Absolute Music: Instrumental music composed purely as music, and not intended to represent or

illustrate something else, as in program music.

Accompanied Keyboard Sonata: Fully composed, self-sufficient keyboard sonatas to which a

violin or flute part could be added ad libitum, “at the pleasure of the performer”.

Alberti Bass: Three-note chords broken low-high-middle-high, a famous pattern in the 18th
century and a common feature of the galant style.

Antiphon: A short sentence or verse sung before and after a psalm.

Ars Nova: Meaning "New Art", this 14th-century movement in music embraced new time
divisions and rhythmic notation. It introduced major and minor prolation to subdivide the breve,
allowing for more rhythmic variety.

Ars Perfecta: "The perfect art," used to describe the highly refined and balanced polyphonic
style of Josquin des Prez.

Ars Subtilior: "The subtle art," a late 14th-century style characterized by highly complex and
refined music, often with intricate notation and visual flourishes, such as red ink.

Atonal, Atonality: Music that does not adhere to any system of key or mode, lacking a tonal
center.

Augenmusik: "Eye music," a term referring to the visual effect of notated music, often using
visual puns or graphic elements to represent musical ideas.

Avant Garde: A new and unusual or experimental idea in art.

Ballet d'Action: A ballet that tells a story through dance and mime, also known as a plot ballet.

Ballets Russes: A renowned Russian ballet company that brought innovative and
groundbreaking productions to Paris in the early 20th century under the direction of Sergey
Diaghilev.

Baroque: A period in Western music history from approximately 1600 to 1750, characterized by
the use of the basso continuo, the development of opera, and an emphasis on dramatic expression
and elaborate ornamentation.

Baryton: A cello-like instrument with six strings and an additional set of sympathetic strings,
popular in the 18th century, with a tuning similar to a guitar and frets like a viola.

Basso Buffo: "Comic bass," a type of operatic bass role known for its comedic acting and
singing style.

Basso Continuo: A continuous bass line played by a solo instrument (like a cello or bassoon)
and a chordal instrument (like a harpsichord or organ), providing a harmonic foundation for
Baroque music. Figured bass notation is used to guide the chordal instrument.
Bel Canto: "Beautiful singing," an Italian operatic style of the 19th century emphasizing
beautiful vocal melodies, virtuosic singing, and emotional expressiveness.

Binary Form: A musical structure with two distinct sections (A and B). Scarlatti sonatas were
typically in binary form, modulating from tonic to dominant in the first half and returning to the
tonic in the second. W.F. Bach also composed sonatas in three movements, each in binary form.

Blues: An African American folk genre originating in the late 19th century, typically performed
by a solo singer accompanied by a banjo or guitar, expressing themes of hardship, bad luck, and
emotional turmoil. It is characterized by its use of blue notes and a distinctive AAB form.

Cadence: A point of arrival or resolution in music, marking the end of a phrase, section, or
movement.

Cadenza: A virtuosic, improvisational or pre-written solo passage often inserted near the end of
a movement in a concerto or aria, showcasing the performer's skill and artistry.

Call and Response: A musical conversation in which a phrase or melody is stated by one voice
or instrument and then answered by another.

Cantata: A multi-movement vocal work, either sacred or secular, that emerged in the Baroque
period. Chorale cantatas are associated with the Lutheran church and incorporate chorale
melodies. Secular cantatas are also composed for various occasions.

Canso: A genre of troubadour song in the Occitan language, focusing on themes of courtly love.

Cantus Firmus: "Fixed song," a pre-existing melody (often a Gregorian chant) used as the basis
for a polyphonic composition, typically placed in the tenor voice. Masses and motets were
frequently composed using a cantus firmus.

Caput Mass: A type of cyclic mass in which all movements are unified by a cantus firmus
derived from the chant "Caput." Ockeghem's Missa Caput is an example.

