Musical Glossary

To let an instrument gradually reach the temperature and humidity of a new place before it is opened or played.

Appears in: Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care

The system of levers, hammers and dampers that turns the movement of a key into a hammer blow on the string.

In the acoustic guitar: The height of the strings above the frets, which affects comfort and tone.

Appears in: Piano, Acoustic Guitar

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, an instrument in which vibrating air is the main source of sound. Flutes, horns and free-reed instruments are included.

In Instrument Families and How They Are Classified: An instrument in which vibrating air, or a reed or lips acting on air, produces the sound.

Appears in: Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

A three-stringed gourd lute of the Jola people of Senegambia, often discussed as a close relative of the early banjo.

Appears in: Banjo

The slow, unmetered opening section in which a raga is introduced.

Appears in: Sitar

The extreme high register of the saxophone, reached by special fingerings above the standard written range.

Appears in: Saxophone

A C clef placing middle C on the centre line of the staff, used mainly for viola music.

Appears in: Viola

A smaller historical viola size, suited to higher viola parts.

Appears in: Viola

Given a hard protective surface layer by an electrochemical treatment of the metal.

Appears in: Vibraphone

The single steel wire stretched along the bow.

Appears in: Berimbau

A carved top, and usually back, that curves outward like a violin’s rather than lying flat.

Appears in: Mandolin

A hollow guitar with an arched top and f-shaped sound holes, developed for loud acoustic playing and later electrified.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

An instruction to play with the bow, typically given to cancel a preceding pizzicato. It restores the sustained tone of bowing.

The way the start, length and connection of notes are shaped by a performer. Legato, staccato and accents are common examples.

The opening moment of a note, when the sound first starts. A sharp attack and a gentle one can make the same pitch sound quite different.

In Range, Register and Timbre Explained: The opening moment of a note, before its steady or fading portion begins.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

An emphasis on the second and fourth beats of a four-beat bar, typically played on the snare.

Appears in: Drum Kit

A West African xylophone with gourd resonators beneath the bars.

Appears in: Xylophone

An instrument that combines a banjo-style body with a ʻukulele neck and tuning.

Appears in: Ukulele

The thin stick used to strike the wire.

Appears in: Berimbau

A tuned slab of wood or synthetic material that is struck to produce a pitch; also called a key.

Appears in: Xylophone

A long spruce strip glued inside the top under the lowest string to support it and spread vibration.

In the cello: A long strip of spruce glued inside the top plate under the lower strings, stiffening it and spreading their vibration.

Appears in: Violin, Cello

A clarinet with extra keys and tube that extend its range down to a written C.

Appears in: Clarinet

The drumhead that the player strikes, as opposed to the resonant head on the underside.

Appears in: Drum Kit

The rim of the drum shell on which the head rests, shaped to affect tone and tuning.

Appears in: Drum Kit

The slow pulsing heard when two notes are almost, but not exactly, in tune.

Appears in: Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

A folding chamber that the player squeezes and draws out to move air through the reeds.

Appears in: Accordion

Shaping the mouth so a reed sounds lower than its normal pitch.

Appears in: Harmonica

The curved metal tube that connects the bassoon’s reed to the body of the instrument.

Appears in: Bassoon

A key and hole arrangement devised by Theobald Boehm in the 1830s and 1840s, now standard on flutes and adapted to other woodwinds.

Appears in: Flute

The bottom section of the bassoon, where the tube turns back on itself.

Appears in: Bassoon

The hollow channel inside a wind instrument; in the oboe it widens gradually from top to bell, forming a cone.

In the trombone: The internal diameter of the tubing, which affects tone and response.

Appears in: Oboe, Trombone

A body with a deep, rounded back made of narrow curved wooden strips, typical of the Neapolitan mandolin.

Appears in: Mandolin

Thin wooden struts glued inside the top to strengthen it and shape how it vibrates.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar

A Portuguese name for the small guitar-like instrument related to the machete.

Appears in: Ukulele

The French bassoon design, with a narrower bore and a different key layout and fingering.

Appears in: Bassoon

A family of clef signs that show where middle C sits on the staff; alto and tenor clefs are two positions of it.

Appears in: Viola

The hollow gourd tied to the bow that amplifies the sound.

Appears in: Berimbau

A clamp placed across the neck that shortens all the strings at once and so raises the pitch.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar

A small woven rattle held in the striking hand.

