| A | B |
|---|
| soprano | highest women's voice part |
| mezzo soprano | second highest women's voice part |
| alto | second lowest women's voice part |
| contralto | lowest women's voice part |
| countertenor | highest men's voice part |
| tenor | second highest men's voice part |
| baritone | second lowest men's voice part |
| bass | lowest men's voice part |
| register | part of the total range of an instrument or voice. the tone color of the instrument may vary with the register in which it is played or sung. |
| strings | family of instruments in which a vibrating string creates the sound |
| violin | soprano string instrument |
| viola | alto string instrument |
| cello | baritone string instrument |
| bass (string bass, double bass) | bass string instrument |
| bow | slightly curved stick strung tightly with horsehair, used to play string instruments |
| pizzicato | a way of playing a string instrument by plucking the string |
| double stop | playing two notes at once by drawing the bow across two strings at the same time |
| vibrato | small fluctuations of pitch |
| mute | device used to alter the tone of an instrument |
| tremolo | rapid repetition of a note, produced in string instruments by quick up and down strokes of the bow |
| harmonics | very high pitched whistle-like tones, produced in bowed string instruments by lightly touching the string at certain points while bowing |
| plectrum | small wedge of plastic, leather, or quill used to pluck the strings of certain instruments, such as the guitar, koto, and harpsichord |
| harp | plucked string instrument, consisting of strings stretched within a triangular frame |
| guitar | plucked string instrument with six strings stretched along a fretted fingerboard |
| piccolo | smallest woodwind instrument, having the highest range; a smaller version of a flute |
| flute | woodwind instrument, usually made of metal, with a high range, whose tone is produced by blowing across the edge of a mouth hole |
| oboe | double-reed woodwind instrument with a relatively high range, conical in shape with a small flared bell |
| English horn | double-reed woodwind instrument, slightly larger than the oboe and with a lower range, straight in shape with an egg-shaped bell |
| clarinet | single-reed woodwind instrument with a beak-shaped mouthpiece, cylindrical in shape with a slightly flared bell |
| bass clarinet | member of the clarinet family, having a low range which has the curved shape of a saxophone |
| bassoon | double-reed woodwind instrument, made of wood, having a low range |
| recorder | family of woodwind instruments whose sound is produced by blowing into a "whistle" mouthpiece, usually made of wood or plastic |
| reed | very thin piece of cane, used in woodwind instruments to produce sound as it is set into vibration by a stream of air |
| single-reed woodwinds | instruments whose sound is produced by a single piece of cane, or reed, fastened over a hole in the mouthpiece |
| saxophone | family of single-reed woodwind instruments |
| double-reed woodwinds | instruments whose sound is produced by two narrow pieces of cane held between the player's lips |
| trumpet | brass instrument with the highest range |
| French horn | brass instrument of medium range, whose tube is coiled into a roughly circular shape and fitted with valves |
| trombone | brass instrument of moderately low range, whose tube is an elongated loop with a movable slide |
| tuba | largest brass instrument, with the lowest range |
| cornet | brass instrument similar in shape to the trumpet, with a more mellow tone |
| baritone horn (euphonium) | brass instrument similar in shape to the tuba, with a higher range |
| glockenspiel | percussion instrument of definite pitch, made up of flat metal bars set in a frame and played by striking with small metal hammers, mallets |
| timpani (kettledrums) | percussion instruments of definite pitch, shaped like large kettles with calfskin or plastic stretched across the tops, played with soft padded mallets |
| xylophone | percussion instrument of definite pitch, consisting of flat wooden bars set in a frame and played by striking with hard plastic or wooden hammers, mallets |
| celesta | percussion instrument of definite pitch, with metal bars that are struck by hammers controlled by a keyboard |
| chimes | percussion instrument of definite pitch, with suspended metal tubes that are struck with a hammer |
| snare drum | percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, in the shape of a cylinder with a stretched skin at either end. a snare of gut or metal is stretched below the lower skin and produces a rattling sound when the drum is stick |
| bass drum | percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, the largest of orchestral drums |
| tambourine | percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a skin stretched across a shallow cylinder, with small circular plates set into the cylinder which jingle when the skin is struck or the cylinder is shaken |
| triangle | percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a trangular length of metal suspended from a hook or cord, played by striking with a metal rod |
| cymbals | percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a pair of metal plates, played by striking the plates against each other |
| gong (tam-tam) | percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, made up of a large flat metal plate that is suspended and struck with a mallet |
| piano | widely used keyboard instrument of great range and versatility, whose sound is produced by felt-covered hammers striking against steel strings |
| harpsichord | keyboard instrument, widely used between 1500 and 1775, whose sound is produced by plectra which pluck its wire strings |
| pipe organ | keyboard instrument with many sets of pipes controlled from two or more keyboard including a pedal keyboard played by the organist's feet. the keys control valves from which air in blown across or through opening in the pipes |
| accordian | instrument consisting of bellows between two keyboards (piano like for the left hand, buttons for the left hand) whose sound is produced by air pressure which causes free steel reeds to vibrate |
| tape studio | studio with tape recorders and other equipment used to create electronic music by modifying and combining recorded sounds |
| synthesizer | system or electronic components which can generate, modify, and control sound; used to compose music and to perform it |
| computer | tool used to synthesize music, to help composers write scores, to store samples of audio signals, and to control synthesizing mechanisms |
| computer music | composition including sounds generated and manipulated by computer |
