Ta…
Tab Clef clef used for tablature see Elements of Tablature for Classical Guitar
Tablature a notational system that uses letters, figures and other symbols to indicate how a piece might be performed, for instance by showing the position of a player’s fingers on a representation of the strings of a guitar or lute see Elements of Tablature for Classical Guitar
Table the belly of a stringed instrument
Table-book music printed in such a way that the performers could sit around a table and read their own various parts, popular in the Renaissance
Table of Key Signatures see Table of Key Signatures
Table of Major and Melodic minor Scales see Table of Major & Melodic minor Scales
Tacciono (Italian) are silent
Tace (Italian) is silent
Tacere (Italian) to be silent
Tacet (Latin) silent
Taconeo (Spanish) a stomping dance often performed to flamenco accompaniment
Tafelmusik (German) table-music, the performance of which might accompany a meal
Tag jazz term for a coda, or a short concluding section
Tail piece a piece of metal or wood at the lower end of a stringed instrument to which the strings are attached
Takt (German) measure, time, beat
Taktart (German) time-species; duple, triple….
Taktfest (German) in steady time
Taktieren (German) to beat time
Taktmässig (German) tempo commodo
Taktnote (German) semibreve
Taktpause (German) a bar’s rest
Taktschlag (German) beat
Taktstrich (German) bar-line
Taktwechsel (German) time-change
Taktzeichen (German) time signature
Takt halten (German) to hold or beat time
Tam (Vietnam) a guitar-like instrument with 3 silk strings
Tambotie An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. See see Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Tambura Accompanying drone instrument from India, a large lute with 4-6 strings; five-string Egyptian lyre, long-necked fretted lute from Bulgaria, Croatia and other European countries
Tamburitza Croatian lute
Tambutica plucked lute from Yugoslavia
Tammorriata southern Italian traditional songs and dances
Tamunangue, El an Afro-Venezuelan rural music and dance style
Tamure new dance form from Micronesia
Tanbur general term for various long-necked fretted lutes of the Middle East and Central Asia
Täendelnd (German) playfully
Tändelei (German) playfulness
Tango the Argentinean samba, a passionate musical style, originating in the streets and brothels of Buenos Aires, Argentina, marked by strong syncopation and dotted rhythmic figures, in simple duple (2/4) time and, when danced, performed by a couple
Tango flamenco the only non-dramatic variety of the older flamenco genres, festive in style, with a faster rhythm
Tanguillos festive and joyful flamenco style derived from tangos
Tanko bushi Japanese coal miner’s dance
Tanpura a drone instrument, it resembles a sitar except it has no frets. It has four strings tuned to the tonic
Tant (French) as much, much
Tantino (Italian) a very little
Tanto (Italian) so much
Tanz (German) dance
Tänze (German) dances
Tap dance a dance form in which the performer taps out rhythms and patterns with his or her heels and toes while wearing special shoes with small metal plates called taps
Tape loop a continuous loop of tape which produces an everlasting sound effect when played. Used for any long sound needed without having to continuously repeat a short effect
Tar a lute-type chordophone that is widespread in the Turkish/Azeri/Persian world and the Caucasus
Tarantas flamenco style from Almería
Tarantella (Italian) a dance in 6/8 time from Southern Italy, which gets faster and faster and is supposed to cure the result of a poisonous bite from the tarantula spider
Tarantelle (French) a dance in 6/8 time from Southern Italy, which gets faster and faster and is supposed to cure the result of a poisonous bite from the tarantula spider
Tarantos an eastern Andalusian flamenco style
Tarda (Italian) slow
Tardamente (Italian) slowly
Tardantemente (Italian) gradually slowing
Tardato (Italian)
Tardo (Italian) slow gradually slowed
Tarn thap luc (Vietnamese ’36’) Vietnamese version of the hammered dulcimer
Tárrega, Franciso (1852-1909) see Classical Guitarists and Composers
Tartando (Italian) gradually slowing
Taskiwin Moroccan warrior’s dance
Tasis (Greek) pitch
Tasto solo (Italian) a performer’s marking indicating that a note should be performed without harmony
Te…
Technique the mechanical aspects of performance
Tedesca (Italian) used in the sense of German fashion, manner or style
Teil (German) part
Tema (Italian) theme
Tammorriata southern Italian traditional songs and dances
Tempestoso (Italian) tempestuous
Tempestosamente (Italian) tempestuously
Tempo (Italian) speed
Tempo I the first tempo, as the original tempo
Tempi (Italian) speeds
Tempo comodo (Italian) at a speed to suit the player
Tempo commodo (Italian) at a speed to suit the player
Tempo di ballo (Italian) dance speed
Tempo di Minuetto (Italian) minuet speed
Tempo giusto (Italian) the speed the style demands, strict tempo
Tempo maggiore (Italian) alla breve
Tempo markings Symbol marking speed see Elements of Standard Notation for Classical Guitar
