| I | (Italian m. pl.) the |
| Iambe | (French m.) iambus, giambo (Italian m.), Jambus (German m.), yambo (Spanish m.) |
| Iambic | or iambus, a poetic and musical foot consisting of two syllables, the first short, the second long |
| verses composed of a short and long syllable alternately |
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| Iambic pentameter | a meter in poetry. It refers to a line consisting of five iambic feet. The word "pentameter" simply means that there are five feet in the line; iambic pentameter is a line comprising five iambs. The term originally applied to the quantitative meter of Classical Greek poetry, in which an iamb consisted of a short syllable followed by a long syllable. The term was adopted to describe the equivalent meter in English accentual-syllabic verse, where an iamb refers to an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic rhythms come relatively naturally in English. Iambic pentameter is among the most common metrical forms in English poetry: it is used in many of the major English poetic forms, including blank verse, the heroic couplet, and some of the traditional rhymed stanza forms. |
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| iambique | (French) iambic, giambico (Italian), iambisch (German), yámbico (Spanish) |
| iambisch | (German) iambic, giambico (Italian), iambique (French), yámbico (Spanish) |
| Iambus | (Latin) a metrical foot consisting of a short and a long syllable, with the accent on the long, giambo (Italian m.), Jambus (German m.), iambe (French m.), yambo (Spanish m.) |
| IAML | abbreviation of 'International Association of Music Libraries' |
| Iastian | one of the ancient Greek modes, identical to the Ionian mode |
| IAWM | abbreviation of 'International Alliance for Women in Music' |
| Ib. | abbrevation for ibidem (Latin: in the same place, in the same book) |
| Iberian organ | the great majority of instruments that had only one manual employed 'divided registers'. The term Medio Registro (the earliest instrument with this specification of which we have records was constructed in 1547) refers to a stop which functions over half of the keyboard only (thus, Corneta in the treble and Bajoncillo in the bass). An alternative lay-out, the Registro Partido (the earliest recorded instrument with this specification was constructed in 1567), finds the pipes relating to the compass from the lowest note up to c1 and those from c#1 to the highest note, provided with individual stop-knobs on either side of the console. To use the rank over the full compass it is necessary to draw both knobs |
| Ibid. | abbrevation for ibidem (Latin: in the same place, in the same book) |
| Ibidem | (Latin, identical in French, English) ebenda (German), ibídem (Spanish), in the same place, in the same book (to avoid repeating a reference) |
| Ibídem | (Spanish) ibidem |
| Ibishikiso | (Burundi) in Burundian drumming, the drum that echoes the motifs played on the inkiranya |
| Ibo | a Caribbean dance rhythm that belongs to the group of faster Haitian merengues. It originated in Nigeria and features torso and pelvic movements and turning of the head |
| Ice dancing | a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing |
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| Icelandic hip hop | |
| ich danke! | (German) no thank you! |
| ich dien | (archaic German) 'I serve' (the motto of the Prince of Wales) |
| Icheche | Igede shakers made from woven straw and leather that are filled with pebbles |
| Ich-Erzähler | (German m.) first-person narrator |
| ich grolle nicht | (German) I bear no grudge, I do not complain |
| Ichigenkin | smallest of the Japanese kotos, it has one string stretched over a slender plank of wood acting as a soundboard |
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| ich kann nicht anders | (German) I can do no other (a reference to Martin Luther's speech to the Diet of Worms, 1521) |
| ich werde mich darum kümmern | (German) I shall see to it |
| Iconoclasm | Bilderstürmerei (German f.), iconoclasia (Spanish f.), iconoclastia (Spanish f., Italian f.), the destruction of works of art on the grounds that they are impious. During the sixteenth century, Calvinist iconoclasts destroyed a great many religious art works in the Netherlands. Similar sentiments led to the destruction of a large number of church organs in Switzerland because musical instruments were banned from churches - though congregational singing was permitted and this proved to be both popular and an effective way of 'spreading' the message |
| Iconoclast | Bilderstürmer (German m.), iconoclasta (Spanish m./f., Italian m.), iconoclaste (French m./f.), individual subscribing to the philosophy of iconoclasm |
| iconoclastic | iconoclastico (Italian), bilderstürmerisch (German), iconoclaste (French), iconoclasta (Spanish) |
| Iconography | iconografia (Italian f., Spanish f.), Ikonographie (German f.), iconographie (French f.), the study of pictures, particularly in music, to determine how instruments might have been played, when they were in use and where and by whom they might have been used. Details of instruments otherwise unknown, because originals have not survived, although their names are known from the writings of contemporaneous authors may be gleaned from pictures, carvings, books and other surviving images. Of course, artists and their models may not have been players and so some of the poses might provide little useful information about technique. In other cases, the accuracy of dimensions (length, depth, proportion) may not have been important to the picture and, to improve the composition, details might have been omitted, embellished or modified |
