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On Line Music Dictionary - Letter T
 
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H -

Our heartfelt  thanks to Dr. Brian Blood at Dolmetsch Online
for allowing us to reproduce his musical dictionary.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

 
T after Ernst Tanzberger the cataloguer of music by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957); indicating the Georg Phillip Telemann (1681-1767) catalogues prepared by Kassel, W. Menke or M. Ruhnke
Tabala large Mauritanian camel-skin drum
Tabla a pair of Indian drums, the smaller, higher-pitched one is called the tabla while the other, the larger bass drum, is called bayan. Both have a head made from two layers of goat skin; hourglass-shaped Egyptian and Middle Eastern drum, also called darbuka
Tabla tarang it consists of a number of tabla dayans tuned to different notes of the scale. Complete melodies are played by striking the appropriate dayans
Tablature a notational system that uses letters, figures and other symbols to indicate how a piece might be performed, for instance by showing the position of a player's fingers on a representation of the strings of a guitar or lute
Table the belly of a stringed instrument
Table-book music printed in such a way that the performers could sit around a table and read their own various parts, popular in the Renaissance
Tabor a small rope-tensioned drum played in conjunction with a three-holed pipe of the recorder family by one player
more...
Tacere, Tace, Tacciono (Italian) to be silent, is silent, are silent
Tacet, Tacent (plural form) (Latin) silent
Taconeo (Spanish) a stomping dance often performed to flamenco accompaniment
Tactus a metrical unit comprising both a downbeat and an upbeat; a Renaissance term for a beat, a division of a measure, generally at the speed of 60 to 70 tacti per minute; a Renaissance term for a fret on the lute or clavichord; an improvisational organ composition
Taegum (Korean) large transverse bamboo flute
Taepyongso (Korean) also called saenap, hojok, nallari and hoga; a conical-shaped, high=pitched loud wind instrument usually made of citron or yellow mulberry wood
more...
Tafelklavier (German) virginals, spinet
Tafelmusik (German) table-music, the performance of which might accompany a meal
Tag jazz term for a coda, or a short concluding section
Taganing a set of fine tuned drums from Toba (Sumatra, Indonesia)
Tagou m’bar a traditional Wolof warm-up rhythm (Senegal)
Tahitahi tiny Malagasy flutes made of wood, gourd or bamboo
Taiko (Japanese) general term for drums
Tail piece a piece of metal or wood at the lower end of a stringed instrument to which the strings are attached
Tak Javanese high-pitched drum (Indonesia)
Takare one string fiddle (Mozambique)
Takebue Japanese bamboo transverse flute
Takt (German) bar (measure). time, beat
Taktart (German) time-species (i.e. duple, triple, etc.)
Taktfest (German) in steady time
Taktieren (German) to beat time
Taktmässig (German) tempo commodo
Taktnote (German) semibreve
Taktpause (German) a bar's rest
Taktschlag (German) beat
Taktstock (German) conductor's baton
Taktstrich (German) bar-line
Taktwechsel (German) time-change
Taktzeichen (German) time signature
Takt halten (German) to hold or beat time
Ta-ku large Chinese barrel drum played with one or two sticks
Tala (Indian) fixed time cycle or metre in Indian music, built from uneven groupings of beats; Indian bells
Talea a rhythmic pattern, longer than a motive, that is unvaryingly repeated in an isorhythmic tenor, although so long as the rhythmic proportions remain unaltered, the talea may be augmented (the notes replaced by notes of longer time value) or diminished (the notes replaced by notes of shorter time value)
Talking drum part of a family of hourglass shaped pressure drums; in the Yoruba language of west Africa, these include gan gan (the smallest member of this drum family) or dun dun (the largest of the talking drums.) The drum heads at either end of the drum's wooden body are made from hide, fish-skin or other membranes which are wrapped around a wooden hoop. Leather cords or thongs run the length of the drum's body and are wrapped around both hoops; when these cords are squeezed under the player's arm, the drum heads tighten, changing the instrument's pitch
more...
Tall chords see 'extended tertian sonorities'
Ta-lo large Chinese brass gong
Talon (French) the nut end of a violin bow
Tam (Vietnam) a guitar-like instrument with 3 silk strings
Tama West African talking drum
Tamale frame drum from Ghana
Tamani West African talking drum
Tambin three-hole, side blown flute of the Fulani people of the Futa Djalon region of Guinea, West Africa
Tambor (Spanish) drum
Tambora Dominican drum; large Colombian two-headed bass drum
Tambores con charchillos Peruvian drums with vibrating cactus spines underneath
Tamboril Spanish double-headed rope tension drum
Tamboro a drum from Mozambique
Tambour (French) drum
more...
