Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [terminology]

For questions about the terms used to describe music or the language used within the musical field. Questions about symbols should use the "notation" tag.

Questions about the terms used in printed scores, articles, or notes, and elsewhere to describe music or how to play a piece (etc.).

963 questions
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What is the difference between a riff and a lick?

That's it. I was wondering what is the difference between a riff and a lick. The Wikipedia page for lick is somewhat confusing-- what do you think?
F.C.
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What's the short and accented note at the very end of a song called?

In some songs, there is a short and accented note at the very end, usually as the last note. Is there a special term for this note besides calling it the "last note"? Examples: "Hamilton" from Hamilton The Stars and Stripes Forever by Sousa
huanglx
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3 answers

What exactly does "feat." mean?

Does anyone know what does the "feat." mean exactly? Some song titles have the word "feat" in it, for example "I wanna love you clean Akon feat. Snoop dog". What does "feat." mean?
Pacerier
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What does it mean for a sound to be "dirty"?

An effect that many electronic music creators go for is a "dirty bass synth" or something similar. What exactly does this term mean, if it has a precise definition at all? What qualities of a synth make it dirty? From what I know, it's supposed to…
Joe Z.
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Why are notes named the way they are?

In 12 tone equal temperament, why are the notes named: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B instead of, for example, A, A#, B, B#, C, C#, D, D#, E, E#, F, F# or any other thing?
junil
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3 answers

What is a session musician?

I've heard the term "session musician" in a few books I've read or videos I've seen, in context like, "You probably wouldn't need to really learn B major deeply unless you're a session musician." It seems counter-intuitive to me - why wouldn't I…
tarun
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8 answers

What's the difference between genre and style?

Is there anybody in the world who knows what's the difference between genre and style in music? In wikipedia there are articles: list of music genres and list of music styles, but when we go to a particular page of music style we will often see…
Jeremen
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What is it called when a song starts with few instruments, and gradually adds one at a time?

Many songs will start with only a few number of instruments, and after a specified amount of time has passed a new instrument is added, and this is repeated until all instruments for the song are playing its rhythms. Sometimes this is also done when…
PhoneixS
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What is the difference between a musical and a rock opera?

I've seen multiple works from Andrew Lloyd Webber referred to as "musicals" in some sources, and "rock operas" in others. For most people it seems the two terms are completely interchangeable. Is there a clean definition and distinction between the…
vsz
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What does "super" in title of organ pieces mean?

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a couple of Trio Supers and Fantasia Supers, e.g.: Trio super 'Herr Jesu Christ dich zu uns wend', BWV 655 Trio super 'Nun komm der Heiden Heiland', BWV 660 (Bach, Johann Sebastian) Trio super 'Allein Gott in der Höh sei…
Jack L.
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Why is the melody sometimes played a half tone higher a few last times?

For example, in this song: Letter to the lord by Irma, a melody can be heard around 0:50 Then, at the end of the song, it is played something like a half tone higher around 2:33 Did I hear correctly? I'm not sure about if the Youtube version is…
alecail
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How many sharps in D# major?

There was a recent question: Name of black keys as a starting point in a musical series. Several others and I answered it. In my answer, I said: "E♭ will require 3 flats. D♯ would require double sharps." I used the phrase, "would require double…
badjohn
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Why are instrumental tracks also called "minus one tracks"?

Why are instrumental (non-vocal) tracks also called "minus one tracks"? What does it mean and how did this term come about?
Pacerier
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What does "gajo" mean as a musical directive on sheet music

One of the pieces in the current ABRSM Grade 7 violin pieces is Moritz Moszkowski's Spanischer Tanz No. 2 from his Spanische Tänze Op. 12. At the start of bar 49 is the marking "gajo". According to the interwebs this is Spanish for a segment of…
dumbledad
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Does each note have a more specific name depending on its pitch?

Other than the symbolic identifier for the pitch of the note in sheet music, is there a way to specify the pitch of a note in some other notation or call it by any other name? This would be very handy to know for a software project I am working on.
deadflowers
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