| S |
after Wolfgang Schmieder, the cataloguer of music by
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750); see also 'BWV'; after
Siebel the cataloguer of music by Johann David Heinichen
(1683-1729); after Humphrey Searle the cataloguer of
music by Franz Liszt (1811-1886); after Smith the
cataloguer of music by Leopold Sylvius Weiss
(1686-1750); after Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) whose
music was catalogued by Bittinger (sometimes designated
'SWV'); after Padre Samuel Rubio the cataloguer of music
by Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783) (sometimes designated
by 'SR') |
| Saarangi |
see sarangi |
| Sabar |
a Wolof orchestra of five to seven drums carved from
solid mahogany. Each drummer plays one drum with one
hand and a stick. It is composed of solo drums called
n'der and gorong yeguel, three accompanying
drums known as gorong talmbat, m'bung m'bung
bal and m'bung m'bung tungoné. The bass drum
is the lambe (Senegal) |
| Sabaro |
a large Mandinka drum carved from mango or mahogany
wood. It is played with one hand a short stick. The head
is covered with shaved goat skin (West Africa) |
| Sacbut, Sackbut, Sagbut |
early form of trombone
more... |
| Saccadé |
(French) sharply accented |
| Sac de gemecs |
Catalan bagpipe (Spain) |
| Sackpfeife |
(German) bagpipe |
| Sack pipa |
Swedish bagpipe with a single reed chanter and a
single drone |
| Sacred music |
music designed to be played in church inspired by or
as part of services including religious texts |
| Sacre rappresentazioni |
(Italian) an precursor of the opera form, in
particular, a sacred drama with music |
| Saeta |
an unaccompanied Spanish folk song |
| Saenap |
see taepyongso |
| Saf |
after Milos Safrenek the cataloguer of music by
Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) |
| Saibara |
(Japanese) folk songs sung in Chinese, part of
gagaku |
| Sainete (Sp.), Saynète (Fr.) |
Spanish musical farce |
| Saite |
(German, literally 'string') the string of a musical
instrument |
| Sakara |
a Yoruba (Nigeria) musical style played at namings,
weddings and funerals; a Yoruba round ceramic drum from
Nigeria covered with goatskin, played with a stick |
| Salegy |
dance of the Sakalave people of Madagascar |
| Sälgflöjt |
(Swedish, literally 'willow flute') pipe made from
the willow tree |
| Saliamiya |
three-holed flute from Egypt |
| S'a llarga, S'a curta |
the two most typical dances from the island of
Ibiza, Spain. One stands for long and the other for
short, depending on the beat. The woman dances slowly,
barely moving while the man dances vigorously trying to
prove his manhood and strength. A drummer, flute player
and castanets accompany the dancers |
| Salmo |
(Italian) psalm |
| Salphinx, Salpinx |
(Greek) ancient Greek trumpet made of bronze and
probably used for martial events |
| Salsa |
(Spanish, literally 'sauce') derived from Cuban
son, the music is not always fast-paced and vibrant;
it can be slow and romantic. The salsa has been
influenced also by the Puerto Rican plenas, the
Dominican merengue and the Colombian cumbia
more... |
| Salsa dura |
(Spanish, literally 'hard salsa') a term that
defines salsa as it developed in New York, with genres
and rhythms drawn from Cuba and other islands in the
Caribbean melding with the tempo, drive and
improvisational techniques picked up by the immigrants
in New York City |
| Saltando, Saltato |
(Italian) playing with a bouncing bow, spiccato |
| Saltarella, Saltarello, Salterello |
a quick Italian dance not unlike the galliard or
tarantella with simple triple and compound duple
rhythms, whose name comes from jump, although only
expert dancers hop |
| Saltones |
traditional Asturian dance tunes (Spain) |
| Salve regina |
(Latin, literally 'hail Queen') one of the four
Marian Antiphons sung between Trinity Sunday and Advent
more... |
| Samba |
a dance and type of music from Brazil of African
slave origin. The dance, in double time and highly
syncopated, is very difficult as performed by Brazilians
in comparison to formal ballroom-dancing which is highly
stylized. Men and women dance samba differently
and together yet without touching
more... |
| Samba de coco |
a fusion between the Fulnio Indian culture of Brazil
and African musical roots |
| Samba reggae |
this style grew out of the blocos afros
(Black carnival associations) in Bahia |
| Samba school |
a social, cultural, and club group that meets
regularly and frequently with the purpose of learning
and performing Brazilian samba dance, music, and
costumes |
| Sambista |
a person that performs samba, more commonly a
female dancer |
| Sambuca |
angular harp used by the Greeks and Romans |
| Samisen |
a Japanese 3-stringed instrument played with a
plectrum |
| Sammlung |
(German) collection |
| Sampeh, Sampet |
see sape |
| Sampho |
small Cambodian barrel drum |
| Sampler |
a device used in electronic music enables the
production of sounds digitally |
| Samsien |
see shamisen |
| Sämtlich |
(German) complete, collected |
| San |
(Japanese) florid and very complicated Buddhist
chant style performed in Sanskrit, Chinese, or Japanese |
| Sanctus |
(Latin, literally 'holy') the oldest item of the
Ordinary of the Mass, the eighth item, following the
Offertory and preceding the Agnus Dei |
| Sandpaper blocks |
wooden blocks with sandpaper attached, two blocks
being rubbed together to create a coarse, brushing sound |
| Sanduri |
(Greek) zither |
| Sanfona |
Portuguese hurdy-gurdy |
| Sanft, Sanftmütig |
(German) soft, gentle, gently |
| Sangleik |
Scandinavian song games |
| Sanghwang |
(Korean) a combination of baktong (a type of
gourd) and bamboo pipes, this woodwind instrument sounds
when the player inhales and when he or she exhales, like
a mouth-organ, and is capable of producing more than one
note at a time
more... |
| Sanko |
a Japanese hourglass shaped drum |
| Sanpi |
Chinese word for flute |
| Sans |
(French) without |
| Sansa, Sanza |
see 'thumb piano' |
| Sanshin |
see shamisen |
| Santoor, Santour, Santouri, Santur |
a hammered dulcimer struck with light wooden
mallets, indigenous to Kashmir, but nowadays played
throughout Northern India. The number of strings may
