Browse the Glossary - B

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Browse Glossary (B) - showing records (17)

Baby grand - A small grand piano.
Balance - The harmonious adjustment of volume and timbre between instruments or voices; it can be between players or vocalists or electronically while recording or mixing.
Ballade - In the medieval period a form of trouvere music and poetry. In later time, German poetry set as a through-composed song.
Band - An instrumental ensemble, usually made up of wind and percussion instruments and no string instruments.
Bar line - The vertical line placed on the staff to divide the music into measures.
Baroque - The period 1600-1750.
Bass clef - The other name for the F clef.
Basso continuo, Continuo, Thorough - bass - The Baroque practice in which the bass part if played by a viola da gamba(cello) or bassoon while a keyboard instrument performed the bass line and the indicated chords.
Baton - Conductor's stick.
Battuto - Beat, bar, or measure. A due or a tre battuta, the musical rhythm in groups of two or three respectively.
Ben - Well. Used with other words, e.g. ben marcato, well accented, emphasized.
Binary form - The term for describing a composition of two sections. AB, each of which may be repeated.
Bis - Repeated twice. Encore!
Bitonality - The occurrence of two different tonalities at the same time.
Bourree - A French dance from the 17th century in brisk duple time starting with a pickup.
Brass family - Wind instruments made out of metal with either a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece, such as trumpet, cornet, bugle, Flugelhorn, trombone, tuba, baritone horn, euphonium, saxhorn, and French horn.
Broken chord - Notes of a chord played in succession rather than simultaneously. Arpeggio.