Appears in: Berimbau

A single-reed pipe that preceded the clarinet, and the name now given to the clarinet’s lowest register.

Appears in: Clarinet

The buzzing effect produced by a membrane covering a small hole in a traditional resonator.

Appears in: Marimba

Extra strings, usually tuned as drones, that are strummed for rhythmic accents.

Appears in: Sitar

A short, muted strum on the off-beat, used as a percussive rhythm technique in bluegrass.

Appears in: Mandolin

Three or more notes sounded together. Chords are commonly built by stacking intervals of a third.

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, an instrument whose sound comes from stretched strings. Plucked, bowed and struck string instruments all belong here.

In Instrument Families and How They Are Classified: An instrument in which stretched strings produce the sound.

Appears in: Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

Including all twelve semitones of the octave.

In the marimba: Including all twelve notes of the octave, sharps and flats as well as naturals.

In the harmonica: Able to play all twelve notes of the octave.

Appears in: Xylophone, Marimba, Harmonica

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an agreement that regulates cross-border trade in listed species and their products.

Appears in: Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

The middle register of the clarinet, reached by overblowing at the twelfth, with a bright, clear tone.

Appears in: Clarinet

A down-picking style in which the nail of a finger strikes the strings while the thumb sounds the short fifth string.

Appears in: Banjo

An instruction to strike or draw the wood of the bow across the strings instead of the hair.

Appears in: Double Bass

The body of the harmonica, a block with channels that separate each hole’s air path.

Appears in: Harmonica

The small gap that appears when pure intervals are stacked and fail to meet exactly, such as twelve fifths against seven octaves.

Appears in: Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

A system of extra tubing that corrects the flat notes produced when several valves are pressed together.

Appears in: Tuba

The pitch that actually sounds, as opposed to the pitch written for transposing instruments. The phrase also refers to the standard tuning reference, today commonly A at 440 hertz.

In Range, Register and Timbre Explained: The actual sounding pitch, as opposed to the written pitch of a transposing instrument.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

The leading first violinist of an orchestra, who leads the string section and is responsible for tuning.

Appears in: Violin

A tube that widens steadily from mouthpiece to bell, which makes an instrument overblow at the octave.

Appears in: Saxophone

A later Paris oboe mechanism with added keys and rings, now the standard in France and many other countries.

Appears in: Oboe

A specialist trained to stabilise and preserve an object while keeping as much original material as possible.

Appears in: Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care

An accompanying bass line, common in Baroque music, played by a low melodic instrument and a chord-playing instrument together. The chord-player fills in harmony from the bass line.

The lowest-pitched size of tuba, most often in B♭ or C.

Appears in: Tuba

A larger bassoon sounding an octave lower, with a tube folded several times.

Appears in: Bassoon

A larger oboe-family instrument, also called the English horn, sounding a perfect fifth lower than written.

Appears in: Oboe

A Renaissance wooden instrument with finger holes and a cup mouthpiece, often played alongside sackbuts.

Appears in: Trombone

The slow chemical deterioration of metal, accelerated by moisture and by salts or residues on the surface.

Appears in: Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care

A ring that presses the head’s edge against the bowl and is pulled down by the tuning rods.

Appears in: Timpani

A switch that selects which banks of reeds sound.

Appears in: Accordion

A pair of strings tuned together and played as one; early guitars often had five courses.

In the mandolin: A set of strings played as one, here two strings tuned to the same pitch and plucked together.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin

A detachable coil of tubing inserted to change an instrument’s fundamental pitch.

In the french horn: A removable loop of tubing inserted into a valveless horn to change its basic key.

Appears in: Trumpet, French Horn

Playing a harmonica in the key a fifth above its own, a favorite approach in blues.

Appears in: Harmonica

A felt pad that rests on a string to silence it and lifts when the key is pressed or the sustain pedal is used.

In the vibraphone: A felt-covered bar that presses against the keys to stop their ringing.

Appears in: Piano, Vibraphone

Stopping a note from ringing by touching the head with the fingers or palm.

Appears in: Timpani

The gradual fading of a sound after it has been produced. Its speed varies greatly from one instrument to another.

Tuned to the seven notes of a single major or minor scale, with no sharps or flats available.

In the marimba: Limited to the notes of a single seven-note scale, without sharps or flats outside it.

In the accordion: Limited to the notes of a particular scale, without a full set of sharps and flats.