vary between 24 and more than a 100, although typical
instrument have about 80. The Indian santur
should not be confused with the Persian santur,
the latter being much wider |
| Sanxian |
Chinese long-necked lute with 3 strings and a small
snake-covered head, known as shamisen in Japan |
| Sanza |
see mbira |
| Sáo ba nguoi |
a flute that allows two players to perform it at
once; a novelty instrument invented by Khac Chi that
combines three flutes into one instrument that allows
three players to perform on it at once |
| Sáo tre |
Vietnamese transverse bamboo flute |
| Sáo trúc |
Vietnamese bamboo flute |
| Sape, Sapeh |
also called sampet or sampeh; a
traditional lute of the Orang Ulu or "up-river people",
who live in the longhouses that line the rivers of
Central Borneo. with a body carved from a single bole of
wood originally strung with two strings and fitted with
three frets
more... |
| Sarabande, Saraband |
a dignified, steady dance usually in triple time |
| Sarangi |
a common representative of vitat, it has
three to four main playing strings and a number of
sympathetic strings. The instrument has no frets or
fingerboard; the strings float in the air. Pitch is
determined by sliding the fingernail against the string
rather than pressing it against a fingerboard and for
this reason the instrument is extremely difficult to
play. As a consequence, its popularity is on the
decline. The sarangi has traditionally been associated
with the kathak dance and the vocal styles of
thumri, dadra and kheyal |
| Saraswathi veena, Saraswati vina |
associated with Saraswati, the goddess of learning
and the arts, this instrument is common in south India
and is an important instrument in carnatic sangeet.
It is variously called simply vina, or veena,
the 'Saraswati' part being implied. The instrument has a
body made of wood, generally jackwood, the instruments
of highest quality having the entire body carved from a
single block of wood while the ordinary vinas
have a body which is carved in three sections
(resonator, neck and head). There are 24 frets made of
brass bars set into wax. There is a second resonator at
the top of the neck that is no longer a functioning
resonator, but is used mainly as a stand to facilitate
the positioning of the instrument when it is played.
Because it is no longer functioning, it is not unusual
to find that this upper resonator may be made of
acoustically neutral materials such as paper mache, cane
or other similar materials. The saraswati vina
has no sympathetic strings, only four playing strings
and three drone strings (thalam). The main bridge
is a flat, lightly curved bar made of brass. It is the
light curve which gives the vina its
characteristic sound |
| Sardana |
the Catalonian national dance similar to a
farandole |
| Saringda |
a folk version of the sarangi (q.v.) |
| Sarod |
an instrument which is derived from the rabab.
It is not particularly ancient, probably no more than
150 to 200 years old. Essentially it is a bass rabab
with a fretless metal fingerboard, a bridge that rests
on a taut membrane covering the resonator and numerous
strings, some of which are drones, some are played, and
some are sympathetic. It is played with a pick made of
coconut shell |
| Saron |
(Javanese) a glockenspiel with bronze bars struck
with a wooden mallet. There are three kinds: saron
barung, saron peking and saron demung |
| Sarrusophone |
a family of double-reed instruments, similar to a
bassoon or oboe but made of brass, invented in 1856,
named after its French inventor, the Parisian bandmaster
Pierre Auguste Sarrus (1813-1876)
more... |
| Sartenes |
frying pans in Spanish. Used as a percussion
instrument in Spain and Spanish America. In parts of
Spain, a single pan, sartén, is played with a
cuchara (spoon) and a dedal (thimble) |
| Sarune |
shawm from Sumatra (Indonesia) |
| Sarune bolon |
shawm with detachable bell from Sumatra (Indonesia) |
| Sarune etek |
small shawm from Sumatra (Indonesia) |
| Sassofone |
(Italian) saxophone |
| Satara |
South Asian double flutes, one drone, one melodic |
| S.A.T.B. |
short for 'soprano, alto, tenor, bass' |
| Sattar |
a long-necked bowed instrument, with one metal
playing string and 10 sympathetic strings, used by the
Uigurs, a Turkman people from Western China |
| Satz |
(German) movement, theme or subject, phrase,
composition or piece, texture, style |
| Saudades |
(Portuguese) sadness associated with a longing for
times past |
| Saung |
Burmese harp |
| Saung gauk |
(Burmese) wooden harp with silk strings, elaborately
gilded with the sound-body covered with deer skin |
| Sausage bassoon |
racket |
| Sautillé |
(French) spiccato, the bouncing of the bow on
a stringed instrument |
| Savart |
a logarithmic measurement system of musical
intervals invented by Felix Savart (1791-1841) in which
an octave comprises 301.03 savarts |
| Saxhorn |
a family of brass instruments invented by Antoine
Joseph (Adolph) Sax (1814-1894) similar to the
flügelhorn family and to the Italian flicorni
more... |
| Saxofonia (It.), Saxofono (It.), Saxofon (Ger.),
Saxophone |
a family of wind-instruments with a single reed like
a clarinet but with a body made of metal, invented in
about 1840 by Antoine Joseph (Adolph) Sax (1814-1894)
more... |
| Saz |
family of long thin-necked metallic-sounding fretted
lutes played throughout Turkey that includes baglama
(middle sized saz with six strings grouped in
pairs), cura (small three stringed saz)
and divan & meydan both having 9 strings;
Armenian lute, with three strings, a small oval sounding
box and an unusually long neck |
| Sbalzo, Sbaltzato |
(Italian) play with a sense of impetuosity |
| Scacciapensieri |
(Italian) Jew's harp |
| Scale |
a sequence of notes monotonically rising or falling
between two notes an octave apart where neighbouring
degrees of the scale have prescribed intervals between
them, for example, the interval-sequence
'tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone' describes a
rising major scale |
| Scale degree |
scale degree refers to the location of a pitch
within the ordering of pitches that produce a scale. For
example, the first pitch of a scale is scale degree 1.
