| J |
after Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns the cataloguer of
music by Carl Maria von Weber (1786 1826); after Boris
Jurgenson the cataloguer of music by Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) |
| Jabo |
(Spanish) old triple-time dance (original spelling
Xabo) |
| Jácara |
(Spanish) old song-dance (original spelling Xacara) |
| Jack |
a rectangular device, usually made of pearwood, that
moves vertically (constrained by the slide and the jack
guide) when driven upward by the depression of a key,
that bears a small plectrum (usually made of leather,
quill or delrin) that 'plucks' the string as it passes
it, to produce the characteristic sound of harpsichords,
virginals and spinets |
| Jagdhorn |
(German) hunting horn |
| Jäger |
(German) hunter |
| Jaleadas |
(Spanish) a vigorous seguidillas (a dance)
influenced by the cachucha |
| Jaleika |
a wind instrument from Tver, Russia, made from
reed-tipped cow horn |
| Jaleo |
(Spanish) slow triple-time dance (original spelling
Xaleo) |
| Jaleos |
in flamenco performances, the shouts of
encouragement by the audience to the performers |
| Jali |
see jeli |
| Jalousieschweller |
(German) the organ swell pedal |
| Jal tarang |
a set of china bowls that are filled with water.
Each bowl is struck with a light wooden mallet to cause
it to ring. Jal tarang is not very common and is
normally found accompanying kathak dancers |
| Jambadon |
a Mandinka rhythm for boys’ and girls’ circumcision
ceremonies |
| Jamisen |
name used on the main islands of Japan to refer to
the shamisen of Okinawa |
| Jammernd, Jämmerlich |
(German) lamenting, lamentable |
| Jam session |
an informal performance, originally applied to jazz |
| Jangdan |
(Korean) a generic term that refers to various
members of the Korean drum family |
| Janggoo |
(Korean) also called seyogo which means
'hourglass shape'; an 'hour-glass' shaped Korean drum
more... |
| Janissary music (Eng.), Janitscharenmusik (Ger.) |
a style of military music associated with the
Janissaries, the bodyguard of the Turkish Sultans |
| Japanese fiddle |
a single string instrument seen played by English
street performers |
| Jarabe |
traditional Mexican dance form with multiple
sections in contrasting meters and tempos, often
performed by mariachi ensembles |
| Jarana |
a 5 to 8 string Mexican guitar from the Jarocho
region. Used to perform son jarocho; (literally
'merry chatter') folk dance of Yucatán, Mexico, the
verses of which are often in the Mayan language |
| Java |
a finger pick made from a coconut shell (India) |
| Javalina |
see requinto jarocho |
| Jaw harp, Jaw's harp |
see 'Jew's harp' |
| Jazz |
music that originated in New Orleans, characterised
by syncopations and reiterated rhythms |
| Jazz flute |
see 'slide whistle' |
| Jazz scales |
see
jazz scales |
| JC |
after Jenkins & Churgin the cataloguers of music by
Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1701-1755) |
| Je |
(German) always, ever, each |
| Jedoch |
(German) however, nevertheless |
| Jeel |
Egyptian music of the younger generation |
| Jejy lava |
a Malagasy one-string musical bow with a smaller
gourd resonator |
| Jejy voatavo |
a Malagasy string instrument with two adjacent
faces, each with courses of strings, one with frets and
one without, mounted on a gourd resonator |
| Jeli |
jelis are the Manding nomadic praise singers
and master instrumentalists from Mali, Senegal, Guinea
and the Gambia, whose traditions date back to the
thirteenth-century. They sing epic songs and family
histories. Another word used to describe jelis is
griot, a term used by westerners |
| Jembe |
see djembe |
| Jentile |
(Italian) pleasing, graceful or elegant |
| Jeong-ak |
(Korean) classical or court music |
| Jetakh |
Mongolian term for the Japanese koto |
| Jete |
violin technique in which the performer lets the bow
skip or bounce across the strings of the instrument to
produce fast, staccato arpeggios |
| Jeu, Jeux (plural form) |
(French) game, play, a stop on the organ |
| Jeu de Clochettes, Jeu de Timbres |
(French) glockenspiel |
| Jeudg harp |
(Dutch, literally 'youth harp') Jew's harp. Some
researchers believe the English term, jew's harp,
derives from the Dutch |
| Jew's harp (Eng.), Judenharfe (Ger.) |
a musical instrument placed between the teeth
containing a freely vibrating metal strip that is
plucked with the finger and where the player alters the
note's timbre by modifying his or her oral cavity (i.e.
