How Well Do You Know These Words From Orchestra Class?

When it comes to musical tempos, largo is one of the slowest. Things marked with the word largo should be played slowly and with dignity. The opposite tempo of largo is presto.

Although you would find the oboe, the clarinet, and the bassoon in the woodwind section, the euphonium is a member of the brass section. It is popular in military bands and resembles a small version of the tuba.

The heckelphone might sound like it belongs in the brass section, but it is, in fact, similar to a bass oboe. The only difference between a heckelphone and an oboe is that the heckelphone is pitched one octave lower.

Before an opera really kicks into action, it begins with an overture. One of the world's most famous overtures, the William Tell Overture, was composed by Rossini in 1829.

Once the conductor or leader is ready to begin, they use an upbeat to signal the orchestra or ensemble. The downbeat is the very first note of any orchestral piece.

When a performer sees a small arch with a dot underneath, they are granted the expressive moment to hold a note as long as they would like. The fermata symbol slightly resembles an eye.

The crescendo might look like an enlarged mathematical symbol, but in musical terms, it means to grow louder in volume. If the volume were supposed to decrease, musicians would see the decrescendo symbol.

The musical term dolce means that something should be played sweetly and delicately. Extra care should be taken to ensure that portions denoted with the dolce mark are played expressively.

Although the marimba's wooden keys are laid out like a piano, it is a member of the percussion family. The marimba is played with mallets that strike the keys causing vibration in metal tubes underneath.

When a piece should be played at a brisk walking tempo, it is marked with the term adagio. If a piece were played in a lento or a largo fashion, it would be slow.

When three or more notes are played together, they form a chord. When each note of the chord is played individually and in succession, it is called an arpeggio.

As orchestra members read along the score, they might see a large comma at the top of the staff. This symbol is called the breath mark, and it tells those playing brass or wind instruments when to take a breath between notes or phrases.

At the beginning of a piece of music, you will see the time signature indicated. In this instance, 4/4 time, also called common time, would indicate that there are four beats per measure.

Indicated by the marking of ff, fortissimo tells performers to play very loud. Fortissimo is the next to loudest of all dynamic musical instructions.

When you hear the guiro in songs, it really stands out. It is a percussion instrument popular in Latin music. Made from a gourd and played by scraping a stick along the grooved outer sides, the guiro adds great texture to a beat.

A little larger than the heckelphone but smaller than the tuba, the baritone is the second-lowest brass instrument. Baritone is also a term used to describe the second-lowest male singing voice.

Performers begin to decrease both the tempo and the volume when they see the calando marking. While a decrescendo only indicates a decrease in volume, calando also includes the speed at which the music is played.

A standard major or minor scale is comprised of eight notes. The chromatic scale includes the semitones found between the eight notes of any other scale.

Like the accordion, the concertina is played by squeezing two ends together. The push of air is turned into musical notes by pushing buttons or covering holes on the instrument.

The person you see instructing the orchestra through a series of timed arm movements is the conductor. The conductor controls the flow and the volume of the musical piece.

To add flair and drama to a piece, composers will often add dissonant parts to the score. Dissonant notes are notes that are not harmonious with the others. It can also happen when a performer hits the wrong note.

During the performance of fugues, performers can expect to repeat passages throughout the piece. The repeated part is usually the most memorable, or as we call it today - catchy.

The leading tone is the note that leads the key in which a piece is composed. In a diatonic scale, the leading tone is the seventh note.

When a musical passage gently switches to another key, it is called modulation. Modulating during a piece adds to the drama and interesting sound of a musical composition.

Pizzicato is the term that tells string players to lightly pluck the strings in a quick, staccato fashion. Instead of using a bow for pizzicato sections, string players use their fingers.

Beethoven (1770 - 1827) was a composer who defined the era between romantic and classical. Beethoven composed many beautiful pieces, including the Moonlight Sonata, all while losing his hearing,

A group with four performers is called a quartet. When you add another performer, it becomes a quintet.

Reed instruments are played by passing air over a bamboo or wooden reed. In addition to the clarinet, other reed instruments include the oboe and the bassoon.

Composers will often repeat the early part of a composition later in the work. The repeated part of the song when performed later in a piece is call the reprise.

As a sonata comes to a close, you will notice a specific movement called the rondo. Rondos are a movement within a piece of music that set the tone for the ending.

The rat-a-tat sound you hear coming from a snare drum is caused by the wires fastened across the bottom drum skin. Drummers can flip a switch on the snare drum, making the wires tighter or loser, depending on the desired sound.

The large, free-standing drum you see in the percussion section is known as the timpani. However, some folks prefer to call it the kettledrum because of its appearance.

The five lines upon which musical notations are written are called the staff. The treble and the bass clef have their own staff.

Of the eight notes on a diatonic scale, the first note is called the tonic note. The tonic note is also known as the root note of chords.

The note with the longest time value is called a whole note. A whole note takes up all the beats within a measure. All of the other notes are held to a length a fraction of the whole note.