Common Musical Terms

Accompaniment: Musical material that supports the main melody or voice-part.

Arrangement: Rewriting of a composition for a new medium (instrument, voice, group).

Concert: A public performance of music other than opera or church music.

Conducting: The art of directing a group of musical performers.

Conservatory or College: A school that specializes in musical instruction.

Debut: First public performance of a musician.

Encore: Audience's appeal for an additional performance.

Movement: A major section in a song.

Notation: A system for writing down music using notes.

Musical Groups:

Group Composition:

	Group	Components
	Band	Brass, woodwind, & percussion
	Choir	Group of singers
	Chorus	Large choir having more than one singer per part
	Ensemble	Any group of performers
	Orchestra	Stringed, brass, woodwind, and percussion

	Group Size:
		Number of voices
	Name	or instruments
	Solo	1
	Recital	1 or 2
	Duet	2
	Trio	3
	Quartet	4
	Quintet	5
	Sextet	6
	Septet	7
	Octet	8
	Nonet	9

Part: The music written for a single type of instrument.

Passage: Any short section of a musical composition.

Score: The written notes to be performed by all instruments or voices.

Tuning: Adjusting an instrument so it produces the proper sounds.

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