VOCABULARY
Young People's Concerts

Accompaniment.  The musical background provided for a main part.

 Baton.  The stick the conductor uses to show the musicians the beat.

Beat.  The pulse of a piece of music.  (See Rhythm.)

Classical.  Everything other than "popular" music.  Popular music is like rap or rock.  "Classical" also refers to the period in European musical history from about 1750 to 1820.

 Composer.  A person who writes music.

Concertmaster.  The leader of the violin section of a symphony orchestra.

Concerto.  A composition for orchestra and solo instrument. 

(See Composition and Solo.)

Ensemble.  A group of performers.

Harmony.  Musical tones happening at the same time.  (See Melody.)

Melody.  Musical tones happening one at a time to form the theme or tune. 

(See Harmony.)

Movements.  Sections or parts of a piece of music, like chapters of a book.  Usually the program lists the names of the movements or tells how many of them will be played.

Pitch.  The highness or lowness of a musical note.

Rhythm.  The pulse, or the beat, in a piece of music.

Score.  The music the conductor reads which shows everyone's part.

Solo.  One instrument playing alone.

Symphony.  A large piece of music written for an orchestra, usually in sections. 

(See Movements.)

Symphony orchestra.  A large musical ensemble consisting of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments.

Tempo.  The fastness or slowness of the music.

Theme.  The main musical idea of a piece, sometimes called the "subject."

Tone.  Any musical sound of definite pitch.

Tune.  (noun) A song or melody.  (verb) To make the notes of an instrument match a particular pitch.