Scale degree also has a functional meaning in the syntax
of tonal music. Scale degrees can influence the harmonic
unfolding of sections of music, and the progression of
scale degrees through unify a complete work |
| Scaling |
the relationship between the length and thickness of
a vibrating string and the tone it produces, for
example, with a constant tension and thickness, half the
length of a given string will sound an octave higher
than the entire length of the string |
| Scampanata |
(Italian) unsophisticated extemporised music,
charivari |
| Scandicus |
see 'neume notation' |
| Scandicus flexus |
see 'neume notation' |
| Scat song |
scat singing can be highly artistic, with nonsense
words generally used only in the improvised chorus as
part of a song that otherwise has ordinary words, which
although much in vogue in the 1930's remains popular
today as part of the jazz style
[entry courtesy of Ben Crowell, 2004] |
| Scemando |
(Italian) diminishing the volume of tone |
| Scena |
an episode in an opera composed of elements such as
arias, recitative, even dialogue |
| Scenario |
the outline of a work often prepared before either
music and libretto has been written |
| Schale, Schalen or Schallbecken |
(German) cymbal, cymbals |
| Schalkhaft |
(German) roguish |
| Schalmei |
(German) the medieval shawm
more... |
| Scharf |
(German) emphatically, definitely, precisely,
sharply |
| Schärfe |
(German) sharpness, definiteness, precision |
| Schaurig, Schauerig, Schauerlich |
(German) ghastly, gruesome |
| Schelle, Schellen |
(German) bell, bells |
| Schellengeläute |
(German) sleigh-bells |
| Schellentrommel |
(German) tambourine |
| Schelmisch |
(German) roguish |
| Scherz |
(German) fun, joke |
| Scherzando, Scherzante, Scherzevole,
Scherzevolmente |
(Italian) jokingly, playfully |
| Scherzare |
(Italian) to joke |
| Scherzetto, Scherzino |
(Italian) a little scherzo |
| Scherzo |
(Italian) a joke; a vocal work by Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643); a piece played between two performances of
a minuet - i.e. 'minuet - scherzo - minuet', a movement
of a symphony, a work for solo piano
more...
|
| Scherzo and trio |
a replacement for the 'minuet and trio' in the
sonata cycle |
| Scherzoso, Scherzosamente |
(Italian) playful, playfully |
| Schietto |
(Italian) sincere, plain - in the sense 'unadorned' |
| Schisma |
the difference between five octaves and eight justly
tuned fifths plus one justly tuned major third. It is
expressed by the ratio 32805:32768, and is equal to 1.95
cents. It is also the difference between the
Pythagorean and syntonic commas |
| Schlacht |
(German) battle |
| Schlag |
(German) stroke, blow |
| Schlägel |
(German) drumstick |
| Schlagen |
(German) to strike |
| Schlaginstrumente, Schlagzeug |
(German) percussion instrument |
| Schlangenrohr |
(German) serpent |
| Schleifer |
an ornament used to fill in the interval between two
notes |
| Schleppen, Schleppend |
(German) drag, dragging |
| Schlummerlied |
(German) slumber song |
| Schluss |
(German) end, conclusion |
| Schlussel |
(German) clef |
| Schmachtend |
(German) languishing |
| Schmeichelnd |
(German) coaxingly |
| Schmelzend |
(German) dying away |
| Schmerz |
(German) pain, sorrow |
| Schmerzlich, Schmerzhaft, Schmerzvoll |
(German) painful, sorrowful |
| Schmetternd |
(German, literally 'blaring') a strongly blown
stopped horn |
| Schmid |
after Hans Schmid the cataloguer of music by
Frantisek Rossler-Rosetti (1746-1792) |
| Schnabelflöte |
(German) recorder |
| Schnarre |
(German) snare drum |
| Schneidend |
(German) defining |
| Schnell, Schneller |
(German) quick, quicker |
| Schnelligkeit |
(German) speed |
| Schofar, Shofar, Shophar |
synagogue horn |
| Schoor thom |
large Cambodian bass drums |
| Schottische, Schottisch |
(German) Scottish |
| Schreierpfeife |
see rauschpfeife |
| Schrittmässig, Schrittweise |
(German, literally 'stepwise') andante |
| Schüchtern |
(German) shy |
| Schütteln |
(German) to shake |
| Schwach, Schwächen, Schwächer |
(German) 'weak' or 'soft', 'to weaken' or 'to
soften', 'weaken' or 'soften' |
| Schwankend |
(German) swaying |
| Schwebung |
(German) the beating between two notes slightly out
of tune with one another, difference tone |
| Schweigen, Schweigt, Schweigezeichen |
(German) silence, tacet, rest |
| Schwellen, Schweller, Schwellkasten, Schwellwerk |
(German) crescendo, swell of an organ, the
swell box, the swell organ |
| Schwer |
(German) heavy, difficult |
| Schwermütig, Schwermutsvoll |
(German) heavy-hearted |
| Schwinden |
(German) diminuendo |
| Schwung |
(German) swing |
| Schwungvoll |
(German) full of vigour |
| Scientific pitch notation |
see
scientific pitch notation
|
| Scintillante |
(Italian) sparkling |
| Sciolto, Scioltamente |
(Italian) freely, loosely |