Appears in: Harp, Marimba, Accordion, Harmonica

A coin, or sometimes a stone, pressed against the wire to change its pitch.

Appears in: Berimbau

A pedal system in which each pedal has three positions, so a string can be flat, natural or sharp.

Appears in: Harp

A horn with two sets of tubing, usually F and B♭, selected with a thumb-operated valve.

Appears in: French Horn

Two thin blades of cane tied together so that they vibrate against one another when air passes between them.

In the bassoon: Two thin cane blades tied together that vibrate against each other to start the sound.

Appears in: Oboe, Bassoon

Bowing or playing two strings at the same time to sound two notes together.

Appears in: Violin, Viola

A long sustained note, or a pair of notes, that sounds continuously beneath a melody. It provides a fixed reference for the tune above it.

In Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide: A sustained note, usually the tonic, that provides a constant reference for the melody.

Appears in: Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

A string that sounds the same note repeatedly, here the short fifth string.

Appears in: Banjo

A Renaissance low double-reed instrument with its bore drilled in a single block of wood; also called a curtal.

Appears in: Bassoon

The degrees of loudness in music and the markings that indicate them. Examples include piano for soft and forte for loud.

An instrument whose sound originates in electrical or electronic circuits.

Appears in: Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

The way a player shapes the lips, facial muscles and jaw against an instrument that is blown. It influences tone, pitch control and endurance.

In the flute: The shape and position of the lips, jaw and facial muscles used to direct the air stream across the mouth hole.

In the oboe: The way a player shapes the lips, jaw and facial muscles against the reed or mouthpiece.

In the trumpet: The arrangement of lips, facial muscles and breath used to produce sound on a mouthpiece.

Appears in: Flute, Oboe, Saxophone, Trumpet

A retractable rod at the bottom of the cello that rests on the floor and carries the instrument’s weight.

In the double bass: An adjustable metal spike at the bottom of the instrument that rests on the floor.

Appears in: Cello, Double Bass

A group of performers who play or sing together. The term covers groups of any size, from a duo to a full orchestra.

A tuning system that divides the octave into twelve equal semitones. It allows music to be played in every key at the cost of small departures from pure intervals.

In Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide: A temperament dividing the octave into twelve identical semitones.

Appears in: Piano, Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

A mechanism that frees the hammer just before it strikes, so it rebounds immediately and lets the string ring.

Appears in: Piano

A mechanical device on the scroll that lengthens the lowest string so it can reach down to C1.

Appears in: Double Bass

The carefully curved surface of the mouthpiece against which the reed vibrates.

Appears in: Clarinet

A pattern of braces radiating like a fan under the soundboard, typical of classical guitars.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar

A loop in which sound from the amplifier re-excites the strings, causing a sustained, often rising tone.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

A bridge held in place only by string pressure, not glued to the top.

Appears in: Mandolin

A technique in which the player rolls the tongue or throat while blowing, to produce a rapid, growling flutter.

Appears in: Flute

The bottom section of the flute, extending the range down to C or B.

Appears in: Flute

An early piano of roughly the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with a wooden frame and lighter construction.

Appears in: Piano

Another name for clawhammer playing, especially in the Appalachian tradition.

Appears in: Banjo

A left-hand system that offers single notes across a wide range instead of ready-made chords.

Appears in: Accordion

A thin metal tongue that swings back and forth through a slot in a plate, sounding as air passes over it.

In How Instruments Make Sound: A thin metal tongue that swings through a slot in a frame, chopping airflow into pulses without being governed by an attached tube.

Appears in: Accordion, Harmonica, How Instruments Make Sound

The number of complete vibration cycles a sound source makes in one second. Higher frequencies are heard as higher pitches.

In How Instruments Make Sound: The number of vibration cycles per second, measured in hertz. Higher frequency is heard as higher pitch.

Appears in: How Instruments Make Sound

A metal bar across the fingerboard that marks where a string is shortened to change its pitch.

Appears in: Ukulele

The lowest frequency in a note, which usually decides the pitch we hear.

Appears in: How Instruments Make Sound

Japan’s ancient court music, in which a form of the koto plays a part.

Appears in: Koto

A Javanese xylophone with wooden keys over a resonating trough, played in gamelan.

Appears in: Xylophone

The folded metal edge of a natural trumpet’s bell, often decorated.

