The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

adante
Tempo marking for a moderate, walking tempo.
adantino
Tempo marking for a moderate tempo, slightly faster than adante.
Aeolian mode
A mode starting on the sixth degree of the corresponding major
scale, equivalent to the natural minor scale. 
See minor and mode.
allegretto
Tempo marking for a moderately fast tempo, not quite as fast as
allegro.
allegro
Tempo marking for a fast, cheerful tempo.
altered bass chord
A chord with some note other than the root in the bass.
The altered bass note is typically notated after a slash, like this: Am7/D.
alto clef
A clef, used primarily by the viola, that places middle C on the mid-
dle line of the staff.
alto voice
The lowest female voice.
arpeggio
A chord that is broken up and played one note at a time.
articulation
The manner in which notes are struck, sustained, and released.
One indicates articulation by the use of markings such as legato, staccato,
tenuto, and so on.
Appendix

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Appendix A
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atonality
Music that has no tonal center and no underlying key. In pure
atonal music, the notes of the chromatic scale are used impartially and inde-
pendently, with no home degree or tonic.
attack
The beginning part of a sound.
augmented chord
A chord with a major third and a raised fifth (1-3-#5).
backbeat
In 4/4 time, beats two and four, typically played by the drummer on
the snare drum.
bar
See measure
.
bar line
The vertical line placed on the staff between measures.
baritone voice
A male voice pitched between the bass and tenor voices; not
always isolated in choral music.
Baroque
Music associated with that period from 1600 to 1750, characterized
by flamboyant, heavily ornamented melodies. Notable Baroque composers
include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Henry Purcell, and
Antonio Vivaldi.