Tambour de Basque (French) tambourine
Tamboura see tambura
Tambourin (French) a tabor; a two-headed drum with a long body, with one of the heads having a snare; a dance piece played over a pedal note (to mimic a hurdy-gurdy or bagpipe), a Provençal dance
Tambourine a percussion instrument consisting of a wooden hoop (sometime fitted with small cymbals) with or without a parchment covering which is struck with the heel of the hand, the whole hand or the finger tips or maybe struck against the player's side
more...
Tambour militaire (French) side-drum
Tambura accompanying drone instrument from India, it is a large lute with 4-6 strings; five-string Egyptian lyre, also known as tamburah; long-necked fretted lute from Bulgaria, Croatia and other European countries
more...
Tamburah see tambura
Tamburello tambourine with jingles from southern Italy
Tamburitza Croatian lute
Tamburo basco (Italian) tambourine
Tamburo grande (or Tamburo grosse, Gran tamburo), Tamburo militaire, Tamburone, Tamburo piccolo, Tamburo rullante (Italian) bass drum, snare drum (or side drum), bass drum, side drum, tenor drum
Tambutica plucked lute from Yugoslavia
Tammorra large Italian tambourine with the drum head made of dried sheep or goat skin
Tammorriata southern Italian traditional songs and dances accompanied by the tammorra tambourine
Tammurriate see tammorriata
Tampon (French) drumstick
Tam-tam gong
Tamunangue, El an Afro-Venezuelan rural music and dance style from the state of Lara in honour of San Antonio de Padua (also called 'black Anthony'), played on drums, cuatros and quintos
Tamure new dance form from Micronesia
Tanbur general term for various long-necked fretted lutes of the Middle East and Central Asia
Tändelei, Täendelnd (German) badinage or playfulness, playfully
Tangent a part of a clavichord key that touches the string when the key is pressed down
Tango the Argentinean samba, a passionate musical style, originating in the streets and brothels of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that can be vocal or instrumental with the bandoneón and violin playing a leading role, marked by strong syncopation and dotted rhythmic figures, in simple duple (2/4) time and, when danced, performed by a couple
Tango flamenco the only non-dramatic variety of the older flamenco genres, festive in style, with a faster rhythm, unrelated to the Argentinean tango
Tanguillos festive and joyful flamenco style derived from tangos, found in Cádiz
Tanko bushi Japanese coal miner's dance. The song tells of a miner, working in the mines and thinking of home in the mountains. The movements mimic those of the miner digging coal, carrying the sacks of coal, holding the head light, and pushing the coal carts
Tanpura a drone instrument, it resembles a sitar except it has no frets. It has four strings tuned to the tonic. The word tanpura (tanpoora) is common in the north, but in southern India it is called tambura, thamboora, thambura or tamboora. The tanpura is known for its very rich sound. There are three main styles; the miraj style, the tanjore style and the small instrumental version sometimes called tamburi
Tant (French) as much, much
Tantino (Italian) a very little
Tanto (Italian) so much, as much, too much, for example, allegro non tanto meaning 'not so fast'
Tantum ergo a hymn of the Roman Catholic Church sung at the Benediction
Tanz, Tänze (German) dance, dances
Tap dance a dance form in which the performer taps out rhythms and patterns with his or her heels and toes while wearing special shoes with small metal plates called 'taps' affixed to the underside of the heel and toe
Tapan Bulgarian and Macedonian double-headed barrel drum, 50 to 60 cm in diameter, rope strung and found in Bulgaria
Tar a lute-type chordophone that is widespread in the Turkish/Azeri/Persian world and the Caucasus; large Egyptian frame drum
Tarabuka a different name for the darbuka
Taragot Romanian folk shawm
Taralila Malagasy hexagonal concertina
Tarambuka Bulgarian & Kosovar Albanian clay drum, similar to the darbuka
Tarantas flamenco style from Almería, derived from the Andalusian fandango
Tarantella (It.), Tarantelle (Fr.) a dance in 6/8 time from Taranto, Southern Italy, which gets faster and faster and is supposed to cure the result of a poisonous bite from the tarantula spider
Tarantos an eastern Andalusian flamenco style, related to the tarantas
Tarbouka a pot-like drum from North Africa
Tardo, Tarda (Italian) slow
Tardamente, Tartando or Tardantemente, Tardato (Italian) slowly, gradually slowing, gradually slowed
Tarkas Andean wooden flute with mouthpiece
Tarn thap luc (Vietnamese, literally '36') Vietnamese version of the hammered dulcimer, now found throughout Asia. The hammered dulcimer was introduced to southern China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and made its way from there to Vietnam
Tarogato Hungarian reed instrument, 30-40cm long
Tarrañolas Galician castanets that can be made out of wood, slate, stone or pork ribs
Taskiouine see taskiwin
Taskiwin Moroccan warrior's dance. The body is shaken rhythmically and stopped suddenly with perfectly-timed stamping of the feet
Tasis (ancient Greek) pitch
Taste, Tasten (pl.) (German) key, keys as on a keyboard
Tastiera, Tasti (pl.), Tasto (Italian) key, keys as on a keyboard
Tasto solo (Italian) a performer's marking, especially used in compositions that use continuo, indicating that a note should be performed without harmony
Tattoo music played by bugles and drums
