The Savvy Dictionary
Glossary of musical terms
Every term gets two treatments: the proper, textbook definition — and the Savvy Take, which is how it actually works when you're sitting at the piano.
A
- A tempoA directive to return to the original tempo after a deviation (such as a ritardando or accelerando).
- A440The modern pitch standard: the A above middle C vibrates at 440 Hz. Also called concert pitch.
- AccelerandoA gradual increase in tempo; becoming faster.
- AccentEmphasis placed on a particular note or chord, distinguishing it from those surrounding it. This can be achieved through dynamic stress (playing louder) or duration (holding it longer).
- AcciaccaturaThe crushed grace note, written small with a slash through its flag and played as fast as the hand allows, just before or on top of the main note.
- AccidentalA sign used in musical notation to indicate a chromatic alteration of a note. The standard signs are the sharp (#), flat (b), natural, double sharp, and double flat.
- ActionThe mechanical assembly that turns a key press into a hammer strike — thousands of parts of wood, felt, and metal working per note.
- AdagioA slow tempo, generally slower than andante but faster than largo. The term implies a sense of ease or leisure.
- AftertouchThe key travel left over after let-off and before the key hits the bottom of its dip. Steinway's Hamburg sheet calls for 0.8 to 1.2mm. You don't set it directly.
- Agogic AccentAn accent effected not by loudness (dynamic accent) but by duration. It involves slightly lingering on a note to emphasize it.
- AgraffeA threaded brass stud screwed into the cast-iron plate at the tuning-pin end of the string, drilled one hole per string. It sets where the speaking length begins.
- Alberti BassA common pattern of accompaniment in the left hand, consisting of broken chords played in the order: low-high-middle-high.
- Alla breveA tempo mark indicating a quick duple meter, often represented by the “cut time” symbol (a C with a vertical line through it). It implies the half note, rather than the quarter note, gets the beat.
- AllargandoFrom the Italian allargare (“to widen”). A directive to become slower and often broader/louder, typically at the climax of a phrase.
- AllegrettoA moderately fast tempo — lighter and a little slower than allegro.
- AllegroA fast, lively tempo — literally “cheerful” in Italian — generally around 120–156 beats per minute.
- AnacrusisOne or more notes that arrive before the first complete measure and lead into the first downbeat. In everyday use it's the pickup.
- AndanteA moderate tempo, literally meaning “walking” (from Italian andare). It falls between adagio and allegro.
- AppoggiaturaAn ornament that leans on the note it decorates: a non-chord tone placed on the beat, which takes its time from the main note and then resolves by step.
- ArpeggioFrom the Italian word arpeggiare (“to play on a harp”). This is when you play the notes of a chord one after another, rather than all at once.
- ArticulationThe way notes are attacked, connected, and released — the family of markings that includes legato, staccato, tenuto, and accents.
- AugmentationA device in which a theme returns with every note value lengthened by a constant factor, usually doubled, so the melody is identical but moves at half speed.
B
- Baby GrandA grand piano at the short end of the range, usually 4'6" to 5'6", measured with the lid closed from the front of the keys to the tail.
- BackcheckA buckskin-faced arm that catches the hammer on its rebound and holds it partway back as long as you keep the key down. One per note, grand or upright.
- BalladeIn the 19th century (Romantic era), a large-scale instrumental piece, usually for piano, that suggests a narrative or dramatic character. Chopin and Brahms wrote famous examples.
- BarcarolleA piece in compound meter (usually 6/8 or 12/8) intended to imitate the songs of Venetian gondoliers. It features a rhythmic, rocking accompaniment.
- BassThe lowest part in a musical composition. It provides the harmonic foundation upon which the melody and inner voices are built.
- Bass ClefThe F clef, used for the lower staff of piano music. Its two dots straddle the fourth line, marking it as F below middle C.
