instrument
Mechanism that generates musical vibrations and transmits them into the air.
register
Specific area in the range of an instrument or voice.
soprano
Highest-ranged voice, normally possessed by women or boys.
mezzo-soprano
female voice of the middle range
alto/ contralto
lowest of the female voices
tenor
Male voice of high range. Also a part, often structural, in polyphony.
baritone
Male voice of the moderately low range.
bass
lowest of the male voices
vibrato
Small fluctuation of pitch used as an expressive device to intensify a sound
aerophone
instruments such as a flute, whistle, or horn that produce sound by using air as the primary vibrating means.
chordophone
instrument that produces sound from a vibrating string stretched between two points; the string may be set in motion by bowing, striking, or plucking.
idiophone
instrument that produces sound from the substance of the instrument itself by being struck, blown, shaken, scraped, or rubbed. Examples inlude bells, rattles, xylophones, and cymbals
membranophones
Any instrument that produces sound tightly stretched membranes that can be struck, plucked, rubbed, or sung into (setting the skin in vibration).
bow
A slightly curved stick with hair or fibers attached at both ends, drawn over the strings of an instrument to set them in motion.
pluck
To sound the strings of an instrument using fingers or a plectrum or pick
violin
Soprano, or highest-ranged, member of the bowed-string instrument family.
viola
Bowed-string instrument of middle range; the second-highest member of the violin family.
double
To perform the same notes with more than one voice or instrument, either at the same pitch level or an octave higher or lower.
cello
Bowed-string instrument with a middle-to-low range and dark, rich sonority; lower than a viola. Also cello.
double bass
Largest and lowest-pitched member of the bowed string family. Also called contrabass or bass viol.
legato
Smooth and connected; opposite of staccato.
staccato
Short, detached notes, marked with a dot above then.
pizzicato
Performance direction to pluck a string of a bowed instrument with the finger.
glissando
Rapid slide through pitches of a scale.
double stop
Playing two notes simultaneously on a string instrument.
triple stop
Playing three notes simultaneously on a string instrument.
quadruple stop
Playing four notes simultaneously on a string instrument.
mute
Mechanical device used to muffle the sound of an instrument.
harmonics
Individual pure sounds that are part of any musical tone; in string instruments, crystalline tones in the very high register, produced by lightly touching a vibrating string at a certain point.
harp
Plucked-string instrument, triangular in shape with strings perpendicular to the soundboard.
arpeggio
Broken chord in which the individual tones are sounded one after another instead of simultaneously.
fortissimo
very loud