We don't want to bog you down with an overweight backpack of heavy music vocabulary, but we would like to share a few terms that you might like to know before you head over to the symphony.
The People
- Performance Artists
- Musicians and artists in visual or dramatic or musical activity such as theater, film, dance, etc.
- Conductor
- Person who leads the orchestra by means of gestures and indications.
- Wind Orchestra
- Wind band or concert band consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments.
- Ensemble /on-sahm-bull/
- Musical performing group 'assembled' together such as an orchestra, choir, or band.
The Orchestra
- String instruments
- Violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, etc.
- Woodwind instruments
- Violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, etc.
- Brass instruments
- Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, etc.
- String instruments
- Trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, coronet, etc.
- Percussion instruments
- Drums, cymbals, piano, bells, tambourine, etc.
The Music
- Melody
- A succession of singles tones; a simple song.
- Harmony
- The combination of two or more different notes sounding simultaneously.
- Texture
- The interweaving of melodic and harmonic elements in music.
- Symphony
- A large instrumental composition generally divided into three or four parts.
- March
- A piece of music written for marching to.
- Concerto /kuhn-chair-toe/
- A piece of music written for a soloist and an accompanying orchestra.
- Suite /sweet/
- Ordered set of musical pieces which may be derived from an opera, movie, or ballet (e.g.
Nutcracker Suite
). - Overture
- An instrumental introduction for opera, ballet, or an oratorio.
- Movement
- Complete, self-contained sections, or parts, of a larger musical work.
- Fanfare
- A short piece of music played by brass instruments and trumpets, usually for ceremonial purposes.
- Requiem /rek-wee-em/
- A musical composition associated with death or mourning.
- Tempo
- The rate, speed, or pace of the music.
- Crescendo
- A gradual increase in the volume or force of music.
- Register
- The specific range in the sound of an instrument or voice.
SATB
- Soprano
- The highest singing voice of a woman or young boy.
- Alto
- A low female singing voice.
- Tenor
- A high adult male voice.
- Bass
- A male singing voice of the lowest range.
More? Oh yes, of course there's more! But we'll let these terms marinate for now. One chapter at a time, after all.
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