Tavil Indian bass drum
Taware Mozambican term for drums
Tbal large North African side drum
Tbel see tbal
Tchardache czardas
Tchikhulu see madawewe
Tchindzomana small drum from Mozambique
Te in solfeggio, te is the syllable indicating the lowered seventh degree of the major scale; in 'fixed do' solfeggio, te is always the note 'B flat'
Tebal a Saharawi drum of about 60 centimeters in diameter, made of a dug out wooden bowl and leather from the skin of a camel or goat. It is played with the hands, almost exclusively by women, producing a dry and deep sound at the same time
Technique the mechanical aspects of performance
Tedesca (Italian, literally 'German') used in the sense of German fashion, manner or style, for example, alla tedesca means 'in the German manner'
Te Deum (laudamus) (Latin, from 'We praise Thee, O God') a lengthy hymn in praise of God in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other Christian liturgies
Tef Turkish frame drum
Teil, Theil (German) part, portion, section
Tejoletas (Spanish) two wooden sticks that are held by the fingers and slapped against each other, like castanets
Telenn Breton harp
Televi two small gourds filled with seeds and attached to each end of a string from Ghana
Teller (German) the plate of a cymbal
Tema (Italian) theme, for example the subject of a set of theme and variations
Temir komuz Kyrgyz metal Jew's harp
Tammorriata southern Italian traditional songs and dances accompanied by the tammorra tambourine
Temperament a relationship between the notes in a scale chosen by a tuner of usually fixed pitch musical instruments to suit a performer or listener's particular taste, in particular tuning systems used in the past or the equal temperament system used today
see historical temperaments
Tempestoso, Tempestosamente (Italian) tempestuous, tempestuously
Temple block(s) The temple block originates in the east and is sometimes known as a Korean or Chinese block. It's design is one of simplicity although some temple blocks are ornately carved in the shape of impressive animals. The block itself is a carved chamber made generally from camphor wood. Sizes can vary dramatically from around an inch up to several feet in diameter. Modern temple blocks generally are in sets of five and are tuned randomly high to low. Many contemporary composers use temple blocks and they are as popular today as they were in the 1920s when many early jazz players used them as an effective addition to their standard kit
Tempo, Tempi (plural form) (Italian) speed
more...
Tempo comodo, Tempo commodo (Italian) at a speed to suit the player
Tempo di ballo (Italian) dance speed
Tempo di minuetto (Italian) minuet speed
Tempo giusto (Italian) the speed the style demands, strict tempo
Tempo maggiore (Italian) alla breve
Tempo minore (Italian) tempo ordinario
Tempo modulation see 'metric modulation'
Tempo ordinario (Italian) standard or moderate time, neither too fast nor too slow
Tempo primo, Tempo I° the first tempo, as the original tempo
Tempo rubato rubato, the freedom to make small changes in tempo during the progress of the piece to enhance its musical effect, irregular tempo
Tempo wie vorher (German) tempo primo
Temps (French) time, beat
Tempus see mensuration
Tempus imperfectum binary division of breves into semibreves
Tempus imperfectum diminutum note values half those for tempus imperfectum, i.e. twice the speed; alla breve
Tempus perfectum ternary division of breves into semibreves
Tendency note, Tendency tone a tendency note is a note that is a semitone (half-step) away from another note. The note is also dependent, that is, it usually forms a dissonance with another note, and therefore, needs to resolve to a note a semitone (half-step) away. The 4th and 7th degrees of the scale in major keys are tendency notes, since whenever they appear, they have a 'tendency' to move respectively to the 3rd and 8th degree of the scale. Any note can become a tendency note by chromatic alteration, so, for example, although the 4th degree of the scale usually moves to 3rd degree, the sharpened 4th degree tends to move to the 5th degree
Tendoku (Japanese) chant style involving a shortened reading of the Buddhist sutras
Tendre, Tendrement (French) tender, tenderly
Tenebroso (Italian) gloomy, dark mood
Tenendo (Italian) sustaining
Tenero, Teneroso or Teneramente, Tenerezza (Italian) tender, tenderly, tenderness
Tenete (Italian) hold, sustain
Tenor, Tenore (Italian), Ténor (Fr.), Tenor (Ger.) the highest normal male voice; from mediaeval musical compositions in which the part carrying the main melody line (originally plainchant) was called the tenor (from the Latin tenere 'to hold), other voices typically serving as accompaniments to the tenor; a prefix to instruments whose size places them between the bass instruments which are lower and the alto instruments that are higher, for example, tenor saxophone, tenor violin
Tenor C C one octave below middle C
Tenor clef see tenor clef
Tenor cor largely obsolete brass instrument in F and with valves, similar to the French horn but with a more conical bore and mouthpiece
Tenor drum similar to a side drum (q.v.) but larger and usually without snares
Tenore di forza tenor voice with both the ability to sing lyrically as well as push to the climaxes of the composition; similar to lirico spinto
Tenore leggiero, Tenore robusto (Italian) light tenor voice, robust tenor voice
Tenorgeige (German) viola
