| No. | Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Acapella | Singing without instruments. |
| 2. | Acoustic | Produced without electronic amplification. |
| 3. | Album | Collection of recorded tracks. |
| 4. | Allegro | Fast, lively tempo marking. |
| 5. | Alto | Low female vocal range. |
| 6. | Amplifier | Device that boosts audio signal. |
| 7. | Aria | Solo vocal piece in opera. |
| 8. | Arrangement | Adapted version of a composition. |
| 9. | Articulation | How notes are attacked and released. |
| 10. | Audience | Listeners at a performance. |
| 11. | Backing track | Pre-recorded accompaniment for performance. |
| 12. | Ballad | Slow, emotional song. |
| 13. | Band | Group of performing musicians. |
| 14. | Baritone | Male voice between tenor and bass. |
| 15. | Bass | Lowest pitch range or instrument. |
| 16. | Beat | Regular pulse in music. |
| 17. | BPM | Beats per minute; tempo measure. |
| 18. | Bridge | Contrasting section linking song parts. |
| 19. | Cadence | Harmonic ending or pause. |
| 20. | Chamber music | Small ensemble classical music. |
| 21. | Chant | Monophonic, speechlike singing. |
| 22. | Chord | Three or more notes together. |
| 23. | Chorus | Repeated section; also group singers. |
| 24. | Clef | Symbol indicating pitch range. |
| 25. | Coda | Closing section of a piece. |
| 26. | Composer | Person who writes music. |
| 27. | Composition | A written musical work. |
| 28. | Concert | Live musical performance event. |
| 29. | Conductor | Leads an ensemble’s performance. |
| 30. | Crescendo | Gradually getting louder. |
| 31. | Decrescendo | Gradually getting softer. |
| 32. | Delay | Echo effect repeating sound. |
| 33. | Diatonic | Using notes of a key. |
| 34. | Dissonance | Tense, unstable combination of tones. |
| 35. | DJ | Performs by selecting and mixing tracks. |
| 36. | Downbeat | First beat of a measure. |
| 37. | Dynamics | Degrees of loudness and softness. |
| 38. | Ear training | Practice recognizing pitches and intervals. |
| 39. | Echo | Reflected sound heard again. |
| 40. | Encore | Extra performance after applause. |
| 41. | Ensemble | Group performing together. |
| 42. | EQ | Tone shaping via frequency adjustment. |
| 43. | Etude | Study piece for technique. |
| 44. | Falsetto | High, light male vocal register. |
| 45. | Fermata | Hold a note longer. |
| 46. | Finale | Concluding section of a work. |
| 47. | Flat | Pitch lowered by a semitone. |
| 48. | Folk music | Traditional music of a community. |
| 49. | Forte | Loud dynamic marking. |
| 50. | Frequency | Rate of vibration; perceived pitch. |
| 51. | Genre | Category or style of music. |
| 52. | Gig | Paid live performance. |
| 53. | Glissando | Slide between pitches. |
| 54. | Groove | Rhythmic feel that drives music. |
| 55. | Harmony | Combination of simultaneous pitches. |
| 56. | Headphones | Personal listening device over ears. |
| 57. | Hook | Catchy musical idea. |
| 58. | Improvisation | Creating music spontaneously. |
| 59. | Instrument | Tool used to make music. |
| 60. | Interlude | Short section between main parts. |
| 61. | Interval | Distance between two pitches. |
| 62. | Intro | Opening section of a song. |
| 63. | Jam session | Informal group improvising together. |
| 64. | Jingle | Short catchy tune, often for ads. |
| 65. | Key | Tonal center and scale. |
| 66. | Keyboard | Instrument with piano-style keys. |
| 67. | Largo | Very slow tempo marking. |
| 68. | Lead vocal | Main singing part. |
| 69. | Legato | Smoothly connected notes. |
| 70. | Loop | Repeated musical segment. |
| 71. | Lyrics | Words of a song. |
| 72. | Mastering | Final polish of mixed audio. |
| 73. | Measure | Bar; group of beats. |
| 74. | Melody | Main sequence of musical notes. |
| 75. | Metronome | Device that marks steady tempo. |
| 76. | Microphone | Converts sound into electrical signal. |
| 77. | Mixing | Balancing and combining recorded tracks. |
| 78. | Modulation | Change from one key to another. |
| 79. | Movement | Major section of a longer work. |
| 80. | Mute | Device that softens an instrument’s sound. |
| 81. | Notation | Written symbols representing music. |
| 82. | Note | Single musical pitch event. |
| 83. | Octave | Interval spanning eight scale degrees. |
| 84. | Opera | Dramatic work sung throughout. |
| 85. | Orchestra | Large ensemble of varied instruments. |
| 86. | Overtone | Higher partial above a fundamental. |
| 87. | Percussion | Instruments struck, shaken, or scraped. |
| 88. | Phrase | Musical sentence-like unit. |
| 89. | Pitch | How high or low a sound is. |
| 90. | Playback | Reproducing recorded sound. |
| 91. | Pre-chorus | Section leading into the chorus. |
| 92. | Production | Process of creating recorded music. |
| 93. | Refrain | Repeated line or section. |
| 94. | Rehearsal | Practice session for performance. |
| 95. | Release | Official distribution of recorded music. |
| 96. | Remix | Altered version of an existing track. |
| 97. | Reverb | Echo-like persistence of sound. |
| 98. | Rhythm | Pattern of durations and accents. |
| 99. | Riff | Short repeated musical figure. |
| 100. | Scale | Ordered set of pitches. |