| Iconostasis | (Latin, from Greek) a screen dividing the sanctuary from the nave of an Orthodox church, on which sacred pictures (ikons) are displayed |
| Icons | graphic symbols or representations indicating, for example, pitch or rhythm, and used in lieu of or along with traditional symbols for these elements |
| ICTM | abbreviation of 'International Council for Traditional Music' |
| Ictus (s.), Ictus (pl.) | (Latin, Spanish, Italian) Iktus (German m.), the accent resulting from the transients produced at the instant of plucking a string |
| a separation mark in Gregorian chant, placed before and after an important note in the melody |
| (Latin) in linguistics, a metrical stress, a stressed syllable in metre |
| Id | (Latin, literally 'it') in psychology, the inherited instinctive impulses of the individual |
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| Idade Média | (Portuguese) or Idade Medieval (Portuguese), Middle Ages, medioevo (Italian), Mittelalters (German), médiévale (French), medieval (Spanish) |
| ID3 tag | information embedded in an MP3 file, such as artist, title, track, etc. An ID3 tag editor lets you add and change this information. Without an ID3 tag, an MP3 would be recognizable only by the name of the file itself. ID3 tags are important to playlists because they identify pieces of music |
| Idakka | see edakka |
| Idea | (English, Italian f., Spanish f.) mental impression, notion or concept, Idee (German f.), idée (French f.) |
| Idea fija | (Spanish f.) monomania, obsession, fixed idea, fixe Idee (German f.), idée fixe (French f.) |
| see idée fixe (French f.) |
| Ideal | (English, German n., Spanish m. ) a thing, concept, principle to be emulated, idéal (French m.) |
| Idéal | (French m.) ideal (English, Spanish m.), ideale (Italian m.), Ideal (German n.) |
| Ideale | (Italian m.) ideal (English, Spanish m.), Ideal (German n.), idéal (French m.) |
| Idee | (German f.) idea (English, Italian f., Spanish f.), idée (French f.) |
| Idée | (French f.) idea (English, Italian f., Spanish f.), Idee (German f.) |
| Idée fixe (s.), Idées fixes (pl.) | (French f.) obsession, fixed idea, monomania, fixe Idee (German f.), idea fija (Spanish f.) |
| a recurring theme (and hence related to 'cyclic form'), with or without variations, that appears throughout a composition, a phrase first applied by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) to describe the theme in his Symphonie fantastique. It is a forerunner of leitmotif |
| Idée reçu (s.), Idées reçues (pl.) | (French f.) conventional opinion (outlook or doctrine), accepted idea |
| Ideh | (Nigeria) large seeds attached to a grass band. They are used as an arm or leg rattle |
| Idem | (Latin) the same (particularly, the same author - used to avoid repetition of the name of an author already referred to - idem originally referred to male authors; the equivalent for female authors is eadem) |
| Idem quod | (Latin) the same as |
| Idem sonans | (Latin) identity of pronounciation, that can lead to the miswriting of one word for another having the same sound (for example, in English, bough (of a tree) = bow (of a boat)) |
| Ides | the 13th or the 15th of the month, depending on the month, in Roman dating |
| Id est | (Latin) this is to say, that is to say (often abbreviated to i.e.) |
| Idi | see ideh |
| idilico | (Spanish) idyllic |
| Idilio | (Spanish m.) idyll |
| idillico | (Italian) idyllic |
| Idillio | (Italian m.) idyll, an ecologue, a short poem in a pastoral style |
| Idiofon | (German n.) idiophone |
| Idiomatic music |
| (from the Greek idios, literally 'own') music that bears characteristics that are associated with: |
| a particular cultural tradition or style, period or genre | at the beginning of the 1800s, a transformation was underway in Western art. Previously, the highest goal of an artist was to express universal ideas. The new impulse was to look inward and embrace things that were unique to one's own country, like folk songs and traditions, landscapes and natural surroundings. Composers were moving away from general concepts towards specificity.... By the late nineteenth century, common elements started to blur distinctions among national styles and many efforts began to seem cliched. Paradoxically, the movement towards localism and specificity had given way to a new commonality. Nevertheless, the nationalist movement had opened minds to other cultures, and brought an appreciation of things that were authentic and unspoiled by the increasing rate of change in modern culture |
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the specific strengths or weaknesses of a particular instrument |
