Meaning

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Music Words Meaning

T

TABLATURE

Tablature is an ancient mode of indicating musical sounds by letters and other signs instead of by notes.

TABOR

A tabor is a small drum played with sticks, in accompaniment to the pipe, both instruments sometimes being played by the same performer.

TABORER

A taborer is someone who plays on the tabor.

TABORET

A taboret is a small tabor.

TABORINE

A taborine is a small, shallow drum like a tabor.

TACET

In music, tacet is a direction for a vocal or instrumental part to be silent during a whole movement.

TACT

In music tact is the stroke in beating time.

TAIL

In music, a tail is the part of a note which runs perpendicularly upward or downward from the head; the stem.

TAILPIECE

In music, a tailpiece is a piece of ebony or other material attached to the lower end of a violin or similar instrument, to which the strings are fastened.

TAMBOURIN

The tambourin is an old Provencal dance of a lively character, common on the stage.

TAMBOURINE

A tambourine is a long narrow drum with a single head stretched over a wooden frame into which metal 'jingles' are inserted. The tambourine is probably of Arab origin, and is used in music accompanying folk dances. It is played by striking the skin with the fingers or knuckles, or by banging it against a knee or elbow and shaking it so that the jingles rattle.

TAMPION

A tampion is a plug for upper end of an organ pipe.

TANGO

The tango was a dance from central Africa which was taken to Central America by African slaves and from there it became popular in Argentina where it was influenced by European rhythms and developed into a fashionable ballroom dance in around 1910.

TARANTELLA

The tarantella is a rapid, whirling Italian dance in six-eight measure.

TARDO

In music tardo is a direction to perform a passage slowly.

TASTO

In music a tasto is a key or thing touched to produce a tone.

TASTO SOLO

In old music, a tasto solo was a direction denoting that the notes in the bass over or under which it is written should be performed alone, or with no other chords than unisons and octaves.

TELLTALE

In music a telltale is a movable piece of ivory, lead, or other material, connected with the bellows of an organ, that gives notice, by its position, when the wind is exhausted.

TEMPER

In music temper means to adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use.

TEMPERAMENT

In music, a temperament is a system of compromises in the tuning of organs, pianofortes, and the like, whereby the tones generated with the vibrations of a ground tone are mutually modified and in part cancelled, until their number reduced to the actual practicable scale of twelve tones to the octave. This scale, although in so far artificial, is yet closely suggestive of its origin in nature, and this system of tuning, although not mathematically true, yet satisfies the ear, while it has the convenience that the same twelve fixed tones answer for every key or scale, C sharp becoming identical with D flat, and so on.

TEMPLE RUBATO

Temple rubato is a term in music applied to a style of performance in which some tones are held longer than their legitimate time, while others are proportionally curtailed.

TEMPO

Tempo is the pace at which a piece of music is played.

TENOR

Tenor is the name given to the highest natural singing voice of the adult male. It is also applied to instruments which play tenor parts.

TENTH

In music a tenth is the interval between any tone and the tone represented on the tenth degree of the staff above it, as between one of the scale and three of the octave above; the octave of the third.

TERRE A TERRE

In ballet, terre a terre are steps in which the feet hardly leave the ground.

TERZETTO

A terzetto is a musical composition in three voice parts forming usually a vocal trio.

TESTUDO

The testudo is a kind of musical instrument. It was a species of lyre so called in allusion to the lyre of Mercury, fabled to have been made of the shell of a tortoise.

THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH

The Fair Maid of Perth is an opera written by Bizet. It was first performed in Manchester in 1912.

THE TWO WIDOWS

The Two Widows is a comic opera in two acts composed by Bedrich Smetana between 1873 and 1878, various revisions taking place during that period.

THEMATIC CATALOGUE

A thematic catalogue is a catalogue of musical works which, besides the title and other particulars, gives in notes the theme, or first few measures, of the whole work or of its several movements.

THEME

In music the theme is the leading subject of a composition or a movement.

THEORBIST

A theorbist is someone who plays on a theorbo.

