#17 MUSICAL TERMS

1.   Reprise – A song that is sung again, but may be a little bit different in words or length

2.   Requiem – A mass for the dead

3.   Resolution – The progression of dissonance to consonance

4.   Ritardando  - Italian – Gradually decreasing in tempo

5.   Romance – French – A simple love song

6.   Rondeau – French - A Medieval French song with instrumental accompaniment, consisting of an aria and a choral refrain

7.   Rondo – Italian – A musical piece in which the A section is alternately repeated between different sections: ABACADAE

8.   Rubato – Italian – To prolong some notes and pass over other less significant ones

9.   Run – A rapid passage, usually sung on one word or syllable

10. Scat – A type of jazz singing in which the performer improvises on nonsense syllables or words, sometimes imitating the sounds of instruments

11. Schmelzend – German – “Melting” to sing lyrically

12. Schnell – German – Fast, rapid

13. Score – A systematic arrangement of all vocal and instrumental parts of a piece of music or a work.

14. Secular  - Music that is not religious

15. Segno – Italian – Sign. Dal Segno means to go back to the sign.

Schirmer Pocket Manual of Musical Terms, Edited by Theodore Baker, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1978