Tenor horn a brass instrument with valves in E flat, also called the E flat horn; the modern form of the E flat alto saxhorn
Tenorlied German polyphonic song form popular in the fifteenth- and sixteenth-centuries that consisted of a tenor line, which had the melody, and one or more additional lines as contrapuntal accompaniment
Tenorposaune (German) tenor trombone
Tenorstimme (German) tenor voice
Tenor trombone tenor member of the trombone family and the most commonly used
Tenor tuba see 'Wagner tuba'
Tenor violin tenor member of the violin family, today largely unknown
Tenso a stylized, poetic debate between troubadours or trouvères in which the participants argue opposing views on a given topic
Tenu (Fr. masculine), Tenue (Fr. feminine), Tenuto (It.) held, held on
Tenuta (Italian) held, held on, fermata (the pause sign)
Tepido (Italian) unimpassioned, lukewarm
Tepidità, Tepidamente (Italian) lukewarmness, in a tepid manner
Teponaztli The teponaztli has deep cultural and spiritual meaning for many Mexican communities. Its name means 'wooden drum' in Nahuatl. In other dialects, it is known as tunkul, quiringua or teponagua . Made from a section of a hollowed hardwood tree trunk (or occasionally from small gourds which also serve as resonators), these instruments characteristically have an elongated H-shaped incision along the top. This cut in the wood forms two vibrating tongues or "keys" ; these have distinct pitches either because they are different lengths or they have been chiseled on the underside to different thicknesses. Sometimes, a rectangular opening is carved in the bottom of the drum to increase its volume. Many of these instruments are decorated with lotus or other symbolic designs, and some are carved in the shapes of alligators
more...
Terana a six beat to the bar (measure) dance
Terapia criolla an Afro-Colombian music style and dance from Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast, it is a combination of indigenous rhythms, Caribbean beats and African influences, with satirical lyrics, also known as champeta criolla
Terminal vibrato a technique invented on the jazz cornet by Louis Armstrong, where a note is held initially with no or only very little vibrato before being given steadily increasing amounts of audible oscillation
Tessitura (Italian) the range and position of a voice or instrument, as in a 'high tessitura' to describe a part which is set high on an instrument
Terce (Latin) the fourth service of the Divine Office, usually performed at 9:00 a.m, consisting of several responsories and psalms which are sung
Ternary form a three section form in which the first section A is repeated, often with some changes, after a middle section B, thus the form is called A B A
Terraced dynamics expressive style typical of some early music in which volume levels shift abruptly from soft to loud and back without gradual crescendos and decrescendos often by changing the number of instruments playing each part
Terry after Charles Stanford Terry the cataloguer of music by Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)
Tertian harmony, Tertiary harmony harmony based upon the interval of the third, particularly predominant in Western music from the Baroque era through to the ninteenth-century
Terzet, Terzetto (Italian) three-voice compositional form of the eighteenth-century, usually short, which may or may not be accompanied
Testa (Italian) head, as related to the voice
Testo (Italian) text, libretto; part for the narrator in an Italian oratorio or Passion
Tetsu-zutsu Japanese bells
Teukjong (Korean) a gong that is suspended from a wooden frame
more...
Texoletas Galician castanets
Tetrachords the two groups of four notes that make up the two halves of a major or minor scale
Text setting see 'syllabic' and 'melismatic'
Texture the way in which individual musical lines interact within a musical work - one can talk about the texture being dense, when a lot is 'going on', or use the terms monophonic, homophonic or polyphonic, for example, when discussing medieval works
TFV after Franz Trenner the cataloguer of music by Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Thavil two-headed Indian drum
Theater (Ger.) theatre
Thematic catalogue the classification of music under headings which include the opening notes of the composition and/or the notes of the main theme of the composition
Thematic development, Thematic transformation the compositional process by which a theme is transformed by modifying its melodic outline, its harmony, or its rhythm
Theme a group of notes, also called a melody, that will form the basis for a work that includes the theme's repetition and/or development; in musical analysis, a theme is termed the 'subject'
Theme and variations an extended work, sometimes in separated movements or sections, where the opening musical statement (theme) is subjected to development (variations)
Theme group a number of themes all in the same key that function as a unit within a section of a form, for example, in 'sonata-allegro' form
Theorbo a large member of the lute family, in use from the sixteenth- to eighteenth-centuries, with an extended neck and two sets of strings, one set being fretted and fingered like those of the standard lute, the second, longer set of strings being tuned to the diatonic scale and designed to be played unstopped (i.e. 'open')
Thérémin a type of electronic musical instrument invented in the 1920s by Leo Thérémin (born 1896)
more...