Tempo minore (Italian) standard or moderate time, neither too fast nor too slow
Tempo ordinario (Italian) standard or moderate time, neither too fast nor too slow
Tempo primo the first tempo, as the original tempo
Temporal term means parameters such as beat, rhythm, and meter, those having to do with time
Tempo rubato the freedom to make small changes in tempo during the progress of the piece to enhance its musical effect, irregular tempo
Tempo wie vorher (German) the first tempo
Temps (French) time, beat
Tendency note a note that is a semitone (half-step) away from another note
Tendency tone a note that is a semitone (half-step) away
Tendre (French) tender
Tendrement (French) tenderly
Tenebroso (Italian) gloomy, dark mood
Tenendo (Italian) sustaining
Teneramente (Italian) tenderly
Tenerezza (Italian) tenderness
Tenero (Italian) tender
Teneroso (Italian) tenderly
Tenete (Italian) hold, sustain
Tenor Clef See clef in Staff, Barline, & Clef
Tenu (French) held, held on
Tenue (French) held, held on
Tenuta (Italian) held, held on, fermata
Tenuto (Italian) held, held on
Tepido (Italian) unimpassioned, lukewarm
Tepidità (Italian) lukewarmness, in a tepid manner
Tepidamente (Italian) lukewarmness, in a tepid manner
Terana a six beat to the measure dance
Terapia criolla an Afro-Colombian music style and dance from Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast
Ternary form a three section form in which the first section A is repeated, often with some changes, after a middle section B, thus the form is called A B A
Terraced dynamics expressive style typical of some early music in which volume levels shift abruptly from soft to loud and back without gradual crescendos and decrescendos often by changing the number of instruments playing each part
Tertian harmony harmony based upon the interval of the third, particularly predominant in Western music from the Baroque era through to the nineteenth-century
Tertiary harmony harmony based upon the interval of the third, particularly predominant in Western music from the Baroque era through to the nineteenth-century
Terzet (Italian) three-voice compositional form of the eighteenth-century
Terzetto (Italian) three-voice compositional form of the eighteenth-century
Tessitura (Italian) the range and position of a instrument
Testa (Italian) head
Testo (Italian) text
Tetrachords the two groups of four notes that make up the two halves of a major or minor scale
Texas Ebony An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. see Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Texture the way in which individual musical lines interact within a musical work
Th…
Thai Rosewood An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. see Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Theater (German) theatre
Theil (German) portion, section
Thematic catalogue the classification of music under headings which include the opening notes of the composition and/or the notes of the main theme of the composition
Thematic development the compositional process by which a theme is transformed by modifying its melodic outline, its harmony, or its rhythm
Thematic transformation the compositional process by which a theme is transformed by modifying its melodic outline, its harmony, or its rhythm
Theme a group of notes, also called a melody, that will form the basis for a work that includes the theme’s repetition and/or development
Theme and variations an extended work, sometimes in separated movements or sections, where the opening musical statement (theme) is subjected to development (variations)
Theme group a number of themes all in the same key that function as a unit within a section of a form
Theorbo a large member of the lute family, in use from the sixteenth- to eighteenth-centuries, with an extended neck and two sets of strings, one set being fretted and fingered like those of the standard lute, the second, longer set of strings being tuned to the diatonic scale and designed to be played open
Third an interval spanning two diatonic scale steps
Third stream a style of music that synthesizes characteristics and techniques of classical music and jazz
Thirty-second note a note one thirty-second the time value of a whole note see Note Values
Thirty-second rest one thirty-second the time value of a whole rest
Through-composed a form with no pre-established musical structure
Thunder sheet large suspended steel sheet with handles which produces a thunder-like rumble when shaken or beaten
Thuya Burl An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. See see Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Ti…
Tidinit a Saharawi instrument of dug out wood and a leather cover, similar to a four-stringed lute
Tie a sign that shows that the note being played or sustained, unbroken, throughout the total time value of the notes under the sign. see ties in Note Symbols
Tief (German) deep, low
Tiento a Spanish Renaissance composition
Tientos flamenco style derived from tangos, although with a slower beat
Tierce (French) third