one can ask of a composition, 'are instruments/voices handled well and with sympathy in respect of their strengths and weaknesses?' Music writing that recognises and makes use of the specific properties of a particular instrument is said to be 'idiomatic'. For example, one might observed that 'in the Baroque era, composers begin the write idiomatic music for instruments; trumpet or string parts, for instance, were no longer interchangeable with vocal parts.' |
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| Idiomatic writing | when applied to music, a term synonymous with 'idiomatic music' |
| Idiomelon | an heirmos (Byzantine chant) with its own individual melody |
| see 'automelon' |
| Idiophon | (German n.) idiophone |
| Idiophone | term of classification, from the Sachs-Hornbostel hierarchical scheme for classifying musical instruments, applied to instruments that produce sounds from the material of the instrument itself without the assistance of reeds, strings or other externally applied resonator. An idiophone produces sounds by one of the following methods |
| idiophone type | modus operandi | example(s) |
| concussion idiophone | striking together two objects capable of vibration | claves, cymbals, etc. |
| friction idiophones | rubbing the vibrating object | glass armonica, musical saw, etc. |
| percussion idiophones | striking the vibrating object with a mallet, hammer, stick or other non-vibrating object | wood block, bell, gong, etc. |
| plucked idiophone | plucking a flexible tongue | Jew's harp, thumb piano, music box, etc. |
| rattle idiophone | shaking the vibrating object | maracas, pellet bells, etc. |
| scraped idiophone | scraping the vibrating object with a stick or other non-vibrating object | ratchet, güiro, washboard, etc. |
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| Idiot savant | (French m., literally, 'learned idiot') a mentally retarded person who exhibits genius in a highly specialized area, such as mathematics or music |
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| IDM | see 'Intelligent dance music' |
| Idoru kashu | (Japanese ) pop stars |
| Idyl | or idyll, idilio (Spanish), idillio (Italian), Idylle (German), idylle (French), a short description, especially in verse, of a peaceful or romantic, especially rural, scene or incident |
| Idyll | (English, French f., German) a musical composition or work of verse of a peaceful, pastoral character |
| during the nineteenth century, the term was used by a number of composers as a title for an idyllic overture, for example, the Siegfried-idyll by Richard Wagner (1813-83) |
| Idylle | (French f., German) a musical composition of peaceful, pastoral character, as, for example, the Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner (1813-83) |
| Idyllic | blissfully peaceful and happy, of or like an idyll |
| idyllisch | (German) idyllic |
| idyllique | (French) idyllic |
| i.e. | abbrevation for id est (Latin: that is to say, this is to say) |
| Iesus Hominum Salvator | (Latin) Jesus, Saviour of mankind, abbreviated to I.H.S. |
| Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Judæorum | (Latin) Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews |
| Ieta | a small 7-stringed bow harp of the Baka forest people from southeast Cameroon |
| Ievina | Latvian accordion |
| I Fiamminghi | (Italian) in the early renaissance, the name by which Flemish musicians, composers, singers and players, were known in Northern Italy |
| IFMC | abbreviation of 'International Folk Music Council' |
| Igba | short Nigerian peg-tuned drum with the head made out of antelope skin. It is slung from the shoulder and played with a curved stick |
| Iggawin | a Mauritanian griot |
| Igil | two-stringed fiddle from Tuva with a carved wooden horses' head attached to the top of the neck. Modern versions feature three strings. It is played vertically, while sitting on the ground or on a chair |
| Iglesia | (Spanish f.) church |
| Iglesia católica romana | (Spanish f.) Roman Catholic Church |
| Iglesia hispana | (Spanish f.) Spanish Church (often used to distinguish the Catholic Church in Spain particularly during the period when Spain was rule by the Visigoths which ended by the defeat of the Visgoths at the Battle of Medina Sidonia in 711 CE) |
| Iglesia ortodoxa griega | (Spanish f.) Greek Orthodox Church |
| Igloo | (Eskimo) a small dome-shaped hut built of compressed snow |
| ign. | abbrevation for ignotus (Latin: unknown) |
| Ignis fatuus (s.), Ignes fatui (pl.) | (Latin) a phosphorescent light seen flitting over marshy ground (hence, any false idea or delusory purpose) |
| Ignoramus | (Latin) an ignorant person |
| Ignoratio elenchi | (Latin) the fallacy of refuting a proposition different from that set forth by one's opponent (hence, any irrelevant argument) |
| Ignotum per ignotius | (Latin) an attempt to explain something about which little is known by reference to something about which even less is known |
| Ignotus | (Latin) (a person) unknown (used in catalogues of works of art where the authorship of a work is unknown) |