| Scivolando |
(Italian) glissando |
| Scoop |
to slide up to pitch from slightly below it, a term
normally applied to singers |
| Scordato, Scordatura |
(Italian) to tune a stringed instrument in a
non-standard manner |
| Score |
a representation on the page of a whole musical
work; if the orchestral part is reduced to a piano
version, the score is said to be a short score |
| Scoring |
orchestration |
| Scorrendo, Scorrevole |
(Italian) glissando, in a flowing manner |
| Scorriu |
an instrument that was developed by Sardinian
bandits to scare the horses of their victims or the
police. It is made out of a cork cylinder with a dog
skin membrane. When rubbed, the instrument produces a
loud screeching sound that scares horses |
| Scotch snap |
a rhythmic figure consisting of a short note on the
beat followed by a long note which is then held until
the next beat |
| Scottish smallpipes |
a bellows blown bagpipe from the Scottish lowlands,
related to the Northumbrian smallpipes |
| Scozzese |
(Italian) Scottish |
| Scraper |
a percussion instrument consisting of a rough
serrated surface in any various shapes that is scraped
by a hard object |
| Scroll |
ornmental carving normally found on the violin and
related stringed instruments, at the end of the neck
just above the pegbox |
| Scucito |
(Italian) disconnected |
| Sdegno, Sdegnante, Sdegnoso, Sdegnosamente |
(Italian) disdain, disdaining, disdainful,
disdainfully |
| Sdrucciolando |
(Italian) glissando |
| Se |
(Italian) if, in case, as; in solfeggio, se
is the lowered fifth degree of a diatonic scale; in
'fixed do' solfeggio, se is always the note 'G
flat'; (Chinese) a Chinese zither |
| Sebi |
Egyptian end-blown reed flute |
| Sec, Sèche |
(French) dry, crisp; similar to staccato; to
play in a plain unornamented way |
| Sécheresse |
(French) dryness |
| Secco |
(Italian) staccato |
| Secco recitative |
synonymous with recitativo semplice,
recitatives, mainly during the seventeenth- and
eighteenth-centuries, accompanied by continuo
instrument(s) rather than by an entire orchestra |
| Sechs |
(German) six |
| Sechzehntel, Sechzehntelnote |
 |
(German) a semiquaver (sixteenth note) a
note one sixteenth the time value of a whole
note or semibreve |
|
| Sechzehntelpause |
 |
(German) a semiquaver rest (sixteenth rest),
a rest one sixteenth the time value of a whole
note rest or semibreve rest
|
|
| Second |
the smallest non-unison interval |
| Secondando |
(Italian) colla voce |
| Seconda prattica |
an Italian seventeenth-century term used to
distinguish Renaissance polyphonic style, prima
prattica, from that of the Baroque, seconda
prattica |
| Secondary dominant |
the dominant of the dominant |
| Seconda volta |
(Italian) second ending |
| Second ending |
see 'first ending' |
| Secondo, Seconda, Secondi, Seconde |
(Italian) second |
| Second Viennese school |
name given to the composer Arnold Schoenberg and his
pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern, that represents the
first efforts in twelve-tone composition |
| Secular music |
compositions that have no connection with religion |
| Secundal chords |
chords built of seconds |
| Selák |
Furiant |
| Seele |
(German) feeling |
| Seele, Seelenvoll |
(German) sound-post (of a stringed instrument) |
| Segno |
 |
(Italian) sign; for example, [D.C.] dal
segno as in [repeat] from the sign |
|
| Segue |
(Italian, literally 'it follows') now follows, go on
with what follows |
| Seguente, Seguendo |
(Italian) following |
| Seguidilla |
old Spanish dance in simple triple time which
features vocal passages from the performers, similar to
the bolero |
| Segundo |
the middle (or second) drum in the set of three
tumbadoras used in Cuban drumming |
| Sehnsucht |
(German) longing |
| Sehr |
(German) very, much |
| Sei |
(Italian) six |
| Seistron |
a metallic rattle. the most simple version
consisting of little metal bars tied on to two wooden
arms. Probably originating from Egypt where it was used
for religious ceremonies for the goddess Isis. It was
held in the right hand and shaken, from which it derived
its name |
| Seite |
(German) side |
| Seizième de soupir |
 |
(French) a hemidemisemiquaver rest
(sixty-fourth rest), a rest one sixty-fourth the
time value of a whole note rest or semibreve
rest
|
|
| Sekere |
see shekere |
| Seke-seke |
metal rattle or ears that are used on a jembe (West
Africa). Also known as ksink-ksink |
| Selingup, Selingut |
also called keringuta five-holed nose flute
of the Kayan people of the interior of Sarawak
more... |
| Seljefløyte |
Swedish and Norwegian willow flute. Originally, it
was called birch flute. It exists in two forms: an
end-blown flute, often called a whistling flute, and a
side-blown flute |
| Selnien |
vertical cymbals used by Tibetan monks in Buddhist
rites |
