B

B: The key of B, or in the German musical system, B- flat.

Bagatelle: A short light or whimsical piece, usually written for piano.

Ballad: 1. A simple song. 2. A song that tells a story.

Ballet: A theatrical dance form with a story, sets, and music.

Band: An instrumental ensemble, usually consisting of percussion, woodwind, and brass instruments, and excluding strings.

Baritone: A low male singing voice between tenor and bass.

Baroque Period: The musical era from roughly 1600 to 1750 A.D., characterized by the establishment of major and minor tonality, rather than modes, and the introduction of opera.

Bartock, Bela: (b Nagyszentmiklos, Hungary now known as Romania 1881, d New York, 1945) Hungarian composer, pianist, and folklorist.

Bass: "Low." 1. The lowest male singing voice, below baritone. 2. The lowest part in a piece of music. 3. The lowest instrumentin a musical work. 4. In the violin family, the lowest instrument.

Bass Clef: Also known as the F clef by indicating the fourth line of the staff. Used in combination with the treble clef to make the grand staff.

Basso Continuo: "Continuous Bass", sometimes referred to as "thoroughbass". Used in Baroque music, A continuo is a bass line that repeats throughout an entire work, or section of a work. Played by the lowest instrument, a continuo usually consisted of a bass line, and a series of figures.

Battaglia: "Battle." A composition that imitates the sounds and feel of battle, and martial music.

Beat: The pulse that is essential to many genres music.

Bequadro: A natural sign.

Berceuse: A lullaby.

Binary Form: A two-part song form consisting of an initial section, which is then followed by a contrasting section. (AB), see song form.

Bitonal: The use of two different keys, or tonic centers at the same time.

Borrowed Chord: Use of a chord in a key in which it is not diatonic, or the substitution of a chord from a different key into a work.

Bouts: In the violin and guitar families, the curves in the sides of the instrument, especially the C-shaped inward curves that form the waist.

Bow: The device used in the string instrument families, such as the violin family, consisting of a wooden stick, pointed at one end, and strung with horsehair. The bow is drawn across the strings to generate a tone.