THEORBO

A theorbo was a musical instrument made like large lute, but having two necks, with two sets of pegs, the lower set holding the strings governed by frets, while to the upper set were attached the long bass strings used as open notes. A larger form of theorbo was also called the archlute, and was used chiefly, if not only, as an accompaniment to the voice.

THESIS

In music the thesis is the accented part of the measure, expressed by the downward beat.

THIRTEENTH

In music a thirteenth is an interval comprising an octave and a sixth.

THOMAS LINLEY

Thomas Linley was an English composer. He was born in 1732 at Wells in Somerset and died in 1795. In 1776 he purchased an interest in the Drury Lane Theatre, and became musical director there.

THOMAS MORLEY

Thomas Morley was an English composer of madrigals. He was born in 1557, dying in 1603.

THOROUGH BASS

In music, thorough bass is the representation of chords by figures placed under the base.

TIE

In music a tie is a line, usually straight, drawn across the stems of notes, or a curved line written over or under the notes, signifying that they are to be slurred, or closely united in the performance, or that two notes of the same pitch are to be sounded as one.

TIMBRE

In music, timbre is the quality or tone distinguishing voices or instruments.

TIMBREL

A timbrel was a kind of drum, tabor, or tabret, in use from the oldest of times.

TIME-TABLE

In music, a time-table is a table showing the notation, length, or duration of the several notes.

TIPPING

Tipping is a distinct articulation given in playing quick notes on the flute, by striking the tongue against the roof of the mouth.

TOCCATA

Toccata is an old form of piece for the organ or harpsichord, somewhat in the free and brilliant style of the prelude, fantasia, or capriccio.

TOM-TOM

The tom-tom (tam-tam) is a kind of drum used in the East Indies and other Oriental countries usually beaten with the hands.

TOMASO ALBINONI

Tomaso Albinoni was an Italian composer and violinist. He was born in 1671 at Venice and died in 1750. He lived in Venice, where he produced most of his nearly 50 operas. His instrumental works, frequently played by modern chamber musicians, were admired by Johann Sebastian Bach and include trio sonatas, concertos for one and for two oboes, and the 1710 concerto for solo violin.

TOMPION

A tompion is a plug in a flute or an organ pipe, used to modulate the tone.

TONALITY

In music, tonality is a sense of key orientation in relation to form, for example the step pattern of a dance as expressed by corresponding changes of direction from a tonic or 'home' key to a related key. Most popular and folk music world-wide recognises an underlying tonality or reference pitch against which the movement of a melody can be clearly heard. The opposite of tonality is atonality.

TONE

In music, tone is the quality of sound. For instance, different strings of a violin may be able to sound the same note (pitch) given certain fingerings, but each string has a different tone. Nearly every musical sound is composite, consisting of several simultaneous tones having different rates of vibration according to fixed laws, which depend upon the nature of the vibrating body and the mode of excitation. The components (of a composite sound) are called partial tones; that one having the lowest rate of vibration is the fundamental tone, and the other partial tones are called harmonics, or overtones. The vibration ratios of the partial tones composing any sound are expressed by all, or by a part, of the numbers in the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.; and the quality of any sound (the timbre) is due in part to the presence or absence of overtones as represented in this series, and in part to the greater or less intensity of those present as compared with the fundamental tone and with one another. Resultant tones, combination tones, summation tones, difference tones, Tartini's tones (terms only in part synonymous) are produced by the simultaneous sounding of two or more primary (simple or composite) tones.

TONIC

In music, the tonic is the key tone, or first tone of any scale.

TONIC SOL-FA

Tonic Sol-fa is a system of musical notation dating back to 1812 when it was developed by a Miss Glover of Norwich to teach music to children who were having difficulty with learning.

TOSTO

In music, tosto means quick or rapid.

TRACKER

In an organ, a tracker is a light strip of wood connecting (in path) a key and a pallet, to communicate motion by pulling.

TRANSCRIPTION

In music a transcription is an arrangement of a composition for some other instrument or voice than that for which it was originally written, as the translating of a song, a vocal or instrumental quartet, or even an orchestral work, into a piece for the piano. Transcription is a name applied by later composers for the piano to a more or less fanciful and ornate reproduction on their own instrument of a song or other piece not originally intended for it; as, Liszt's transcriptions of songs by Schubert.

