Glossary of Musical Terms

Styles of Singing

• A cappella — Vocal music without instrumental accompaniment.
• Cantata — Vocal music with instrumental accompaniment.
• Monophony — Vocal music sung in unison (all voices singing same note at same time).
• Homophony — One dominant melody accompanied by harmonic chords.
• Polyphony — Two or more simultaneous melodies sung in harmony. Polyphony has many forms.
• Monody — Solo vocal piece with instrumental accompaniment.
• Plainchant/Plainsong — Chant song in unison and unaccompanied. Oldest form of Christian Chant.
• Organum — Two voices sung in simple harmony.
  • Parallel organum — Two voices sing same melody, at different octaves.
  • Drone organum — One voice sings melody. Second voice is a single harmonic tone.
• Antiphon — Call and response style of reciting psalms or other religious text. Alternating lines can be sung or chanted by choirs, cantors, or congregations.
• Melismatic — Style of chanting that assigns many notes to a single syllable. (i.e. Gloria in excelsis Deo).

Musical Notation and Theory

• Octave — Interval between one musical pitch and the next note with half (or double) its frequency.
• Staff notation — Method of musical notation where parallel lines and spaces are used to denote musical tones and sequence. Invented by Guido of Arezzo in 1000 A.D.
• Musical Scale — Set of musical notes ordered by their fundamental frequency or pitch.
• Diatonic Scale — Musical scale used in western music, where each octave is divided into seven notes; five separated from each other by a whole step (W); two are separated by half steps (H). Two versions are:
  • Major Scale (WWHWWWH) C Major scale: C—D—E-F—G—A—B-C
  • Minor Scale (WHWWHWW) A Minor scale: A—B-C—D—E-F—G—A
• Half step (Semitone) — Smallest musical interval used in Western music. Fat (b) and Sharp (#) notes are a half step below or above their corresponding notes on the Diatonic scale.
• Chromatic Scale — Twelve note musical scale, including both primary notes of the Diatonic scale and half notes. C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#-A-A#-B-C
• Equal Temperament — System of tuning in which every note on the chromatic (twelve note) scale is separated by the same frequency ratio.
• Perfect Fifth — Musical interval between a pair of pitches on a musical scale with a ratio of 3:2, located 7 half steps away on a chromatic scale. The “Fifth” is the most harmonious interval with an octave.
• Key — Refers to the Major or minor scale, and set of related chords in which a music piece is composed.
• Chord — Any harmonic set of three or more notes played together .
• Triad — A chord consisting of three notes, stacked above each other on a scale. The middle note is either three (minor) or four (major) half steps above the root. The upper note is usually a perfect fifth.
• Harmonic Progression — Succession of related musical chords that are the foundation of Harmony. Each major and minor key has three predominant triads that can harmonize every note of the scale.
• Cadence, Tempo, or Harmonic Rhythm — Rate or pattern with which musical chords change in succession in a regularly timed musical piece.
• Counterpoint — Manner of arranging musical lines that are harmonically related, but with different rhythm or timing.
• Tetrachord — Four note pattern used for describing musical rhythms before scale notation was invented.
• Eight Modes — System of eight scales used to between the 6th and 8th centuries to define the pitch variations of Gregorian chants. (Also called Church Mode). Predated staff notation.

Sacred Music Forms

See Liturgical Music for a more detailed description of the Missa Cantata and Divine Office.

• Liturgy — The term liturgy refers to the public worship service of the Catholic Church. The two chief forms of public worship are the Mass (Eucharistic Liturgy), and the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours).
• Missa Cantata — Also known as a “Sung Mass”. This is a vocal composition by which the ‘Ordinary’ (or unchanging) part of a Latin mass set to music.
• Divine Liturgy — The Eucharistic service for the Byzantine Rite used in Eastern Orthodox, or Eastern Catholic Churches.
• Divine Office — Also known as the “Liturgy of the Hours” this is the set of organized prayers, including psalms, hymns and antiphons, sung by priest and religious as part of their religious duties.
• Hymn — Religious song that praises God, sung by a chorus or congregation during a worship service.
• Litany — Prayer consisting of a number of repetitive petitions (have mercy, pray for us, etc.)
• Gregorian Chant — Tradition of plainchant and sacred song in the Western Catholic Church. Used for sung masses and the liturgy of the hours.

Vocal Compositions

• Motet — Polyphonic musical composition that arose in the 12th century. The term continued to be used to describe both secular and sacred polyphonic choral compositions throughout the 16th century.
• Chanson — French polyphonic lyrical song, often based on an epic poem, such as ‘Song of Roland’
• Minnesang — German Lyrical song sung by troubadours of the High Middle Ages.
• Madrigal — Polyphonic vocal composition with three to six voices from Renaissance Italy.

Instrumental Compositions

• Concerto — Originally a Concerto was written for voice, accompanied by an Orchestra, but in more recent times featured a solo instrument (piano,violin,etc.) instead of voice.
• Symphony — Musical composition written primary for instruments. Often composed of four sections, usually beginning with a Sonata.
• Sonata — Originally meant an instrumental, rather than a vocal piece, but in more recent times is attributed to a wide variety of concert music.
• Fugue — Similar to a Sonata, but with a strong emphasis on counterpoint, featuring repetition of a melody at different pitches and rhythms.
• Overture — Instrumental Opening to an Opera, or Oratorio.

Narrative Compositions for Voice and Orchestra

• Opera — Musical theatre in which characters perform a dramatic work set to a musical score, with orchestral accompaniment. Arose in 17th century Italy.
• Oratoria — Musical composition involving both vocal and orchestral parts, that has a narrative and drama but is not staged like an opera. Evolved from Sacred dialogues and sermons set to music for spiritual instruction. (Philip Neri’s Oratory)
• Cantata — Vocal composition with Musical accompaniment, shorter than an opera or oratorio.
• Libretto — Text of the voice part of an opera, oratorio, or musical drama.
• Aria — Usually refers to a vocal solo or duet within a larger work, such as opera or oratorio.