| Selnyen |
see selnien |
| Sema |
the Whirling Dervish rite |
| Semai |
dance of the Alevis, also know as screaming
dervishes |
| Semibiscroma |
| |
(Italian) a hemidemisemiquaver rest
(sixty-fourth rest), a rest one sixty-fourth the
time value of a whole note rest or semibreve
rest
|
|
| Semibreve |
 |
a whole note |
|
| Semibreve rest |
 |
a whole rest |
|
| Semibrevis |
 |
(Latin, literally 'half-short') semibreve;
in early mensural music a note that is half or
third the value of a breve |
|
| Semicroma |
| |
(Italian) a semiquaver (sixteenth note), a
note one sixteenth the time value of a whole
note or semibreve |
|
| Semidemisemiquaver |
|
a hemidemisemiquaver (sixty-fourth note), a
note one sixty-fourth the time value of a whole
note or semibreve |
|
| Semifusa |
 |
(Latin) in mensural notation, semiquaver or
sixteenth note
|
|
| Semihemidemisemiquaver |
a one hundred and twenty-eighth note or a note
having the time duration of one hundred twenty-eighth of
the time duration of a semibreve (whole note) |
| Semiminima |
 |
(Italian) a crotchet (quarter note), a note
one quarter the time value of a whole note or
semibreve |
|
| Semiquaver |
| |
a sixteenth note, a note one sixteenth the
time value of a whole note or semibreve |
|
| Semiquaver rest |
| |
a sixteenth rest, a rest one sixteenth the
time value of a whole note rest or semibreve
rest |
|
| Semitone |
half the interval of a tone |
| Semplice, Semplicità |
(Italian) simple, simplicity |
| Semplicemente, Semplicissimo |
(Italian) simply, extremely simple |
| Sempre |
(Italian) always |
| Senh tien |
a small hand held percussion instrument made from
two pieces of flat wood. The upper piece is grooved to
produce a rasping sound when rubbed by a small stick,
and the lower piece is struck against the upper as in a
clapper. Small bells and jingles are attached. The
playing technique is complex, alternating rapidly
between rasping, clasping, and jingling sounds |
| Seni rabab |
very popular during the moghal period, the main
characteristic that distingished this from other
rababs was the large hook on the back of the head of
the instrument used to sling it over the shoulder, thus
allowing it to played while marching in processions. The
seni rabab is virtually extinct today and should
not be confused with the kabuli rabab which is
still common. The name seni rabab is a reference
to Tansen, a great musician in the court of Akbar. This
instrument was held in great esteem in the past. The
first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, is said to have had
a tremendous love for the instrument. It is said that he
was accompanied by his friend and musical accompanist
Mirdana while he sang the Gurbani |
| Senj |
Iranian metal castanets |
| Sensibile, Sensibilità |
(Italian) sensitive, sensitiveness, for example,
nota sensibile, (Italian) leading note |
| Sentence |
a complete, independent musical idea, usually
consisting of two or four phrases, ending with a cadence |
| Sentimento |
(Italian) with feeling |
| Sentir |
a Moroccan three-stringed long-necked lute with a
body made from a single piece of wood, and covered with
camel skin. Also known as sintir, hejhuj,
gogo, gnbri and guimbri |
| Sentito |
(Italian) felt |
| Senufo |
a large buzzing Malian xylophone |
| Senza |
(Italian) without |
| Senza sordino, Senza sordina, Senza sordini |
(Italian) unmuted, on the piano using the sustaining
pedal |
| Separé |
(French) uncoupled |
| Sepik flutes |
the longest flutes in the world, from Kanengara
(Papua New Guinea) |
| Sepolcro |
Italian performance similar to the oratorio, except
that the sepolcro makes use of scenery, costumes,
and acting, a sacred, dramatic work performed during
Holy Week which was popular in the late
seventeenth-century |
| Sept |
(French) seven |
| Septet (Eng.), Septette or Septuor (Fr.),
Settimino or Septetto (It.), Septett (Ger.) |
a group of seven instrumentalists, a work written
for a group such as this to perform |
| Septième |
(French) seventh |
| Septulet |
a group of seven notes played in the time of four or
in the time of six |
| Sequence |
a syllabic genre which follows the alleluia
in the mass; most sequences were banned by the Council
of Trent (1543-1563) and only five survive in modern-day
use; a sequence can also be a melodic pattern that is
repeated at successively higher, or lower, pitches;
there are two types of sequence:
real sequence: where the repeated phrase is unaltered as
it's pitch is changed
tonal sequence: where the notes in the repeated phrase
are modified to keep it in it's original key |
| Sequencer |
a device or program that records and plays back
user-determined sets of music performance commands,
usually in the form of MIDI data. Most sequencers also
allow the data to be edited in various ways, and stored