Tiger Striped Narra An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. see Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Timba songo layé an Afro-Cuban musical style
Timbral nuances sensibility to, awareness of, or ability to express delicate shadings of the tone quality distinctive of a musical instrument
Timbrer (French) accented
Time a word used to mean ‘in the rhythm of’
Time Signature A symbol placed at the left side of the staff indicating the meter of the composition. See time signature in Elements of a Musical Score See time signature in Time Signatures See time signature in Elements of Standard Notation for Classical Guitar
Timed segments unmetered music which in measured in minutes and seconds, not beats
Timidezza (Italian) timidity
Timido (Italian) timid
Timore (Italian) fear
Timorosamente (Italian) fearfully
Timoroso (Italian) fearful
Timple a small guitar with 12 metal strings used in Spain, Colombia, Puerto Rico and other Spanish-speaking countries
Tinter (French) to tinkle
Tintement (French) tinking
Tintinnare (Italian) to tinkle
Tinto (Italian) colour, expression
Tinya pre-Hispanic Mexican resonating box with 5 strings
Tiompán Irish hammered dulcimer
Tipico (Spanish) typical or traditional
Tiple a small stringed instrument of Spanish origin, derived from the guitar family, It usually has four double or triple sets of strings. (There are eight to twelve strings tuned to four different pitches.), made of wood—usually pine, cedar, or walnut. Tiple players strum chords as rhythmic accompaniments for songs or melodies played by other instruments
Tirana A Spanish song-dance from Andalusia
Tischharfe German table zither that can be both plucked and bowed
Titebond A wood glue often used in guitar construction. see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Title of Piece see Elements of Standard Notation for Classical Guitar
To…
Tobend (German) blustering
Tobshuur Mongolian lute
Tocaor the Iberian term for a flamenco guitarist
Toccata a rapid piece of music for keyboard intended as a display for virtuosity; a toccata is often the prelude to a fugue
Toile (Italian) theatre curtain
Tololoche Mexican double bass guitar
Tombeau (French) a piece written in someone’s memory
Tome (French) volume of a set of collected volumes
Ton (French) pitch, key, note
Ton (German) pitch, key
Ton aigre (French) shrill sound
Ton Majeur (French) major key
Tonabstand (German) interval
Tonality the sense of a particular key
Tonante (Italian) thunderous
Tonart (German) character of different types of scale, i.e. major, minor, modal, ….
Tonás one of the oldest flamenco styles, with songs that include long moans and sudden halts, relating the tragedies suffered by the incarceration of the Gypsies, chain gangs
Tondo (Italian) full-toned
Ton doux (French) a sweet tone-quality
Tone a sound of definite pitch; the quality of a sound; the American word for note.
Töne (German) pitches, keys
Tone poem symphonic poem
Tonfarbe (German) tone-colour, timbre
Tonfolge (German) melody
Tonfülle (German) volume of tone
Tongeschlecht (German) major or minor
Tonhöhe (German) pitch
Toni (Italian) tones, keys, modes
Tonic first degree of the scale; the key center
Tonic accent emphasis that may be given to notes where their pitch is high
Tonic chord the chord based on the tonic of a key or scale
Tonic triad triad built on the first degree of the scale
Tonitruone (Italian) a sheet of metal used to simulate the sound of thunder
Tonkunst (German) musical knowledge
Tonkünsterler (German) someone possessing musical knowledge
Tonlage (German) range, compass, register
Tonlehre (German) acoustics
Tonleiter (German) scale
Tonlos (German) toneless
Ton majeur (French) major key
Tonmalerei (German) programmed music
Tonmass (German) time
Tonnerre (French) thunder
Tono (Italian) tone, key, mode
Tonreihe (German) serial music
Tonschlüssel (German) key-note
Tonsetzer (German) composer
Tonus (Latin) mode, Gregorian tone
Tonus contrarius (Latin) contrary melody, counterpoint
Tonus peregrinus (Latin) wandering note
Top The soundboard of the guitar. A resonator consisting of a thin board whose vibrations reinforce the sound of the instrument. The guitar soundboard. see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Torch song a song describing an unrequited love
Toré a religious rhythm of the Fulni-o Indians in Brazil
Tornada (Spanish) melody, tune with guitar accompaniment, in a major key and at a slow tempo
Tornadas (Spanish) melody, tune with guitar accompaniment, in a major key and at a slow tempo
Tornare (Italian) to return
Tornando (Italian) returning
Tornavoz The Tornavoz is a conical tube beneath the soundboard of a guitar that extends toward the back of the guitar. see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Torrás lively dance from the province Ciudad Real, Spain
Torvo (Italian) grim
Tostissimamente (Italian) rapidly
Tostissimo (Italian) very rapid
Tosto (Italian) rapid
Total serialism complex, totally controlled music where the twelve-tone principle is extended to elements of music other than pitch, for example, rhythm
Touch the art of depressing, striking, releasing….
