Sunday, April 17, 2011

New Musical Terms

Music Majors and even Musical Minors read on--a little light relief!
NEW MUSICAL TERMS
(by Tom Hurd on piano-teachers@yahoo.com)
ALLREGRETTO
When you're 16 measures into the piece and realize you took too fast a tempo
ANGUS DEI
To play with a divinely beefy tone
A PATELLA
Accompanied by knee-slapping
APPOLOGGIATURA
A composition that you regret playing
APPROXIMATURA
A series of notes not intended by the composer, yet played with an "I meant to do that" attitude
APPROXIMENTO
 A musical entrance that is somewhere in the vicinityof the correct pitch
CACOPHANY [aka CACOUGHONY -psl]
A composition incorporating many people with chest colds
CORAL SYMPHONY
A large, multi-movement work from Beethoven's Caribbean Period
DILL PICCOLINI
An exceedingly small wind instrument that plays only sour notes
 FERMANTRA
A note held over and over and over and over and . . .
FERMOOTA
A note of dubious value held for indefinite length
FIDDLER CRABS
Grumpy string players
FLUTE FLIES
Those tiny mosquitos that bother musicians on outdoor gigs
FRUGALHORN
A sensible and inexpensive brass instrument
GAUL BLATTER
 A French horn player
GREGORIAN CHAMP
The title bestowed upon the monk who can hold a note the longest
GROUND HOG
Someone who takes control of the repeated bass line and won't let anyone else play it
PLACEBO DOMINGO
A faux tenor
SCHMALZANDO
A sudden burst of music from the Guy Lombardo band
THE RIGHT OF STRINGS
Manifesto of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Violists
SPRITZICATO
An indication to string instruments to produce a bright
and bubbly sound
TEMPO TANTRUM
What an elementary school orchestra is having when it's not following the conductor
TROUBLE CLEF
Any clef one can't read: e.g., alto clef for pianists
VESUVIOSO
An indication to build up to a fiery conclusion
VIBRATTO
Child prodigy son of the concertmaster

2 comments:

  1. Hilarious Jo -- I'm re-tweeting this in twitter and am tempted to link to it in my blog too:)

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  2. Thank you! I wish I had thought of them but, credit where credit is due! Be sure to attribute the source correctly Holly! I am glad you got a "rise" out of them!

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