| K |
reference to the catalogue of the musical works of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) by Ludwig Ritter von
Köchel (sometimes denoted 'KV'); after Kremsmünster the
cataloguer of music by Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf
(1739-1799); after Ralph Kirkpatrick the cataloguer of
music by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) (sometimes
denoted 'Kk'); after Kaul the cataloguer of the music of
Franz Anton Rosetti-Rössler (1746-1792) |
| Kabaro |
popular single or double-headed Ethiopian drum,
played with the hands. Also known as kebaro or
kebero |
| Kabosy |
a short lute in the shape of a box, from Madagascar |
| Kabuki-bayashi |
Japanese theatrical production that includes music
and, sometimes, dance. Its origins lie in the Edo
period. Kabuki, in contrast to the older
surviving Japanese art forms such as Noh, was the
popular culture of the people and not of the higher
social classes or court |
| Kader |
Breton call singer in the kan ha diskan call
and response songs |
| Kagura suzu |
a hand held bell tree composed of three levels of
jingle bells |
| Kaiambarambo |
a bundle of resonant grasses from Madagascar |
| Kajiza |
drum (Mozambique) |
| Kakko |
a small, highly ornate, Japanese drum |
| Kalimba |
African thumb piano. The sound is produced by the
vibration of tongues of metal or wood
more... |
| Kamanche |
a small knee fiddle, bowed like a cello, with four
metal strings and four sympathetic strings (Armenia,
Iran) |
| Kamaycha |
vertically held string instrument (India). It
typically consists of nineteen strings, three of gut for
melody, two of brass for drone, and fourteen of steel
for sympathetic resonance |
| Kammer |
(German) chamber, as in 'chamber music' |
| Kammerton |
(German, literally 'chamber pitch') the pitch used
for instruments in Germany during the Baroque period,
where a' was about 410-425 Hz, as opposed to its modern
value of 440 Hz |
| Kane |
a Japanese gong or large bell |
| Kanganu |
a tall and narrow barrel drum from Ghana |
| Kan ha diskan |
(roughly translated, 'call-and-response singing')
unaccompanied Breton singing |
| Kanjira |
single headed tambourine used throughout Southern
India |
| Kankle |
Lithuanian lap-harp |
| Kankukus |
Afro-Brazilian dance |
| Kanon |
(German) canon; see kanun |
| Kanoon |
see kanun |
| Kanoun |
see kanun |
| Kantele |
traditional Finnish stringed instrument, laid on a
table or across the player's knees and plucked, like a
psaltery |
| Kantor |
(German) see 'cantor' |
| Kantorei |
(German) the musicians of a Protestant German court;
the musicians performing under the direction of the
Kantor |
| Kanun |
a Middle Eastern instrument dating back beyond the
time of Christ. This stringed instrument (similar in
look to a zither) has a total of 72-75 grouped strings,
which are tuned flat and then raised or lowered in small
semitone increments using a series of latches |
| Kapelle |
(German, literally 'chapel') applied to any musical
institution |
| Kapellmeister |
(German, literally 'the director of the chapel
music') applied to the director of music in any
establishment, for example, the church, the court |
| Karamoudza |
see karamudza |
| Karamudza |
Greek double reed instrument sometimes played in
pairs. Also known as pipiza, zounardi and
zournas |
| Karaoke |
(Japanese, literally 'empty orchestra') popular
nightclub style from Japan where customers sing the
melody to accompanying prerecorded tracks |
| Karataky |
drum (Madagascar) |
| Karikary |
small bell (Madagascar) |
| Karimba |
a 15-key thumb piano from Zimbabwe with a round
wooden plate upon which the instrument is mounted and
affixed with a semi-circular wooden wall around the
instrument to act as an amplifier. It uses a high
resonance wooden soundboard upon with a bridge is
implanted on the upper part of the instrument. The metal
reeds used as sound source are laid over the bridge and
using a metal bar. A strand of wire us sued to bind the
reeds under the bar. A metal plate, with a bottle cap
affixed to it, is mounted on the lower portion of the
sound board to provide a rattling sound. The rattle
provides the percussive element in the music |
| Karinyan |
a small ribbed iron pipe that is struck with an iron
bar (Mali) |
| Karkabas |
metal double castanets of the Gnawa (Morocco) |
| Karoninka |
a Mandinka rhythm usually played at weddings and
child-naming ceremonies |
| Kashu |
general term for a Japanese singer |
| Kast. |
after Emerich Kastner the cataloguer of music by
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) |