Thesis as in arsis and thesis, respectively 'unstressed upbeats' and 'stressed downbeats'
Third an interval spanning two diatonic scale steps, for example, the interval 'C' to 'E'
Third stream a style of music that synthesizes characteristics and techniques of classical music and jazz, the term 'third stream' was coined by Gunther Schuller to describe this confluence
more...
Thirty-second note
a demisemiquaver, a note one thirty-second the time value of a whole note or semibreve
Thirty-second rest
a demisemiquaver rest, a rest one thirty-second the time value of a whole rest or semibreve rest
Thorough bass figured bass or continuo; see figured bass
Three-part form see 'ternary form'
Threnody a dirge
Through-composed a form with no pre-established musical structure, for example, a song composed from beginning to end without repetitions of any major sections, each verse having its own, unique melody
Thumb hole a finger hole in an wind instrument that uses the player's thumb
Thumb piano see kalimba, mbira, marimba, marimbula, sansa and sanza
Thunder machine any instrument used to create or imitate the sound of thunder, for example, a large drum or a large sheet of metal that is shaken
Ti the seventh tone in a major scale, it is also called the 'leading tone' of the major scale; in 'fixed do' solfeggio, ti is always the note 'B'; a Chinese bamboo or wooden horizontal flute
Tibia ancient Roman wind instrument, consisting of two pipes, that was used in religious ceremonies, rituals and the theatre
Tidinit a Saharawi instrument of dug out wood and a leather cover, similar to a four-stringed lute
Tie
also called a 'bind', a sign that shows that the note being played or sung is sustained, unbroken, throughout the total time value of the notes under the sign
Tief (German) deep, low
Tiefgespannt (German) a drum slackened off to produce a lower pitched sound
Tiepido a variant of tepido
Tiento a Spanish Renaissance composition similar to the ricercare or fantasia
Tientos flamenco style derived from tangos, although with a slower beat
Tierce (French) third
Tierce de picardie see 'picardy third'
Tilpo Tibetan hand bell
Timbal (Sp.), Timbale (Fr.), Timballo (It.) kettledrum, timpani
Timbalada a rhythmic percussion style from the northern part of Brazil
Timbales kettledrums, timpani; a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single head, shallow drums tuned to different pitches and performed with two sticks that are essential to Latin American popular music
Timbalitos a smaller version of the timbales, tuned at higher pitches, and often added to the timbales to make up a set of four
Timbila xylophone with resonator from Mozambique
Timbre see timbre/tone colour
Timbrel Latvian tambourine with jingles
Timbral nuances sensibility to, awareness of, or ability to express delicate shadings of the tone quality distinctive of a particular singing voice or musical instrument
Timbrer (French) accented
Time a word used to mean 'in the rhythm of', for example, march time meaning 'in the rhythm of a march'
Timed segments unmetered music which in measured in minutes and seconds, not beats
Time signature time signature/meter signature
Timido, Timidezza (Italian) timid, timidity
Timore, Timoroso, Timorosamente (Italian) fear, fearful, fearfully
Timpani (Eng.), Timpano (It.) kettle-drums, a set of tuned drums
Timple a small guitar with 12 metal strings used in Spain, Colombia, Puerto Rico and other Spanish-speaking countries, also known as guitarrillo
Tindé Algerian drum played by a group of women
Tinter (Fr.) Tintinnare (It.) to tinkle
Tintement (French) tinking
Tinto (Italian) colour, expression
Tin whistle also called 'penny whistle', a wind instrument with six holes, originally made from tin but now more usually made of steel
more...