Touche (French) fingerboard
Toujours (French) always
Tourney a musical piece created for a tournament, festive occasions
Tous (French) all
Tout (French) all
Tout à coup (French) suddenly
Tout à fait (French) completely
Toute (French) all
Tout ensemble (French) the whole, the general effect, all together
Toutes (French) all
To…
Tract a soloist chant
Tractus tail; small line; pause sign
Tradotto (Italian) translated, arranged, transposed
Traduit (French) translated, arranged, transposed
Traduction (French) translation, arrangement, transposition
Tradzione (Italian) translation, arrangement, transposition
Trainé (French) dragged
Tranh (Vietnam) a zither with 10 brass strings. The instrument is placed in front of the musician who uses his right hand to regulate the pitch and vibrato, while using his left hand to pluck the strings
Tranquillamente (Italian) tranquilly
Tranquillezza (Italian) tranquility
Tranquillità (Italian) tranquility
Tranquillo (Italian) tranquil
Transcribe to rearrange music for instruments other than those for which the work was originally written
Transcription music for instruments other than those for which the work was originally written
Transition a short passing change of key, an abrupt key change
Transpose to move; to play a piece in a different key or one or more octaves higher or lower than it was originally written, the better to suit the instrument
Transposing instruments instruments that do not play the notes they read
Transposition the changing of the pitch of a piece without changing anything else
Traquenard (French) a late seventeenth-century dance found in some ballets which is closely related to the gavotte
Trascinando (Italian) dragging, rallentando
Trascrizione (Italian) arrangement, transcription
Tratt. (Italian) held back, sustained
Trattenuto (Italian) held back, sustained
Tratto (Italian) dragged
Tratto, Non (Italian) do not drag
Trauer (German) sorrow
Trauermarsch (German) funeral march
Traum (German) dream
Traurig (German) sad
Trautonium an instrument that generates electronic pitches by pressing a wire on a metal bar, the position along the bar determined the pitch generated
Travesti (French) disguise
Tre (Italian) three
Treble the highest part
Treble Clef See clef in Staff, Barline, & Clef
Treble Strings The first, second, & third strings of the guitar. see How to Change Classical Guitar Strings
Tre corde (Italian) three strings
Treibend (German) hurrying, rushing
Tremando (Italian) with tremolo
Tremante (Italian) with tremolo
Tremolando (Italian) with tremolo
Tremolante (Italian) with tremolo
Tremblement (French) trill, a note ornament see tremblement simple in Note Ornamentation
Tremblement simple a note ornament see tremblement simple in Note Ornamentation
Tremolo rapidly-recurring slight raising and lowering of pitch, vibrato; the rapid reiteration of a single note
Tremulant rapidly-recurring slight raising and lowering of pitch
Trepak a simple duple time popular Cossack dance
Très (French) very
Tres a Cuban guitar-like instrument with three pairs of strings (occasionally, three sets of three strings). strummed to accompany songs and dances
Trescone a Florentine dance similar to the cushion dance but employing a handkerchief
Trill An additional elaboration added to a written melody. see trill in Note Symbols
Trillo a note ornament. see trillo in Note Ornamentation
Trillo and Mordant a note ornament. see trillo and mordant in Note Ornamentation
Trilogia (Italian) three works on a common theme
Trilogie (French) three works on a common theme
Trilogy (English) three works on a common theme
Trinklied (German) drinking song
Trio a piece played by three players; a piece of music to be play such a group; a contrasted section between two performances of a minuet
Triolet (French) a triplet; a short trio
Trionfale (Italian) triumphant
Trionfante (Italian) triumphant
Trio sonata a chamber music form for two featured instruments and continuo accompaniment
Triple-croche (French) thirty second note see Note Values
Triple concerto a concerto for three solo instruments and orchestra
Triple counterpoint invertible counterpoint in which three parts can be interchanged, each making a suitable bass for the other
Triple meter a time signature in which each measure has three beats
Triple stop playing three notes simultaneously on a stringed instrument
Triplet A group of three notes of equal time value performed in the time of two. One or two of the notes may be rests of equal value. see triplets in Note Symbols
Triple time a time signature in which each measure has three beats