| Ihy | Ihy was a young god personifying the jubilation emanating from the sacred rattle. The name of Ihy was interpreted by the Egyptians as "sistrum-player", a cultic musical instrument used primarily (but not exclusively) in the worship of Hathor, mother of Ihy. At Dendera temple, Ihy is the child of the union of Hathor and Horus and is depicted as a naked young boy wearing the sidelock of youth and with his finger to his mouth. He can hold the sacred rattle and necklace (menat). In the temple complex the birth house or mammisi was a sanctuary where the mystery of the conception and birth of the divine child Ihy was celebrated. His name is rarely found outside the confines of Dendera temple, though for example, it is found occasionally in spells of the Coffin Texts or Book of the Dead where he is called "lord of bread...in charge of beer", a possible reference to the celebrations of Dendera deliberately requiring a state of intoxication on the part of the acolyte in order to communicate with Hathor |
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| IIMP | acronym for International Index to Music Periodicals. IIMP draws its current content from more than 375 international music periodicals from over 20 countries, and also indexes feature music articles and obituaries appearing in The New York Times and The Washington Post. IIMP covers nearly all aspects of the world of music, from the most scholarly studies to the latest crazes |
| II-V-I | in jazz, one of the most common progressions, which is more properly ii-V7-i (for example, in the key of C, Dmin7-»C7-»Fmaj7) |
| ij | also %, one of a number of idem or repetition signs used in modern editions of medieval music showing where, when the underlay in the source is ambiguous, the singable version has been filled out with repeats of words or syllables drawn from the original text or with neutral syllables |
| Ijachi | (Nigeria) an Igede iron spear identified with warrior musical groups. Clappers attached to the spear vibrate as it is plunged repeatedly into the ground |
| Ijexá | African-derived rhythm that sensuously underpins much of the music heard during Carnival in Brazil |
| Ikariotikos | a traditional dance and accompanying song originating in the Greek island of Ikaria |
| Ikko | a highly decorated goblet shaped Japanese drum |
| Ikon (s.), Ikones (pl.) | (from the Greek eikon or Latin icon) a sacred picture venerated in the Orthodox church |
| Ikonographie | (German f.) iconography |
| Iktus (s.), Ikten (pl.) | (German m.) ictus (English, Latin, Italian, Spanish) |
| il | (Italian, m. s.) the |
| il a des ennuis | (French) he's got problems |
| Ilahije | Muslim religious melodies, one of the ingredients of sevdalinka |
| il apparaître que | (French) it appears that |
| Ilarità | (Italian) hilarity, cheerfulness, mirth |
| Ilathalam | see elathalam |
| Il Cantilena | see cantilena |
| Il caro Sassone | (Italian, literally 'the great Saxon') a sobriquet associated with two composers, both born in Saxony, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and one of the greatest eighteenth-century composers of opera seria, Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) |
| Il dito grosso | (Italian) the thumb |
| il doppio movimento | (Italian) the tempo to be doubled, twice as fast |
| i legni | (Italian) woodwind instruments |
| il est question de | (French) it is about, there is talk of |
| il fait chaud | (French) it is warm, it is hot |
| il fait jour | (French) it is (day)light |
| Il faut | (French) there is needed, there are needed |
| Il faut cultiver notre jardin | (French, literally 'we must cultivate our garden') we must attend to our own affairs (the last words of Voltaire's Candide (1758)) |
| Il fault souffrir pour être belle | (French, literally 'one must suffer to be beautiful') a reference to the often painful means by which (usually) women seek to retain or improve upon their looks |
| il fine | (Italian) the end |
| Ililta | in the Horn of Africa, ululation performed by worshippers at services in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox rites |
| Ilimba | Tanzanian Gogo thumb piano, a lamellaphone with forty metal blades, one of the largest on the continent |
| Illbient music | an offshoot of the intelligent dance music (IDM) movement, similar in style to ambient music but far different in theme, illbient uses dissonant noises and dark, unsettling ("ill") samples to create controlled chaos. This is in contrast with ambient music that uses natural noises to represent almost a random pattern of music |
- Illbient from which this information has been taken
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| Illiac Suite, The | in 1955, Lejaren Hiller, working with Leonard Isaacson at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, began a series of experiments in computer-automated musical composition. In 1957, they finished the Illiac Suite for string quartet, the first substantial musical composition created with a computer |
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| Illuminated manuscripts | books written by hand, decorated with paintings and ornament of different kinds. The word illuminated comes from a usage of the Latin word 'illuminare' in connection with oratory or prose style, where it means 'adorn'. The decorations are of three main types: (a) miniature, or small pictures, not always illustrative, incorporated into the text or occupying the whole page or part of the border; (b) initial letters either containing scenes (historiated initials) or with elaborate decoration; (c) borders, which may consist of miniatures, occasionally illustrative, or more often are composed of decorative motifs. They may enclose the whole of the text space or occupy only a small part of the margin of the page. Manuscripts are for the most part written on parchment or vellum. From the fourteenth century, paper was used for less sumptuous copies. Although a number of books have miniatures and ornaments executed in outline drawing only, the majority are fully colored. By the
