Dictionary of musical concepts starting with D
| Concept | Level | Listen | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Da capo aria | H |
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. | An aria in Ternary form (ABA) used in opera and oratorio in the 17th and 18th centuries. The third section is not written out but the instruction Da capo (from the beginning) is given instead. The repeat of the A section was performed with the solo ornamented. The excerpt is an aria in ABA form. |
| Delay | Int 1 | without delay
with | An electronic effect which repeats a note or phrase. (Extended definition - This is an effect mainly achieved through using a digital processor. A signal is sent to the processor where the time delay can be adjusted. This can be used to change the texture of a sound.) Listen to this excerpt. Now listen to the same excerpt with added delay. |
| Descant | Int 1 |
| Another melody above the main tune, mainly in vocal music. Listen to the descant to a hymn tune. |
| Descending | Acc 3 |
| Notes which fall in pitch. Listen to the bass line in this excerpt which mainly descends. Compare with ascending. Listen to ascending arpeggios.
|
| Diminished 7th | H |
| A chord consisting of three intervals of a minor 3rd built one on top of the other, the interval between the lower and top note being a diminished 7th. This can be a very useful chord for modulation to distant keys. A diminished 7th chord built on C. |
| Diminished chord | H | A chord consisting to two intervals of a minor 3rd built on top of each other.
| |
| Diminuendo | Int 1 |
| The music gradually becomes quieter. Listen to this excerpt with both diminuendo and crescendo and which features arpeggios from both a tenor voice and a French horn. |
| Diminution | H |
| A decrease in the length of notes. The music will sound faster when imitated or repeated. |
| Discord | Acc 3 |
| A chord in which certain notes clash. Discord was used sparingly in music up to the end of the 19th century, in order to add tension, and it was almost immediately followed by a concord. In the 20th century composers made greater use of discords, merging them into further discords rather than resolving them into concords, with the excerpt an example of discord. |
| Dissonance | Int 2 |
| Notes which seem to clash when sounded together. Compare with Consonance. |
| Distortion | Int 1 |
| An electronic effect used in rock music to colour the sound of an electric guitar. |
| Dixieland | Int 2 |
| Also known as New Orleans jazz music, popular for ensemble improvisations and instrumental solos. Performed by a small group of players. |
| Dominant 7th | H |
| Chord built on the dominant (5th) note of a key which adds the 7th note above its root. It is sometimes written as V7 or, in the key of C major, G7(GBDF). The last chord of the excerpt is a dominant 7th sung as an arpeggio. A dominant 7th chord built on C. |
| Dotted rhythm | Int 2 |
| A long note followed by a shorter one or a short note followed by a longer one as in a Scots snap often used in a Strathspey. |
| Double stopping | Int 2 |
| This technique is achieved on bowed string instruments by bowing across more than one string at the same time, thus producing more than one note. |
| Down beat | Int 1 |
| The first beat of each bar, which the conductor would show with a downward stroke. Listen to the clear downbeat in this dixeland excerpt. The opposite is Up beat. |
| Drone | Int 1 |
| 1. One note, held on or repeated in the bass. Often called a drone bass. Sometimes there is more than one note.
|
| Drum fill | Acc 3 |
| A rhythmic decoration played on a drum kit. Listen to the drum fill at the end of the introduction to this music. |
| Drumkit | Acc 3 | Drumkit – A set of drums and cymbals often used in rock music and pop music. See Rock band, Pop group. |