Appears in: Trumpet

A continuous or stepwise slide from one pitch to another, passing through the notes in between. Some instruments can slide smoothly, while others produce it by sweeping across fixed notes.

In the harp: A rapid sweep of the fingers across many strings, producing a rippling scale.

In the trombone: A continuous slide of pitch from one note to another, without gaps.

In the timpani: A smooth slide of pitch, made on timpani by moving the pedal while the head vibrates.

Appears in: Harp, Trombone, Timpani

A very dense, dark tropical wood, also called African blackwood, used for oboes and many clarinets.

Appears in: Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

The largest, lowest-pitched berimbau, which usually sets the pace.

Appears in: Berimbau

Partly releasing the pedal so the damper lightly touches the bars, shortening rather than ending the ring.

Appears in: Vibraphone

Placing the cupped hand in the bell to change a note’s pitch and colour, a technique that let valveless horns play outside their natural harmonic series.

Appears in: French Horn

A component of a sound whose frequency is a whole-number multiple of the lowest, or fundamental, frequency. Together the harmonics form the harmonic series.

In the harp: A clear, bell-like tone an octave above the string’s pitch, produced by touching its midpoint while plucking.

Appears in: Harp

The set of notes a tube can sound through overblowing, at whole-number multiples of a fundamental frequency.

In the trombone: The set of notes available on a given tube length as the player tightens the lips.

In the french horn: The set of notes a tube can produce without valves or slides, determined by overblowing; neighbouring notes get closer together as they rise.

Appears in: Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn

Bright, high tones made by touching a string lightly at a fraction of its length instead of pressing it down.

Appears in: Double Bass

The membrane, made of calfskin or plastic, stretched over the bowl and struck by the player.

In the banjo: The stretched membrane, originally skin and now usually plastic, that covers the rim and amplifies the strings.

Appears in: Timpani, Banjo

The top section of the flute, containing the embouchure hole and a cork that seals the end of the tube.

Appears in: Flute

The German bassoon design, developed in Biebrich from 1831, now the most widely used.

Appears in: Bassoon

The unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second and written Hz. Concert tuning commonly places the A above middle C at 440 hertz.

In Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide: The unit of frequency, one cycle of vibration per second.

Appears in: Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

A pair of cymbals mounted on a stand and closed together by a foot pedal.

Appears in: Drum Kit

A common koto tuning built on a five-note scale with two semitones.

Appears in: Koto

A classification of musical instruments first published in 1914 by Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs. It sorts instruments by the way sound is produced.

A pickup made of two coils wired to cancel electrical hum, giving a thicker tone than a single coil.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

An instrument that combines more than one sound-production principle and so resists a single classification.

Appears in: Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, an instrument that sounds through the vibration of its own rigid material. Bells and tuned bars are examples.

In the xylophone: An instrument whose own body vibrates to make sound, without strings, reeds or membranes.

In the vibraphone: An instrument whose own body vibrates to produce its sound.

In Instrument Families and How They Are Classified: An instrument whose own rigid material vibrates to make the sound, such as a bar or a bell.

Appears in: Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone, Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

The distance in pitch between two notes, named by the number of scale steps it spans. Examples are the third, the fifth and the octave.

The accuracy of a player’s or instrument’s pitch relative to an intended standard. Good intonation means notes are in tune with one another.

A mid-eighteenth-century horn design in which crooks fit into the middle of the coil, so the instrument stays compact.

Appears in: French Horn

The broad, slightly curved bridge that gives the sitar its buzzing resonance.

Appears in: Sitar

A fast, rhythmic strumming section featuring the drone strings.

Appears in: Sitar

One of the thirteen movable bridges that support each string and set its pitch.

Appears in: Koto

A tuning approach in which intervals are set by simple whole-number frequency ratios. Its chords sound especially pure, but it works well only in a limited set of keys.

In Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide: A tuning built from pure whole-number frequency ratios, such as three to two for a fifth.

Appears in: Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

The highest rank in the guild of blind musicians in pre-modern Japan.

Appears in: Koto

A drum with a single head stretched over a bowl-shaped shell, the general category to which timpani belong.

Appears in: Timpani

A hardwood native to Hawaiʻi, traditionally used for ʻukulele bodies.

Appears in: Ukulele

An electric guitar played flat across the knees, with a metal bar sliding along the strings.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

A manner of playing in which successive notes are joined smoothly with no audible gap. It is usually marked in a score by a curved line.

In the vibraphone: Smoothly connected, with no audible gap between notes.

