0, 1-4 |
in music written for the guitar or members of the
violin family, fretting (for the guitar) or fingering
(for the violin, etc.) finger numbers, placed beside
the specific note head, are used to specify the desired
choice of fingers for your left hand |
number |
left hand finger | Italian | German | French | Spanish |
0 or letter O |
open string | corda vuota | leere Saite | corde à jour corde à vide | cuerda abierta |
1 |
index | (dito) indice | Zeigefinger | (doigte) index | (dedo) indice |
2 |
middle | (dito) medio | Mittelfinger | (doigte) médius (doigte) majeur | (dedo) corazón (dedo) medio |
3 |
ring | (dito) anulare | Ringfinger | (doigte) annulaire | (dedo) anular |
4 |
small little | (dito) mignolo | kleine Finger | (doigte) auriculaire | (dedo) meñique (dedo) pequeño |
|
x, 1-4 |
English keyboard fingering notation, now
obsolete but found in piano music published, particularly in England, many years ago |
number |
finger to be used | Italian | German | French |
Spanish |
x |
thumb | pollice | Daumen | pouce |
pulgar |
1 |
index | (dito) indice | Zeigefinger | (doigte) index |
(dedo) indice |
2 |
middle | (dito) medio | Mittelfinger | (doigte) médius (doigte) majeur |
(dedo) corazón (dedo) medio |
3 |
ring | (dito) anulare | Ringfinger | (doigte) annulaire |
(dedo) anular |
4 |
small | (dito) mignolo | kleine Finger | (doigte) auriculaire |
(dedo) meñique (dedo) pequeño |
|
1/4,
1/2 and 3/4
size string instruments |
smaller stringed instruments are designed that will
be more suited to the younger physically player who
find it difficult to hold or play a full sized (that is
4/4) instrument |
the ratio is really just an arbitrary designation
that appears to have no basis in an actual measurement
on the instruments. According to Henry A. Strobel's
Useful Measurements for Violin Makers, the
average difference with violins between one size and
the next in measured examples is approximately 8%.
There is a fair amount of variation in relative
dimensions among different makers and schools |
|
3/4 and other fractions |
used on the stave to indicate the time signature of
the bar or bars following |
1-4 |
the convention for numbering the
strings on a violin: |
1st string |
E-string (highest) |
2nd string |
A-string |
3rd string |
D-string |
4th string |
G-string (lowest) |
|
1-5 |
called 'German' or 'International' fingering, and
found in music written for the piano, the recommended
fingerings appear as the numbers 1 to 5 |
number |
finger to be used | Italian | German | French |
Spanish |
1 |
thumb | pollice | Daumen | pouce |
pulgar |
2 |
index | (dito) indice | Zeigefinger | (doigte) index |
(dedo) indice |
3 |
middle | (dito) medio | Mittelfinger | (doigte) médius (doigte) majeur |
(dedo) corazón (dedo) medio |
4 |
ring | (dito) anulare | Ringfinger | (doigte) annulaire |
(dedo) anular |
5 |
small | (dito) mignolo | kleine Finger | (doigte) auriculaire |
(dedo) meñique (dedo) pequeño |
|
1-6 |
in music written for the guitar, when notes are not
played in their open or lowest position, string
numbers, generally shown inside a circle and above the
note, are sometimes supplied, 1=highest pitched string
to 6=lowest pitched string |
1-8, I-VIII, i-viii |
numbers used to denote the degrees of the scale,
thus 1 (I or i) denotes the first degree of the scale,
2 (II or ii) the second degree, and so on. The large or
small Roman numerals (I-VIII, i-viii) serve the same
purpose |
degree |
name |
definition |
1, i, I |
tonic |
the key note |
2, ii, II |
supertonic |
the note above the tonic |
3, iii, III |
mediant |
the note between the tonic and dominant (the
middle of a 5th counting up from the tonic) |
4, iv, IV |
subdominant |
the note a perfect fifth below the tonic |
5, v, V |
dominant |
the note a perfect fifth above tonic |
6, vi, VI |
submediant
superdominant |
the note between the tonic and subdominant
(the middle of a 5th counting down from the
tonic) which is also the note immediately above
the dominant |
7, vii, VII |
subtonic |
the note a tone (whole step) below the tonic
(flattened leading note) |
7, vii, VII |
leading note |
the note a semitone (half step) below the
tonic, leads to the tonic |
8, viii, VIII |
tonic |
the key note |
|
1, 2, 3, etc. |
|
1, 2, 3, etc. |
placed above groups of notes to indicate rhythmic
divisions called duplets, triplets, quadruplets,
quintuplets, etc. |
to indicate the pitch of notes following the method
invented by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788) and
developed by Pierre Galin [Exposition d'une Nouvelle
méthode (1818)] together with
Émile-Joseph Chevé (1804-1864), his wife
Nanine Paris and her brother Aimé Paris