Tinya pre-Hispanic Mexican resonating box with 5 strings
Tiompán Irish hammered dulcimer
Tip the very end of the bow away from the frog where the player placed his or her hand
Tiple a small stringed instrument of Spanish origin, derived from the guitar family, and used in Cuba's música campesina as well as other types of Latin American music with Spanish roots
Tirana A Spanish song-dance from Andalusia
Tirare, Tirando, Tirato (Italian) to draw, drawing, drawn - refering to the down-bow on the violin
Tirer, Tiré (French) to drawn, drawn - refering to the down-bow on the violin
Tischharfe German table zither that can be both plucked and bowed
Tishou Chinese clappers
Ti-tze Chinese transverse bamboo flute
Tlapitzalli pre-Hispanic small Mexican flute
To calabash rattle (Ghana)
Tobend (German) blustering
Tobshuur Mongolian lute
Tocaor the Iberian term for a flamenco guitarist
Toccata, Toccatina or Toccatino (diminutive forms) (from the Italian toccare meaning 'to touch') a rapid piece of music for keyboard intended as a display for virtuosity; a toccata is often the prelude to a fugue
Tocsin an alarm bell; the striking of a bell as an alarm
Todt, Todtenmesse, Todtenmarsch (German) dead, Mass for the dead (requiem), dead march
Todtgesang, Todtenlied (German) a dirge
To’ere Tahitian slit log drum, played with one stick
Tof Hebrew frame drum
Togaku (Japanese) togaku and to-sangaku were musical styles derived from T'ang China, where court musical life was multicultural and followed a formal rules, called the 'Ten Styles of Music'. These rules governed the hierarchy and use of Chinese and foreign musical styles in court. Performances that followed these rules and musical types was known as togaku, or T'ang music, while those that drew their form and content from popular music from T'ang China, were classified as to-sangaku, or 'unofficial T'ang music'
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Togli (Italian) take off, take away, in the sense to turn off some aspect of organ or harpsichord registration
Toile (Italian) theatre curtain
Toke canoe shaped iron bell held in palm and struck with an iron beater from Ghana
Tolling the measured striking of a bell, usually that in a church tower or a tower of a public building
Tololoche Mexican double bass guitar
Tombak see tonbak
Tombeau (French) a piece written in someone's memory
Tome (French) volume of a set of collected volumes
Tom-tom a drum without snares having a wooden shell and two heads
Ton, Töne (plural form) (German) pitch, key
Ton (French) pitch, key, note; a Medieval and Renaissance verse structure and song tune which was commonly associated with more than one poetic text
Ton aigre (French) shrill sound
Tonabstand (German) interval
Tonada, Tonadilla (diminutive form) (Spanish) a tune set for a dance or to verse
Tonal music that is based on major and minor tonalities rather than on modal, twelve-tone, or other musical systems; in a fugue, if the answer has exactly the same intervals as the subject, the only difference being that it is transposed, the answer is said to be real, but if the answer varies from the subject it is said to be tonal
Tonal answer in a fugue, after the first entry or statement, there will be an answer, a second statement at a diffent pitch
an answer can be of two types:
real answer: where the answer is not modified so that it is in a different key to that of the subject
tonal answer: where the answer is modified to keep it in the same key as that of the subject
Tonality the sense of a particular key; see 'atonality' and 'polytonality'
Tonante (Italian) thunderous
Tonart (German) character of different types of scale, i.e. major, minor, modal, etc.
Tonás one of the oldest flamenco styles, with songs that include long moans and sudden halts, relating the tragedies suffered by the incarceration of the Gypsies, chain gangs, hard labour and violent quarrels. There are twenty variants, including martinetes and deblas
Tonbild or Tondictung, Tonbühne, Tondichter (German) tone-poem, orchestral platform, composer
Ton bouché (French) stopped note on a horn
Ton de chasse (French) hunting call
Ton de cor (French) horn crook
Ton d'eglise (French) church mode or key
Ton de rechange (French) spare crook
Ton de trompette (French) trumpet crook
Ton dhar small Tibetan drum shaped like an hourglass with two pieces of string at the end of which are small round strikers. The drum is turned rapidly left and right. The strikers whip around and alternately strike each drumhead. Also known as Damaru
Tondo (Italian) full-toned
Ton doux (French) a sweet tone-quality
Tone a sound of definite pitch; the interval equivalent to two semitones; the quality of a sound; the American word for 'note'; a recitational melody in a Gregorian chant
Tone cluster see 'note cluster'
Tone colour see 'timbre'
Tone poem symphonic poem
Tone row see 'note-row'
Tonette small black plastic whistle-type instrument which was once popular with elementary school children, now largely superceeded by the more accurately tuned and better sounding recorder
Tonfarbe (German) tone-colour, timbre
Tonfolge (German) melody
Tonfülle (German) volume of tone
Tongali a four-holed nose flute (one hole in the back) from northern Philippines and played by the Kalinga and other peoples of Luzon
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Tongeschlecht (German) major or minor
