brahms, Symphony No.1, fourth movement
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This melody, or theme, is one in a series of musical events in this work. The theme is a basic idea out of which subsequent musical events grow.

theme and variations Compositional procedure in which a theme is stated and then altered in successive statements; occurs as an independent piece or as a movement of a sonata cycle.

	Example: Haydn, Symphony No.94 "Surprise", third movement (opening theme) Real Audio: 28k \| 56k \| About this album
	Example: Haydn, Symphony No.94 "Surprise", second movement (second variation) Real Audio: 28k \| 56k \| About this album These excerpts demonstrate the opening theme and a later variation based on a change to the minor mode.

theme group Several themes in the same key that function as a unit within a section of a form, particularly in sonata-allegro form.

third Interval between two notes that are two diatonic scale steps apart.

third stream Jazz style that synthesizes characteristics and techniques of classical music and jazz; term coined by Gunther Schuller.

thorough-bass See figured bass.

three-part form See ternary form.

through-composed Song structure that is composed from beginning to end, without repetitions of large sections.

timbales Shallow, single-headed drums of Cuban origin, played in pairs; used in much Latin-American popular music.

timbre The quality of a sound that distinguishes one voice or instrument from another. Also tone color.

timbrel Ancient percussion instrument related to the tambourine.

timpani Percussion instrument consisting of a hemispheric copper shell with a head of plastic or calfskin, held in place by a metal ring and played with soft or hard padded sticks. A pedal mechanism changes the tension of the head, and with it the pitch. Also kettledrums.

Example: Mouret, "Rondeau"
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In this example, the timpani (played in pairs) keeps a strong beat.

tin whistle Small metal end-blown flute commonly used in Irish traditional music.

toccata Virtuoso composition, generally for organ or harpsichord, in a free and rhapsodic style; in the Baroque, it often served as the introduction to a fugue.

tom-tom Cylindrical drum without snares.

tone A sound of definite pitch.

tonal Based on principles of major-minor tonality, as distinct from modal.

tonality Principle of organization around a tonic, or home, pitch, based on a major or minor scale.

Example: Bach, "Minuet in G"
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Tonality is perceived here as a strong pull to the tonic (G); when the melody finally reaches a cadence on this pitch (at the end of this excerpt), there is a sense of finality.

tone cluster Highly dissonant combination of pitches sounded simultaneously.

tone color See timbre.

tone poem See symphonic poem.

tone row An arrangement of the twelve chromatic tones that serves as the basis of a twelve-tone composition.

tonic The first note of a scale (the tonic or keynote do), which serves as the home base around which the other pitches revolve and to which they ultimately gravitate.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No.9, fourth movement, "Ode to Joy"
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This melody begins and ends on the first note of the scale, the tonic, and revolves around this pitch, providing a strong sense of a home base (tonality).

tonic chord Triad built on the first scale tone, the I chord.

total serialism Extremely complex, totally controlled music in which the twelve-tone principle is extended to elements of music other than pitch.

traditional music Music that is learned by oral transmission and is easily sung or played by most people; may exist in variant forms. Also folk music.

tragédie lyrique French serious opera of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with spectacular dance scenes and brilliant choruses on tales of courtly love or heroic adventures; associated with J.B. Lully.

transition See bridge.

transposition Shifting a piece of music to a different pitch level.

tremolo Rapid repetition of a tone; can be achieved instrumentally or vocally.

triad A common chord type consisting of three pitches built on alternate scale tones of a major or minor scale (e.g., 1 - 3 - 5 or 2 - 4 - 6).

Example: Haydn, Symphony No.94 "Surprise", second movement
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In this example, the opening melody outlines the notes of a major triad (1 - 3 - 5), sounding them one after another rather than simultaneously.

triangle The triangle is a slender rod of steel bent into a three-cornered shape and struck with a steel beater; its sound is bright and tinkling in this march.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No.9, "Turkish March"
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trill Ornament consisting of the rapid alternation between one tone and the next above it.

Example: Mouret, "Rondeau"
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The trumpet plays several trills in this example, generally near the end of phrases.

trio sonata Baroque chamber sonata type written in three parts: two melody lines and the basso continuo; requires a total of four players to perform.

triple meter Basic metrical pattern of three beats to a measure.

Example: Haydn, Symphony No.94 "Surprise", third movement
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This dance movement is set in triple meter, with three beats per measure, alternating one strong and two weak beats
(1 - 2 - 3 | 1 - 2 - 3).

triple-stop Playing three notes simultaneously on a string instrument.

triplet Group of three equal-valued notes played in the time of two; indicated by a bracket and the number 3.

triplum Third voice in early polyphony.

tritonic Three-note scale pattern, used in the music of some sub-Saharan African cultures.

trobairitz Female troubadours, composer-poets of southern France.

trombone The trombone (Italian for "large trumpet") features a moveable U-shaped slide that alters the length of the vibrating tube. Its timbre, illustrated here, is rich and full.

Example: Mozart, Requiem, "Tuba mirum"
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troubadours Medieval poet-musicians of southern France.

trouvères Medieval poet-musicians of northern France.

trumpet The trumpet is the highest pitched member of the brass family; this example illustrates its clear and brilliant sound.

Example: Mouret, "Rondeau"
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tuba Bass-range brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves.

tubular bells See chimes.

tutti "All", the opposite of solo. See also ripieno.

twelve-bar blues Musical structure based on a repeated harmonic-rhythmic pattern that is twelve measures in length (I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-V-I-I).

twelve-tone music Compositional procedure of the twentieth century based on the use of all twelve chromatic tones (in a tone row) without a central tone, or tonic, according to prescribed rules.

two-part form See binary form.

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