- Basso ContinuoThe standard Baroque accompaniment practice, roughly 1600 to 1750: a written bass line played by cello or bassoon while a harpsichord improvises the harmony above it from figured bass.
- BeatThe basic temporal unit of a composition. The regular pulse that organizes the rhythm.
- Beats (acoustic)The pulsing you hear when two tones sound at slightly different frequencies. The pulse rate equals the difference, so 440 Hz against 444 Hz beats four times a second.
- Binary FormA musical form consisting of two complementary sections, usually labeled A and B. Each section is often repeated (AABB).
- Blue NoteA microtonal lowering of the 3rd, 7th, or 5th scale degrees, characteristic of jazz and blues. On the piano, this is often approximated by playing the minor interval against the major harmony.
- Boogie-WoogieA blues piano style driven by a repeating left-hand pattern (ostinato) — rolling octaves or broken chords — under an improvised right hand.
- BridgeA transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, or the contrasting B section in a standard AABA song form.
- Bridge PinThe steel pins driven into the bridge cap that terminate each string's speaking length. Staggered pins deflect the wire sideways and press it down into the cap.
- Broken ChordA chord in which the notes are played successively rather than simultaneously (see also Arpeggio).
- BushingA sleeve of wool cloth lining a hole where a metal pin passes through wood. Pianos use them in the key mortises and at every action center.
C
- CadenceA melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution, marking the end of a phrase, section, or piece.
- CadenzaAn improvised or written-out ornamental passage played by a soloist, usually near the end of a movement, allowing for a display of virtuosity.
- CanonA contrapuntal composition in which one melodic voice is strictly imitated by one or more other voices after a specified time delay (e.g., “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”).
- CantabileItalian for “singable” or “songlike.” A direction to play in a smooth, singing style, emphasizing the melody.
- Cantus FirmusA pre-existing melody, usually plainchant or a secular tune, used as the fixed foundation of a polyphonic work while new voices are composed around it. Latin for "fixed song."
- Capo BarA rounded bar cast into the plate that bears down on the treble strings and sets their upper termination. It replaces the agraffes used lower in the scale.
- Center PinThe nickel silver axle at the middle of every action center. It runs through a cloth bushing so the hammer, wippen or damper can swing on it.
- CentsA unit for measuring the distance between two pitches. The octave divides into 1,200 cents, so one equal-tempered semitone comes out to exactly 100 cents.
- ChaconneA Baroque variation form built over a short repeating harmonic pattern, usually in triple meter, with each repetition varied. Composers used it almost interchangeably with passacaglia.
- ChordThree or more pitches sounded simultaneously.
- ChromaticMoving by half-steps (semitones), or notes that lie outside the diatonic scale of the key.
- Church ModesThe seven diatonic scales made by starting the major scale on each of its degrees: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian. Ionian is major, Aeolian natural minor.
- Circle of FifthsAn arrangement of the twelve keys in a circle of perfect fifths, showing how key signatures accumulate sharps and flats and how keys relate to each other.
- CodaItalian for “tail.” A concluding section of a movement or piece that stands outside the formal structure, often added to bring the work to a satisfying close.
- CompingAccompanying a soloist or singer with rhythmic chords — short for “accompanying” (and, conveniently, “complementing”).
- Concert GrandThe grands built for concert halls, generally nine feet and longer. Steinway's Model D measures 8 feet 11 3/4 inches and weighs 1,064 pounds.
- ConcertoA large-scale work for a solo instrument with orchestra, typically in three movements.
- ConsoleA vertical piano about 40 to 44 inches tall with a direct blow action: the capstan on the back of the key pushes straight up into the wippen.
- ConsonanceA combination of pitches heard as stable and at rest. Consonances line up with simple ratios: the octave at 2:1, the fifth at 3:2, the major third at 5:4.
- CounterpointThe art of combining two or more independent melodic lines that sound good together — the technique behind canons and fugues. The adjective is “contrapuntal.”
