This glossary is an orchestra based glossary/vocabulary. Listening and watching this kind of music is one of my hobby.
Arpeggio
Noun
The act of playing the notes of a chord in a fast sequence rather than simultaneously.
Example: Unlike a scale, an arpeggio's sequence, when taken together, forms a chord.
fr: Arpège
Brass
Noun
Any musical instruments made of brass.
Example: The brass section of the orchestra.
fr: Cuivres
Choir
Noun
A group of singers.
Example: Choral conductors may also have to conduct instrumental ensembles such as orchestras if the choir is singing a piece for choir and orchestra.
fr: Choeur
Clef
Noun
A musical symbol that features at the beginning of a staff, indicating the pitch of the notes.
Example: The treble clef is a clef that places the G (G4) above middle C (C4) on the second-lowest line of the staff.
fr: Clé
Conductor
Noun
Someone whose job is to lead the performance of a piece of music, a choir, etc.
Example: A follow the leader type convention developed, as Keynes put it, the Bank of England 'called the tune' as the 'conductor of the international orchestra' (Eichengreen 1996:33).
fr: Chef d'orchestre
Fingering
Noun
The order and position of the fingers when playing a musical instrument.
Example: Follow this free clarinet fingering chart to learn how to play the notes on the instrument.
fr: Doigté
Flat
Noun
A version of a note that is one semitone lower.
Example: The concert also included the premiere of a Symphony in E flat major by Anton Eberl (1765–1807) that received better reviews than Beethoven's symphony.
fr: Bémol
French horn
Noun
A brass wind instrument, consisting of a long twisted metal tube that expands at one end.
Example: Some people refer to the French horn as one of the hardest instruments to play because of its difficulty level.
fr: Cor d'harmonie ou cor français
Music stand
Noun
A stand, usually made of metal or wood, that is used to hold a book or sheet music for someone to read while playing an instrument.
Example: Cheap music stand will crumble if you put too many sheets music on it.
fr: Lutrin
Percussion
Noun
An instrument whose sound is made mainly by striking, tapping or touching something. The section of an orchestra or band that produces this kind of sound.
Example: The most common percussion instruments in the orchestra include the timpani, xylophone, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, maracas, gongs, chimes, celesta, and piano.
fr: Percussion
Pitch
Noun
The pitch (of a sound) is the quality of being high or low.
Example: The last note was a little off pitch.
fr: Tonalité
Rest
Noun
An interval of silence between notes of varying lengths.
Example: A rest is a musical notation sign that indicates the absence of a sound. Each rest symbol and name corresponds with a particular note value for length, indicating how long the silence should last.
fr: Silence
Scale
Noun
A series of musical notes at fixed intervals that go up or down, especially a series of eight starting on a particular note.
Example: For scale practice, rhythmic evenness should be given by far the greatest emphasis.
fr: Gamme
Score
Noun
A transcript of a composition, with the parts for all the different instruments or voices indicated.
Example: This Classical Sheet Music is the full conductor's score to the opening movement of Beethoven's famous 5th Symphony in C minor.
fr: Partition
Sharp
Adjective
(Of a musical note) higher than the correct note by a semitone.
Example: The symbol that looks like a pound sign or hashtag is a sharp sign.
fr: Dièse
Staff
Noun
A set of five parallel lines on which notes are written.
Example: The foundation of the written musical language is the staff. It is made up of five lines and four spaces.
fr: Portée
String
Noun
An instrument that makes sounds via strings that are plucked by the fingers, bowed, etc.
Example: The strings are the largest family of instruments in the orchestra and they come in four sizes: the violin, which is the smallest, viola, cello, and the biggest, the double bass, sometimes called the contrabass.
fr: Instrument à cordes
Tempo
Noun
The speed at which a piece of music is played or should be played.
Example: This piece is rather easy because it has a consistent tempo.
fr: Tempo ou vitesse
Whole note
Adjective
A note that is equal to two half notes or four quarter notes.
Example: The whole note is represented by a hollow note head (white center, black frame) and no stem or flags. The whole note is equal to four beats in 4/4 time. Most other note values are fractions of the whole note.
fr: Ronde
Woodwind
Noun
A class of musical instruments that contain a wooden tube that someone blows through.
Example: In earlier times a woodwind generally referred to any instrument made from wood which required the musician to blow in order to produce a sound.