Dictionary of musical concepts starting with Q - R

Q

Concept	Level	Listen	Definition
Question	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.	An opening phrase. It may be followed by an answer. The excerpt is a question followed by an answer. See Answer.

R

Concept	Level	Listen	Definition
Ragtime	Int 1	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.	A style of dance music which became popular at the end of the 19th century and which helped to influence jazz. It features a strongly syncopated melody against a steady vamped accompaniment often played on piano, e.g. Scott Joplin rags. See Vamp.
Rallentando	Int 1		The music gradually slows down. In this excerpt there is a quite clear diminuendo in the music and as it ends a rallentando. Compare Accelerando.
Real answer	H		In a Fugue, after the subject is played, the same tune appears in another voice or part in the dominant (a 5th higher or a 4th lower). This is called the answer. If the intervals of the answer are exactly the same as the subject, the answer is said to be real. See Tonal answer and Tonal sequence.
Recitative	Int 2		A type of vocal writing where the music follows the rhythm of speech. It is used in operas and oratorios to move the story or plot on.
Recorder	Int 1		There are four main types of recorder: descant, treble, tenor and bass. Listen to an excerpt played by a treble recorder from the Baroque period accompanied by harpsichord and cello.
Reel	Acc 3		A Scottish dance in simple time with two or four beats in a bar, and which is played quite fast. Each beat divides equally into groups of two.
Register	Int 2		The upper, middle or lower ranges of a voice or instrument.
Relative major	Int 2		A change from minor to major key with the same key signature found three semitones higher, e.g. D minor to F major. See Modulation.
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. See Modulation.
Renaissance	H		Rebirth of interest in classical times of the distant past. In music, the word refers to the style of music from the period from about 1450 to 1600, i.e. between Medieval and Baroque.
Repetition	Acc 3		A musical idea is heard more than once. See Ostinato, Riff.
Retrograde	H		To go backwards. A melody or a section of music can be written or performed from the end to the beginning. The texture of the music including the harmonies can be written or performed from the end to the beginning. Retrograde inversion means the music can be written or performed backwards and upside-down at the same time. These are called serial techniques. See Serial.
Reverb	Int 1		An electronic effect which can give the impression of different hall acoustics, e.g. as if the performance is in a cathedral.
Riff	Acc 3		A repeated phrase usually found in jazz and popular music. See Repetition above, Ostinato.
Ripieno	H		In Baroque music, especially Concerto grosso, the term means the main group of instrumentalists as opposed to the small/solo group which was known as the Concertino.
Ritornello	H		Little return. A 17th-century term for a brief introduction or interlude in a vocal composition, or for a brief instrumental passage between scenes in a 17th-century opera. In a Concerto grosso, the ritornello is the main theme played by the Ripieno group (the orchestra) and sometimes by Concertino (the soloists). The ritornello may return frequently throughout the movement, similar to a Rondo.
Rock	Acc 3		A style of popular music with a heavy driving beat. See Pop group.
Rock band	Acc 3		A group playing a type of pop music with a heavy driving beat. See Pop group.
Rolls	Int 1		A very fast repetition of a note on a percussion instrument, e.g. on a snare drum or timpani. Listen to the timpani rolls at the end of this excerpt.
Romantic	Int 1		In music, the period 1810-1900 approximately, which followed the Classical era.
Rondo	Int 1		A B A C A. A form where the first section (A) comes back between contrasting sections. Listen to A and part of B from a Mozart horn concerto. For more detailed information visit Classical forms.
Round	Acc 3		Each part sings or plays the same melody, entering one after the other. When they reach the end they start again, e.g. 'Three blind mice'. Notice the use of reverb in this example.
Rubato	Int 1		A direction to the performer which allows freedom to change speed, thus allowing more expression.