Character Piece: A short piano work with a descriptive title, intended to evoke a specific mood,
character, or scene. Schumann and Mendelssohn were known for composing character pieces.

Chorale: A strophic hymn tune, originally in German, associated with the Protestant
Reformation and used in Lutheran church services. Chorales were intended to replace Gregorian
chant and encourage congregational singing.

Chorale Prelude: A short organ piece based on a chorale melody, played before or during a
church service to introduce the hymn or provide a meditative interlude.

Chanson: A French secular song, similar to the troubadour canso, often dealing with themes of
love, chivalry, or nature.
Classical Period: An era in Western music history from approximately 1750 to 1830,
characterized by an emphasis on clarity, balance, and formal structure, as reflected in the
development of sonata form and the symphony.

Clavichord: A keyboard instrument capable of subtle dynamic variations, favored by C.P.E.

Bach for its expressive possibilities and intimate sound.

Communism: A political and economic system in which a single authoritarian party controls the
means of production and aims to create a classless society. In the Soviet Union, music was often
used as propaganda to glorify the state and promote communist ideology.

Concertato Style: A Baroque compositional technique featuring contrasting groups of voices

and instruments, creating dynamic interplay and textural variety.

Concerto Grosso: A Baroque concerto featuring a small group of soloists (the concertino)
alternating with a larger ensemble (the ripieno). Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is an example of a
concerto grosso.

Concert Overture: A one-movement orchestral work in sonata form or a similar style, intended
for independent performance in a concert setting, often inspired by literary or dramatic themes.
Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream is an example.

Contenance Angloise: "The English guise," a 15th-century musical style characterized by its
use of consonant triads and smooth voice leading. English composers like John Dunstable
contributed to the development of this style.

Contrafactum: A new composition created by setting a new text to an existing melody.

Counterpoint: The art of combining two or more independent melodic lines in a harmonious
and meaningful way.

Counter-Reformation: The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation, seeking

to reaffirm Catholic doctrine and promote religious renewal. In music, this led to a greater
emphasis on clarity and restraint in sacred music, as exemplified by the works of Palestrina.

Cyclic Mass: A setting of the Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei)
in which all movements are unified by musical themes, motives, or other compositional
techniques. Machaut was a key figure in the development of the cyclic mass.

Da Capo Aria: An aria in ABA form, where the first section (A) is repeated after the contrasting
middle section (B). The repeat of the A section often includes elaborate embellishments and
improvisations by the singer.

Decadence: A term used in the late 19th century to criticize art and culture perceived as
excessively refined, artificial, or morally questionable, often associated with themes of eroticism,
death, and psychological disturbance. Strauss's opera Salome was seen as an example of
decadence.
Development: The section of sonata form that follows the exposition, characterized by harmonic
instability, thematic fragmentation, and modulation, exploring the possibilities of the thematic
material introduced in the exposition.

Discant: A style of early polyphony in which the tenor voice moves note-against-note with the
upper voice, creating a simple, consonant texture.

Dissonance, Emancipation of: A 20th-century concept in which dissonant harmonies were

treated with equal importance to consonant harmonies, no longer requiring resolution.
Schoenberg's atonal and twelve-tone music exemplifies this idea.

Double-Exposition Form: A form used in concertos, where the exposition is played twice: first
by the orchestra alone, then by the soloist accompanied by the orchestra.

Double Leading Tone: A characteristic of late Medieval music, where both the seventh and
sixth scale degrees are raised, creating a distinctive harmonic flavor.

Double Return: The simultaneous return of the tonic key and the opening thematic material in
the recapitulation of sonata form, creating a sense of stability and closure.

Dramma Giocoso: A type of Italian comic opera that combines elements of opera seria and
opera buffa, often featuring serious and comedic characters and plotlines. Mozart's Don Giovanni
is classified as a dramma giocoso.

Early Music: Music composed in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods, often
performed on period instruments or with historically informed techniques.