fifteenth century, illumination tended more and more to follow the lead given by painters, and with the invention of printing the illuminated book gradually went out of fashion. During the 15th- and 16th-centuries illuminations were added to printed books |
| the illumination of books was soon industrialized at Florence and became an art-export that reached all parts of Europe. Medici himself placed his massive orders with Vespasiano da Bisticci, the bookseller who deluged the European market while he supplied to his own prince two hundred manuscripts in two years. The great Florentine illuminators, Cherico, Gherardo, Monte di Giovanni del Fora, and Attavante also served the cause of art-export and they too supplied several magnificent works to the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus (1458-1490). Renaissance book-painting dependent on a sovereign's personal patronage flourished rather at Milan, but still more profusely at Ferrara and Naples. The world-famous library of Ferrara, in one of Italy's most impressive princedoms and the illumination done at the court there, would influence other Renaissance courts. The learned humanist Leonello d'Este was already a Renaissance ruler in the true sense of the word. He was surrounded by a host of philosophers, scholars and artists, his palace and treasures were celebrated and his library was almost unequalled in his time. The best miniature painters, Jacopino d'Arezzo, Giorgio d'Alemagna, Guglielmo Giraldi, Magnanino, Matteo di Pasti da Verona and Marco dell'Avogaro worked at his court. The famous riches of the court of Ferrara attracted crowds of foreign artists. The miniaturists of Milan were the first to arrive at Ferrara, among them Guiniforte da Vimercate. During the brief nine-year reign of Leonello d'Este manuscripts of growing magnificence were produced. His successor, Borso d'Este, maintained in his court the high standards set up by Leonello. During his reign the art of Ferrara rivalled the best in Italy: for many decades Ferrara illumination equalled that of Florence and Naples |
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| Illumination | as it refers to medieval manuscripts, the decoration of a manuscript with gold leaf; the term is used loosely, but not strictly correctly, to refer to any illustrated manuscript |
| Illuminato (s.), Illuminati (pl.) | a person claiming to possess special enlightenment or knowledge |
| the name given originally to those who submitted to Christian baptism. Those who were baptized were called illuminati or 'illuminated ones' by the Ante-Nicene clergy, on the assumption that those who were instructed for baptism in the Apostolic faith had an enlightened understanding. The Alumbrados, a mystical sixteenth-century Spanish sect, were among the societies that subsequently adopted the name illuminati. Later, the title of illuminati was used by a secret society founded by Adam Weishaupt (the Bavarian Illuminati) that aimed to combat religious thinking and encourage rationalism. In 1779 the Masonic Lodge in Munich succumbed to the Illuminati, and this branch was given authority by the English-authorized Frankfurt Lodge to set-up daughter Lodges, which it did. By mid-1782 the Order numbered about 300 men, said to have included Goethe & Mozart |
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| Illuminator von Handschriften | (German m.) illuminator, limner (of a manuscript) |
| Illuminazione | (Italian f.) illumination, lighting |
| Illuminé (s.), Illuminés (pl.) | (French) Illuminato (s.), Illuminati, a true devotee of eighteenth-century rationalism |
| Illuminierung alter Handschriften | (German f.) illumination (in a manuscript) |
| Illusory continuity of tones | the auditory illusion caused when a tone is interrupted for a short time (approximately 50ms or less), during which a narrow band of noise is played. Whether the tone is of constant, rising or decreasing pitch, the ear perceives the tone as continuous if the 50ms (or less) discontinuity is masked by noise. Because the human ear is very sensitive to sudden changes, however, it is necessary for the success of the illusion that the amplitude of the tone in the region of the discontinuity not decrease or increase too abruptly |
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| illustrare | (Latin) make clear, edit |
| Illustrative music | music that evokes a poem, scene, mood, idea or experience |
| illustrato | (Italian) illustrated, supplemented with notes |
| il m'a tiré la langue | (French) he stuck his tongue out at me |
| il medesimo tempo | (Italian m.) the same time |
| il n'en est pas question | (French) it is out of the question |
| il n'en fait qu'a sa tête | (French) he does just as he pleases |
| il più | (Italian m.) the most |
| il più forte possibile | (Italian) as loud as possible |