| Kastagnetten |
(German) castanets |
| Kathakali |
an ancient dance-drama form from Kerala in south
india, which can also be found in Hindu parts of
Indonesia |
| Katra |
rattle (Madagascar) |
| Katsa |
rattle (Madagascar) |
| Kaul |
after Oskar Kaul the cataloguer of music by Franz
Anton Rosetti-Rössler (1746-1792) |
| Kaum |
(German) barely |
| Kaval |
a long, end-blown flute from Bulgaria, Albania, and
Macedonia. It is made in various sizes from 15 to 50 cm
in length. It can be made out of different materials:
cane, wood, bronze, iron, bone, and plastic. The
kaval is held at a slightly oblique angle toward the
right, so that the player's breath will strike the
sharply angled lip of the instrument on the opposite
side, thus producing sound |
| Kavatine |
(German) cavatina |
| Kawala |
an Egyptian bamboo flute played in religious
festivals |
| Kayagum |
a Korean 12-string zither |
| K.B. |
abbreviation for Kontrabass, the German word
for double-bass |
| Kazoo |
a type of mirliton into which the player hums a tube
and a membrane fitted across an aperture in the
instrument vibrates in sympathy, added a buzz to the
humming sound of the player |
| Kebaro |
popular single- or double-headed Ethiopian drum,
played with the hands; also known as kabaro or
kebero |
| Kebero |
see kebaro |
| Kecak |
an ancient Balinese trance dance with choral music,
originally a sanghyang (literally meaning
'spirit') trance dance performed to appease the gods in
times of difficulty |
| Keck, Keckheit (noun form) |
(German) audacious, audacity |
| Keen |
(from the Irish, caoine) an Irish funeral
song |
| Kefafa |
see kaiambarambo |
| Kehn |
see gaeng |
| Kei |
large Japanese gongs used in Buddhist ceremonies |
| Keineswegs |
(German) no way |
| Kekrek |
see kotak |
| Keledi |
see keluri |
| Keleli |
a two or three string long necked lute from Chad |
| Keluri |
also called keledi or enkulurai;
extremely rare bamboo free-reed mouth organs found in
northwestern Borneo, bearing a remarkable resemblance to
the hulusheng
more... |
| Kemancheh |
see kamanche |
| Kempul |
(Javanese) two sets of between 6 and 10 smaller
gongs used in gamelan orchestras, one tuned to
slendro and the other to pelog |
| Kena |
see quena |
| Kendang |
(Javanese) a double ended drum beaten with the
hands, the lead instrument of the gamelan orchestra.
There are five different sizes of kendang with
diameters ranging from 20 cm. to 45 cm. |
| Kenken |
the metallic bell attached to a dunun drum |
| Kenong |
(Javanese) smaller gongs laid horizontally on
crossed cord, inside a wooden frame. A complete set of
kenong, in each of the two tunings, slendro
and pelog consists of 10 pieces |
| Kent bugle |
see 'keyed bugle' |
| Kenton |
after Egon Kenton the cataloguer of music by
Giovanni Gabrieli (1556-1612) |
| Keprak |
see kotak
|
| Keras |
(ancient Greece) curved horn instrument |
| Keringut |
see selingup |
| Kete drums |
a set of four drums from the Ashanti region in Ghana |
| Kettledrum |
timpani
more... |
| Ketug |
(Javanese) a small gong of the gamelan
orchestra |
| Key |
on a piano, organ, harpsichord, virginal, etc., the
levers which the performer depresses to activate the
action and, thus, thus producing notes; on a woodwind
instrument, the metal disks that close or open toneholes
by means of levers operated by the performer's fingers;
specific scales or series of notes defining a particular
tonality, for example, keys may be defined as major or
minor, and are named after their tonic or key note |
| Keyboard instrument |
an instrument with a keyboard operated by the
player's fingers, or pedal board operated by the
player's feet
more
about the keyboard |
| Keyed bugle |
an obsolete, conical bored, soprano brass instrument
with keys (from five to twelve keys, although most
commonly six) which are used, in place of valves, to
produce different notes |
| Keyed trumpet |
forerunner of the modern valved trumpet, this
instrument, bearing between four and six keys instead of
valves, came into use in the late eighteenth-century and
continued in use for about a hundred years |
| Key note |
the first note, the tonic, of the scale upon which a
piece of music is based |
| Key signature |
an arrangement of sharps or flats placed on the far
left hand side of each line of the staff, indicating the
normal sharps or flats in the major scale of the key
note, or, if in a minor key, the normal sharps and flats
of the natural minor scale based on the key note |
| Khaen |
the khaen is a sixteen reed bamboo mouth
organ native to the Isaan people of northeastern