Electronic Music: Music created using electronic instruments and technology, often exploring
new sonic possibilities and timbres.

Empfindsamkeit: German for "sensitive style," a mid-18th-century musical style characterized

by sudden contrasts in mood, intended to express "true and natural" feelings.

Empfindsamer Stil: German, similar to Empfindsamkeit, C.P.E. Bach believed music should
capture the sentiments of real people, aiming for the expression and transmission of varying
human emotion.

Enlightenment: An 18th-century intellectual and cultural movement emphasizing reason,

individualism, and human progress. The Enlightenment had a significant influence on music,
leading to a preference for clarity, balance, and formal structure.

Ethnomusicology: The study of music from different cultures, often involving fieldwork
methods and an understanding of the cultural context and function of music.

Episode: In a fugue, a section that follows the exposition and develops the thematic material
without a complete statement of the subject.
Exoticism: A trend in Western art and music that sought to evoke the atmosphere and sounds of
non-Western cultures, often through the use of unusual scales, rhythms, and instruments.

Expressionism: An early 20th-century artistic movement that emphasized the expression of

intense, subjective emotions, often through distorted forms and dissonant harmonies.
Schoenberg's atonal music and Berg's operas are often considered examples of Expressionism.

Fantasia: A free-form musical composition, often improvisatory in nature, allowing for

exploration of musical ideas and expressive gestures. C.P.E. Bach's Fantasia in C minor is an
example of a composed fantasia that emulates improvisational elements.

Fauxbourdon: A French compositional technique from the 15th century in which a chant
melody is placed in the top voice, with the lower voices forming consonant triads below, creating
a characteristic full sound.

Field Holler: A type of work song sung by African American laborers, often characterized by its
use of call and response and its connection to the rhythms of work.

Figured Bass: A system of musical notation used in the Baroque period to indicate the
harmonies to be played above a bass line. Numbers and symbols written below the bass line
indicate the intervals and chords to be realized.

Form Yields to Content: A Romantic aesthetic principle suggesting that musical form should be
flexible and adaptable to the expressive content of the music, rather than strictly adhering to
pre-established structures.

Formes Fixes: "Fixed forms," specific poetic and musical structures used in late Medieval
French secular songs, including the ballade, rondeau, and virelai.

French Overture: An orchestral piece in two sections: a slow opening with dotted rhythms,
followed by a faster, imitative section. This form, popularized by Lully, became a symbol of
French grandeur and was adopted by composers in other countries.

Fugue: A contrapuntal composition in which a short melody (the subject) is introduced in one
voice and then imitated by other voices in succession, creating a complex and interwoven
texture. Fugues often include episodes, stretto, and other contrapuntal devices. J.S. Bach was a
master of fugue composition.

Galant Style: An 18th-century musical style characterized by simple, elegant melodies, light
accompaniment, and a focus on pleasing and accessible harmonies. The Alberti bass and periodic
phrasing are typical features of the galant style.

Gesamtkunstwerk: German for "total work of art," a concept developed by Wagner in which all
elements of a theatrical production—music, drama, staging, design—are integrated into a unified
and cohesive whole.

Grundgestalt: German for "basic shape" or "fundamental idea," a term used by Schoenberg to
describe a recurring musical motive or cell that serves as the foundation for a composition.
Habanera: A Cuban dance song with a distinctive rhythm, popular in the 19th century. The
Habanera rhythm is featured in Bizet's opera Carmen.

Harmonia: The ancient Greek concept of balance and proportion, believed to be reflected in
music and its ability to influence the soul.

Heiligenstadt Testament: A letter written by Beethoven in 1802, expressing his despair over his
increasing deafness and contemplating suicide. The Heiligenstadt Testament reveals Beethoven's
inner struggles and his determination to continue composing despite his affliction.

Hocket: A medieval compositional technique in which two or more voices alternate rapidly,
creating a fragmented and interlocking texture.