(1798-1866) [E. Chevé (Mme Nanine Paris)
Méthode élémentaire de musique
vocale (1864); E. Chevé (M. & Mme)
Méthode élémentaire d'harmonie
(1846); E. Chevé (M. & Mme) Exercices
élémentaires de lecture musicale à
l'usage des écoles primaires (1860)] |
a system called the 'Nashville number system' for
notating chords |
|
1C, 2C, 3C | found in some piano music written for a larger concert instrument, these three markings indicate the use of the left hand pedal, where 1C indicates that the pedal should be fully depressed (to give an una corda effect, i.e. the hammers strike only one of the three strings per note), 2C indicates that the pedal should be half-depressed (to give a due corde effect, i.e. the hammers strike only two of the three strings per note) and 3C indicates that the pedal not used at all (tre corde, i.e. the hammers strike all three strings per note) [we thank Sian Dudley for raising this topic] |
Ima |
abbreviation of prima |
I ma p. |
abbreviation of prima parte, equivalent to erster Teil in German (similarly 2 da p. is the abbreviation for seconda parte, which in German would be equivalent to zweiter Teil) - Tanya Tintner has pointed out that an antiquated spelling of Teil, namely Theil, may be found in scores from about the time of Beethoven |
Imo or Io |
abbreviation of primo |
Io |
abbreviation of primera (Spanish: first) - as in primera planta (Spanish: first floor) |
IIda |
abbreviation of seconda |
IIdo or IIo |
abbreviation of secondo |
II, III |
in music written for the guitar, Roman numerals are
used to show the hand position required to play a note
or a passage. If preceded by a large C then the
numeral indicates where the index finger is to be
placed for a bar chord |
1 1/3
ft. |
on the organ, a mutation stop that sounds two
octaves and a fifth above the written pitch, usually
called Larigot
|
1 3/5
ft. |
on the organ, a mutation stop that sounds two
octaves and a third above the written pitch, usually
called Tierce
|
12-EDO | the division of the interval of an octave into 12 equal divisions, one of the names given to the 12 note equal temperament scale in common use today |
12-inch single |
also marketted under the names such as Giant
45 or Giant Single, the 12-inch single was
named for the diameter of the record — which it
shares with the LP. It was described as a 'single'
because of the number of tracks on each side, just as
on the 45 rpm single. Whereas 45s and LPs were popular
from the late 1950s and 1960s, respectively, the first
12-inch dance single was not issued until mid-1975 and
specifically for the disk-jockeys, also known as DJs,
for whom it was thought this format would be
attractive |
|
12-string guitar |
see 'twelve-string guitar' |
15,
15ma |
abbreviations of quindicesima meaning 'at
the fifteenth', found above notes on a staff that
should be played two octaves higher than written. If
15ma is applied to a passage,
the term loco, meaning 'at place', will show
where the player reverts to playing at the written
pitch |
15mb |
abbreviation of quindicesima meaning 'at the
fifteenth below', found below notes on a staff that
should be played two octaves lower than written. If
15mb is applied to a passage,
the term loco, meaning 'at place', will show
where the player reverts to playing at the written
pitch |
16th note |
see 'sixteenth note' |
16th rest |
see 'sixteenth rest' |
16va,
16ma |
sometimes mistakenly used to mean
a two-octave interval. However, the two octave interval
is the fifteenth, which is abbreviated
15ma |
2o |
abbreviation of segunda (Spanish: second) - as in segunda planta (Spanish: second floor) |
2 chord |
an alternative name for the third inversion of a
seventh chord, also called a
42 chord
|
2-foot, 4-foot, 8-foot, 16-foot, 32-foot
2ft., 4ft., 8ft., 16ft., 32ft. |
see 'foot' |
2nda or
2ndo or 2o |
abbreviation of seconda, secondo
(Italian: second) |
2-Step |
a quintessentially London sound, 2-Step (otherwise
known as U.K. garage) fuses the urban attitude of
hardcore and jungle with the soul and pace of garage
and house |
|
2 or 3 |
placed on the stave to indicate the time signature,
where 2 means 2/2 and 3 means 3/4 |
2 2/3
ft. |
on the organ, a mutation stop that sounds an octave
and a fifth above the written pitch, usually called
Nazard or 'Twelfth'
|
24 Violons |
When Lully's les Vingt-quatre violins du Roi
performed in their orchestral formation in five parts,
they employed violins on the top part, three different
sizes of viola on the three middle parts, and basses
de violon on the bass line. Varying sizes of viola
were common in the seventeenth century, as were varying
sizes of string bass instruments of the 'cello family.
