100 Words Every Musician Should Know

No.	Term	Definition
1.	Accelerando	Gradually speed up.
2.	Accent	Emphasized note or beat.
3.	Accompaniment	Supporting musical parts.
4.	Acoustic	Sound produced without amplification.
5.	Adagio	Slow tempo.
6.	Allegro	Fast, lively tempo.
7.	Alteration	Change to a note or chord.
8.	Amplitude	Wave height; perceived loudness.
9.	Arpeggio	Chord tones played separately.
10.	Arrangement	Adapted version of a piece.
11.	Articulation	How notes are attacked and released.
12.	Atonal	Without a clear key center.
13.	Attack	Initial part of a note.
14.	Audio interface	Converts audio to/from digital.
15.	Audition	Performance to win a role.
16.	Balance	Relative loudness among parts.
17.	Bandpass filter	Passes only a frequency range.
18.	Bar	Measure of beats.
19.	Barline	Vertical line separating measures.
20.	Bass	Low-frequency range or part.
21.	Beat	Regular pulse in music.
22.	Bend	Pitch change by finger or breath.
23.	BPM	Beats per minute.
24.	Bridge	Contrasting section connecting parts.
25.	Cadence	Harmonic ending or pause.
26.	Canon	Imitative melody at fixed delay.
27.	Capo	Clamp raising guitar pitch.
28.	Chord	Three or more notes together.
29.	Chord progression	Sequence of chords.
30.	Chorus	Repeated main section of a song.
31.	Chromatic	Using notes outside the key.
32.	Clef	Symbol fixing note names on staff.
33.	Coda	Concluding passage.
34.	Compression	Reduces dynamic range.
35.	Concert pitch	Standard tuning reference pitch.
36.	Consonance	Stable, pleasing harmony.
37.	Counterpoint	Interweaving independent melodic lines.
38.	Crescendo	Gradually get louder.
39.	Cue	Signal to enter or change.
40.	DAW	Software for recording and editing.
41.	Decrescendo	Gradually get softer.
42.	Delay	Echo effect with repeats.
43.	Diatonic	Using notes of a key.
44.	Dissonance	Tense, unstable harmony.
45.	Dotted note	Note length increased by half.
46.	Downbeat	First beat of a measure.
47.	Dynamics	Levels of loudness and softness.
48.	Echo	Repeated sound reflection.
49.	EDM	Electronic dance music genre.
50.	Eighth note	Note worth half a quarter.
51.	Ensemble	Group performing together.
52.	Equalization (EQ)	Adjusts frequency balance.
53.	Etude	Study piece for technique.
54.	Fermata	Hold a note longer.
55.	Fifth	Interval of seven semitones.
56.	Flat	Lowers pitch by one semitone.
57.	Form	Overall structure of a piece.
58.	Forte	Loud.
59.	Fortissimo	Very loud.
60.	Frequency	Cycles per second; pitch relation.
61.	Fugue	Contrapuntal form with recurring subject.
62.	Glissando	Slide between pitches.
63.	Groove	Rhythmic feel that drives music.
64.	Harmony	Simultaneous combination of pitches.
65.	Headroom	Margin before distortion or clipping.
66.	Hook	Catchy memorable musical idea.
67.	Improvisation	Spontaneous creation while performing.
68.	Interval	Distance between two pitches.
69.	Intonation	Accuracy of pitch.
70.	Key	Tonal center and scale.
71.	Key signature	Sharps or flats indicating key.
72.	Largo	Very slow tempo.
73.	Lead sheet	Melody, chords, and lyrics outline.
74.	Legato	Smoothly connected notes.
75.	Leitmotif	Recurring theme linked to an idea.
76.	Loop	Repeated audio or pattern.
77.	Lydian	Major mode with raised fourth.
78.	Major	Scale or chord with bright quality.
79.	Mastering	Final polish for release.
80.	Measure	Group of beats in notation.
81.	Melody	Main sequence of pitched notes.
82.	Meter	Pattern of beats per measure.
83.	Metronome	Device marking steady tempo.
84.	Microphone	Converts sound into electrical signal.
85.	Minor	Scale or chord with darker quality.
86.	Mixing	Balancing and processing recorded tracks.
87.	Mode	Scale type with characteristic intervals.
88.	Modulation	Change from one key to another.
89.	Motif	Short recurring musical figure.
90.	Mute	Device or technique reducing sound.
91.	Notation	Written representation of music.
92.	Octave	Interval of twelve semitones.
93.	Ostinato	Repeated musical pattern.
94.	Overdrive	Mild distortion from saturation.
95.	Pan	Stereo left-right placement.
96.	Phrasing	Shaping musical sentences.
97.	Pitch	Perceived highness or lowness.
98.	Portamento	Smooth glide between notes.
99.	Pre-chorus	Section leading into chorus.
100.	Program change	MIDI message switching instrument sound.