Homophony: A musical texture in which a single melody dominates, with other parts providing
accompaniment or harmonic support.

Humanism: A Renaissance intellectual movement that emphasized the study of classical

antiquity and the importance of human reason and experience. Humanism influenced music
through its focus on the expression of individual emotions and the development of secular
musical genres.

Idée Fixe: "Fixed idea," a recurring musical theme associated with a particular character, object,
or idea in a programmatic work, such as Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. The idée fixe
represents the protagonist's obsession with a beloved woman in this symphony.

Impressionism: A late 19th-century artistic movement that sought to capture fleeting

impressions and sensory experiences, often through the use of suggestive and atmospheric
techniques. In music, Impressionism is associated with Debussy's works, which feature
shimmering harmonies, delicate textures, and evocative melodies.

Instrumental Recitative: A passage in instrumental music that imitates the declamatory style of
operatic recitative, often conveying a sense of dramatic or emotional intensity.

Intermezzo: A short comedic play with music, performed between the acts of a larger opera or
play in the 18th century.

Isorhythm: A compositional technique in which a rhythmic pattern is repeated throughout a

section of music, while the melodic material may vary.

Jazz: An American musical style originating in the early 20th century, blending African and
European musical traditions. Jazz is characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and its use of
blue notes and swing rhythms.

Jazz Standards: Popular songs that have become part of the standard repertoire for jazz
musicians, often used as a basis for improvisation and arrangement.
Klangfarbenmelodie: German for "tone-color melody," a technique in which the melodic line is
distributed among different instruments, highlighting the timbral and textural qualities of the
music.

Kuchka (Mighty Five): A group of five Russian composers—Balakirev, Borodin, Cui,

Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov—who sought to create a distinctly Russian style of music in
the 19th century, drawing on folk melodies and nationalistic themes.

Leitmotif: "Leading motive," a recurring musical theme or phrase associated with a specific
character, object, or idea in Wagner's music dramas. Leitmotifs contribute to the dramatic and
psychological development of the opera.

Lied, Lieder: German for "song," referring specifically to art songs for voice and piano
accompaniment, popular in the Romantic period. Lieder often set poems to music, exploring a
wide range of emotions and themes.

Madrigal: A secular vocal composition from the Renaissance period, typically for four to six
voices, setting a poem to music with expressive word painting and a focus on polyphonic texture.
Italian and English madrigals flourished in the 16th century.

Madrigalism: A compositional technique in which the music vividly depicts the words of the
text, using word painting and other expressive devices to enhance the meaning and emotion of
the poetry.

Magyar Nόta: A type of Hungarian folk song, often with a distinctive melancholy or passionate
character. Bartók incorporated elements of magyar nóta into some of his compositions.

Mass: The central liturgical service of the Catholic Church, consisting of both the Ordinary
(texts that remain the same throughout the year) and the Proper (texts that vary according to the
liturgical calendar).

Maximalism: An aesthetic approach characterized by the use of large-scale forces, extended

durations, and a dense and complex musical texture, often associated with the late Romantic
music of Mahler and Strauss.

Melisma: A musical passage in which a single syllable is extended over many notes, creating a
flowing and ornamental vocal line.

Mensural Notation: A system of musical notation developed in the 13th century that allowed
for more precise indication of rhythmic values, using different note shapes and symbols to
represent specific durations.

Minimalism: A 20th-century musical style characterized by the use of simple, repetitive melodic
and rhythmic patterns, often with gradual changes and a hypnotic effect. Reich and Glass are
prominent minimalist composers.
Minuet: A stately courtly dance in triple meter, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. The
minuet was often included as the third movement of a symphony or string quartet in the Classical
period.

Modes of Limited Transposition: A concept developed by Messiaen that classifies scales based
on the limited number of times they can be transposed before repeating. For example, the
whole-tone scale can only be transposed once before it repeats.