- CrescendoA gradual increase in loudness, marked cresc. or with a “hairpin” that opens to the right.
D
- Da capoFrom the Italian for “from the head” (beginning). A directive to repeat the music from the start, usually abbreviated as D.C.
- Dal segno“From the sign.” A directive to repeat the music starting from the sign (looks like an S with a slash and dots), abbreviated as D.S.
- DamperThe felt block that rests against a string and stops it sounding. Both the key and the sustain pedal lift it. The top 18 to 20 notes carry none.
- Damper PedalThe right pedal: it lifts all the dampers off the strings, letting played notes ring and every other string vibrate sympathetically. Also called the sustain pedal.
- DecrescendoA directive to grow quieter. It is functionally synonymous with diminuendo.
- DevelopmentThe middle section of sonata form, between exposition and recapitulation. Material you've heard gets fragmented, sequenced and pushed through unstable keys until the retransition parks on the home dominant.
- DiatonicNotes that belong strictly to the key signature, without chromatic alterations. For example, in C Major, the white keys are diatonic.
- DiminishedAn interval or chord that is smaller than perfect or minor. A fully diminished 7th chord is a stack of minor thirds.
- DiminuendoA gradual decrease in loudness, marked dim. Interchangeable with decrescendo.
- DiminutionThe reverse of augmentation: a theme restated with its note values shortened, usually halved. In Baroque practice the word also covers breaking long notes into faster improvised figures, called division.
- DissonanceA combination of tones that sounds unstable and creates a need for resolution (consonance).
- DolceItalian for “sweet.” A directive to play gently and tenderly.
- DominantThe fifth degree of the scale (V). The chord built on this note creates the strongest tension leading back to the Tonic (I).
- DownbearingThe load the strings put on the bridges. Each string crosses its bridge at 1 to 5 degrees, and that angle presses the bridge into the soundboard.
- Duplex ScaleThe short non-speaking string segments left free to vibrate, their lengths set to ring at high partials of the struck note. C.F. Theodore Steinway patented the arrangement in 1872.
- DynamicsAspects of musical expression resulting from variation in the volume of sound (e.g., forte, piano, crescendo).
E
- EnharmonicNotes that are written differently but sound the same pitch in the equal-tempered system (e.g., C-sharp and D-flat).
- Equal TemperamentThe tuning system that splits the octave into twelve identical 100-cent semitones. Every key becomes equally playable, and every interval except the octave comes out slightly impure.
- Espressivo“Expressive.” A direction to play with feeling, often implying a degree of rubato and dynamic shaping.
- EtudeFrench for “study.” A composition designed to improve a specific technical difficulty (like scales or octaves), though concert etudes (Chopin, Liszt) are performed as artistic works.
- ExpositionThe opening section of a sonata-form movement, where the main themes are first stated. It starts in the home key, ends in the dominant, and traditionally carries a repeat.
F
- FallboardThe hinged panel that folds down over the keys when the piano isn't being played. On most uprights it also carries or folds into the music desk.
- False BeatsA wavering from one piano string sounding alone, with the other strings of the unison muted. A kink in the wire or a worn bridge notch will do it.
- FantasiaA piece written to sound improvised, free in shape, with none of the fixed sectional structure that rondo or sonata form imposes. Also spelled fantasie or fantaisie.
- FermataA symbol (a dot under a semicircle) indicating that a note or rest should be prolonged beyond its normal duration.
- Figured BassBaroque shorthand where numbers and accidentals under a bass note tell the keyboard player which intervals to stack above it. A 6 means first inversion, 6/4 second inversion.
- FineItalian for “end.” Marks where a piece finishes after a repeat instruction like D.C. al Fine or D.S. al Fine.
- FlangeThe small wooden part that carries an action center and screws to a rail. Every hammer, wippen and damper in the piano pivots on one.
- FlatThe symbol (b) indicating that a pitch should be lowered by one semitone.