on disk
[from the
Electronic Music Dictionary] |
| Sequentia |
a Medieval term referring to a melody without text,
such as the melismatic alleluia, used in
opposition to the term prosa, signifying a melody
with a text |
| Serenade |
music properly played or sung in the evening under a
lady's window; a light and/or intimate piece of no
specific form to be played in an open-air evening
setting; in German the equivalent word is Nachtmusik |
| Serenata |
a dramatic cantata, a work for wind-band |
| Serenatella |
(Italian) diminutive of serenata |
| Sereno, Serenità |
(Italian) serene, serenity |
| Serialism |
A compositional method where various musical
elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics and tone colour
may be put in a fixed order |
| Serialized rhythm |
a musical passage or work in which the rhythmic
aspects are controlled by some predetermined series of
durations |
| Serial music |
see
twelve tone method - dodecaphony |
| Seriamente |
(Italian) seriously |
| Series |
a succession of musical elements to be used as
fundamental material in a composition |
| Sérieux, Sérieuse |
(French) serious |
| Serio, Seria, Serioso, Seriosa |
(Italian) serious |
| Seriosamente |
(Italian) seriously |
| Serpent |
a large member of the cornetto family, S-shaped,
usually made of wood and sometimes fitted with keys; it
was superceded by the ophicleide
more... |
| Serraggia |
an ancient one-string bowed instrument from Sardinia
(Italy), used during carnival. It is made of a cane with
one brass string. The instrument is played with a bow
made from horse hair |
| Serranas |
a flamenco style with the same beat structure
as the siguiriyas, although less intense, its
themes revolving around the concerns of mountain bandits |
| Serrando or Serrato (It.), Serrant or Serré (Fr.) |
getting faster |
| Serunai |
used throughout Islamic-influenced countries in
eastern Europe, northern Africa and much of central
Asia, an ancient double reed instrument with a long,
conical wooden body and a flared bell
more... |
| Service |
a Christian liturgical gathering, containing fixed
prayers, songs, and responses; an Anglican Church term
that denotes music for the unchanging morning and
evening prayers and for communion |
| S'escandalari |
a colorful peasant dance from Ibiza, Spain that
celebrates planting and harvesting |
| Sesquialtra |
the ratio 3:2, which was often used in Medieval
music theory |
| Set |
in music, a collection of twelve notes that cover
each of the tones of the twelve-tone scale; a collection
of pieces played sequentially during a performance |
| Sette |
(Italian) seven |
| Seufzend |
(German) sighing |
| Seul, Seule, Seuls, Seules |
(French) alone |
| Seventh |
a major seventh is a semitone smaller than an
octave; a minor seventh is a whole tone smaller than an
octave |
| Seventh chord |
a chord consisting of a root note, the third above
the root, the fifth above the root and the seventh above
the root |
| Severita |
(Italian) severity, strictness |
| Severo, Severamente |
(Italian) severe, severely |
| Sevillanas |
a very popular colorful and festive Spanish folk
dance from Seville, derived from the seguidilla
and the fandango, consisting of six or seven
couplets (coplas). Each copla is a little
dance in itself divided into three parts and consisting
of twelve bars (measures) of music. Couples dance it at
fairs and pilgrimages. In recent years, sevillanas
have become popular across Spain. Women usually wear a
colorful Gypsy dress while men wear short black jackets
or vests |
| Sext |
the fifth service of the Divine Office, usually
performed at noon, and consisting of several
responsories and psalms which are sung |
| Sextet (Eng.), Sextette or Sextuor (Fr.),
Sestetto (It.), Sextett (Ger.) |
a group of six instrumentalists, a piece of music
written for such a group to play |
| Sextolet |
see 'sextuplet' |
| Sextuple meter, Sextuple time |
a compound meter with six beats to every bar |
| Sextuplet |
a group of six notes of equal value that have the
equivalent time value normally of five or seven |
| Sextus |
the sixth part in Renaissance vocal polyphony |
| sf. |
abbreviation for sforzando |
| Sfogato |
(Italian, literally 'evaporated') light and easy
style |
| Sfoggiando |
(Italian) flauntingly, ostentatiously |
| Sforzando, Sforzato, Sf. (abbrev.) |
(Italian) strongly accented |
| Sgambato |
(Italian) in a weary style |
| Sha'bi |
indigenous Egyptian music |
| Shahnai |
north Indian shawm |
| Shake |
a word meaning 'trill'; the rapid back-and-forth
movement of a percussion instrument to produce a
rattling sound |
| Shaker |
a percussion instrument consisting of a receptacle
filled with a rattling substance such as seeds, beans or
pebbles |
| Shakuhachi |
(Japanese, a reference to the instrument's length in