Monody: A vocal style in the early Baroque period featuring a solo singer accompanied by a
basso continuo, emphasizing expressive declamation and emotional intensity.

Motet: A polyphonic vocal composition, typically in Latin, that emerged in the 13th century.
Motets often used a cantus firmus and featured multiple texts sung simultaneously.

Music Drama: The term Wagner used for his operas, emphasizing the integration of music,
drama, and staging into a unified artistic experience.

Nationalism: A 19th-century movement in music that emphasized the expression of national

identity and cultural pride, often through the use of folk melodies, rhythms, and instruments.

Neoclassicism: A 20th-century musical style that drew inspiration from the forms and aesthetics
of earlier periods, particularly the Baroque and Classical eras, often characterized by clarity,
balance, and restraint. Stravinsky was a key figure in Neoclassicism.

Neume: A symbol used in medieval musical notation to indicate the general shape and direction
of a melodic phrase, evolving into more precise notation systems over time.

Noise-Killer Opening: A sudden and dramatic opening to a piece of music, often using loud
dynamics and a full orchestral sound to capture the audience's attention. Haydn was known for
using noise-killer openings in his symphonies.

Octatonic Scale: An eight-note scale with alternating whole and half steps.

Occult: Relating to supernatural or mystical phenomena, often associated with esoteric

knowledge and practices. In late 19th-century Symbolism, there was an interest in exploring the
occult and its potential connections to music.

Office: The daily cycle of prayers and services in the Catholic Church, consisting of eight
different hours.

Opera: A dramatic work in which the story is told through singing and orchestral
accompaniment, often combining elements of theater, music, and dance.

Opera Buffa: Italian for "comic opera," a genre that emerged in the 18th century, characterized
by lighthearted plots, comedic characters, and the use of ensembles and patter songs.
Opera Seria: Italian for "serious opera," a genre that dominated the 18th century, featuring
dramatic plots based on classical mythology or history, with an emphasis on virtuosic singing
and elaborate arias.

Oratorio: A large-scale musical work on a sacred subject, performed in a concert setting without
staging or costumes. Oratorios often tell biblical stories and feature soloists, chorus, and
orchestra.

Ordinary (of the Mass): The five main parts of the Mass—Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus,
Agnus Dei—whose texts remain the same throughout the liturgical year.

Organicism: The concept that a musical work grows and develops organically from a single
germinal idea or motive, as exemplified by Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

Outsider Populism: A cultural trend that celebrates individuals who are unconventional,
rebellious, or outside the mainstream, often associated with themes of nonconformity and
individuality. In music, this could be reflected in the works of composers who challenged
traditional norms and embraced unique styles.

Pantonality, Pantonal: A term sometimes used to describe music that uses all twelve notes of
the chromatic scale without adhering to traditional tonal relationships. Schoenberg preferred the
term "pantonality" to describe his music.

Pantomime: A form of theatrical performance using gestures and movements to tell a story
without words. In ballet, pantomime is often used to convey dramatic action and emotional
expression.

Passion: A musical setting of the story of Christ's suffering and death, based on the Gospels.
Passions often feature soloists, chorus, and orchestra and are typically performed during Holy
Week.

Patter Song: A type of aria, often comedic, in which the singer must articulate a large amount of
text very rapidly. Patter songs are common in opera buffa.

Pentatonic Scale: A five-note scale commonly found in folk music worldwide, often using only
the black keys on the piano.

Periodic Phrasing: A musical structure in which phrases are balanced and symmetrical, often
with an antecedent (question) and consequent (answer) relationship. Periodic phrasing was a
common feature of Classical-era music.

Phasing: A minimalist technique in which two or more identical musical phrases are gradually
shifted out of alignment with each other, creating subtle rhythmic and textural variations.

Polyphony: A musical texture featuring multiple independent melodic lines woven together,
creating a rich and complex sonic tapestry.
Polytonality: The simultaneous use of two or more different keys in a musical composition,
creating a dissonant and layered harmonic effect. Charles Ives experimented with polytonality.

