Dictionary: P

soft see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

Thumb of the right hand See p,i,m,a in Left & Right Hand Fingerings

few, pair

placidly

placid

pavan

a song of praise

even

word

stage

a word, verse or piece of music that reads the same forward and backwards

a word, verse or piece of music that reads the same forward and backwards

a music style from Sierra Leone based on the sound of acoustic guitar riffs accompanied by traditional percussion

an instrumental piece in duple time from Hungary

Chinese bowed lute

a passage of music that uses only the tones of a single diatonic scale but does not rely on traditional harmonic progressions and dissonance treatm…

a lute of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures with a long neck and small soundbox

fretted three string lute from Georgia

a small lute like instrument strung with wire

Afghan five string lute

a sequence of chords where the intervals remain unchanged as the notes of the chord changes

the movement in two or more parts of the same intervals in the same direction

two keys, one major and one minor, having the same tonic

when two parts move the same interval in the same direction at the same time

a song style from Malaysia

two line stanzas

a single vocal or instrumental part of a composition

when two voices cross over each other

essense of polyphonic music

part

parts

a suite

divided

two or more different songs that can be sung at the same time to create harmony

not, not any, step

a ballet with a dramatic style

a dance for two performers

a single gliding step

not too much

traditional Galician songs

introduction

traditional Zimbabwe music

a Colombian dance that is danced to a time of 6/8 against 3/4 meter

a lively dance in simple duple time

an instrumental dance form similar to the chaconne in which there is continuing repetition of a theme

a section of a musical work

a written or improvised melodic passage; a transition or modulation

passacaglia

a old dance in 2 beats in a bar

fitting

a note that is not part of the prevailing harmony but which, as the harmony changes, arrives at another note consonant with the new harmony

a religious work

passionately

passionate

passion

an instrumental piece with rural connotations

pastoral; an instrumental piece, often written over long drone like bass notes, with rustic overtones

mellow, soft

a slow musical composition with more than one group of simple time units in each bar

traditional Austrian march

pathetic

pathetically

pathetic

pathetic

pathetically

pathetic

suffering

to lightly slap one's thigh

rest

thirty second rest

a double whole rest

a eighth rest

half rest

sixty fourth rest

a whole rest

a sixteenth rest

a quarter rest

the fermata sign

rest

rest

a stately court dance of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

a stately court dance of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

pavan

pavan

timid

fearful

distantly related to the Hawaiian steel guitar, played by sliding a steel bar up and down the strings, employs a system of pedals and knee levers t…

where on stringed instruments the tuning pegs or, in the case of instrument fitted with a worm gear system, machine heads used to adjust the tensio…

where on stringed instruments the tuning pegs or, in the case of instrument fitted with a worm gear system, machine heads used to adjust the tensio…

hardly at all, scarcely

during

penetrating

See Musical Scales

by, for, from, in order to

gradually dying away and becoming slower

gradually dying away and becoming slower

intervals of a unison, octave, fourth, and fifth when they are exactly in tune and neither augmented nor diminished

intervals of an octave, a fifth and a fourth

alternative name for unison

in medieval theory, triple time

alternative name for unison

intervals of a unison, octave, fourth, and fifth when they are exactly in tune and neither augmented nor diminished

a complete musical thought, concluded by a cadence, having two phrases, each usually two to eight bars (measures) in length

recur at regular intervals

where a subject recurs with a change in the order of the notes

however, therefore

an infinite canon, a round

the first section of a canso

heavily

heavy, heavily

heavy, heavily

heavily

a traditional Spanish song in brisk triple time

small, little

little

little by little

piece

pipe

artful

imagination, fancy, reverie

fantasia

a symphony orchestra

a short musical idea similar to a sentence in spoken language

a style of performance that gives shape to the musical phrases

A chord progression where the subdominant chord (in first inversion) is followed by the dominant chord. The root of the final chord is approached f…

a note

fancy, pleasure

agreeable, pleasing

softly

weeping

weeping

mournful

mournfully

softer than Piano see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

softer than Pianissimo see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

softer than Pianississimo see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

softer than Pianissississimo see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

soft see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

lamentation, plaint

similar to pizzicato, the striking of a guitar string while playing flamenco music, alternating between the index finger and the middle fingers

the use of the major third in the last chord of a piece in a minor key

little

full

small piece of plastic (or other material including metal, bone or shell) that is used to strum or pluck stringed instruments of the guitar family

a single or group of notes that come before the first strong metrical beat, usually the first beat of the measure; device which, when attached to a…

any composition that is a complete in itself

full

full

pity

piteously, tenderly

piteous

pinched, pizzicato

a random noise source characterized by a flat amplitude response per octave band of frequency

a Chinese lute like instrument dating back to the Qin Dynasty (221 206 BC) bearing four strings, with a pear shaped body made of hard wood, measure…