ancient Japanese units) traditional Japanese end-blown
flute, about 55 cm. long, made from bamboo, or more
recently from wood |
| Shamisen |
a long necked Japanese 3-string fretless lute,
plucked with a heavy ivory plectrum, that first became
popular in the pleasure districts during the Edo Period
(1600-1868) when it appeared as part of the musical
accompaniment in kabuki and bunraku
performances. Shamisen are made from one of a
variety of woods such as red sandalwood and the head
covered with cat or dog skin. The pegs are traditionally
made of ivory while the strings are of twisted silk |
| Shamisenongaku |
music played on the shamisen particularly
kabuki and bunraku |
| Shan osi |
Burmese long drum |
| Shanty (or Chanty) |
a sea-song which has a chorus, which is sung by all,
and verses that are usually sung by only one voice |
| Shanz |
Mongolian three stringed banjo played with a
plectrum |
| Shape |
the direction of a melody; the abstract quality of
the motion and figure of a composition, achieved through
dynamics, pitch direction and tempo |
| Shape notes |
see
shape note notation |
| Sharp |
 |
a sign to show that a note should be raised
one semitone in pitch |
|
| Sharp |
a term applied to a note slightly above its expected
pitch |
| Shawm |
a family of double-reed instruments from the
Renaissance
more... |
| Shekere |
calabash shaker embroidered with beads that produce
the shaker's sound (Nigeria). Known as chékere in
Cuba |
| Shenai |
South Asian Indian shawm |
| Sheng |
ancient Chinese mouth organ, consisting of a bundle
of between 17 to 36 pipes seated on a small wind
chamber. A free brass reed is placed in the root of the
instrument. It is the predecessor of other free reed
instruments such as the accordion
more... |
| Shevi |
Armenian flute |
| Shift |
the movement of the left hand from one position to
another on the fingerboard when playing a stringed
instrument |
| Shiko |
see ashiko |
| Shime-daiko |
small rope tuned Japanese drum |
| Shinobue |
Japanese bamboo transverse flute |
| Shi qin |
a stone zither or xylophone of Southern China |
| Shishi mai |
traditional Lion dance from Japan with Chinese
roots, in which cape hides the dancer |
| Shishi odori |
Japanese deer dance, in which the dancer wears a
deer mask and usually plays a drum hung from the waist
while dancing |
| Sho |
a Japanese instrument rather like a harmonica,
similar to the Chinese sheng
more... |
| Shofar |
an ancient, Biblical wind instrument made of a ram's
horn
more... |
| Short octave |
on a keyboard instrument of limited range, the
bottom three to five keys can be tuned only to notes in
the bottom register likely to be used rather than in
their usual chromatic sequence, so nonessential notes
are omitted |
| Shomyo |
(Japanese) Buddhist music brought to Japan when the
first Chinese teachers of Buddhist music arrived in 719
and 735 |
| Shuang guan |
a small Chinese double-reed wind instrument |
| Shudraga |
Mongolian three stringed banjo played with a
plectrum |
| Shuffle |
a slow-tempo jazz rhythm |
| Shurle |
Istrian reed instrument with two chanters (Croatia) |
| Shuye |
Chinese leaf reed |
| Shvi |
an end-blown flute-like instrument, played solo or
in ensembles by shepherds in Armenia |
| Sibilant |
a term from linguistics, the producing a hissing
sound like that of (s) or (sh), the sibilant consonants
or a sibilant bird call. In English the sibilant speech
sounds are s, sh, z or zh |
| Sich |
(German) oneself, himself, herself, itself,
themselves |
| Siciliana (It.), Siciliano (It.), Sicilienne
(Fr.) |
a dance of Sicilian origin in compound duple or
quadruple time with a swaying rhythm |
| Side drum |
a small drum, also known as a snare drum, with a
membrane or skin on either end, the lower surface in
contact with a set of strings called snares which
produce a rattling effect when engaged |
| Sieben |
(German) seven |
| Sieg |
(German) victory |
| Siesenki |
Polish bagpipe |
| Sifflöte |
(German) a high-pitched (2 ft., 1 ft.) organ stop |
| Sigaoma |
a more modern Malagasy salegy dance with
South African pop influence |
| Sigh |
see 'springer' |
| Sight reading (instrumental), Sight singing
(vocal) |
to perform a piece of music never seen before |
| Signature |
signs placed on the clef to mark the number and
position of the sharps or flats in the key in which the
piece is being written, i.e. key signature, and to
indicate the number of beats in a bar, i.e. time
signature |
| Signs |
symbols placed on or near a staff indicating
performance specifications for pitch, dynamics, time
duration, accidentals, phrasing, manner of attack,
timing, tempo, repeats, fingering, ornamentation, use of
pedals or mutes, etc. |
| Siguiriyas |
a flamenco song style derived from tonás,
full of drama and with a large number of variations.
