THE MUSIC OF
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
GLOSSARY
.A CAPELLA
Choral or vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment.
A MINOR
A minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has no flats or sharps.
A-FLAT MINOR
A minor scale based on A-flat, consisting of the pitches A-flat, B-flat, C-flat, D-flat, E-flat, F-flat, and G-flat. Its key signature has seven flats.
ACCELERANDO
Gradually accelerating or getting faster.
ACCOMPANIMENT
The additional but subordinate music used to support a melodic line.
ALEATORIC
Employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.
ALTO
The second highest part of a normal four-part chorus; also a female voice with low range (usually G below the treble clef to C in the treble clef). In reference to instrument families, the second or third highest member of the family.
ARPEGGIO
Playing the notes of a chord consecutively. A broken chord in which the individual notes are sounded one after the other instead of simultaneously.
B-FLAT MINOR
A minor scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat, F, G-flat, and A-flat. Its key signature has five flats.
BAR
Lines drawn perpendicularly across the staff to divide it into measures. The term also means measure in common usage, but the bar is strictly the line itself, and not the measure it defines. The bar came into use in music after 1600. See also, measure.
BASS
The lowest or deepest male voice usually of a range of F just below the bass clef to the E above middle C. In reference to instrument families, the lowest pitched member of the family.
BITONAL
The use of two different keys, or tonic centers at the same time.
BOLERO
A lively Spanish dance in 3/4 time. It is often accompanied by the castanets and sometimes with singing.
CADENCE
Generally, the beat of any rhythmic activity. In marching, a cadence is used to keep a marching unit synchronized and stepping on the same foot. The cadence can be performed through verbal commands with non-musical military units and typically include a call and response form of song or, with musical units, through a drum cadence.
CALIGINOUS
Misty, dark, and gloomy.
CALL AND RESPONSE
Performance style with a singing leader who is imitated by a chorus of followers.
CARROBALLISTA
A powerful siege weapon that resembles a large crossbow mounted on a cart. This gives it a great deal of flexibility and much more ability as a battlefield weapon, since the increased maneuverability allows it to be moved with the flow of the battle.
CLEMENT
Mild or temperate; pleasant.
CHOIR
Also referred to as a chorus, a choir is a fairly large group of singers who usually sing in parts with several voices on each part. It can also be a group of homogeneous instruments which perform together, such as a brass choir.
CHORD
The sounding of two or more notes (usually at least three) simultaneously.
CHORD PROGRESSION
The movement from one chord to another.
CHROMATIC
Music which proceeds in half steps.
CONCERTMASTER
The term used to address the principal first violinist of an orchestra.
CONTRABASS
Term used to describe the lowest pitched instrument of a family, typically for instruments with a range an octave lower than the bass instrument of the family. See also, double bass.
COUNTERPOINT
The art of combining two or more melodies to be performed simultaneously and musically. In counterpoint, the melody is supported by another melody rather than by chords.
CRESCENDO
A directive to a performer to smoothly increase the volume of a particular phrase or passage.
D MAJOR
A major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F-sharp, and G, A, B, and C-sharp. Its key signature has two sharps.
D MINOR
A minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B-flat, C, and D. Its key signature has one flat.
DIAGETIC
Music which occurs within the narrative of the film.
DICHOTOMOUS
Divided or dividing into two parts.
DIRGE
A generic term used for a composition designed specifically for a funeral or in commemoration of the dead.
DIVISI
A directive in ensemble music that instructs one section to divide into two or more separate sections, each playing a separate part. Often these separate parts are written on the same staff.
DORIAN MODE
A mode used in Gregorian chant based upon the second tone of the major scale. In the key of C, the Dorian mode would be based on D, and would include D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D.
DOUBLE REED
A vibrating device in some woodwind instruments that consists of two pieces of cane bound together at the base, and placed so as the thin, upper part of the reeds are almost touching. The player's breath is blown between these two reeds, causing vibration and thus sounding the instrument. Double reeds are used in oboes, bassoons, English horn, etc.
E MINOR
A minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F-sharp, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp.
ELEGY
A funeral song; a mournful or plaintive composition.
F MAJOR
A major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B-flat, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one flat.
F MINOR
A minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat, and F. Its key signature has four flats.