Tongling Chinese hand bell
Tongue the long, bent, metal bar inside the frame of a Jew's harp, music box, thumb piano, or other plucked idiophone, plucked with the finger or in some other way, the vibration of which produces notes; where the device uses a ratchet, the tongue is wooden and makes a clicking sound; a technique used on wind instruments to articulate a note
Tonguing to tongue
Tonhöhe (German) pitch
Toni (plural form), Tono (Italian) tone, key, mode
Tonic first degree of the scale; the key center
Tonic accent emphasis that may be given to notes where their pitch is high
Tonic chord the chord based on the tonic of a key or scale; the I chord
Tonic sol-fa a technique of teaching music based upon the 'movable do' system
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Tonic triad triad built on the first degree of the scale
Tonicization tonicization is a process that temporarily allows a chord other than the tonic to function as a goal of motion or point of stability, and therefore, function as a temporary tonic. A chord is said to be "tonicized," when it is preceded by its own dominant, dominant seventh, seven chord, or diminished seventh. That is, the dominant determined by the key of the chord. Tonicization is a local event, unlike modulation, which implies establishing a new key center and continuing in the new key. Any chord, except VII, in a major key can be preceded by its own dominant. Any chord in the natural minor, except II, can be preceded by its own dominant
Tonitruone (Italian) a sheet of metal used to simulate the sound of thunder
Tonkunst, Tonkünsterler (German) musical knowledge, someone possessing such knowledge
Tonlage (German) range, compass, register
Tonlehre (German) acoustics
Tonleiter (German) scale
Tonlos (German) toneless
Ton majeur (French) major key
Tonmalerei (German) programme music
Tonmass (German) time
Tonnerre (French) thunder
Tonos a term with various meanings in the tradition of ancient Greek music theory. It could refer to a pitch, tasis, a note, phthongos, the size of an interval, diastema, or a 'scalar mode' tropos sustematikos. The last two definitions came to be synonymous as a reference to the pitch of the musical system
Ton patala Burmese iron xylophone
Tonreihe (German) note-row, tone-row (serial music)
Tonschlüssel (German) key-note
Tonsetzer (German) composer
Tonus (Latin) mode, Gregorian tone
Tonus peregrinus (Latin, literally 'wandering note') a Medieval term for an 'irregular' psalm note, i.e. a psalm in which the tenor changes in pitch
Topan Kosovar Albanian percussion instrument, a short wooden cylinder covered at each open end with leather-stretched with rope that is played with two wooden drumsticks
Torch song a song describing an unrequited love, derived from the expression 'to carry a torch' for someone
Torculus see 'neume notation'
Torculus respinus see 'neume notation'
Tordion, Tourdion a lively basse-dance of the sixteenth-century that resembles the galliard
Toré a religious rhythm of the Fulni-o Indians in Brazil, where messages for protection are sent to the ancestors
Tornada, Tornadas a refrain from a Catalonian folk song; see vers; see envoi or envoy; (Spanish) melody, tune; a term widely used in Spanish speaking Latin-America and Brazil to refer to a song with guitar accompaniment, in a major key and at a slow tempo
Tornare, Tornando (Italian) to return, returning
Torrás lively dance from the province Ciudad Real, Spain. Dancers line up in rows
Torvo (Italian) grim
To-sangaku (Japanese) see togaku
Tostissimo, Tostissimamente, Tosto (Italian) very rapid, rapidly, rapid
Total serialism complex, totally controlled music where the twelve-tone principle is extended to elements of music other than pitch, for example, rhythm
Totodzi small open-bottom barrel drum from Ghana
Touch the art of depressing, striking, releasing, etc. the keys of a keyboard instrument to produce the required sound quality; the amount of force needed to be applied to a key and the distance the key travels on a keyboard instrument
Touche (French) fingerboard
Toujours (French) always
Tourney a musical piece created for a tournament, especially popular in seventeenth-century Italy and France, as part of weddings and other festive occasions
Tout, Toute, Tous, Toutes (French) all
Tout à coup (French) suddenly
Tout à fait (French) completely
Tout ensemble (French) the whole, the general effect, all together
Twos a set of two-bar phrases; in jazz, when different players alternate playing two-bar phrases, this is called 'trading twos'
Toye, Toy a light piece for virginals from the sixteenth- and early seventeenth-centuries
Tract a soloistic chant from the Poper of the Mass that replaces the alleluia in penitential seasons
Tractulus see 'neumatic notation'
Tractus (from the Latin trahere, to draw out) tail; small line; pause sign
Tradotto (It.), Traduit (Fr.) translated, arranged, transposed
Tradzione (It.), Traduction (Fr.) translation, arrangement, transposition
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, particularly with J.B. Lully
Trainé (French) dragged
Train whistle a wooden whistle that produces three different notes typical of the sound of a steam locomotive whistle
Tramporgel Swedish harmonium