| il più piano possibile | (Italian) as soft as possible |
| il più presto possible | (Italian) as quick as possible |
| il seguente | (Italian) the following, the next |
| il tempo crescendo | (Italian) increasing, or accelerating the tempo |
| Il violino | (Italian m.) the violin |
| Iluminación | (Spanish f.) lighting (for example, lighting engineers in a theatre, etc.) |
| ILWC | abbreviation of 'International League of Women Composers' |
| im | (German) in the |
| im Abzug | see Abzug |
| Image musicale | (French f.) musical imagery |
| Imago | (Latin) portrait, illustration (describing something that is a perfect or typical example of some concept) |
| (Latin) the idealized image of a person, usually a parent, formed in childhood and persisting unconsciously into adulthood |
| (Latin) entomological term for the last (or adult) stage of development of an insect |
| Imago clipeata | (Latin, literally 'framed portrait') the images of heroes on Roman shields |
| Imago Dei | (Latin, literally 'Image of God') the concept that human beings are created in God's image |
| im alten Stil | all'antico (Italian) in the ancient style, in a former style, in an old style (usually a reference to the style associated with classical Greek or ancient Roman), dans le style ancien (French) |
| im Alter | (German) in old age |
| im Alter von | (German) at the age of |
| Imam | (Arabic) a Moslem priest, a title given to the Caliph and certain other Moslem leaders |
| im Anzug sein | (German) be imminent (figurative) |
| im Auftrag | (German) on behalf of |
| im Auge behalten | (German) keep in sight, bear in mind (figurative) |
| Imayoo | (Japanese) a medieval genre of popular song |
| Imbal | (Javanese) or imbalan, a technique used in Javanese gamelan. It refers to a rapid alternation of a melodic line between instruments, in a way similar to hocket in medieval music or kotekan in Balinese gamelan |
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| imbarazzato | (Italian) embarrassed |
| imbarcare | (Italian) embark |
| imbarcarsi | (Italian) go on board |
| Imbarcazione | (Italian f.) boat |
| Imbarcazione da diporto | (Italian f.) pleasure craft |
| Imbarcazione di salvataggio | (Italian f.) lifeboat |
| Imbarco | (Italian m.) embarkation, landing-stage |
| im Bau | (German) under construction |
| im Bedarfsfalle | (German) in case of need |
| im Begriffsein zu | (German) be about to |
| im Bett | (German) in bed |
| Imboccatura | (Italian f.) the mouthpiece of a wind instrument |
| (Italian f.) embouchure |
| Imbongi | Zulu musician storytellers |
| im Brennpunkt des Interesses stehen | (German) be the focus of attention |
| Imbroglio | (Italian m.) embroilment, confusion, difficult situation, complicated misunderstanding, intricate rhythm, want of distinct ideas |
| (Italian m.) a term applied specifically in opera when several groups of singers or instrumental ensembles perform at the same time but to serve different, even conflicting, dramatic purposes |
| IMC | abbreviation of 'International Music Council' |
| im Dunkeln | (German) in the dark |
| im Durchschitt | (German) on average |
| Imdyazn | professional musicians of the Berbers |
| Imene metua | a form of unaccompanied vocal music known for a uniquely Polynesian drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, as well as staccato rhythmic outbursts of nonsensical syllables (tuki) |
| Imene tuki | a form of unaccompanied vocal music known for a uniquely Polynesian drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, as well as staccato rhythmic outbursts of nonsensical syllables (tuki) |
| im ersten Zeitmass | (German) tempo primo, at the original speed |
| IMF | an audio file format created by Apogee Software for the AdLib sound card for use in their video games. The default filename extension is also "imf" |
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| Im Falle | (German) in case |
| im Film | (German) on the screen |
| im Fluß | (German) in a state of flux (figurative) |
| im Fluss | (German) in a state of flux (figurative) |
| im gleichen Tempo | (German) the same speed |
| im Handumdrehen | (German) in a flash, in no time, in the twinkling of an eye, in the wink of an eye |
| Imitación | (Spanish f.) imitation |
| Imitación libre | (Spanish f.) free imitation |
| imitando | (Italian) imitating |
| imitando la voce | (Italian) imitating the inflections of the voice |
| imitando la voce femminile | (Italian) imitating the feminine voice |
| Imitatio | (Latin, literally 'imitation') a technique prescribed by fifteenth-century rhetoriticians. Literary imitatio had as its goal the restoration of classical rhetoric through 'emulation'. The great seventeenth-century dramatist, poet, and wit, Ben Jonson (1572-1637), writes about 'imitation', saying that it allows the poet, "to convert the substance, or Riches of an other Poet, to his owne use. To make choice of one excellent man above the rest, and so to follow him, till he grow very Hee: or so like him, as the Copie may be mistaken for the Principall." The author was drawing from a "cultural cache" thereby invoking the authority of the classical tradition; a tradition in which what we call plagiarism would be admired. Imitating great men was a way to make oneself great |