Thailand and Laos. It can also be found in regions of
the highlands of northwest and south central Vietnam
more... |
| Khamak |
see khomok |
| Khartal |
a pair of lightweight rectangular wooden blocks
played by the hands (India) |
| Khomok |
also called anandalahari, gubgubi or
khamak; a small drum, of the Baul people of
Bengal, with a wooden body and a skin head, played by
pulling on or plucking one or, occasionally, two string
that by changing the tension on the drum skin produce
its characteristic sound
more... |
| Khomus |
Tuvan jew's harp |
| Khöömei |
Tuvan name for overtone and throat singing |
| Kick drum |
pedal-operated bass drum usually found as part of a
drum kit played by a single player |
| Kidi |
Ewe stick drum (Ghana) |
| Kidumbak |
a style from Zanzibar, like a stripped down version
of taarab, only more percussive and dance-based |
| Kielflügel |
(German) harpsichord jack |
| Kim |
see nguyeät |
| Kind, Kinder, Kindlich |
(German) child, children, childlike |
| Kinsky |
after George Kinsky who, with Hans Halm, catalogued
the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) |
| Kirche |
(German) church |
| Kirchencantate |
(German) church cantata |
| Kiroba |
`Are`are (Malaita, Solomon Islands) music for sound
play on water |
| Kiromboi |
also called krommoi; a hand held percussive
instrument of the Bidayuh people of western Sarawak, in
Borneo, made from two giant snail shells attached to two
ends of a split bamboo stick, that when struck with a
small stick, produce a rattling sound remarkably similar
to that of the local frogs
more... |
| Kissar |
bowl-shaped lyre
more... |
| Kissentanz |
(German) cushion dance |
| Kit |
a small pocket violin popular with dancing masters
who could play and demonstrate the dance steps at the
same time |
| Kitchen department |
an unkind description of the percussion section of
an orchestra |
| Kithara |
an ancient Greek lyre-like instrument, the
kithara had a square or rounded resonator box (body)
and as many as eleven gut strings supported by a yoke
attached to two arms attached to and rising from the
body |
| Ki un ki |
a wind instrument used by the Siberian tribe of the
Udegeys. It is a two metre long stalk, and the sound is
produced by inhaling. As the instrument has no finger
holes, the pitch can only be altered by lip pressure |
| Kizomba music |
an Angolan style based on the semba, rumba
and quilapanga |
| Kk |
after Ralph Kirkpatrick the cataloguer of the music
of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) |
| Klafsky |
after Anton Klafsky the cataloguer of music by
Michael Haydn (1737-1806) and Johann David Heinichen
(1683-1729) |
| Klagend, Kläglich |
(German) lamenting, lamentable |
| Klammer |
(German) brace |
| Klang |
(German) sound, tone |
| Klangfarbe |
(German) tone, timbre |
| Klangfarbenmelodie |
(German, literally 'sound-colour-melody') coined by
Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) to describe a style of
composition that employs several different kinds of tone
colors to a single pitch or to multiple pitches,
Klangfarbenmelodie is achieved by distributing the
pitch or melody among several different instruments |
| Klapites |
Latvian clapper |
| Klar |
(German) clear, distinct |
| Klarinette, Klarinetten, Kl. (abbreviation) |
(German) clarinet, clarinets |
| Klarino |
Greek clarinet |
| Klaviatur, Klavier |
(German) keyboard, usually, today, the piano |
| Klavierauszug |
(German) piano arrangement |
| Klavierstück |
(German) piano piece |
| Klavierübung |
(German) keyboard exercise |
| Klein, Kleine |
(German) small, minor |
| Kleine Trommel |
(German) side drum, snare drum |
| Kleinflüte, Kl. (abbreviation) |
(German) piccolo |
| Klenengan |
(Javanese) a gamelan performance that
emphasizes dialogue between performers |
| Klezmer |
(Hebrew, Kly Zemer meaning 'vessel of song'
actually refering to the musicians rather than their
instruments) a musical style characteristic to Eastern
European Jewish culture, performed by a small band
comprising 3 or 4 musicians who play double bass with
two melodic instruments, often a violin and a clarinet |
| Klingen, Klingend |
(German) to sound, resonant |
| Kloboto |
short open-bottom barrel drum from Ghana, although
still larger than the totodzi |
| K'longput |
the k'longput is another instrument unique to
Vietnam. It is made from a series of large bamboo pipes
of varying lengths, each closed at one end. The pipes
are placed on their sides with the open ends facing the
musician, who has no direct contact with the instrument.