The basse de violon was a largish 'cello,
customarily tuned in B-flat, and was known throughout
Europe. Nearly all seventeenth century 'cellos were
large (and were subsequently reduced in size), and bass
players were accustomed to transposing instruments,
varied tunings and octave doublings. Though there were
no bowed stringed instruments specifically constructed
to play at sixteen foot (contrabass) pitch in the
Versailles orchestra, it was nevertheless heard in
octave doublings from the basses de violon,
theorboes and harpsichords |
25x25 |
see garmon |
3-finger style |
see 'Scruggs style' |
3 ft. |
on the organ, another name for a 2 2/3 ft. stop
|
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
numbers used in figured bass
notation: |
|
root position chord: 3rd and 5th to the
written note as bass |
|
first inversion chord: 3rd and 6th to the
written note as bass
a first inversion chord has the third in the bass
- the fifth is then a third above the third and
the root is then a sixth above the third |
6
4 |
second inversion chord: 4th and 6th to the
written note as bass
a second inversion chord has the fifth in the
bass - the root is then a fourth above the fifth
and the third is a sixth above the fifth |
accidental under note |
5 3 root position
accidental applied to the 3rd |
line through a number |
raise the note in that position one chromatic
semitone |
accidental under number |
apply accidental to 3rd and add note given by
number to written note as bass |
accidental beside single
6
may be placed before or after |
6 means |
6
3 |
; apply accidental to 3rd |
|
accidental beside number
may be placed before or after |
apply accidental to the note given by the
number |
horizontal line ( - )
after a number |
note represented by the preceding figure is
to be held |
7 or 8 or
9 |
7th or 8th or 9th added to root position
chord
short for 7 5 3 or 8 5 3 or 9 5 3 |
6
5 |
7th chord, first inversion
short for 6 5 3 : third is understood |
4
3 |
7th chord, second inversion
short for 6 4 3 : sixth is understood |
4
2 |
7th chord, third inversion
short for 6 4 2 : sixth is understood
chord is also called a
2 chord |
|
|
'3rd-4th tuning' |
a tuning system, used on viols and some guitars,
which tune the interval between successive strings in a
combination of 3rds and 4ths, unlike, for example, the
violin which is usually tuned in 5ths |
32e noot |
|
(Dutch) a demisemiquaver or thirty-second
note, a note one thirty-second the time value of
a semibreve or whole note |
|
32e rust |
|
(Dutch) a demisemiquaver rest or
thirty-second rest, a rest one thirty-second the
time value of a semibreve rest or whole rest |
|
32nd note |
see 'thirty-second note' |
32nd rest |
see 'thirty-second rest' |
35mm film | a photographic film originally manufactured by George Eastman in 1892 to be used for Thomas Edison's motion pictures. By 1909 the 35mm film width, and a length of 16 frames per foot was accepted as the international standard for movies. It differed from other film not just by its small format, but also from the sprocket holes running down its sides allowing it to move through a motion picture camera at high speed. Starting in 1908, a number of still cameras were developed to make use of this film |
4-beat |
a breakbeat style of music circa 1993, that evolved
from breakbeat hardcore emanating from the United
Kingdom rave scene. Due to the sheer scale of the
United Kingdom rave scene, this particular music was
largelly self contained in England where it was almost
entirely produced and played |
- 4-beat from which this extract
has been taken
|
48, The |
see 'Well Tempered Clavier' |
440 |
see 'modern pitch' |
5 1/3
ft. |
on the organ, a stop that sounds a fifth above the
written pitch
|
5-fach-Liniatur |
(German m.) pentagram, five-lined staff |
55-EDO |
the division of the interval of an octave into 55 equal parts |
| ratio | semitones | cents |
1 55-EDO degree | 2(1/55) | 12/55 | 21 9/11 |
smaller (chromatic) semitone | 2(4/55) | 48/55 | 87 3/11 |
larger (diatonic) semitone | 2(5/55) | 1 1/11 | 109 1/11 |
whole tone | 2(9/55) | 1 53/55 | 196 4/11 |
|
|
64th note |
see 'sixty-fourth note' |
64th rest |
see 'sixty-fourth rest' |
6/8 time |
|
7-string guitar |
see 'seven-string guitar' |
77 punk |
alternative name for 'punk rock' |
8-string guitar |
see 'eight-string guitar' |
8, 8va,
8va alta |
abbreviations of all' ottava meaning 'at the
octave', found above notes on a staff with a treble clef that should be
played one octave higher than written. If found below notes on a staff with a bass clef that should be played one octave lower than written.
8va is applied to a passage,
the term loco, meaning 'at place', will show
where the player reverts to playing at the written
pitch. 8 on its own, placed above or below a clef sign, indicates that the instrument playing the part will sound one octave higher (if the 8 is above) or lower (if the 8 is below) than the pitch would be with an unadorned clef sign |
8, 8va b.,
8va bassa
|
abbreviations of ottava bassa meaning 'at
the octave below', found below notes on a staff that
should be played one octave lower than written. If
8vb is applied to a passage,
the term loco, meaning 'at place', will show
where the player reverts to playing at the written
pitch 8 on its own, placed above or below a clef sign, indicates that the instrument playing the part will sound one octave higher (if the 8 is above) or lower (if the 8 is below) than the pitch would be with an unadorned clef sign |
8vb |
found primarily in the notation of popular music and jazz, an abbreviation of ottava bassa meaning 'at
the octave below', found below notes on a staff that
should be played one octave lower than written. If
8vb is applied to a passage,
the term loco, meaning 'at place', will show
where the player reverts to playing at the written
pitch |
8ve |
abbreviation of 'octave' |
8-füssig |
see achtfüssig |