- ForteItalian for “strong” or “loud.” Abbreviated as f.
- Fortissimo“Very strong” or “very loud.” Abbreviated as ff.
- FugueA complex contrapuntal composition where a short melody (the subject) is introduced by one voice and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.
G
- GlissandoA continuous slide from one pitch to another. On the piano, this is usually done by dragging a fingernail (or thumb) across the white keys.
- Grace NoteA small ornamental note printed in reduced size, played quickly before (or on) the beat ahead of the main note.
- Grand StaffThe pair of staves — treble on top, bass below — joined by a brace, on which piano music is written.
- GraveSlow, solemn, and heavy. Usually slower than adagio.
- Grazioso“Graceful.” A directive to play in an elegant, light, and charming style.
H
- Half StepThe smallest interval in the standard Western scale (e.g., C to C#). Also called a semitone.
- Hammer FeltThe dense wool covering pressed over each hammer's wooden molding under high tension. Its density decides how much high overtone content comes back off the string.
- Hammer ShankThe hard maple rod that carries the hammer head and pivots in its flange. Upright shanks are 7/32 inch across and 5-1/4 inches long; spinet shanks 3/16 by 4-1/4 inches.
- Hammer VoicingAdjusting a piano's tone by reshaping and needling the hammer felt — softening a harsh piano or brightening a dull one.
- HarmonyThe simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationships of chords. It refers to the “vertical” aspect of music, as opposed to the “horizontal” aspect of melody.
- HemiolaA rhythmic device where two groups of three beats are replaced by three groups of two beats (or vice versa), giving the effect of a shift between triple and duple meter.
- Hitch PinThe short steel pin anchored in the plate at the far end of the string. It holds the string's tail against 130 to 200 pounds of tension.
- HomophonyA texture in which a primary melody is supported by accompaniment (chords), as opposed to polyphony (multiple independent melodies).
I
- ImpromptuA musical composition, usually for piano, designed to sound like an improvisation, though it is fully written out. Schubert and Chopin wrote famous examples.
- ImprovisationThe creation of music in the course of performance. It can be free or based on a provided framework (like a chord chart).
- InharmonicityThe acoustic quirk of real piano strings: their overtones ring slightly sharper than perfect mathematical multiples, because strings have stiffness.
- IntervalThe distance in pitch between two notes (e.g., Major 3rd, Perfect 5th).
- InversionRearranging the notes of a chord so that a note other than the root is in the bass (e.g., C-E-G becomes E-G-C).
J
K
- Key DipHow far the front of a key travels from rest to its front rail punchings. Grands cluster around 10mm; Steinway specs 9.9 to 10.6mm. Uprights run about 3/8 inch.
- Key SignatureThe sharps or flats placed at the beginning of a staff to indicate the tonality (key) of the music.
- KeybedThe flat wooden shelf inside the case that the keyframe and action sit on. In a grand the whole action slides in and out across it.
- KnuckleA wooden core wrapped in felt and buckskin, glued under a grand hammer shank, commonly about 10mm across. It's the surface the jack pushes on. Grands only.
L
- LargoItalian for “broad.” A very slow tempo, slower than adagio, implying great dignity and breadth.
- Lead SheetA one-staff chart giving melody, chord symbols, and lyrics — the standard format of fake books and the working musician's shorthand.
- Leading ToneThe seventh degree of the major scale, which is a half-step below the tonic. It has a strong tendency to “lead” or resolve upward to the tonic.
- Ledger LinesShort horizontal lines added above or below the staff to extend its range.
- LegatoItalian for “tied.” A directive to play without breaks between notes, smoothly connecting them.
- LeitmotifA recurring musical theme associated with a specific person, idea, or situation (famously used by Wagner and in film scores like Star Wars).
- LentoSlow. A tempo marking often implying a speed between adagio and largo.