Appears in: Vibraphone

A smaller harp whose strings carry levers flipped by hand to raise the pitch by a semitone.

Appears in: Harp

A metal or fabric clamp that holds the reed against the mouthpiece.

Appears in: Clarinet, Saxophone

A tuning that sets the fourth string an octave lower than usual.

Appears in: Ukulele

A maker or repairer of stringed instruments.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar

A small four-stringed Portuguese instrument from Madeira, an ancestor of the ʻukulele.

Appears in: Ukulele

A geared tuning peg that lets a player adjust the tension of a heavy string with small turns.

Appears in: Double Bass

A larger relative of the mandolin, usually tuned a fifth lower.

Appears in: Mandolin

A gliding bend of a string across a fret that connects one pitch to another.

Appears in: Sitar

A thin stretched sheet, such as a drumhead, that vibrates when struck.

Appears in: How Instruments Make Sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, an instrument whose sound comes from a stretched skin or film. Drums are the typical case.

In Instrument Families and How They Are Classified: An instrument in which a stretched skin or film is the vibrating element.

Appears in: Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

A nineteenth-century theatrical entertainment in which performers used caricature, often in blackface, to mock African Americans.

Appears in: Banjo

The wire plectrum worn on the right index finger.

Appears in: Sitar

A type of scale defined by its pattern of whole-tone and semitone steps, or a melodic system with its own characteristic tendencies. Medieval church modes and modes of many traditions follow this idea.

The patterns in which a membrane vibrates, each with its own frequency.

Appears in: Timpani

A setup with slightly mismatched reeds for each note, producing a shimmering, pulsing tone.

Appears in: Accordion

A device placed in or over the bell to soften or colour the sound.

Appears in: Trumpet

A valveless trumpet that can only play the notes of the harmonic series of its tube.

Appears in: Trumpet

An alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that contains no silver, valued for stiffness and for accepting plating.

Appears in: Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

A point on a vibrating bar that barely moves, where the support cord passes through.

In the marimba: A point on a vibrating bar that barely moves, where the bar can be supported without damping it.

Appears in: Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone

Describes an instrument whose written notes sound at the same pitch as they appear on the page.

In the tuba: Notated at the pitch that actually sounds, with no shift between written and sounding notes.

Appears in: Oboe, Tuba

The interval between one pitch and another with twice or half its frequency. Notes an octave apart share the same letter name.

A key that opens a small vent to shift the instrument into its upper register.

Appears in: Saxophone

A German and Austrian fingering system for clarinets, distinct from the Boehm system used elsewhere.

Appears in: Clarinet

A key with a hole in its centre that the fingertip seals directly, allowing some special effects.

Appears in: Flute

A nineteenth-century keyed brass bass instrument, loud and hard to tune, that the tuba largely replaced.

Appears in: Tuba

The scholarly study of musical instruments, including their history, construction and classification.

Appears in: Instrument Families and How They Are Classified

A short musical pattern that repeats persistently, usually while other parts change above it. It may be rhythmic, melodic or both.

Blowing harder and more tightly so the air column vibrates in fractions, sounding a higher note without changing the holes that are open.

Appears in: Flute

Any component of a sound that lies above the fundamental. Overtones may or may not be exact multiples of it, depending on the vibrating body.

In the marimba: A higher, fainter pitch sounding along with the main note and shaping its color.

In How Instruments Make Sound: Any component of a sound above the fundamental. In a harmonic series, overtones sit at whole-number multiples of the fundamental.

Appears in: Marimba, How Instruments Make Sound

A small hinged valve that opens when a key or button is pressed, letting air reach a reed.

Appears in: Accordion

One of the component tones, above the fundamental, that together make up the sound of a note.

Appears in: Piano

The component frequencies that combine to form a single note’s timbre.

Appears in: Timpani

A light, fast-growing wood traditionally used for the koto’s body.

Appears in: Koto

A harp with foot pedals that change the pitch of every string of one note name at once.

Appears in: Harp

A foot-operated linkage that changes the tension of the whole head at once, altering the pitch.

Appears in: Timpani

A very low note, sounding an octave below the lowest note of the normal range of a brass instrument.

Appears in: Trombone

A note below the usual lowest note of a brass instrument, produced with the fundamental of the tube.

Appears in: Tuba

The lowest notes of a brass instrument, below its ordinary range, which are hard to produce and control.