FANFARE
A short, lively, loud, militaristic composition usually composed for brass, specifically flourishing trumpets or horns, and timpani. A fanfare is usually warlike or victorious in character.
FIFTH
An interval of five diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree. For example, a fifth above C would be G.
FIGURE
A short musical phrase. Generally shorter than a theme but provides, through repetition, a unifying sound to the overall composition.
FIVE-FOUR TIME (5/4)
A metrical pattern having five beats to a measure.
FOURTH
An interval of four diatonic scale tones, counting the first and last tone. For example, the interval from C to F is a fourth.
G MINOR
A minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B-flat, C, D, E-flat, and F. Its key signature has two flats.
GLISSANDO
A rapid ascending or descending of the scale.
HARMONY
The concordant (or consonant) combination of notes sounded simultaneously to produce chords. Harmony can also be countermelodic notes to accompany a tune.
HIJAZ
One of the scales of the Maqam melodic system. This series consists of seven notes: the tonic, followed by seven notes following this progression from the note before it: a half step, one and a half steps, a half step, a whole step, a quarter tone (3/4 of a step), another quarter tone, and a half step to reach the tonic again. Thus the first and eighth tones are exactly an octave apart.
INCHOATE
Not yet completed or fully developed.
INTERLUDE
Any piece of music played or sung between the movements of a larger composition.
INTERVAL
The distance between two pitches.
KEY
A specific scale or series of notes defining a particular tonality. Keys may be defined as major or minor, and are named after their tonic or keynote. Thus the series of notes with intervals defining a major tonality and based on the key of C is the key of C major.
KLAXON
A loud electric horn, formerly used on automobiles, trucks, etc., and now often used as a warning signal.
LEITMOTIF
A recurring motif in a composition which represents a specific person, idea, or emotion.
LYDIAN MODE
The fifth church mode, the lydian mode based on F, contains the notes of the C major scale, yet uses F as the tonic.
LYRIC
The words of a song.
MAJOR SCALE
A term referring to a sequence of notes that define the tonality of the major scale. This series consists of seven notes: the tonic, followed by seven notes following this progression from the note before it: a whole step, a whole step, a half step, a whole step, a whole step, another whole step, and a half step to reach the tonic again. Thus the first and eighth tones are exactly an octave apart.
MAQAM
The system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music. Each maqam is built on a scale, and carries a tradition with it regarding use. See also Hijaz, one of the Maqam scales.
MARCH
A processional or military air especially suited to parades, processions, or marital affairs. It is generally written in 2/4, 6/8, or 4/4 time. Usually a march is an ornamentation of a regular and repeated drum rhythm, and is performed on brass instruments, drums, pipes, and other marital instruments.
MEASURE
An American term, equivalent to the English term "bar", signifying the smallest metrical divisions of a composition, containing a fixed number of beats, marked off by vertical lines on the staff.
MELODY
A tune; a succession of tones arranged as to achieve musical shape. In a piece of music where there is more than one voice, or where harmony is present, the melody is the dominant tune of the composition.
METER
Measure of time; arrangement of poetical feet; the grouping of beats into regular patterns.
MEZZO-SOPRANO
A female voice similar in range to a soprano, but with a darker color and the ability to extend the range lower than a regular soprano.
MINOR SCALE
The natural minor scale has the same tones as the major scale, but uses the sixth tone of the major scale as its tonic. Thus, the semitones (half steps) are between the second and third tones and the fifth and sixth tones.
MODE
A series of notes into which the octave is divided according to specific systems. These systems or modes are used as the basis for composing music. The major and minor scales are modes, as well as the gypsy scale, the Gregorian modes, rhythmic modes, etc.
MONTAGE
A composition made by combining parts or the whole of other musical pieces.
MOTIF
A short tune or musical figure that characterizes and unifies a composition. It can be of any length, but is usually only a few notes long. A motif can be a melodic, harmonic or rhythmic pattern that is easily recognizable throughout the composition.
OPEN FIFTH
A chord comprised of the tonic and the fifth with no third present.
OPERA
A drama set to music, usually sung throughout, originating in 17th century Italy. Opera is a combination of music, drama, scenery, costumes, dance, etc., to create a complete art form.
