Dictionary of musical concepts starting with M

Concept	Level	Listen	Definition
Madrigal	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. Why not download and install the latest version now? It will only take a moment.	In the Renaissance era, this was a non-religious work, polyphonic in style, using imitation. Features of madrigal include text in English, use of word painting, through-composed music, usually sung a cappella. See Ballett, Word painting. (Extended definition - An ayre (air or song) is a madrigal which can be performed by a solo voice with lute accompaniment; by solo voice accompanied by other instruments; or with all parts sung by voices with or without accompaniment.)
Major scale	Int 1		A row of notes built on an order of tones and semitones (e.g. C D E F G A B C). Here is another version played by an orchestra.
Major	Int 2		The music sounds in a major key. Compare with Minor below.
March	Acc 3		Music with a strong steady pulse with two or four beats in a bar.
Mass	H		In the Renaissance era the Mass was a sacred choral work using the five main sections of the Roman Catholic church liturgy. Features of the Mass include Latin text and polyphonic texture, and it is usually sung a cappella. Originally used in church worship, but in later years became a large-scale work for chorus, soloists and orchestra. See Anthem , Motet below, Polyphony, A cappella.
Melismatic	Int 2		Several notes sung to one syllable. Compare Syllabic.
Melodic minor	H		Scale which shares the same key signature as its Relative major but raises the 6th and 7th notes by a semitone ascending, and similarly lowers them descending.
Mezzo soprano	Int 2		A female singer whose voice range lies between that of a soprano and an alto. See Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass.
Microtone	H		Any interval noticeably smaller than a semitone, most often found in the music of Eastern European countries and also in Indian and Arabic music. It is sometimes used by contemporary classical composers.
Middle eight	Int 1		In popular music, a section which provides a contrast to the opening section. It is often eight bars long.
Military band	Acc 3		A band with woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. See Wind band. A military band might march as it plays. See Brass, Woodwind, Percussion.
Minimalist	Int 2		A development in the second half of the 20th century based on simple rhythmic and melodic figures which are constantly repeated with very slight changes each time.
Minor	Int 1		The music sounds in a minor key. Listen to an excerpt used above, with the music clearly in a minor key and then moves to a major key during the decorated coloratura singing. See Major above.
Minor scale	Int 1		A stepwise series of notes built on an order of tones and semitones (e.g. C D Eb F G Ab B C). See Major scale and Chromatic scale. Below is the harmonic minor scale. Compare it with the Melodic minor above.
Minuet and trio	Int 1		The minuet is a graceful French dance with three beats in a bar. The trio is a contrasting minuet after which the first minuet is repeated. The first minuet and the trio have repeats whilst the minuet when repeated has no repeats. (Extended definition - The minuet originated in the Baroque period. In the Classical period a second minuet called a trio was added to lengthen the composition.)
Modal	H		Term used to describe music based on a mode, a type of early scale used before major and minor keys were developed. Modes are used in jazz and pop music for improvising. The Dorian mode is seen below.
Mode	H		Usually refers to any of the early scales called modes, e.g. Dorian mode. It can also be used more generally as a reference to major mode (in a major key) or minor mode (in a minor key). See Modal above.
Modulating	Int 2		Changing key. See Relative major, Relative minor and Modulation below.
Modulation	Int 2		A change of key.
Modulation to relative major	Int 2		A change from minor to major key with the same key signature found three semitones higher, e.g. A minor to C major.
Modulation to relative minor	Int 2		A change from major to minor key with the same key signature found three semitones lower, e.g. C major to A minor.
Mordent	H		An ornament which sounds the main note, the note above and then the main note again. An inverted mordent sounds the main note, the note below and then the main note again. The example is of a lower mordent. Lower mordent............................................ Upper mordent
Motet	H		In the Renaissance era this was a sacred choral work with Latin text and polyphonic texture. It was usually sung a cappella. This excerpt is from a 20th-century motet. See Anthem, Mass.
Mouth music	Int 1		Gaelic nonsense words sung in imitation of the sound of bagpipes as an accompaniment to dancing. This was necessary after the 1745 rebellion when bagpipes were banned.
Musical	Int 1		A musical play which has speaking, singing and dancing and is performed on a stage. In recent years the musical has seen a revival and may now deal with very dramatic stories and contain no dialogue.
Music Concrete	H		Recorded natural sounds which are transformed using simple editing techniques such as cutting and re-assembling, playing backwards, slowing down and speeding up.
Muted	Int 2		Using a device which reduces the volume or alters the sound of an instrument. Con sordino means with mute. Listen to muted trumpets in a 20th-century piece for orchestra. Senza sordino means without mute.