spiccato

to play spiccato

Purepecha Indian love songs from Michoacan Mexico

device that is used to set any pitch of the chromatic scale

more

rather, somewhat

a chord that is placed in a transition between two keys, serving a different function in each key

a chord that is placed in a transition between two keys, serving a different function in each key

plucked

plucked

peaceful, calm, tranquil

peacefully

peacefully

placidly

placid

pleasure

A chord progression where the subdominant chord is followed by the tonic chord In the tonality of C major, an plagal cadence would be the subdomina…

a slow song or instrumental composition of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

merry

chords played together rather than spread or arpeggiated

chattering, babbling

a small piece of plastic, wood, bone, leather, quill, or whatever, used to pluck a string

full

full

full

a rapidly descending glissando at the start of a note, normally sounded just prior to the beat

suddenly

by picking or pulling them with fingers or a pick, cause the strings on a stringed instrument to vibrate

the point at which a string, such as that on a guitar, is plucked relative to the nut. The smaller the distance to the plucking point the more nasa…

more

very little indeed

very little

the least possible, the bare minimum

a little, rather

little by little, gradually

a raised platform for the conductor

dwelt upon, leant upon

afterwards, then

by degrees

weight

jigs

a stately simple triple time Polish dance from the sixteenth century

polkas

a round dance, of Bohemian peasant origin, in quick duple time

Polish

a Spanish folk song syncopated and in simple triple time

a popular Venezuelan style where singers improvise and sing verses from well known traditional songs usually accompanied by bandolina, guitarra, cu…

a stately simple triple time Polish dance from the sixteenth century

a stately simple triple time Polish dance from the sixteenth century

Swedish and Norwegian country dance

a simple triple time dance of Scandinavian origin

a term used to describe the writing of music in which in a single work distinct choirs of voices and/or instruments are set variously in opposition…

the simultaneous use of two or more simple chords

two or more complete sets of harmony played against each other

music using different time signatures simultaneously

contrapuntal writing

contrapuntal writing

music that uses several different rhythms at the same time

two or more texts set simultaneously in a composition

music that uses many keys simultaneously

music that uses many keys simultaneously

pompous

pompous

arrogant, pompous

any of the rhythmic variations played off of this beat

heavily, massively, ponderous

the bridge of a stringed instrument

shortened form of popular music

a thin gauze screen placed between a singer and a microphone to reduce vocal "popping" and other breath noise

very legato, carrying a instrumental line without gaps

portamento

portamento

portamento, stave or staff

portamento, stave or staff

to use the portamento

not a guitar, but rather an instrument of a family that includes the mandolin and bandurria

steadily, sedately

on a stringed instrument, where the left hand is placed to play particular notes

Clean position shifts require release timing, relaxed hand movement, and precise arrival. Shifts are often indicated with fingerings and position m…

position

possible

anything played after another generally larger piece

a musical work made up of popular tunes

thumb

for

softer than p see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

softer than pp see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

softer than ppp see dynamic symbols in Phrasing Symbols

grand

grandly

rhythmically precise

prelude

prelude

music predating the classical period

prelude

previously

impetuously, hurriedly

impetuously, hurriedly

impetuously, hurriedly

impetuously, hurriedly

impetuously, hurriedly

impetuously, hurriedly

rhythmically precise

rhythmically precise

praying

prayer

a piece that is played before another piece or group of pieces

to prelude, to tune up

prelude

first

first

to take

take

a harmonic device in which a note which causes a chord to be discordant is used in the previous chord within which it is concordant

near

almost

accelerando

accelerando

accelerando

accelerando

accelerando

as quick as possible

quick

prayer

first

first time

a unison

twentieth century compositions that imitate rhythms, melodies, modes, and techniques of music of indigenous people, or music created or produced na…

first

leader of the section of an orchestra

rehearsal

an individual tasked to make a coherent whole of the eventual performance

preface, prelude

music that interprets an object of contemplation or an emotional experience

movement from note to note or chord to chord

(Italy) progressively

a sequence that moves a piece of music from one key to another

(Italy) progressive

promptly

ready, promptly

aspects of a sound, such as pitch, timbre, volume and duration, that give it a recognizable and definable tonal character

the relationship of one note's duration to one another

all features of a language, including duration, pitch and stress

a pamphlet issued by an opera house detailing the forthcoming season of works and artists

a rehearsal

a rehearsal to which the public is admitted

a stringed instrument played with a plectrum

a stringed instrument played with a plectrum

psalm

the scientific study of the perception of sound

the venue auditorium sound system

a technique for playing the guitar using the thumb, most often a feature of flamenco

a note, as in counterpoint; a dot after a note that adds one half the original duration to the note

point

Catalan Easter songs (Spain)

an indication that notes are to be played staccato, signified by dots above or below the note heads

a style of guitar playing in which the strings are plucked

the fermata sign

the fermata sign

music stand for two players

an inlay of wood placed along or just inside the border of the belly and back of instruments of the stringed instrument family, both to protect the…