M - Z

Ma - But. Used with other words, e.g. lento ma non troppo, slow but not too slowly.

Maestoso - Majestically.

Major - The designation for certain intervals and scales. A key based on a major scale is called a major key. The pattern for the major scale is: wholewholehalf wholewholewhole halfstepstepstep stepstepstep step

Major chord - A triad composed of a root, major third, and perfect fifth.

Marcato - Emphasized, heavily accented.

Measure - A group of beats containing a primary accent and one or more secondary accents, indicated by the placement of bar lines on the staff. The space between two bar lines.

Meno mosso - Less motion.

Meter - The structure of notes in a regular pattern of accented and unaccented beats within a measure, indicated at the beginning of a composition by a meter signature.

Meter signature - The numbers placed at the beginning of a composition to indicate the meter of the music, e.g. . The upper number indicates the beats in a measure; the lower number tells what kind of a note will receive one beat.

Metronome - Invented by Maelzel in 1816, the instrument is used to indicate the exact tempo of a composition. An indication such as M.M. 60 indicates that the pendulum, with a weight at the bottom, makes 60 beats per minute. A slider is moved up and down the pendulum to decrease and increase the tempo. M.M. = 80 means that the time value of a quarter note is the equivalent of one pendulum beat when the slider is set at 80.

Mezzo forte - Medium loud.

Mezzo piano - Medium soft.

Mi - In solmization, the third degree of the major scale.

Middle C - The note C in the middle of the Grand staff, and near the middle of the paino.

Misterioso - Mysteriously.

Mit - With.

Mode - Any scalewise arrangement of pitches; more generally, the term refers to the patterns upon which medieval music was structured, the patterns which preceded the development of major and minor scales and tonality.

Moderato - Moderate speed.

Modern - Music written in the 20th century or contempory music.

Modulation - The process of changing from one key to another within a composition.

Molto - Very. Used with other terms, e.g. molto allegro.

Moto - Motion. Con moto, with motion.

Nachtmusik - "Night music." A serenade.

Natural - A musical symbol which cancels a previous sharp or flat.

Non troppo - Not too much. Used with other terms, e.g. non troppo allegro, not too fast.

Notation - A term for a system of expressing musical sounds through the use of written characters, called notes.

Octave - The eighth tone above a given pitch, with twice as many vibrations per second, or below a given pitch, with half as many vibrations.

Octet - A piece for eight instruments or voices.

Open fifth - A triad without a third.

Opus, Op - The term, meaning work, is used by composers to show the chronological order of their works, e.g. Op. 1, Op. 2.

Ornamentation - Note or notes added to the original melodic line for embellishment and added interest.

Ossia - "Or." Indicating an alternative passage or version.

Ostinato - A repeated melodic or rhythmic pattern, frequently appearing in the bass line.

Ottava - Octave.

Overtones - The almost inaudible higher tones which occur with the fundamental tone. They are the result of the vibration of small sections of a string (instrument) or a column of air. Other general terms for overtones are partials and harmonics.

Overture - The introductory music for an opera, oratorio or ballet. A concert overture is an independent work.

Pacato - Calm, quiet.

Passing tones - Unaccented notes which move conjunctly between two chords to which they do not belong harmonically.

Pensieroso - Contemplative, thoughtful.

Perfect - A term used to label fourth, fifth, and octave intervals. It corresponds to the major, as given to seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths.

Perfect pitch - The ability to hear and identify a note without any other musical support.

Pesante - Heavy.

Phrase - A relatively short portion of a melodic line which expresses a musical idea, comparable to a line or sentence in poetry.

Pianissimo -Very soft.

Pianississimo - Very, very soft; the softest common dynamic marking.

Piano - Soft. Pianoforte.

Pizzicato - "Pinched." On string instruments, plucking the string.

Poco - Little. Used with other terms, e.g. poco accel., also, poco a poco, little by little.

Poco piu mosso - A little more motion.

Postlude - "Play after." The final piece in a multi-movement work. Organ piece played at the end of a church service.

Prelude - "Play before." An introductory movement or piece.

Prestissimo - Very, very fast. The fastest tempo.

Presto - Very quick.

Primo - First.

Quarter note/rest - A note/rest one half the length of a half note and one quarter the length of a whole note.

Quartet - A piece for four instruments or voices. Four performers.

Quintet - A piece for five instruments or voices. Five performers.

Rallentando, rall - Gradually slower. Synonymous with ritardando.