Tranh (Vietnam) a zither with 10 brass strings, invented by Emperor Phuc Hy of China (2852 B.C.). Its base is made of ngo dong wood. The instrument is placed in front of the musician who uses his right hand to regulate the pitch and vibrato, while using his left hand to pluck the strings
Tranquillo, Tranquillamente, Tranquillità or Tranquillezza (Italian) tranquil, tranquilly, tranquillity
Transcribe, Transcription to rearrange music for instruments other than those for which the work was originally written; such an arrangement is called a transcription
Transformation the treatment of thematic material which drastically changes it while retaining specific characteristics that allow the listener to identity the result with the original, prevalent in dance music of the seventeenth-century, but most used in the nineteenth-century during the Romantic era
Transient any of the non-sustaining, non-periodic frequency components of a sound, usually of brief duration and higher amplitude than the sustaining components, and occurring near the onset of the sound (attack transients)
Transient shake an alternative name for the upper mordent
Transition a short passing change of key, an abrupt key change
Transpose to move; to play a piece in a different key or one or more octaves higher or lower than it was originally written, the better to suit the singer or instrument
Transposing instruments instruments that do not play the notes they read, i.e. bass flute, cor anglais, oboe d'amore, oboe in E flat, heckelphone, sarrusophone, clarinets in B flat and A, bass clarinet, high clarinets in E flat and D, alto clarinet in E flat and F, basset horn, pedal clarinet, saxophones, cornets, french horns, trumpets, saxhorns; instruments that play any number of octaves above or below the written part are not defined as transposing instrument
Transposition the changing of the pitch of a piece without changing anything else
Transverse Flute the cross-blown flute, as distinct from an end-blown or duct flute such as the recorder
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Traquenard (French) a late seventeenth=century dance found in some ballets which is closely related to the gavotte
Trascinando (Italian) dragging, rallentando
Trascrizione (Italian) arrangement, transcription
Tras trasera Chilean dance from the Quellón region that combines Spanish music and dance forms with aboriginal Chilean music and dance
Trattenuto, Tratt. (abbrev.) (Italian) held back, sustained
Tratto (Italian) dragged
Tratto, Non (Italian) do not drag
Trauer, Trauermarsch (German) sorrow, funeral march
Traum (German) dream
Traurig (German) sad
Trautonium an instrument invented by Friedrich Trautwein in 1930, that generates electronic pitches by pressing a wire on a metal bar, the position along the bar determined the pitch generated
Tre (Italian) three
Treble the highest part in choral singing; a recorder in F also called the 'alto'; the unbroken boy's voice
Treble clef see treble clef
Treble shift a mechanical device found on an accordion that directs air from the bellows through additional reeds, typically one set tuned in unison, a second set tuned one octave higher, a third tuned one octave lower and a fourth set, the tremulant, tuned slightly higher than unison, to create a different tone quality of the melody notes
Tre corde (Italian, literally 'three strings') a mark in piano music indicating the release of the soft pedal
Treibend (German) hurrying, rushing
Tremando, Tremante, Tremolando, Tremolante (Italian) with tremolo
Trekspill (Norwegian) accordian (q.v.)
Tremblement (French) trill
Tremolo vibrato; the rapid reiteration of a single note
Trenodia (Italian) threnody
Trente et deuxième de soupir (French) a one hundred and twenty-eight rest, a semihemidemisemiquaver rest
Trepak a simple duple time popular Cossack dance
Très (French) very
Tres a Cuban guitar-like instrument with three pairs of strings hence its name
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Trescone a Florentine dance similar to the cushion dance but employing a handkerchief
Treshchokti Russian clapper
Triad triads
Triangel (Ger.), Triangle (Eng.), Triangolo (It.) a piece of metal rod bent to form the outline of a triangle but with one corner open, suspended from a chord, which is struck with a metal beater to produce a ringing tone of fixed pitch
Tribrach a musical or poetic foot consisting of three short notes or syllables
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Trideksnis Latvian bell tree, which has a wooden handle and three layers of bells made of copper or brass
Trigger a lever used on certain brass instruments, trombone, horns, tubas, and trumpets, that provide special functionality
Trigonon the Greco-Roman harp
Trihory a bransle-like dance from Brittany
Trikitixa Basque diatonic accordion
Trill, Trillo (It.) see trill
Trilogy (Eng.), Trilogie (Fr., Ger.), Trilogia (It.) three works on a common theme
Trinklied (German) drinking song
Trio a piece played by three players; a piece of music to be play such a group; a contrasted section between two performances of a minuet (i.e. minuet - trio - minuet)
Triolet (French) a form of poetry; a triplet; a short trio
Trionfale, Trionfante (Italian) triumphant
Trio sonata a chamber music form for two featured instruments and continuo accompaniment; especially popular in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries
Tripelkonzert, Tripelconcert (German) a concerto for three soloists
Triple-croche
(French) demi