Appears in: French Horn

A scale of five notes per octave, common in many xylophone traditions.

Appears in: Xylophone

A dense, springy Brazilian wood traditionally used to make bow sticks.

Appears in: Cello

A magnet-and-coil device beneath the strings that converts string vibration into an electrical signal.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

A valve that slides up and down to route air through extra lengths of tubing.

Appears in: Trumpet, Tuba

The perceived highness or lowness of a sound, which depends mainly on its frequency. Steady, regular vibrations are heard as a definite pitch.

An instruction to pluck a bowed string instrument’s strings with the finger instead of using the bow. It produces a short, percussive tone.

In the violin: A playing technique in which the strings are plucked with the finger instead of bowed.

Appears in: Violin

A small flat pick, held between thumb and finger, used to sound the strings.

Appears in: Mandolin

A four-string banjo with a long neck, played with a flat pick, commonly used for strumming chords.

Appears in: Banjo

One of the standard slide settings, each about a semitone lower than the one before.

Appears in: Trombone

A term for material acquired before a species was listed by CITES, which may be eligible for different documentation rules.

Appears in: Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

A decorative inlay of thin wood strips along the edge of the plates that also helps prevent cracks from spreading.

Appears in: Violin

A melodic framework in Indian classical music, made of characteristic notes, phrases and moods that guide improvisation.

Appears in: Sitar

The span from the lowest to the highest note an instrument can play.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

A flamenco strumming technique in which the fingers flick outward one after another across the strings.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar

A tuning in which a string is pitched higher than the string beside it, so the pitches do not rise steadily from one side to the other.

Appears in: Ukulele

A plate or block, often of wood and metal, in which a set of reeds is mounted.

Appears in: Accordion

A portion of an instrument’s or voice’s range with its own recognisable tone. A single instrument may have several registers that sound distinctly different.

In Range, Register and Timbre Explained: A portion of an instrument’s range with a recognisably consistent tone quality.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

A small key, worked by the left thumb, that vents the tube so that it sounds a twelfth higher.

Appears in: Clarinet

The adjustment of a pedal mechanism so that each string is stopped at precisely the correct point.

In Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care: The adjustment of a keyboard instrument’s moving parts so that the touch is even and responsive.

Appears in: Harp, Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care

The amount of water vapour in the air compared with the most the air could hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage.

Appears in: Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care

The strong response of an object when it is driven at a frequency it naturally favours. It is the reason a vibrating source can be reinforced by a body or a column of air.

In How Instruments Make Sound: The strong response of an object when driven at or near a frequency it naturally favours.

Appears in: How Instruments Make Sound

Any object or cavity that responds sympathetically to a vibration and reinforces it. Hollow tubes, boxes and air chambers commonly serve this role.

In the xylophone: A tube or gourd placed beneath a bar to reinforce its sound.

In the marimba: A gourd or tube placed beneath a bar that vibrates in sympathy and strengthens its note.

In the vibraphone: A tube under a bar that reinforces the bar’s pitch through vibrating air.

Appears in: Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone, Banjo

One of the narrow curved wooden strips that, glued edge to edge, form a bowl-shaped back.

Appears in: Mandolin

The common ten-hole layout in which exhaled notes form a major chord and inhaled notes form a different chord.

Appears in: Harmonica

A large cymbal struck repeatedly to keep time, producing a sustained, shimmering sound.

Appears in: Drum Kit

The circle of players and musicians in which capoeira takes place.

Appears in: Berimbau

Fast alternating strokes that join into a sustained-sounding tone.

Appears in: Marimba

A hardened tree resin rubbed on bow hair so that it grips the string.

Appears in: Violin

A valve in which a rotor turns to open or close a length of extra tubing.

In the french horn: A valve in which a small cylinder turns to send air through extra tubing, standard on most modern horns.

In the tuba: A valve in which a cylinder turns to route air through additional tubing.

Appears in: Trumpet, French Horn, Tuba

Standard sticking patterns, such as rolls and flams, used as building blocks of drumming technique.

Appears in: Drum Kit

The name now given to the Renaissance and Baroque slide instrument that led to the modern trombone.

Appears in: Trombone

The strip, usually of bone or plastic, set into the bridge that supports the strings and marks their sounding end.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar

A chamber trio, usually of koto, shamisen and shakuhachi.

Appears in: Koto

A valved brass instrument family, also devised by Sax, used in bands.

