Glossary

B
A note of the scale
Bagatelle
French for a 'trifle', a short, light piece, usually for piano
Ballad
A traditional solo song with music repeated for each verse. Usually conveys a sentimental story. Also used to describe similar music in other genres, for example in Opera and Jazz
Ballade
A term coined by Chopin to describe a long, dramatic piano piece which tells a story, later used similarly by such composers as Liszt, Brahms and Grieg
Bar
The division of music into metrical groups of beats, marked by vertical lines through the music known as bar-lines. Special bar-lines are used to denote repeats and the ends of sections or pieces of music. The American term is 'Measure'
Barcarolle
A piece of music for voice or instrument in a swaying, lilting 6/8 or 12/8 time
Baritone
The male voice with a range in between that of the tenor and the bass. Also used similarly to describe some instruments such as the baritone saxophone, which has a range lower than that of the tenor saxophone
Baroque
The period of music between approximately 1600 and 1750, encompassing such composers as Bach and Handel
Bass
The lowest-sounding male voice. Also used to describe some low-pitched instruments (such as the double bass), or the lowest line of a piece of music, such as the left-hand part of a piece of piano music
Basso Continuo
Italian term for the part in Baroque music played typically by a cello and keyboard. The keyboard's harmony notes were often denoted by small numbers written beneath the cello notes, known as the 'keyboard harmony'
Berceuse
From the French 'bercer', meaning 'to rock', an instrumental 'lullaby' with a 'rocking' accompaniment in compound duple time
Binary Form
The form of a short, simple piece in two sections. The two sections are in different but related keys
Bolero
A spanish dance in triple time, traditionally accompanied by singing and castanets
Bourree
A dance in duple time, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Bourree was often the first dance in a suite
Brace
A line with a bracket which joins two or more staves of music at the left-hand side of the stave. Braces are used to group together similar instruments in a score, or for instance the left- and right-hand hand staves of piano music
Bravura
A piece or part of a piece of music which is extremely difficult - usually of a virtuoso passage for a soloist
Broken Chord
A chord in which the notes are played one after the other, rather than simultaneously. However, the notes are not necessarily played in order, as they are in an Arpeggio