Dictionary of musical concepts starting with B

Concept	Level	Listen	Definition
Backing vocals	Acc 3	You don't have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. This website makes use of Adobe Flash Player, you have an old version which cannot play the content we've created. Why not download and install the latest version now? It will only take a moment.	Singers who support the lead singer(s) usually by singing in harmony in the background. See Lead vocals, Rock and Pop.
Ballett	H		A type of madrigal in strophic form which was originally danced to. It features a fa-la-la refrain at the end of each verse. See Madrigal, Strophic.
Baritone (voice)	Int 2		A male voice whose range lies between that of Bass and Tenor. See Tenor, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo soprano, Alto.
Baroque	Acc 3		1600-1750 approximately. Bach and Handel were two of the composers from this period, with this excerpt by Handel.
Bass (voice)	Int 1		The lowest male voice (singing a negro spiritual in the excerpt).
Basso continuo	H		Sometimes referred to as continuo. In the Baroque period, the continuo part consisted of a bass line (basso continuo) played by cello, bass, viola da gamba or bassoon. In addition the harpsichord, organ or lute player was expected to fill in harmonies built on that bass line. Sometimes figures were written under the bass line indicating the chords the composer would like played. This was called figured bass. Listen to a harpsichord continuo from a concerto during an episode with solo instruments. Here is a further excerpt of an organ continuo from a work for church performance.
Beat	Acc 3		The basic pulse you hear in music which is very clear in this blues excerpt. The pulse may be in groups of 2, 3 or 4 with a stress on the first in each group.
Bending	Int 1		Changing the pitch of a note, e.g. by pushing a guitar string upwards.
Binary A B	Int 1		A form in which the music is made up of two different sections labeled A and B. Each section may be repeated. See Ternary.
Blowing	Acc 3		The sound produced by blowing into or across the mouthpiece of the instrument, e.g. brass, woodwind and recorders, with this excerpt played by a military band.
Blues	Int 1		Started as Black American folk music developing from spirituals and work-songs. Blues music is often in 4/4 time and is mostly patterned on a 12-bar structure (although 8 and 16 bars are also found) and on a scale where some notes are flattened (see Blues scale below).
Blues scale	Int 2		In the key of C, the main blues scale uses the notes C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb, C.
Boogie woogie	Int 2		Jazz style for piano, the left hand usually playing an ostinato while the right hand improvises freely. See Ostinato.
Bothy ballad	Int 1		A folk song, usually with many verses, from north-east Scotland. It tells a story of rural or farming life.
Bowing	Acc 3		The sound produced by drawing the bow across the strings of a stringed instrument, e.g. violin or cello. Compare Plucking.
Brass	Acc 3		A family of instruments made from metal with a mouthpiece, e.g. trumpet and euphonium. The sound is made by vibrating the lips. See Orchestra. The excerpt is played by brass instruments.
Brass band	Acc 3		A band of brass instruments and percussion. (Extended definition - A brass band uses a separate family of instruments, e.g. cornet, flugel horn, tenor horn and baritone.)
Bridge	H		A link between two themes. In sonata form the bridge or transition links the first subject-group to the second subject-group and also modulates to the key of the second subject. See Sonata form.
Broken chord	Acc 3		The notes of a chord are played separately.