In the tuba: A family of valved, conical-bore brass instruments developed in France in the 1840s, ancestors of the euphonium and baritone horn.

Appears in: Saxophone, Tuba

An ordered series of pitches within an octave, ascending or descending by set steps. The major scale is a familiar example.

The vibrating length of a string from nut to bridge saddle, which affects tension and feel.

In the ukulele: The vibrating length of the strings, from nut to bridge.

Appears in: Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele

A naming system that pairs a note letter with an octave number, so that middle C is C4 and A4 is 440 hertz.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

Tuning the strings to pitches other than the standard ones for a special effect.

In the viola: Tuning the strings to unusual pitches to alter the sound or make a passage easier.

Appears in: Violin, Viola

The written music for all parts of a work, arranged so that they can be read together. Conductors use it to follow and coordinate an ensemble.

A snake-shaped wooden bass instrument with finger holes, played with a cup mouthpiece, used before valved bass brass existed.

Appears in: Tuba

A loud, conical-bore double-reed instrument of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ancestor of the oboe.

Appears in: Oboe

A single thin blade of cane fixed to a mouthpiece, which vibrates against the mouthpiece’s opening when the player blows.

Appears in: Saxophone

A pickup with one coil, known for a bright, clear sound and some susceptibility to hum.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

The pair of telescoping U-shaped tubes that lengthen the instrument’s air column as the player moves them.

Appears in: Trombone

Thin wires or cords stretched across the bottom head of a snare drum that rattle against it and create a crisp buzz.

Appears in: Drum Kit

The Japanese tradition of solo koto music and song that took shape from the seventeenth century.

Appears in: Koto

A guitar body made from solid wood rather than a hollow shell, which resists feedback.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

A small wooden dowel inside a violin-family instrument that links the top and back and helps carry vibration.

Appears in: Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care

A thin wooden panel, usually spruce, that amplifies the vibration of the strings through the bridge.

In the harp: The thin wooden panel that the strings are attached to, which amplifies their vibration.

In Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments: A thin wooden panel that vibrates with the strings and moves more air than the strings could alone.

Appears in: Piano, Harp, Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

A small spruce dowel wedged inside the body between top and back, which couples the two plates.

Appears in: Violin, Cello

A bowing style in which the bow bounces lightly off the string, producing short, separated notes.

Appears in: Cello

A manner of playing in which notes are short and clearly separated by silence. It is marked with a dot above or below the note.

A stable vibration pattern in a string or air column, with fixed still points (nodes) and points of greatest motion between them.

Appears in: How Instruments Make Sound

The small metal tube, wrapped in cork, onto which the oboe’s reed blades are tied.

Appears in: Oboe

A sharp, metallic tone produced by closing the bell with the hand.

Appears in: French Horn

The standard button layout of the left hand, arranged in fifths, with rows of single notes and chord buttons.

Appears in: Accordion

The portion of a note during which its sound continues after the initial onset. It is also the ability of an instrument to hold a tone at a steady level.

A string that is not played but vibrates in response to other notes, adding resonance.

Appears in: Viola

A repeating rhythmic cycle of counted beats that organises a composition.

Appears in: Sitar

A long-necked drone lute that sounds the tonic and fifth continuously.

Appears in: Sitar

Sympathetic strings running beneath the frets that vibrate in response to played notes.

Appears in: Sitar

A system of tuning in which the intervals of the scale are slightly adjusted so that music can be played in many keys. Different temperaments have been favoured in different periods.

In Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide: A system of slightly adjusting intervals so that an instrument with fixed pitches can play in many keys.

Appears in: Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide

A four-string banjo with a shorter neck, used in jazz and Irish music.

Appears in: Banjo

A way of notating pitch that places middle C on the fourth line of the staff, used to avoid many ledger lines in the cello’s middle and upper range.

In the bassoon: A clef used for higher passages in bass-register instruments, placing middle C on the fourth staff line.

Appears in: Cello, Bassoon

A larger historical viola size, pitched like the modern viola but built with a longer body.

Appears in: Viola

The span of pitches in which most of a part or piece lies, as distinct from its highest and lowest notes. It indicates where a player or singer spends most of the time.

In Range, Register and Timbre Explained: The span in which most notes of a given part or piece lie, regardless of the extremes it touches.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

Notes near the break between registers that are weaker and less resonant, and need careful fingering.