They consist in a powerful wordless introduction
followed by a four verse stanza |
| Sihu |
four-stringed type of Mongolian khuuchir |
| Sikadraha |
a Malagasy scraper. A long piece of bamboo with
transverse ridges cut into it that is played by scraping
with a stick |
| Siku |
Andean double-row panpipes typically made of cane or
clay |
| Sil |
a large Tibetan cymbal |
| Silenzio |
(Italian) silence |
| Silverbasharpa |
ancestor to Swedish nyckelharpa |
| Similar motion |
when parts move in the same direction but not
necessarily by the same interval |
| Simile, Simili |
(Italian) similar |
| Simple interval |
an interval of an octave or less; an interval
greater than an octave is called a compound interval |
| Simple meter, Simple time |
see
simple and compound time |
| Simplement |
(French) simply, in a simple manner |
| Simplex |
a term from Medieval theory which covers a variety
of specific meanings, but always implying something
simple as opposed to something more complex;
simplices conductus implies a monophonic
composition; simplex organum implies simple as
opposed to composite organum; simplex breve
implies that the breve should be of a regular,
unlengthened duration, and so on |
| Sin' al fine |
a prefix to another instruction, implying that
whatever is required should be carried out to the end of
the work |
| Sinding |
a West African harp with five strings made out of
hemp. The resonating body is a calabash stretched with
goat skin. A tin rattle may be attached to the
instrument. Plucking the string sets the rattle in
motion, adding a percussive element to the hollow sound |
| Sine wave |
a signal put out by an oscillator in which the
voltage or equivalent rises and fall smoothly and
symmetrically, following the trigonometric formula for
the sine function (i.e. shown mathematically by the
equation y = sin x). Sub-audio sine waves are
used to modulate other waveforms to produce vibrato and
tremolo. Audio-range sine waves contain only the
fundamental frequency, with no overtones, and thus can
form the building blocks for more complex sounds
[from the
Electronic Music Dictionary] |
| Sinfonia |
term applied in a variety of contexts in different
periods; e.g., as a near synonym for 'instrumental
canzona', 'prelude', 'overture', and 'symphony' |
| Sinfonia concertante |
a concerto with several soloists, for example, a
double or triple concerto |
| Sinfonie |
the name given by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
to his three-part contrapuntal works for keyboard but
which, today, are called three-part inventions |
| Sinfonico, Sinfonica |
(Italian) symphonic |
| Sinfonietta |
(Italian) a small-scale symphony |
| Singbar |
(German) singable, in a singing style |
| Singend |
(German) singing |
| Singende Säge |
(German) musical saw |
| Singhiozzando |
(Italian) sobbingly |
| Single reed |
a piece of cane bound to a mouthpiece by a ligature,
that when the player's breath is blown between the reed
and the mouthpiece, vibrates thus sounding the
instrument; single reed instruments include clarinets
and saxophones |
| Singsing |
pop music from the Solomon Islands |
| Singspiel |
(German) a comic opera including spoken dialogue,
often in the local dialect, as an alternative to
recitative, for example, Die Zauberflote by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
more...
|
| Sinistra |
(Italian) left hand |
| Sino, Sin' |
(Italian) until |
| Sintir |
see sentir |
| Sirillas |
Chilean dance from the Quellón region that combines
Spanish music and dance forms with aboriginal Chilean
music and dance |
| Sistro |
an instrument invented in seventeenth-century Italy
consisting of a series of small bells attached to a
frame |
| Sistrum |
an ancient Egyptian rattle type instrument used in
religious events and which survives today as an
Ethiopian instrument |
| Sita harana |
a dance from the Indian state of Manipur that
depicts stories from the Ramayana |
| Sitar |
perhaps the most well known of Indian instruments,
the sitar is a long necked instrument with a varying
number of strings (17 is the most usual), three to four
playing strings, three to four drone strings, with the
remainder, sympathetic strings, lying under the frets.
The playing and drone strings are plucked with a wire
finger plectrum called the mizrab. The frets are
metal rods which have been bent into crescents while the
main resonator is usually made of a gourd and there is
sometimes an additional resonator attached to the neck.
The sitar developed during the collapse of the Moghul
empire (circa 1700). It reflected the culture of the
times in that it showed both Indian and Persian
characteristics. |
| Siter |
a floor-standing plucked zither, smaller than the
cemplung, each tuning, slendro and pelog,
needing its own siter |
| Sitolotolo |
South African Jew's harp |
| Sitz-probe |
(German, literally 'sitting try') an opera rehearsal
in which the singers work seated, to an orchestral
accompaniment |
| Sivigliano, Sivigliana |
(Italian) in the style of Seville |
| Six, Sixième |
(French) six, sixth |
| Six-four chord |
the chord which is, reading up from the bottom note,
C E G (i.e. in root position), becomes G C E (i.e.
second inversion) or its equivalent in any other key |
| Sixian |
moon-shaped Chinese mandolin with a short-necked and
three or four strings |
| Sixteenth century dance |
also called 'late Renaissance dance'; the sources
for this period are English texts, formerly known as the
‘Inns of Court manuscripts’, and manuals of a number of
Italian dancing masters. The Italian dances are still
described verbally but in considerably greater detail
than was usual in the early Renaissance. The
step-vocabulary has become more elaborate, placing the
interest strongly on the footwork, while many
floor-patterns are based on symmetrical figures
[taken from
The Early Dance Circle] |
| Sixteenth note |
| |
a semiquaver, a note one sixteenth the time
value of a whole note or semibreve |
|
| Sixteenth rest |
| |
a semiquaver rest, a rest one sixteenth the
time value of a whole note rest or semibreve
rest |
|
| Sixth |
for example, the interval from C to A |
| Six, The |
a group of French composers whose members were Louis
Durey (1888-1979), Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), Darius
Milhaud (1892-1974), Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983),
Georges Auric (1899-1983) and Francis Poulenc
(1899-1963) |
| Six-three chord |
the chord which is, reading up from the bottom note,
C E G (i.e. in root position), becomes E G C (i.e. first
inversion) or its equivalent in any other key |
| Six-to-octave cadence |
in the middle ages and the renaissance, cadences
were thought of contrapuntally rather than harmonically,
|
