Terminolgy
Accidental - A sharp (#) raises the pitch by a half-step. A flat (b) lowers the pitch by a half-step.
- Chord(s) - Two or more notes played at the same time.
Concert pitch - the pitch used to tune instruments for concert performances; usually assigns 440 Hz to the A above middle C.
Countermelody - A melody which forms an accompaniment to the original melody.
Cuatro - A four string small guitar.
Dholak - A North Indian double sided drum.
- Diminished chord(s) - A chord that has a minor third (3 half-steps) between the first and second chord tones and a diminished 5th between the first and third chord tones. A diminished 5th is made up of 6 half-steps. Example: A diminished chord would be: A, C and Eb.
Dynamics - The volume of a note (soft or loud). Also how a piece of music is played.
- Harmonic support – playing simultaneusly with the melody, at a differennt pitch.
J’ouvert is French for morning. In Trinidad it is a large street party that takes place on the Monday after Dimanche Gras. J’ouvert starts at 4am.
- Major Third - The distance between two tones such that the distance is 4 half-steps. For Example C to the E is a major third.
- Melody - An arrangement of single notes played in succession.
MIDI – Musical Instrument Digital Interface: an industry standard means of communication that enables electronic musical instruments to control and synchronize with each other.
Note - A raised area on the surface of the pan, tuned to a specific pitch.
Octave - The interval between notes with the same letter name: the difference in pitch between two notes where the frequency is either double or half of the original note.
- Orisha Drumming - A religious form of drumming.
- Pitch - the frequency of a note; how high or deep it sounds.
- Reed – A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument.
- Scale - a progression of notes ascending or descending in steps. A musical scale runs from the root note (eg C) to the octave note (C).