OSTINATO
A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or some portion of a composition.
PAROXYSMAL
Any sudden, violent outburst; a fit of violent action or emotion.
PASSAGE
A phrase or short section of a musical composition.
PEDAL
A low, sustained note or drone in a composition, usually performed by the lowest voice or instrument of the performing ensemble.
PHRASE
A musical unit, often a component of a melody. The phrase may be regarded as a dependent division of music, such as a single line of poetry; it does not have a sense of completion in itself.
PITCH
The specific quality of a sound that makes it a recognizable tone. Pitch defines the location of a tone in relation to others, thus giving it a sense of being high or low.
PIZZICATO
A directive to a bowed string instrument performer that the indicated notes are to be plucked with the fingers rather than bowed, resulting in a sharp, quick tone.
POLYRHYTHM
The use of several patterns or meters simultaneously, a technique used in 20th century compositions.
PORTAMENTO
A technique of gliding from one note to another without actually defining the intermediate notes; a smooth sliding between two pitches. This term is used primarily in singing and string instruments. Often called glissando for other instruments, especially the trombone.
REGISTER
A division of the range of an instrument or singing voice. Usually registers are defined by a change in the quality of the sound between a lower range and a higher range.
REST
A symbol standing for a measured break in the sound with a defined duration. Each specific note value has a defined duration and an equivalent rest with the same duration.
RHAPSODY
A free composition. It may be defined as a free fantasia of national, epic, or heroic character.
RHYTHM
The subdivision of a space of time into a defined, repeated pattern. Rhythm is the controlled movement of music in time.
SCALE
A series of notes in ascending or descending order that presents the pitches of a key or mode, beginning and ending on the tonic of that key or mode.
SIXTEENTH NOTE
A note having the time duration of one sixteenth of the time duration of a whole note.
SOPRANO
A term used to describe the highest pitched vocal range, usually produced by a female voice, but occasionally produced men's and boys' voices of the soprano range. The range of the soprano is from about C above the treble clef to middle C.
SPRECHSTIMME
A vocal style in which the melody is spoken at approximate pitches rather than sung on exact pitches. The Sprechstimme was developed by Arnold Schoenberg.
STEP
An interval of a second. Within the context of a scale, a step is the interval between one degree and the next.
STOP
Modifying the pitch of a brass instrument (normally the horn) by insterting the hand into the bell.
SYNCOPATION
Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse of a composition by means of a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an off-beat.
TATTOO
A signal (typically military) played on the bugle and/or snare drum. The signals denote instructions to the troops.
TEMPO
The speed of the rhythm of a composition. Tempo is measured according to beats per minute.
THEME
The musical basis upon which a composition is built. Usually a theme consists of a recognizable melody or a characteristic rhythmic pattern.
THIRD
An interval of three diatonic scale tones, counting the first and last tone. For example, the interval from C to E is a third.
TIMBRE
The quality of a sound; that component of a tone that causes different instruments to sound different from each other while they are both playing the same note.
TONALITY
The principal of organization of a composition around a tonic based upon a major or minor scale.
TONE
An interval consisting of two semitones, that is a whole step. Also, the particular sound of an instrument or voice, as well as the performer's particular coloring of that sound.
TONIC
The note upon which a scale or key is based; the first note of a scale or key; the keynote.
TREMOLO
The art of performing or singing the same note over and over very quickly, executed most commonly but not exclusively on bowed string instruments, giving the effect of motion to the sound.
TRIAD
A chord made up of three notes.
TRILL
An ornament that consists of rapid alternation between one tone and another tone either a step or a semitone away from the first tone.
TRIPLE METER (3/4)
A metrical pattern having three beats to a measure.
TRIPLET
Three notes of equal length that are to be performed in the duration of two notes of equal length.
TRITONE
The interval of an augmented fourth, or an interval of four with the top note raised a half-step. This interval was known as the "devil in music" in the Medieval era because it is the most dissonant sound in the scale.
VARIATION
A deviation from a theme that uses the same bass pattern or harmonic progression that the theme used.
WHOLE NOTE
A note with a typical duration of four beats in 4/4 time. Most other notes are divide the whole note, and are named accordingly (half note, quarter note, etc.).