musical depiction of words in text, so that the music tries to imitate the emotion, action, or adjectival description in the text, a device used often in madrigals and other works of the Renaissance
Word painting
Related Dictionary Terms
Alternative fingering
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substitute fingering, often used to provide tonal contrast; also used to make the playing of passage work easier
Incipit
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the first line, or first few works, of a work, often used to identify it
Reprise
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French
repeat, recapitulation, revival; a shortened version of a major composition in a stage production used to reward the audience…
Scat song
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nonsense words generally used only in the improvised chorus as part of a song that otherwise has ordinary words
Wah-wah pedal
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foot operated device used by an electric guitarist and bassist which modulates the output by removing low frequencies and boo…
Abanico
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Spanish
a stylized roll played by the timbalero usually to signify a change in the music; a word used to describe the timbales figure…
Afro
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a rhythmic style combining adaptations of sacred Batá drum rhythms popularized in Cuba in the 1940s, and often used to interp…
Anacrusis
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Notation
An anacrusis is a pickup that leads into the first complete bar. In notation, the opening and final measures often complement…