| as modern scholars have attempted to translate literary rhetorical ideas to musical composition, imitation could be 'emulation' (for example, a student learning his craft by studying and emulating the works of the masters), or as a form of 'homage' (one composer using elements from another composer's work as a way of paying homage to him or her) |
| from recovered sixteenth-century compositional drafts, it appears that students of composition were still being taught to compose one line at a time, learning their craft by imitating older masters, and modeling new pieces directly on old ones. Emulation was not only pedagogical but may have also been used as a means of competition or of paying homage to other composers. Composers of chansons in the fifteenth century imitated one another in various ways. All of these kinds of emulation in composition seem to relate directly to the late medieval and Renaissance concept of imitation, known to Tinctoris and applied to music possibly as early as the late fourteenth or early fifteenth centuries. Presumably it was taught as well. Before the advent of syntactic imitation, there were two principal methods of composition, which continued through the sixteenth century. The first consisted of the addition of new lines around a cantus firmus, the medieval contribution to polyphony. The second relied on the newer techniques of imitatio beginning in the late 14th- and early 15th-centuries |
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| Imitatio aequalis motus | (Latin) imitation by similar melodic motion |
| Imitatio cancrizans in moto contrario | (Latin) imitation by inverted retrograde melodic motion |
| Imitatio canonica | (Latin) canonic imitation |
| Imitatio homophonia | (Latin) imitation at the unison, the first species of imitation |
| Imitatio inaequalis motus | (Latin) imitation by dissimilar or inverted melodic motion |
| Imitatio inaequalis motus al contrario riverso | (Latin) imitation by strict dissimilar or inverted melodic motion |
| Imitatio inaequalis motus al rovescio | (Latin) imitation by free dissimilar or inverted melodic motion |
| Imitatio in secundo superiori ossia inferiori | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower second, the second species of imitation |
| Imitatio in hyperitono ossia in hypoditono | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower third, the third species of imitation |
| Imitatio in hyperdiatessaron ossia in hypodiatessaron | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower fourth, the fourth species of imitation |
| Imitatio in hyperdiapente ossia in hypodiapente | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower fifth, the fifth species of imitation |
| Imitatio in hexacordo superiori ossia inferiori | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower sixth, the sixth species of imitation |
| Imitatio inheptacordo superiori ossia inferiori | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower seventh, the seventh species of imitation |
| Imitatio in hyperdiapason ossia in hypodiapason | (Latin) imitation at the upper or lower octave, the eighth species of imitation |
| Imitatio interrupta | (Latin) interrupted imitation, one of the rhythmic proportions of imitation |
| Imitatio invertibilis | (Latin) invertible imitation, imitation in double counterpoint |
| Imitation | (English, French f., German f.) imitación (Spanish), imitazione (Italian), Nachahmung (German), the repetition of a phrase, usually at a different pitch, by another voice or part (that is fugal writing, which in this sense means writing of a fugal nature but which is not necessarily in accordance with the strict laws of fugue or canon). The original statement is called the 'antecedent' while the repetition is called the 'consequent' |
| if the consequent is an exact reproduction of the antecedent, the imitation is said to be 'strict' or 'canonic'; however if only the general outline is preserved, the imitation is said to be 'free' |
| the term may be applied to the representation of extra-musical sounds within musical works, for example, train whistles, birdsong, and so forth |
| Imitation mass | masses based on a polyphonic source, as distinct from cantus firmus masses which are based on a monophonic source. The term 'parody mass' is sometimes applied to what might be better described as an 'imitation mass' |
| Imitation, pervading | see 'pervading imitation |
| Imitatio per arsin et thesin | (Latin) imitation in contrary rhythm, one of the rhythmic proportions of imitation |
| Imitatio per augmentationem | (Latin) augmentation, one of the rhythmic proportions of imitation |
| Imitatio per diminutionem | (Latin) diminution, one of the rhythmic proportions of imitation |
| Imitatio periodica | (Latin) incidental or formal periodic imitation |
| Imitative | see 'imitation' |
| Imitative counterpoint | a polyphonic musical texture in which the various melodic lines use approximately the same themes |
| Imitative stops | organ stops that are designed to sound as close as possible to their orchestral namesake. The 'Clarinet' is one such stop |
| Imitazione | (Italian f., from the Latin imitatio) imitation, as, for example, in counterpoint |
| in the Renaissance, imitazione can describe three distinct types of borrowing: |