Instead, the performer cups both hands and claps quietly
in front of the open ends of the pipes, forcing air down
the pipes to produce low resonant sounds. The
k'longput is native to the Bahnar people of the
central highlands, who are said to have created it after
hearing the wind blowing into the openings of bamboo in
the forest |
| Kn |
after Walter Knape, the cataloguer of the music of
Karl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) |
| Knarre |
(German) rattle |
| Kneifend |
(German) plucking, pizzicato |
| Koboz |
see kopuz |
| Kobsa |
plucked lute |
| Kobuz |
see kopuz |
| Kobyz |
see kopuz |
| Köchel |
after Ludwig Ritter von Köchel the cataloguer of
music by Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741), and by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) |
| Kochlos |
(ancient Greece) shell-type instrument, sounding
like a trumpet |
| Ko-daiko |
a small Japanese drum |
| Kodhok ngorek |
see laras |
| Kokett |
(German) coquettish |
| Kokle |
Latvian lap zither |
| Koko |
wooden clappers of the Mbuti people (Central African
Pygmies) |
| Kolomyika |
a quick duple-time Polish dance |
| Kolophone |
(German) bow resin, bow rosin |
| Koloratur |
(German) coloratura |
| Koliosnaya lira |
Russian hurdy gurdy |
| Koma-gaku |
(Japanese) music of the three Korean kingdoms that
found its way to ancient Japan |
| Kombination |
(German) combination, choice of organ registration |
| Komisch |
(German) comic |
| Komma |
after Karl Michael Komma the cataloguer of music by
Jan Zach (1699-1773) |
| Kompa |
a popular style of Haitian tropical music created in
the 1950s, heavily influenced by Dominican merengue
and Cuban music, the word kompa deriving from the
Spanish word compás, meaning 'rhythm' or 'beat' |
| Komponiert |
(German) composed |
| Komun-go |
Korean six-string zither |
| Komuso |
(Japanese, literally 'priests of nothingness')
wandering Buddhist priests who played the shakuhachi
as a spiritual discipline, and who, during the Edo
Period, had exclusive license to play the instrument |
| Komuz |
a three stringed lute from Kyrgyzstan |
| Konghou |
Chinese harp |
| Kongtha |
the Jew's harp of Bhutan, made from very thin bamboo
more... |
| Koni |
a small traditional four-stringed lute in the form
of a teardrop (Gambia), also known as ngoni in
Mali |
| Ko ni |
the ko ni is a special form of stick fiddle
found only in Vietnam. It was developed from the
one-string violin of the Jarai people who live in the
south central highlands of Vietnam. The modern ko ni
has two strings. The player sits, holding the instrument
between both legs. The ko ni does not have a
resonating chamber or sound box. Rather, the strings are
attached by silk cords to a small bamboo or plastic
resonating disc that is held in the player's mouth. The
player's mouth acts as the resonating chamber, and
precise movements of the lips and tongue create a broad
range of tonal colors and emotional expressions, giving
the ko ni its unique sound
more... |
| Kono |
strummed lute (Ghana) |
| Konpa |
see kompa |
| Kontingo |
West African lute, also known as xalam,
halam, ngoni and koni |
| Kontra |
see contra |
| Kontrabass |
(German) double-bass |
| Kontrabassposaune |
(German) double-bass or contrabass trombone |
| Kontrafagott |
(German) double bassoon |
| Kontrapunkt |
(German) counterpoint, see 'contrapuntal' |
| Kontretanz |
a country dance derived from the French
contredance which in turn came from the English
'country dance' |
| Konzert |
(German) concert, concerto |
| Konzertmeister |
see 'concertmaster' |
| Konzertstück |
an informal 'concert piece', usually in one
movement, for solo instruments and orchestra |
| Koole |
after Arend Koole the cataloguer of music by Pietro
Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764) |
| Koppel |
(German) coupler (organ, harpichord) |
| Kopuz |
a Central Asian Turkic short lute |
| Kora |
a West African harp lute with 19 strings, popular in
Gambia, Senegal and Mali. It has a skin stretched across
a large gourd, a wooden neck and gut or nylon fishwire
strings stretched across a tall bridge. It is played in
a similar way to a harp |
| Korintsana |
Malagasy rattle or shaker, usually made from either
a sealed bamboo tube or a tin can on a stick, filled
with dried beans |
| Kornett |
(German) modern cornet, early cornetto |
| Korng tauch |
small Cambodian gong circle |
| Korng thomm |
large Cambodian gong circle |
| Kortholt |
short German Renaissance reed instrument
more... |
| Koryaga |
a one stringed instrument with a string fixed on a
curved branch of a tree. The sound is made by a violin
bow or plucked, and the notes are changed with the use
of a wire bent over the branches' ends. It was created
at the end of the twentieth-century by Moscow designer
Uri Balashov |
| Kosha kosha |
rattle from Mozambique |
| Kostenka |
(German) a type of Serbian dance |
| Kotak |
(Javanese) a rectangular chest in which wayang
puppets and other props are kept, on top of which, and
attached to it, are small wooden or metal plates called
keprak or kekrek, which are used to
provide various sound effects. The inside of the chest
may be tapped with a small horn, cempala, or a
wooden hammer, tabuh keprak, to guide the
gamelan orchestra |
| Koto |
a 13 string Japanese zither of Chinese origin. It is
the longest of the long zithers of East Asia, about 1.8
metres (6 feet) long. The instrument is laid
horizontally with waxed silken strings stretched tightly
over movable bridges along the length of the instrument.
The koto is plucked using ivory picks called
tsumen
more... |
| Kotsuzumi |
small Japanese hand drum |
| Kouqin |
(Mandarin Chinese, literally 'mouth instrument') the
generic name for the Jew's harp
more... |
| Kpanlogo |
barrel drum with pegs from Ghana, with an antelope
skin drum head |
| Kpoko-Kpoko |
double ended wooden bell rattle (Nigeria) |
| Kr |
after Carl Krebs the cataloguer of music by Carl
Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) |
| Kraft |
(German) strength, vigour |
| Kräftig |
strong, vigorous |
| Krakoviak, Krakowiak |
Polish dance from the Kraków region, in 2/4 time
with syncopated rhythms |
| Krar |
a six-string bowl-shaped lyre from Ethiopia |
| Kreis |
(German) cycle, circle |
| Kreuz |
(German) the sharp sign |
| Kreig |
(German) war |
| Krembala |
(ancient Greek) a kind of cymbals mentioned in a
Homeric poem to Apollo |
| K'rkbs |
see karkabas |
| Krommoi |
see kiromboi |
| Krontjong |
a mix of Portuguese fado and various
influences from Indonesian cultures in the former Dutch
East Indies, krontjong music was folk music for
the average Eurasian living in the Dutch East Indies and
from 1950 also in the Netherlands. Krontjong
music has become keroncong in Indonesia, modified
by popular Indonesian music, dangdut. Dangdut
is now the typical popular music in Indonesia while
krontjong music continues to remain popular with
Eurasians all over the world |
| Kross |
after Siegried Kross the cataloguer of music by
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) |
| Krotala |
(ancient Greece) a dancer's instrument like the
castanets/rattles, probably a split reed or cane, which
clattered when shaken with the hand. According to
Eustathius, it was made of shell and brass, as well as
wood. Clemens Alexandrinus says that it was an invention
of the Sicilians. The word krotalon is used also
as a metaphor, for a 'noisy talkative person' |
| Krummbogen, Krummbügel |