Populism: An aesthetic approach in music that aims to create accessible and appealing works for
a wide audience, often incorporating familiar melodies, rhythms, and harmonies.

Prepared Piano: A piano whose sound is altered by placing objects on or between the strings,
creating unusual percussive and non-musical effects. John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes is a
work for prepared piano.

Primitivism: An early 20th-century artistic movement that sought inspiration from the art and
cultures of non-Western societies, often romanticizing "primitive" cultures and their perceived
connection to nature and raw emotion. Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is often considered an
example of Primitivism in music.

Program Music: Instrumental music that tells a story or depicts a specific image, scene, or idea,
often with a written program to guide the listener's interpretation. Berlioz's Symphonie
fantastique is a famous example of program music.

Proper (of the Mass): The parts of the Mass whose texts vary according to the liturgical
calendar, including the Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, and Communion.

Psalm: A sacred song or hymn from the Book of Psalms in the Bible, often set to music for
liturgical use.

Realism: A 19th-century artistic movement that sought to portray everyday life and ordinary
people in a truthful and objective manner. In music, Realism is associated with composers like
Mussorgsky, who used conversational speech patterns and naturalistic musical language in their
operas.

Recitative: A style of singing that imitates the rhythms and inflections of speech, used in opera
and oratorio to advance the plot and deliver dialogue.

Reform Opera: A movement in opera, led by composers like Gluck, that sought to create a
more natural and dramatically effective style of opera, emphasizing clear storytelling, reducing
the use of elaborate ornamentation, and integrating music and drama more closely.

Renaissance: A period in European history from approximately 1400 to 1600, characterized by a

renewed interest in classical antiquity, humanism, and a flourishing of artistic and intellectual
creativity. Renaissance music featured greater clarity and balance, with an emphasis on vocal
polyphony and the development of new secular genres.

Ritornello: "Return," a recurring musical section that alternates with contrasting episodes in a
Baroque concerto or aria.

Romantic Period: An era in Western music history from approximately 1830 to 1900,
characterized by an emphasis on emotion, individualism, nationalism, and the expansion of
orchestral forces and musical forms.
Rondo Form: A musical structure in which a main theme (A) alternates with contrasting
episodes (B, C, etc.), creating a pattern such as ABACA or ABACABA.

Salon: A gathering in a private home, popular in the 19th century, where music, literature, and
intellectual discussions were shared among artists, intellectuals, and members of the upper class.

Scherzo: Italian for "joke," a lively and often humorous movement in triple meter, typically
found in symphonies, sonatas, and string quartets. The scherzo often replaced the minuet in the
Romantic period.

Second Viennese School: A group of composers, including Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, who
developed and expanded upon the atonal and twelve-tone techniques in the early 20th century.

Serialism: A compositional technique in which musical elements, such as pitch, rhythm,

dynamics, or timbre, are arranged in a predetermined series or row, often using mathematical
principles to create highly structured and controlled music. Twelve-tone music is a type of
serialism.

Singspiel: German for "sing-play," a type of light opera featuring spoken dialogue between
musical numbers, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mozart's The Magic Flute is a famous
Singspiel.

Sonata: A multi-movement instrumental work for one or two instruments, typically following a
specific form and structure. During the Baroque period, sonatas were composed for solo
instruments and basso continuo. In the Classical and Romantic periods, the sonata became a
major genre for solo piano or for a solo instrument with piano accompaniment.

Sonata Cycle: The typical four-movement structure used in Classical-era symphonies and string
quartets: (1) fast movement in sonata form, (2) slow movement, (3) minuet or scherzo, (4) fast
movement in sonata or rondo form.

Sonata da Camera: "Chamber sonata," a Baroque sonata intended for performance in a private
setting, often featuring dance-like movements.

Sonata da Chiesa: "Church sonata," a Baroque sonata intended for performance in a church
setting, typically with a more serious and contrapuntal style.