- Let-OffThe instant the jack escapes and leaves the hammer to fly the rest unpowered. Also the name for the hammer-to-string gap: Kawai's grands spec 2.0mm bass, 1.0mm treble.
- LyreThe pedal assembly hanging beneath a grand: the box holding the two or three pedals, its decorative posts, and the angled braces that run back to the case.
M
- MajorReferring to a scale or chord containing a major third. In Western music, usually associated with brightness, stability, or happiness.
- Marcato“Marked” — an accent indicating a note or chord should be emphasized, shown as an open wedge (^) above the note.
- MeasureA rhythmic grouping of beats, defined by a fixed number of beats indicated by the time signature. Also called a bar.
- MelismaSeveral notes sung on a single syllable of text. Its opposite is syllabic setting, one note per syllable.
- MelodyA succession of pitches perceived by the mind as a unity. The “horizontal” aspect of music.
- MeterThe pattern of fixed temporal units. The organization of rhythm into strong and weak beats (e.g., Duple, Triple, Quadruple).
- MetronomeA device that sounds a steady beat at an adjustable speed, measured in beats per minute (BPM).
- Mezzo ForteModerately loud — the dynamic marking mf, one step softer than forte.
- Mezzo PianoModerately soft — the dynamic marking mp, one step louder than piano.
- Middle CThe C nearest the middle of the keyboard — C4, about 261.6 Hz — and the meeting point of the treble and bass clefs on the grand staff.
- MinorReferring to a scale or chord containing a minor third. Often associated with sadness, darkness, or tension.
- ModeratoA moderate tempo, usually placed between andante and allegro — roughly 108–120 beats per minute.
- ModulationThe process of changing from one key to another within a composition.
- MordentAn ornament: a rapid alternation between the main note and the note directly below it (lower mordent) or above it (upper mordent).
- MotifA short musical idea, melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic, or all three. A motif may be of any size, but it is generally regarded as the smallest subdivision of a theme.
- MovementA self-contained section of a larger composition (like a Sonata or Symphony), usually separated by a pause.
N
- NaturalA symbol used to cancel a previous accidental (sharp or flat), restoring a note to its original pitch.
- NeoclassicismA 20th-century trend where composers (like Stravinsky or Prokofiev) sought to return to the aesthetic precepts associated with “classicism”—order, balance, clarity, and emotional restraint.
- NocturneFrench for “night piece.” A composition suggesting the atmosphere of night, characterized by a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated accompaniment. Field and Chopin are the primary masters.
- NotationThe visual representation of music using written symbols (notes, rests, clefs) to indicate pitch, duration, and expression.
O
- ObbligatoAn instrumental part the composer marked as required, the opposite of ad libitum. In Baroque scores it labels a solo line written to partner a singer on equal terms.
- OctaveThe interval of an eighth. Two notes with the same letter name, where the higher note has exactly twice the frequency of the lower.
- OpusLatin for “work.” Used with a number (e.g., Op. 28) to indicate the chronological order of a composer’s publication.
- OrnamentationDecorative notes added to a melody to emphasize notes or add flair (e.g., trills, turns, mordents).
- OstinatoA short musical pattern (melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic) that is repeated persistently throughout a composition or section.
- Ottava (8va)The notation 8va (ottava alta) above the staff means play an octave higher than written; 8vb (ottava bassa) below means an octave lower.
- OvertonesThe series of higher frequencies (the harmonic series) that ring above a note's fundamental pitch and give the sound its color.
P
- PartialsThe individual frequency components inside one sounding note. Partial 1 is the fundamental, partial 2 vibrates twice as fast, partial 3 three times, on up the series.
- PassacagliaA variation form on a repeating bass line, the ground bass, usually triple meter and minor. The bass pattern itself recurs, not only the harmony above it.
- PedalA device on the piano operated by the feet. The right pedal (Damper/Sustain) lifts all dampers, allowing strings to vibrate freely. The left (Una Corda) softens the tone. The middle (Sostenuto) sustains only selected notes.
