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Tempo: (Italian) Tempi (plural) The speed at which a piece of music is played.
More specifically referring to the number of pulses (beats) per minute. In many
examples of modern music, exact tempos are indicated by a metronome setting.
For instance; a metronome marking of 60 pulses per minute (one per second) would
be indicated by m.m.= 60. However the abbreviation refers not to metronome marking
but rather to one of the individuals that made improvements upon the design.
Tenor: "Holder." 1. A high male voice between alto and baritone.
In early polyphonic music, it sang the cantus
firmus in long held notes. 2. Instruments or voice
in the tenor range.
Tenorlied: A german song, in which the tenor vocal line predominates, or has the melody.
Tessitura: 1) The range of pitch from lowest to highest for a
melody. 2) The highest to lowest note for any given instrument.
Texture: The characteristics of structure relating to orchestration
and/or arranging (i.e., instrumentation, density of notes, arpeggiation vs.
chorale style accompaniment, etc.
Theme: 1. A phrase that serves as the subject,
or melody for a given work, as in a fugue,
or sonata.
2. A conceptual idea that motivates a given work.
Third: 1) The interval of three diatonic degrees.
2) Within a triad,
the note that is three diatonic degrees above the root.
See article on Triads.
Tie: (or Bend) A curved line connecting two notes of identical
pitch that indicates the notes will be performed as one unbroken tone of combined
time value. Thus tied note.
Timbre: Characteristic tone-colour of any instrument or voice caused
by the proportions of overtones present.
Time Signature: The numbers written on staff of any piece, indicating which type of note gets a single beat, and also how
many beats are in each measure.
Tonal: Music with a center, or tonic, which employs tones which relate to that tonic in a predictable and measurable manner.
Tonic: The key center, or foundation of, a scale or melody.
Treble: The highest voice, instrument, or part.
Treble Clef: The G clef falling on the second line of the staff.
(
)The
inner curve circles G on the staff ihdicating a point of reference. Used with
the bass clef to form the grand staff.
Triad: One type of chord that is a combination of three notes that are typically the root, third and fifth.
When in root position these notes form two superimposed thirds. (e.g. C-E-G
is the root position common C Major Triad). Check out the online article called Triads!
Trill: An ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two pitches, the main pitch, and the
pitch a whole or half step above it. Either of these symbols may be used to
indicate a trill. (
)
The starting pitch is most commonly the upper neighbor.
Tritone substitution: A chord substitution with its root being 3 whole steps away from the original root of the chord being substituted. Tritone substitution is used in a chord progression of a V7 (dominant seventh chord) is replaced with the bII7, e.g., the V7 for bV7/V = bII7. For example, D?7 would be the tritone substitution for G7 while F would substitute for B, and G? for C. Tritone substitutions are also used in improvisation and are commonly used to create tension during a solo. The reason these dominant seventh chords may be substituted for each other is that they share the two pitches that form a tritone in each chord (the third and seventh, albeit reversed).
Trope: Interpolation of plainsong resulting in a musical melisima on one note or fragment of a new melody.
Turn: Also known as the Grupetto. An ornament used in vocal and instrumental music consisting of four notes that move up and down 'around' a given pitch, using that pitch as a tonal center, before resolution to the final note which is comonly a third above the 'given pitch.'
Twelve-Tone Music: Music in which no pitch class (or note) is repeated until all other chromatic pitches have been used. Any group of twelve pitches arranged this way is called a row.