Sonata Form: Also known as sonata-allegro form, a musical structure commonly used for the
first movement of a symphony, sonata, or concerto, consisting of three main sections: exposition,
development, and recapitulation.

Sprechstimme: German for "speech-voice," a vocal technique between speaking and singing,
where the performer approximates the pitches of the music while maintaining the rhythms and
inflections of speech. Schoenberg used Sprechstimme in his vocal works.

Stretto: "Tightened," a contrapuntal technique in which the subject of a fugue is imitated in

close succession, creating a sense of urgency and intensity.
Strophic: A song form in which the same music is repeated for each verse of text.

Sturm und Drang: German for "storm and stress," a late 18th-century literary and musical
movement that emphasized extreme emotions, dramatic contrasts, and a sense of rebellion
against social norms.

Subject: The main theme of a fugue, introduced in one voice and then imitated by the other
voices.

Suite: A collection of dances or instrumental pieces, often in contrasting styles and tempos.
Baroque suites typically included dances such as the allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue.

Symbolism: A late 19th-century artistic movement that explored the suggestive power of
symbols and imagery, seeking to evoke deeper meanings and emotions through indirect and
metaphorical language. In music, Symbolism is associated with Debussy's works, which often
draw inspiration from Symbolist poetry and explore the relationship between sound and color
(synesthesia).

Symphony: A large-scale orchestral work, typically in four movements, that developed in the
Classical period and became a central genre in Romantic and 20th-century music.

Symphonic Poem (Tone Poem): A one-movement orchestral work with a descriptive title or
program, intended to evoke a specific image, story, or mood. Liszt was a key figure in the
development of the symphonic poem.

Synesthesia: The experience of perceiving one sense through another, such as seeing colors
when hearing music.

Tape Loops: Short segments of magnetic tape used to create repetitive musical patterns and
textures, popular in minimalist and electronic music.

Tenor: In early polyphony, the tenor voice was the lowest part, often holding a long note or
chant melody (cantus firmus) while the upper voices moved more freely.

Tenore di Forza: "Strong tenor," a type of tenor voice with a powerful and dramatic quality,
often used for heroic roles in 19th-century Italian opera.

Through-Composed: A song form in which the music is different for each verse of text,
following the changing moods and ideas of the poetry.

Total Serialism: A compositional technique that extends serial principles to all parameters of
music—pitch, rhythm, dynamics, timbre, articulation—creating highly structured and controlled
works.

Totalitarianism: A political system in which the state seeks to control all aspects of public and
private life, often using propaganda and censorship to enforce its ideology. In Nazi Germany and
the Soviet Union, music was often co-opted for totalitarian purposes, promoting nationalistic or
communist agendas.
Transcendentalism: A 19th-century American philosophical movement that emphasized the
inherent goodness of humanity and the importance of intuition and individual experience in
connecting with the divine.

Trio Sonata: A Baroque chamber music work for two solo instruments (typically violins or
flutes) and basso continuo, often featuring intricate counterpoint and melodic interplay.

Troubadour, Trouvère: Poet-musicians in medieval France who composed and performed

secular songs in the Occitan (troubadours) or Old French (trouvères) language, often dealing
with themes of courtly love, chivalry, or nature.

Troubairitz: Female troubadours who composed and performed songs in the Occitan language.

Twelve-Tone Composition: A compositional technique developed by Schoenberg in which a

predetermined row of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale is used as the basis for the music,
avoiding traditional tonal centers and harmonies.

Verbunkos: A type of Hungarian folk dance with a distinctive rhythmic pattern and often
featuring improvisational elements. Bartók incorporated verbunkos elements into some of his
compositions.

Whole-Tone Scale: A six-note scale with whole steps between each note, creating a symmetrical
and ambiguous sound, lacking a clear tonal center. Debussy and other Impressionist composers
often used the whole-tone scale.