- PentatonicA scale consisting of five tones (e.g., the black keys on the piano form a pentatonic scale).
- Perfect PitchThe ability to identify or produce a specific pitch with no reference note — also called absolute pitch.
- PhraseA unit of musical structure, usually a few measures long, that expresses a relatively complete musical thought — like a clause or sentence in language. Phrases are built from motifs and figures, and combine into periods and larger sections.
- PianissimoVery soft — the dynamic marking pp.
- Piano (dynamic)The dynamic marking p: play softly. The instrument itself is named for this — “pianoforte” means soft-loud, because it could do both.
- PinblockA multi-laminated hardwood plank, hard rock maple in most American pianos, that the tuning pins are driven into. Its grip on those pins holds your tuning.
- PitchThe perceived highness or lowness of a sound, determined by the frequency of vibration.
- Pitch RaiseA preliminary rough tuning pass performed when a piano has drifted well below pitch, done before the fine tuning in the same visit.
- PlateThe cast iron frame, usually gilded, bolted into the case to carry nearly all of the string tension. Tuning pins pass through one end, hitch pins the other.
- PolyphonyMusic with two or more independent melodic parts sounding together (e.g., a Bach Fugue).
- PolyrhythmTwo or more conflicting rhythms sounding at once, each dividing the same span of beats differently. Three against two and four against three are the keyboard staples.
- PortamentoA continuous slide in pitch from one note to another that sounds every frequency in between. It's native to the voice, bowed strings, trombone, and any fretless instrument.
- PreludeAn introductory piece of music, often preceding a fugue or suite, or a standalone character piece (Chopin, Debussy).
- PrestissimoAs fast as possible — the fastest standard tempo marking, beyond presto.
- PrestoA very fast tempo — faster than allegro.
Q
R
- RagtimeA composed, syncopated piano style from roughly 1895–1918 — steady march-like left hand, syncopated right — epitomized by Scott Joplin.
- RallentandoA gradual slowing down of the tempo.
- RecapitulationThe third section of sonata form. It brings back the exposition themes in order, but transposes the second one so the movement ends in the home key.
- RecitalA concert given by a soloist or a small ensemble.
- RegisterA defined portion of an instrument's or voice's pitch range with its own tone. The 88-key piano runs A0 at 27.5 Hz to C8 at 4,186 Hz.
- RegulationThe adjustment of the piano action's mechanical settings — key dip, let-off, drop, spring tension and more — so every key responds evenly.
- Relative Major/MinorA Major and Minor key that share the same key signature (e.g., C Major and A Minor both have zero sharps/flats).
- Relative PitchThe ability to identify notes and intervals by comparing them to a known reference pitch.
- RestA symbol indicating silence for a specified duration.
- RetrogradeA melody or tone row stated backwards, last note first. Combined with inversion it produces retrograde inversion, one of the four standard forms of a twelve-tone row.
- RhythmThe pattern of movement in time; the arrangement of note durations.
- RitardandoA directive to gradually slow down the tempo (abbreviated rit.). Not to be confused with ritenuto, which is an immediate, sudden holding back of the tempo.
- RitenutoAn immediate, sudden holding back of the tempo — as opposed to ritardando, which slows gradually.
- RondoA form in which one main theme keeps coming back between contrasting episodes, most often ABACA or ABACABA. It's the standard finale of a Classical sonata or concerto.
- RootThe fundamental note upon which a chord is built (e.g., C is the root of a C Major chord).
- RubatoLiterally “robbed time.” It is the practice of speeding up and slowing down the tempo for expressive effect.
S
- ScaleA series of tones ordered by pitch (usually rising or falling) according to a specific scheme of intervals (e.g., Major, Minor, Chromatic).
- Scale DegreeThe position of a note within its scale, numbered 1 through 7 — tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone.
- ScherzoItalian for “joke.” A lively, vigorous composition, usually in triple meter. often the third movement of a symphony or sonata.
