Dictionary: G - H

G
@223 G\Note of the scale.

@224 gaio, gaia (It.)\Gay.

@225 galant (Fr. and Ger.)\Style galant. Courtly. This term, adopted by German

writers, refers to a mid-18th century style characterised by a homophonic,

formal elegance as opposed to the German contrapuntal traditional style. This

was practised by C.P.E. Bach and influenced Mozart.

@226 galantieren (Ger.)\Optional dances (e.g. polonaise or minuet) in the 18th

century suite, normally placed between the sarabande and gigue.

@226 galliard\A lively dance usually in triple time often contrasted (although

often thematically linked) with the slower pavan which it followed.

@227 galop\A quick 19th century ballroom dance in 2/4 time.

@228 gamba (It. )\Abbreviation for viola da gamba.

@229 garbato (It.)\Graceful .

@230 gavotte\A fairly quick dance in 4/4 time.

@231 gebrauchmusik (Ger.)\Same as utility music.

@232 gedampft (Ger.)\Muted.

@233 gehalten (Ger.)\Sustained. Cutgehalten, well sustained.

@234 gehend (Ger.)\At a moderate speed.

@235 geistlich (Ger.)\Sacred.

@236 gemessen (Ger.)\Held back, tempo sustained.

@237 gemutlich (Ger.)\Easy going, cosy, comfortable.

@238 general pause\Complete silence. A rest of at least one bar for the whole

orchestra. Abbreviation is GP.

@239 German sixth\A type of 'augmented sixth' chord (e.g. A flat, C, E flat and F

sharp whlch also may be treated as a dominant seventh chord.

@240 gesangvoll (Ger.)\Songful.

@241 geschleift (Ger.)\Smooth. Same as legato.

@242 geschwind (Ger.)\Quick.

@243 gestossen (Ger.)\Detached. Same as staccato.

@244 getragen (Ger.)\Slow and sustained. Same as sostenuto.

@245 gigue or giga (It.), jig\A lively dance in binary form, usually in 6/8 or 12/8

time. Often occurs as the last movement in the 18th century suite.

@246 giocoso (It.)\Merry, playful.

@247 giusto (It.)\(1) In strict time. (2) At a reasonable speed.

@248 glee\A simple and short part-song in several sections for male voices,

flourishing in Britain between 1650 and 1830.

@249 glissando\The sliding up or down a scale, often abbreviated by gliss. or a

wavy or straight stroke between the highest and lowest note.

@250 GP\Abbreviation of general pause.

@251 grace note\Same as ornament, used to embellish a melody line and

normally printed in smaller type.

@252 gradevole (It.)\Pleasing .

@253 grandezza (It.)\Grandeur.

@254 grandioso (It.)\In an imposing manner.

@255 grand opera\A vague term describing: (1) the serious, entirely sung operas

as opposed to the lighter op ra-comique which had dialogue, (2) operas on a

grand and lavish scale.

@256 grave (It.)\Slow and solemn.

@257 gregorian chant\A type of plainsong associated with Pope Gregory I (590-

604) existing as a large collection of ancient monophonic melodies which

were until quite recently used in the Roman Catholic Church.

@258 ground bass or basso ostinato (It.)\A bass line or pattern repeated over and

over while upper parts proceed. The ground bass is a foundation for varied

melodic, contrapuntal or harmonic treatment. Forms which use this device

include the chaconne and passacaglia.

@259 gut (Ger.)\Markedly .

@260 gymel (Lat. gemellus, 'twin')\A type of two-part late medieval English vocal

music, with great use of thirds and sixths.

H
@261 habanera (Sp.)\A syncopated Cuban dance introduced into Spain in the

l9th century with singing, usually in 2/4 time.

@262 halb(e) (Ger.)\Half. Halbsopran, mezzo-soprano. Halbtenor, baritone.

@263 half close\An imperfect cadence.

@264 half note\The equivalent of two quarter notes or half of a whole note (two

beats in 4/4 time).

@265 harmonic series\A set of notes produced by a vibrating string or air column,

determining the difference of tone colours of instruments.

@266 harmony\The sounding together of notes in a musically significant manner.

The main unit of harmony is the chord. The chords are built around the

degrees of the scale. The primary chords in most popular compositions are

based on the first, fourth and fifth degree of a scale. Many different theories

have evolved over the past few centuries about the construction and

interpolation of chords to create various senses of musical movement or

intellectual or emotional responses.

@267 head voice\Upper register of voice.

@268 heiter (Ger.)\Cheerful.

@269 heptachord\The scale of seven notes (e.g. the modern major or minor

scale).

@270 hidden fifths\Consecutive fifths implied, but not actually present in

harmony and nevertheless frowned upon by academics.

@271 hocket\In medieval church music, the insertion of rests into vocal parts for

expressive purposes.

@272 homophony (Gk., 'same-sounding')\Music in which parts move together

presenting a top melody with accompanying chords. The opposite of

polyphony.

@273 hondo or cante hondo (Sp.)\A sad Andalusian song employing some

intervals smaller than a semitone.

@274 hornpipe\A lively English dance, in triple time in the early 16th century.

From the mid 18th century onwards it was in 4/4 time, acquiring an

association with sailors.

@275 humoresque (Fr.), humoreske (Ger.)\An instrumental composition of a

capricious nature. Schumann wrote in this style.

@276 hymn\A Christian song of praise sung by a congregation with words

specially written.