D

D: 1. "Deutsche". D numbers are used instead of opus numbers to catalogue works by Schubert. The key of D.

Deceptive Cadence: A cadence where the dominant tonality resolves to any chord other than the tonic, most especially when it goes instead to the sixth.

Degree: A note of a scale, usually as identified by number. See second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh , and octave.

Descant: 1. soprano or tenor voice. 2. The melodic line or counterpoint accompanying an existing melody. 3. The upper part of a polyphonic composition.

Descriptive Music: See Program music.

Development: The elaboration of melodic, thematic, or harmonic progressions in a piece.

Diatonic: The notes that occur naturally in a scale, without being modified by accidentals other than in the key signature.

Dies Irae: "Day of Wrath". The Sequence for the Requiem Mass.

Diminished: Lowered, or reduced. Generally refers to the lowering of a pitch chromatically by one half step.

Diminished Seventh Chord: A chord which contains a root, a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh .

Diminished Triad: A chord which contains a root, a minor third, and a diminished fifth.

Diminution: The shortening of note values used in a theme to alter the melody without changing the pitches.

Dirge: A piece that is performed at a funeral or memorial service.

Dissonance: Notes that conflict, or sound outside of a chord in which they occur. Such notes usually fall outside of the overtones which are being generated by the note or chord that is sounding.

Divertimento: An entertaining instrumental piece made up of several short movements.

Dodecaphonic: Twelve-tone music.

Dominant: A chord based on the fifth degree of the diatonic scale being used. A dominant usually resolves to the tonic.

Dorian Mode: A medieval mode whose scale pattern is that of playing D to D on the white keys of a piano.

Dotted Note: A mark made in music notation. 1) placed above the note indicates that the note is stacatto. 2) Placed after a note or a rest lengthens by half. In context of performance practices of Baroque music by composers such as Bach and Handel, the additional dot after the note added approximately half the duration which was decided by the discretion of the performer. A double dotted note adds half the value of the first dot. This adaptation was invented by Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father).

Double Concerto: A concerto for two solo instruments, and orchestra.

Double Counterpoint: Invertible Counterpoint.

Double Flat: An accidentalthat lowers the note it precedes by one whole-tone.

Double Fugue: A fugue with two theme that occur at the same time.

Double Sharp: An accidental that raises the note it precedes by one whole step.

Doubly Augmented Sixth Chord: An augmented sixth chord, which contains a sharp second from the tonic.

Dramatic Soprano: A female singer with a slightly lower range than a Lyric Soprano.

Dramatic Tenor: A male singer with a slightly lower range than a Lyric Tenor.

Dynamics: The degrees of loudness or softness in a musical work, and the symbols that represent them.