- ScoreThe notation of a musical work, showing all the parts aligned vertically.
- SequenceThe repetition of a melodic or harmonic pattern at a different pitch level.
- Seventh ChordA four-note chord: a triad plus the seventh above the root. Common types include major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, half-diminished, and diminished 7th.
- Sforzando“Forcing.” A sudden, strong accent on a single note or chord. Abbreviated sf or sfz.
- SharpA symbol (#) indicating that a pitch is raised by one semitone.
- Sight-readingThe ability to read and perform music at first sight.
- SlurA curved line placed over or under a group of notes to indicate they should be played legato (connected).
- SolfègeThe system of naming scale degrees with syllables — do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti — in either movable-do (do = tonic) or fixed-do (do = C) form.
- SonataAn instrumental composition for a soloist (or soloist with piano accompaniment), usually in several movements (Fast-Slow-Fast).
- Sonata FormA structure for a single movement in three parts: exposition, development, recapitulation, sometimes with a slow introduction and a coda. Symphony, quartet and concerto movements use it too.
- Sostenuto PedalThe middle pedal on a grand piano: it sustains only the notes already held down at the moment it's pressed, leaving all other notes unaffected.
- SoundboardThe large spruce panel under the strings (grand) or behind them (upright) that amplifies string vibration — effectively the piano's speaker.
- SpinetThe shortest vertical piano, about 36 to 40 inches tall, built around a drop action: the keys lift rods that pull up on wippens mounted below keyboard level.
- Staccato“Detached.” A manner of playing where notes are separated from one another, indicated by a dot above or below the note head.
- Stretch TuningTuning octaves slightly wider than the arithmetic 2:1 ratio, so partials line up with each other instead of with a calculator. O.L. Railsback charted the pattern in 1938.
- Stride PianoA solo jazz style where the left hand leaps between low bass notes and mid-range chords in an oom-pah pattern — perfected in 1920s Harlem by James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Art Tatum.
- Studio UprightA vertical piano 44 to 48 inches tall with a full-size action and full-length keys, built for schools and practice rooms. Yamaha's P22, at 45 3/4 inches, is typical.
- SubdominantThe fourth degree of the scale (IV). The chord built on this note acts as a counter-pole to the Dominant.
- SuiteA set of pieces or movements grouped to be performed together — in the Baroque era, usually a chain of stylized dances (allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue).
- SuspensionA dissonance created by holding a note from a previous chord over into a new chord where it clashes, before resolving down to a consonance.
- SwingA rhythmic feel in which paired eighth notes are played unevenly — long-short, leaning toward a triplet subdivision — rather than straight.
- Sympathetic ResonanceStrings vibrating on their own because other strings sounded frequencies they share — no hammer required.
- SymphonyA large-scale composition for orchestra, usually in four movements.
- SyncopationThe shifting of the normal accent, usually by stressing the weak beat or the portion of the beat between the pulses.
T
- TemperamentThe system for sizing the intervals within an octave. Modern pianos use equal temperament — twelve identical semitones — while historical temperaments favored some keys over others.
- TempoThe speed at which a composition is performed. It is often indicated by Italian terms (e.g., Allegro) or a metronome marking.
- TenutoItalian for “held.” A directive to hold a note for its full value, often with a slight emphasis. Indicated by a horizontal line over the note.
- TessituraThe part of the range where a piece or a part sits for most of its length, as distinct from the extremes it touches once or twice.
- TextureThe general pattern of sound created by the arrangement of the musical elements (melody, harmony, rhythm). Examples include Monophonic, Homophonic, and Polyphonic.
- ThemeA musical idea, usually a melody, that forms the basis or starting point for a composition or a section of a composition.
- TieA curved line connecting two notes of the same pitch, indicating that they are to be played as a single note with a duration equal to the sum of the individual note values.