TRANSPOSE

In music, transpose means to change the key of.

TRANSPOSITION

In music, a transposition is a change of a composition into another key.

TREBLE

In music, treble is the highest of the four principal parts in music and is the part usually sung by boys or women. It is sometimes called the first treble, to distinguish it from the second treble, or alto, which is sung by lower female voices.

TREMANDO

In music tremando is a direction to perform a passage with a general shaking of the whole chord.

TREMOLO

Tremolo is a musical term indicating that the notes are to be played rapidly and reiterated during their time values, instead of being played as sustained sounds, hence the term applies to an unsteady or wavering voice.

TRIAD

In music, a triad is a chord of three notes. The term triad is also applied to the common chord, consisting of a tone with its third and fifth, with or without the octave.

TRIANGLE

The triangle is a musical instrument of percussion, usually made of a rod of steel, bent into the form of a triangle, open at one angle, and sounded by being struck with a small metallic rod.

TRICHORD

In music, a trichord is an instrument, such as a lyre or harp, having three strings.

TRILL

In music a trill is a shake or quaver of the voice in singing, or of the sound of an instrument, produced by the rapid alternation of two contiguous tones of the scale.

TRIPLE MEASURE

In music a triple measure is a measure of three beats of which the first only is accented.

TRIPLE TIME

In music triple time is that time in which each measure is divided into three equal parts.

TRIPLET

In music a triplet is a group of three notes sung or played in the three of two.

TRIPODIAN

The tripodian was an ancient stringed musical instrument. It was so called because, in form, it resembled the Delphic tripod.

TRITONE

In music a tritone is a superfluous or augmented fourth.

TROMBONE

The trombone is a powerful brass musical instrument of the trumpet kind, thought by some to be the ancient sackbut, consisting of a tube in three parts, bent twice upon itself and ending in a bell. The middle part, bent double, slips into the outer parts, as in a telescope, so that by change of the vibrating length any tone within the compass of the instrument (which may be bass or tenor or alto or even, in rare instances, soprano) is commanded. It is the only member of the family of wind instruments whose scale, both diatonic and chromatic, is complete without the aid of keys or pistons, and which can slide from note to note as smoothly as the human voice or a violin. Softly blown, it has a rich and mellow sound, which becomes harsh and blatant when the tones are forced; used with discretion, its effect is often solemn and majestic.

TROPPO

In music troppo means 'too much' and is used for example as, 'allegro ma non troppo', meaning brisk but not too much so.

TRUMPET

The trumpet is a musical instrument of the brass family. The trumpet is the earliest known brass wind instrument, and consists of a tube of about 1.5 meters long curved twice to form three lengths. One end widens into a bell and the other end is mounted with a cupped mouthpiece. The pitch of notes is altered by way of key operated valves.

TRUMPET MARINE

The trumpet marine is a monochord, having a thick string, sounded with a bow, and stopped with the thumb so as to produce the harmonic tones. It is said to be the oldest bowed instrument known, and in form the archetype of all others. It probably owes its name to its external resemblance to the large speaking trumpet used on board Italian vessels, which is of the same length and tapering shape.

TUBA

The tuba is a valved brass musical instrument with a conical tube and low pitch. It was originally derived from the saxhorn and is used in the symphony orchestra as well as the military band.

TUNING-FORK

A tuning-fork is a small percussion instrument of definite and permanent pitch, which is used to indicate the correct pitch of some particular note in the musical scale. It consists of two vibrating steel prongs, which spring from a tapered base.

TURN

In music a turn is an embellishment or grace commonly consisting of the principal note, or that on which the turn is made, with the note above, and the semitone below, the note above being sounded first, the principal note next, and the semitone below last, the three being performed quickly, as a triplet preceding the marked note.

TUTTI

In music, tutti is a direction for all the singers or players to perform together.

TWELFTH

In music a twelfth is an interval comprising an octave and a fifth.

TZOURA

The tzoura is a Greek six-stringed long-necked lute, similar to, but smaller than a bouzouki, the middle one out of the Baglama, Tzoura, Bouzouki family.