Appears in: Clarinet

A left-hand technique for high notes in which the thumb moves onto the string alongside the fingers.

Appears in: Cello

An oboe key mechanism, introduced by Triébert in 1849, in which the left thumb has main control of the key action.

Appears in: Oboe

The quality that lets a listener tell two sounds apart even when they share the same pitch and loudness. It depends on the mixture of harmonics and on how the note begins and fades.

In Range, Register and Timbre Explained: The quality that distinguishes sounds of the same pitch and loudness from one another.

Appears in: Range, Register and Timbre Explained

A cylindrical drum with no snares, played on the kit in several sizes to provide lower and higher tones.

Appears in: Drum Kit

Timber selected for its acoustic properties, such as stiffness, density and straight grain, and used for soundboards, backs and other sounding parts.

Appears in: Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

A technique using the tongue to cover holes and play single notes or octaves.

Appears in: Harmonica

A named rhythmic pattern played on the berimbau that signals the style of the game.

Appears in: Berimbau

An instrument whose written notes sound at a different pitch from the page, as on the alto and tenor saxophones.

In the french horn: An instrument whose notated pitches sound at a different pitch from written, as on a horn in F.

In Range, Register and Timbre Explained: An instrument whose notated pitches differ from the pitches it sounds.

Appears in: Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Range, Register and Timbre Explained

The act of moving music to a different pitch level while keeping its internal relationships. It is also the practice of notating a part at a pitch other than the one that sounds.

Held sideways, across the player’s body, in contrast to flutes that are held pointing downward and blown at the end.

Appears in: Flute

An early name for the drum kit, commonly explained as short for contraptions, meaning the assorted gear a single player managed.

Appears in: Drum Kit

A rapid repetition of a single note, or a rapid fluctuation in loudness. It should not be confused with vibrato, which varies pitch.

In the xylophone: Rapid repetition of a single note, made on the xylophone by alternating mallets.

In the mandolin: A rapid repetition of a single note with quick alternating pick strokes, used to sustain sound on a plucked instrument.

Appears in: Xylophone, Mandolin

A lever on the bridge that changes string tension briefly to bend pitch or add vibrato.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

A setup with two slightly mismatched reeds per note, producing a pulsing tone.

Appears in: Harmonica

A thumb-operated lever that adds an extra loop of tubing to lower the instrument’s pitch.

Appears in: Trombone

An adjustable metal rod inside the neck that counteracts string tension and lets the neck be straightened.

Appears in: Electric Guitar

Finger picks worn on the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand.

Appears in: Koto

An indicator on the drum showing the pedal position and helping the player find notes.

Appears in: Timpani

An Italian term, meaning all, that directs every performer in a group to play together. It is used in contrast to a solo passage.

The left pedal, whose name means one string; it shifts the action so hammers strike fewer strings and the tone softens.

Appears in: Piano

The curved wooden bow that forms the body of the berimbau.

Appears in: Berimbau

A small, rapid, regular variation in pitch used to add warmth or movement to a sustained note. Singers and many instrumentalists produce it by subtle motion of the voice, finger, hand or breath.

In the violin: A slight, rapid variation in pitch produced by rocking the left-hand finger, used to add warmth.

In the vibraphone: A regular fluctuation in loudness or pitch that gives a note a wavering quality.

Appears in: Violin, Vibraphone

A family of fretted, bowed string instruments of Renaissance and Baroque Europe, usually with six strings and sloping shoulders.

Appears in: Double Bass

A bowed string instrument with sympathetic strings that resonate beneath the played ones.

Appears in: Viola

Italian for viol of the arm; a term used for the violin family, as opposed to the leg-held viols.

Appears in: Viola

An early name for large bass string instruments, used for several different instruments in Italy and elsewhere.

Appears in: Double Bass

The adjustment of hammer felt to change the brightness or warmth of a piano's tone.

Appears in: Piano

A jazz bass line that moves in steady quarter notes, usually one note per beat, outlining the chords.

Appears in: Double Bass

The narrow upper section of the bassoon, which receives the bocal.

Appears in: Bassoon

An unstable, growling sound heard on notes whose pitch matches a strong resonance of the cello body.

Appears in: Cello

A string whose core is wrapped in fine wire to add mass and lower the pitch without making the string too stiff.

Appears in: Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments

A stringed instrument whose strings run the full length of a flat or slightly curved body.

Appears in: Koto