- TimbreTone color. The quality of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume (e.g., a flute sounds different from a trumpet).
- Time SignatureIn simple meters, the top number tells how many beats are in each measure and the bottom number which note value gets the beat. In compound meters like 6/8, the top number counts subdivisions — the felt pulse is the dotted quarter, so 6/8 has two beats per measure.
- ToccataA virtuosic keyboard piece built on fast, continuous finger motion, from the Italian toccare, "to touch." Baroque toccatas alternate free improvisatory passages with strict imitative sections.
- TonalityThe organization of music around a central tone (the tonic) and the scale built on that tone.
- Tone ClusterA chord built from adjacent notes sounded together, stacked seconds instead of thirds, often spanning enough keys that you play it with the palm, fist, or forearm.
- TonicThe first and most stable degree of the scale. The “home base” of the key.
- TranspositionThe act of playing or writing music in a key other than the original.
- TrapworkThe levers, dowels and springs that carry pedal motion into the action. In a grand it lives under the keybed. In an upright it runs up the case sides.
- Treble ClefThe symbol (G clef) used to notate higher pitches, typically those above Middle C. Usually played by the right hand.
- TremoloRapid repetition of a single note or rapid alternation between two or more notes.
- TriadA chord consisting of three notes: a root, a third, and a fifth.
- TrillAn ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of a written note with the note immediately above it.
- TripletA group of three notes played in the time usually taken by two of the same value.
- TritoneAn interval of three whole tones (Augmented 4th / Diminished 5th). Historically known as the “Diabolus in musica” (Devil in music) due to its instability.
- Tuning PinThe steel pin, about 2 1/4 inches long, that each string's coil winds onto. Its lower end is driven into the pinblock, and a tuning lever turns it.
- TurnAn ornament consisting of four notes: the note above, the main note, the note below, and the main note again.
- TurnaroundThe final bar or two of a form — commonly a I–vi–ii–V progression — that loops the music back to the top.
- TuttiItalian for “all.” A passage where the entire ensemble or orchestra plays, as opposed to a soloist.
- Twelve-Bar BluesThe twelve-measure chord form — built on the I, IV, and V chords — that underpins blues, rock and roll, boogie-woogie, and half the American songbook.
U
- Una CordaThe “Soft Pedal” (the left pedal). On a grand piano, pressing it shifts the entire action slightly to the right so the hammers strike two of the three strings (on the earliest pianos, literally one string — una corda) with a softer, less-grooved part of the felt.
- UnisonTwo or more voices or instruments sounding the same pitch (or octaves of the same pitch) simultaneously.
- UpbeatThe unaccented beat preceding an accented beat. The last beat of a measure, leading into the downbeat.
V
- VampA short chord progression repeated as long as needed — often while waiting for a soloist, singer, or the next section. Charts mark it “vamp till ready.”
- VariationA technique where material is repeated in an altered form (changes in harmony, melody, rhythm, etc.).
- VerdigrisThe green corrosion that grows on the nickel silver center pins in a piano's action. It builds between pin and bushing until the joint drags.
- VirtuosoA performer of extraordinary technical ability.
- VivaceItalian for “lively.” A tempo indication faster than allegro.
- Voice LeadingThe smooth movement of individual chord tones from one chord to the next, keeping common tones and minimizing leaps.
- VoicingThe art of balancing different layers of sound within a single hand. Usually, this means making the melody (top note) louder while keeping the accompaniment (lower notes) quiet.
W
- Walking BassA bass line — usually steady quarter notes — that connects chord tones stepwise and chromatically, moving “walking” from one chord to the next.
- WaltzA dance in triple meter (3/4 time), characterized by a strong accent on the first beat.
- Whole StepAn interval of two semitones (e.g., C to D). Also called a Whole Tone.
- WippenThe rocker lever between the back of the key and the hammer. It carries the jack, plus the repetition lever on a grand. From the German Wippe, a seesaw.