Dictionary of musical concepts from So to Sy

Concept	Level	Listen	Definition
Softer	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.	The sound level decreases. Compare Louder.
Solo	Acc 3		One instrument or voice. Listen to a piece of mouth music for solo voice. (Extended definition - A prominent instrument or voice can be solo even when part of a larger ensemble.)
Sonata	H		A work for solo piano, or a solo instrument accompanied by piano, in three or four movements. The excerpt is from a sonata for piano by Mendelssohn.
Sonata form	H		Sometimes known as first movement form. This term is used to describe the structure of the first movement of many sonatas, symphonies and often overtures. It falls into three sections: exposition, development and recapitulation. The exposition introduces two contrasting themes in related keys. These are developed and heard again in the recapitulation, this time in the same key. For a full explanation visit Classical forms.
Song cycle	H		A group of songs linked by a common theme or with a text written by the same author, usually accompanied by piano but sometimes by small ensembles or full orchestra.
Soprano (voice)	Int 1		The highest range of female voice. See Mezzo soprano, Alto, Tenor ,Bass.
Soul	Int 2		A style of Afro-American popular music including elements of blues and gospel and conveying strong emotions. See Blues.
Sound	Acc 3		There is some noise or music present.
Sprechgesang	H		A technique used in vocal music where the singer is required to use the voice in an expressive manner half-way between singing and speaking. It appears in a number of pieces by Schoenberg and Berg (early 20th century).
Staccato	Acc 3		The notes are short and detached. Compare Legato.
Steel band	Acc 3		A West Indian band whose instruments are made out of oil drums called pans. The top of each drum is hammered into panels to make different pitches.
Stepwise	Acc 3		Moving up or down between notes which are next to each other. Compare Leaping. Below is the stepwise movement of a major scale of C.
Strathspey	Acc 3		A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar and usually featuring the Scotch snap.
Stretto	H		Where voices or instruments enter very quickly one after the other, as in Fugue. Each entry or part enters closely after the previous part, thus adding tension and excitement.
Striking	Acc 3		The sound is produced by hitting the instrument.
String instruments	Int 1		Types of instruments whose sounds are produced by making the strings vibrate. See Orchestra and listen to the excerpt below. Other string instruments include guitar, harp, banjo, mandolin and lute. This excerpt is played on a clarsach, a Scottish harp, along with a piano playing in octaves.
Strings	Acc 3		The family of instruments which has strings. The sound is produced by dragging a bow across the strings or by plucking them with the fingers. Listen to a string orchestra.
Strophic	Int 2		A vocal/choral composition in which each verse has the same music.
Strumming	Acc 3		A finger, fingers or plectrum are drawn across the strings of an instrument, usually guitar.
Subject	H		The main theme in a composition, the main themes in sonata form, or the main theme on which a fugue is based.
Suite	H		A set of dances or a collection of pieces which are part of a larger scale work. The excerpt is from a gigue by Handel, one of the dances common in a suite.
Suspension	Int 2		This effect occurs when a note from one chord is held over to the next chord creating a discord, and is then resolved by moving one step to make a concord.
Sustained	Acc 3		The sound is held on. Listen to the sustained line in this cello playing.
Swing	Int 1		A jazz style which started in the 1930s. The numbers and types of instruments in the big bands increased during this period, through the influence of swing.
Syllabic word setting	Int 2		Vocal music where each syllable is given one note only. Compare melismatic.
Symphonic poem	H		See Tone poem. In this excerpt the composer represents a river plunging through a narrow gorge.
Symphony	Int 1		A large work for orchestra usually in four movements. In the Classical period the movements were normally fast, slow, minuet and trio, fast.
Syncopation	Int 1		Strongly accented notes playing off or against the beat and occurs in all kinds of music. Listen to this samba.
Synthesiser	Acc 3		A keyboard instrument which can create new and unusual electronic sounds. (Extended definition - One method of doing this is by combining sound waves.)