Tristan chord the half-diminished seventh chord; a chord which was originally made up of the notes ‘F’, ‘B’, ‘D sharp’ and ‘G sharp’, although the name is now applied to any chord with the same intervals
Triste (French) sad
Tristesse (French) sadness
Tristezza (Italian) sadness
Tristo (Italian) sad
Tritone the interval of the augmented 4th, two notes three whole tones apart
Tritonic a three-note scale pattern used in the compositions of some Southern African cultures
Trois (French) three
Troisième (French) third
Trommelbass (German) a bass line that contains steady, constant, repeated notes
Trop (French) too much; also non troppo, not too much
Tropa an ensemble of instruments which belong to the same family type and consists of different registers of sizes
Troppo (Italian) too much; also non troppo, not too much
Trüb (German) sad
Trübe (German) sad
Ts…
Tsambal Romanian hammered dulcimer
Tsigane (French) gipsy
Tsimbl Jewish hammered-dulcimer
Tsumen ivory picks used to play the Japanese koto
Tu…
Tulipwood An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. See see Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Tumbi a single stringed instrument from the region of Punjab, consisting of a dried, hardened gourd with a stick going through it, and a single string. The gourd is sliced and a parchment is stretched across the hole. The string is attached to a bridge, which rests on the parchment.
Tune air, melody; the process of adjusting the pitch of an instrument to itself
Tuner Knob An ivory, bone, plastic, or wood part of the tuner that is used to grasp when tuning a guitar. see How to Change Classical Guitar Strings see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Tuner Mounting Plates A Flat metal piece on a guitar that holds the tuner knobs, gears and rollers. see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Tuner Roller The barrel shaped part of the tuner in which to attach a guitar string. see How to Change Classical Guitar Strings see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Tuners A set of devices located on the headstock of the guitar to attach and tune the strings. see How to Change Classical Guitar Strings see Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Tuning temperament; the pitch to which various strings on a stringed instrument are to be set
Tuning fork a U-shaped steel device with a handle at its base, which when struck produces a relatively pure tone of definite pitch
Tuning hammer the metal key with mortised end used to turn the wrest pins in tuning
Tuning peg a peg, usually of wood, or a pin, usually of steel, around which a string runs, and which, when turned, increases or decreases the tension in the string, which changes the string’s pitch
Tuning pin a peg, usually of wood, or a pin, usually of steel, around which a string runs, and which, when turned, increases or decreases the tension in the string, which changes the string’s pitch
Turca, Alla (Italian) in a Turkish style
Turdanser choreographed figure folk dances from Scandinavia
Turmmusik (German) music played from a tower by the town band
Turnaround in jazz, the technique uses a set of chords played at the end of one section to provide a smooth transition into the next section
Turns The note above, the note itself, the note below, then the note itself again. The turn may be inverted as in the preparation of an ascending trill when the note sequence becomes the note below, the note itself, the note above, then the note itself again. see turns in Note Symbols
Turn the rhythm around changing the rhythm of a piece of music over several bars to establish a new meter
Tusch (German) a fanfare or flourish
Tutta (Italian) all the players
Tutte (Italian) all the players
Tutti (Italian) all the chorus
Tutto (Italian) all the players
Tw…
Tweeter part of a speaker system designed to handle the high frequency part of the signal
Two-beat music in which the first and third beats of each four-beat bar (measure) are accentuated, for example, in marches
Two step American dance style developed in the 1880s
Twos a set of two-bar phrases; in jazz, when different players alternate playing two-bar phrases, this is called trading twos
Ty…
Ty a derivative of the ancient lute, with a pear shaped resonator that becomes narrow toward its upper end to form the neck. It has 4 strings of braided silk
Ty ba a derivative of the ancient lute, with a pear shaped resonator that becomes narrow toward its upper end to form the neck. It has 4 strings of braided silk
Tyrolienne a quick triple-time dance form; an early nineteenth-century style of ballet music
Tz…
Tzigane a composition having gypsy influences or flavor
Tzouras Greek long-necked lute