Range - The gamut of pitches, from low to high, which a singer may perform.

Rapide - Rapidly.

Refrain - A short section of repeated material which occurs at the end of each stanza.

Relative major and minor scales - Major and minor scales which have the same key signature.

Rhapsody - A free style instrumental piece characterized by dramatic changes in mood.

Risoluto - Resolute.

Ritardando, rit - Gradually slower. Synonymous with rallentando.

Ritenuto - Immediate reduction in tempo.

Round - Like the canon, a song in which two or more parts having the same melody, starting at different points. The parts may be repeated as desired.

Rubato - The term used to denote flexibility of tempo to assist in achieving expressiveness.

Scherzo - "Joke." A piece in a lively tempo. A movement of a symphony, sonata, or quartet in quick triple time, replacing the minuet.

Score - The written depiction of all the parts of a musical ensemble with the parts stacked vertically and rhythmically aligned.

Secco - "Dry." Unornamented.

Second - The second degree of the diatonic scale. Also, the interval formed by a given tone and the next tone above or below it, e.g. c up to d, or c down to b. Intervals of the second may be major, diminished, or augmented.

Septet - A piece for seven instruments or voices. Seven performers.

Serenade - A love song or piece, usually performed below someone's window in the evening.

Sereno - Serene, peaceful.

Seventh - The seventh degree of the diatonic scale. Also, the interval formed by a given tone and the seventh tone above or below it, e.g. c up to b, or c down to d. Intervals of the seventh may be major, minor, diminished, or augmented.

Seventh chord - When a seventh (above the root) is added to a triad (root, third, fifth), the result is a seventh chord, e.g. the dominant triad in the key of C major, g-b-d, with the added seventh becomes g-b-d-f and is labelled V7.

Sforzando, Sfz, Sf - Sudden strong accent on a note or chord.

Sharp - A symbol which raises the pitch of a note one-half step.

Simile - An indication to continue in the same manner.

Sixteenth note/rest - A note/rest half the length of an eighth note and a sixteenth the length of a whole note.

Sixth - The sixth degree of the diatonic scale. Also, the interval formed by a given tone and the sixth tone above or below it, e.g. c up to a, or c down to e. Intervals of the sixth may be major, minor, diminished, or augmented.

Sixth chord - The first inversion of a triad, made by placing the third of the chord in the lowest voice, e.g. C6 is e-g-c.

Sognando - Dreamily.

Sol - In solmization, the fifth degree of the major scale.

Solmization - The term for the use of syllables for the degrees of the major scale: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la ti, do. The minor scale (natural) is la, ti, do, re, mi, fa, sol, la.

Sonata - An instrumental piece, often in several movements.

Sostenuto - Sustaining of tone or slackening of tempo.

Spiccato - On string instruments, a bowing technique wherein the bow is bounced on the string at moderate speed.

Staccato - Detached sounds, indicated by a dot over or under a note. The opposite of legato.

Stanza - A selection of a song, two or more lines long, characterized by a common meter, rhyme, and number of lines.

Symphony - A piece for large orchestra, usually in four movements, in which the first movement often is in sonata form. A large orchestra.

Syncopation - Accent on an unexpected beat.

Tanto - Much, so much.

Theme - The musical subject of a piece (usually a melody), as in sonata form or a fugue. An extramusical concept behind a piece.

Theme and variations - A statement of musical subject followed by restatements in different guises.

Tonality - The term used to describe the organization of the melodic and harmonic elements to give a feeling of a key center or a tonic pitch.

Tonic - The first note of a key. Also, the name of the chord built on the first degree of the scale, indicated by I in a major key or i in a minor key.

Transposition - The process of changing the key of a composition.

Treble clef - The G clef falling on the second line of the staff.

Trill, tr - A musical ornament performed by the rapid alternation of a given note with a major or minor second above.

Triple meter - Meter based on three beats, or a multiple of three, in a measure.

Triplet - A group of three notes performed in the time of two of the same kind.

Troppo - Too much. Used with other terms, e.g. allegro non troppo, not too fast.

Tutti - All. A direction for the entire ensemble to sing or play simultaneously.

Upbeat - One or more notes occurring before the first bar line, as necessitated by the text for the purpose of desirable accent. The unaccented beat of a measure.

Virtuoso - A brillant, skillful performer.

Vivace - Lively, brisk, quick, and bright.

Vivo - Lively, bright.

Whole note/rest - A note/rest equal to two half notes and four quarter notes.