(German) crook of a brass instrument |
| Krummhorn, Krumhorn |
(German) crumhorn |
| Krupezion |
(ancient Greece) probably a kind of clatter (foot)
instrument used by flute players, a metallic piece
attached to the sole of the player (podopsophos) |
| Ksink-Ksink |
see seke-seke |
| Kubing |
a highly responsive bamboo jaw harp from Mindanao,
the large southern island of the Philippines
more... |
| Kucheng |
a 16 or 21-stringed zither. It is currently the most
popular plucked traditional Chinese instrument on Taiwan |
| Kugikly |
Russian reed panpipe |
| Kujawiak |
a quick, triple-time Polish dance |
| Kultrun |
sacred Mapuche (Native Chilean Indians) drum |
| Kum |
Korean seven-stringed zither used in court music |
| Kumi-daiko |
a Japanese taiko drum ensemble |
| Kundu |
hourglass shaped drum from Papua New Guinea |
| Kunst, Künstler, Kunstkenner |
(German) art, artist, connoisseur |
| Kupurra |
drum from Mozambique |
| Kurai |
a long Bashkir (Russia) flute made out of grass |
| Kure-gaku |
(Japanese) see gigaku |
| Kuri-nuki-daiko |
a Japanese drum carved from a log |
| Kurukutu |
a small hourglass Hausa (Ghana) drum with goat skin
and a gut snare. It is played with two leather sticks |
| Kurz, Kurze |
(German) short |
| Kurzer Vorschlag |
(German) acciaccatura |
| Kutchka |
the name given to five composers of Russian
nationality who developed their own nationalistic style
while rejecting Western stylistic views; the composers
included Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1836-1910),
Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin (1833-1887), Céar Cui
[Tsezar Antonovich Kyui] (1835-1918), Modest Petrovich
Musorgsky (1839-1881) and Nicolai Andreyevich
Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908); the group also known as
'the Five' and 'the Mighty Handful' |
| Kutiriba |
a medium-sized Mandinka (Gambia and Senegal) drum.
It is played with one hand and a short stick. The top is
covered with goat skin |
| Kutirindingo |
a small Mandinka drum. It is played with one hand
and a short stick. The top is covered with goat skin |
| KV |
Köchel-Verzeichnis catalogue of works by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) prepared by Köchel |
| Kveding |
old Norwegian vocal tradition |
| Kwaito |
an urban South African genre developed in the 1990s,
a fusion of various musical sounds that were popular in
the 1990s, including South African dance music, hip hop,
Jamaican influences, house music and rhythm and blues |
| Kwanggari |
(Korean) a percussion instrument made of various
metal alloys, played by being struck with a hardwood
beater
more... |
| Kwassa-kwassa |
dance style from the Democratic Republic of Congo
that was developed in the 1980's |
| Kwela |
South African pennywhistle (tin flute) music |
| Kyey naung |
Burmese brass gong |
| Kyey se |
Burmese triangular gong |
| Kyi waing |
(Burmese) a high-pitched set of bronze gongs played
with mallets and set in a gilded wooden circular frame,
similar to, but lower pitched than those of the patt
waing |
| Kyl-kyjak |
a Kyrgyz two-string fiddle with a bow made out of
horsehairs. Kyl-kyjak was widely played by
performers who often acted as a one actor theatre,
producing the whole range of sounds of nature and humans |
| Kymbala |
(ancient Greek) also called cymbals,
cheirokymbala or anakara, a musical
instrument, in the shape of two half globes, which were
held one in each hand by the performer, and played by
being struck against each other. The word is derived
from kumbos meaning 'hollow' |
| Kyrie eleison |
(Greek, literally 'Lord, have mercy') the first part
of the ordinary of the Mass, this is the only Greek
surviving in the Roman Mass |
| Kytte |
see 'kit' |