mouth shape) - it is neither a harp nor associated in
any way with Jewish cultural tradition
more... |
| Jhala |
the final, fast movement of a raga |
| Jhanj |
Indian cymbal |
| Jia hua |
(Chinese, literally 'adding flowers') a style of
embellishment in Chinese music using various ornamental
figures |
| Jig |
(English) gigue, a dance related to the hornpipe and
reel |
| Jigatch |
Kyrgyz wooden Jew's harp. It is an older relative of
the temir komuz. Its tongue is vibrated by
forcefully pulling a string. The jigatch is
believed to be the oldest Kyrgyz musical instrument |
| Jigg |
short comedic performance with few characters,
popular in England and continental Europe from the mid
sixteenth-century to the late eighteenth-century, sung
in verse to the tunes of popular songs and containing
lively dancing |
| Jig piano |
in ragtime, the strict rhythmic patterns played on
the piano |
| Jing |
large Korean bronze gong played with a padded stick
more... |
| Jinggong |
the Jew's harp of the Bidayuh people of Borneo, hand
fashioned from brass
more...
|
| Jinghu |
a soprano version of the erhu |
| Jit |
percussive Zimbabwean dance music |
| Jitterbug |
a lively, improvisational, athletic style of dancing
performed to syncopated music which originated in 1940's
New York |
| Jive |
a blues form popular in the 1940's; generic South
African term for popular music |
| Jodelling |
yodeling |
| Joik |
one of the song styles of the Sami people |
| Jondo, Jondura |
a more serious flamenco style |
| Jongleresse (fem.), Jongleur (mas.) |
(French) minstrel/entertainer of the twelfth- and
thirteenth-centuries |
| Jornaditas |
traditional Christmas songs from Granada (Spain)
about the advent of Christ |
| Joropo |
the national music and dance form of Venezuela. The
dancers are accompanied by harp, cuatro, maracas and
bandola or guitar |
| Jota |
a quick dance with hopping steps in triple time from
Aragon, Spain performed by a couple accompanied by a
singer who plays the guitar |
| Jota de la vendimia |
wine harvest dance from Ciudad Real, Spain, in which
guitar, bandurria and percussion accompany the
dancers |
| Jouer |
(French) to play |
| Jouhikko |
bowed lute of Finland and Russian Karelia. It has a
flat bridge. Drone strings and one melody string are
played simultaneously. The jouhiko normally
accompanies narrative and epic singing |
| Joyeux, Joyeuse |
(French) joyous |
| Juan-hsieng |
Taiwanese moon guitar |
| Jubelnd |
(German) jubilant |
| Jubilate |
the one hundredth psalm, very prominent in the
Anglican service |
| Jubiloso |
(Italian) jubilant, exulting |
| Jubilus |
an elaborate, joyful melisma on the final syllable
of the word Alleluia |
| Jugalbandi |
Indian jam session |
| Juju |
a popular style from Nigeria relies on the
traditional Yoruba rhythms, but, instead of being played
wholely on percussive instruments as tradition demands,
the instruments in Juju are more Western in origin, drum
kit, guitars, keyboards, often pedal steel guitar and,
some times, accordian used alongside the traditional
dun-dun, a talking drum |
| Junggeum |
(Korean) a medium sized bamboo flute
more... |
| Jun-jun |
talking drum (Nigeria) |
| Jusqu'à |
(French) until |
| Just |
all consonant intervals; the voices, strings, or
pipes that sound them with precision |
| Juste |
(French) just, exact |
| Justesse |
(French) exactitude |
| Just intonation |
a system of tuning in which the distances between
pitches are based on the natural harmonic series instead
of the octave being equally divided
more... |