| following, exemplified in the cantus-firmus technique |
| imitation proper |
| emulatio (emulation) implying a critical reflection on the model itself |
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| imitieren | (German) to imitate |
| im lebhaftesten Tempo | (German) in a very animated tempo |
| im lebhaftesten Zeitmaße | (German) in the quickest time possible |
| im Legendenton | (German) in the style of a legend |
| Immagine musicale | (Italian f.) musical imagery |
| immer | (German) ever, always, continuously, still (continuing) |
| immer belebter | (German) ever more quickly, still more lively
[corrected by Brian A. Jefferies] |
| immer bewegter | (German) still moving more (i.e. faster) |
| immer dasselbe getragene Zeitmass | (German) still the same solemn tempo |
| immer fern und ferner | (German) still distant and more distant |
| immer gest. | (German) always stopped, alway muted |
| immer gestopft | (German) always stopped, always muted
[addition to entry provided by Brian A. Jefferies] |
| immer langsam | (German) slowly throughout |
| immer langsamer | (German) slower and slower |
| immer leiser | (German) softer and softer |
| immer mehr und mehr zurückhaltend | (German) still holding back more |
| immer mit Dämpfer | (German) always muted |
| immer mit Sord. | (German) always muted |
| immer mit Verstärung bis zum Schluss | (German) with reinforcement (i.e. doubling) to the end |
| immer noch (etwas) drängend | (German) always pressing forward more |
| immer noch etwas vorwärts | (German) always still somewhat forward |
| immer noch mehr zurüchhaltend | (German) ever more holding back |
| immer noch unmerklich zurückhaltend | (German) always imperceptibly holding back |
| immer offen | (German) always open |
| immer schnell | (German) still quick |
| immer spring. Bog. | (German) always spiccato |
| immer stärker werdend | (German) continually growing louder, crescendo |
| immer vorwärts (drängend) | (German) always forward (as in 'pressing forward') |
| immer wuchtig | (German) always weighty |
| immobile | (Italian) motionless |
| Immobiliste | (French m./f.) (a person) who opposes progress or reform, an obscurantist |
| Immortelle | (French f., literally 'ever-lasting') a flower of papery texture which retains its colour and shape when dried |
| Immortelles, Les | (French f. pl.) the members of the Académie Française |
| Immutabilis | (Latin) one of the accentus ecclesiastici |
| im Orchester | (German) in the orchestra (as opposed to back stage) |
| imp. | abbreviation of impressit (Latin: printed by, after which is written the printer's name), impresserunt (Latin: printed by, after which is written the printer's name), impressé (French: printed by, after which is written the printer's name) |
| impair | (French) odd (numbers) |
| imparfait (m.), imparfaite (f.) | (French) imperfect |
| Impasse | (French) a situation from which there is no escape, an insoluble difficulty |
| Impassioned | filled with passion, ardent, appassionato (Italian), con abbandono (Italian), leidenschaftlich (German), avec passion (French) |
| Impasto | (Italian m.) the application of thick layers of opaque pigment |
| Impayable | (French) 'priceless', impossible to equal |
| impazientandosi | (Italian) impatiently |
| impaziente | (Italian) impatient, hurried |
| impazientemente | (Italian) impatiently, hurriedly |
| Impazienza | (Italian f.) impatience |
| Impedimenta | (Latin pl.) encumbrances (for example, when travelling, baggages, parcels, etc.) |
| impensis | (Latin) at the expense |
| Imperator (m.), Imperatrix (f.) | (Latin) Emperor, Empress |
| Imperfect | not perfect, less than perfect (particularly when speaking of intervals or chords) |
| Imperfect authentic cadence |
| a perfect cadence (or, according to some sources, a plagal cadence) where: |
| inverted imperfect authentic cadence | one or both chords are inverted |
| root position imperfect authentic cadence | the highest voice is not the tonic |
leading tone imperfect authentic cadence
leading note imperfect authentic cadence | the V chord is replaced with the vii° chord but the cadence still ends on a tonic chord |
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| Imperfect cadence | or 'half close', cadenza imperfetta (Italian f.), cadéncía imperfecta (Spanish f.), Halbschluss (German m.), unvollkommener Schluss (German m.), unvollkommener Ganzschluss (German m.), cadence imparfaite (French f.), a cadence that ends not with the tonic but with a dominant or some other chord |
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| Imperfect consonances | or 'imperfect concords', intervals such as the major and minor thirds and sixths, whose ratios are less simple than those of the fifth and fourth |
| Imperfect interval | diminished interval, particularly those one chromatic semitone (half-step) smaller than a perfect interval |
| any non-perfect interval, that is, 2nd, 3rd, 6th or 7th |
| Imperfect measure | an old term for the time of only two in a bar, also called 'binary measure' |
| Imperfection | in music of the Renaissance, the reduction of a trinary note value to binary. Therefore, in tempus perfectum, the breve will be normally trinary (i.e. taking three semibreves) but under certain specific circumstances it may be 'imperfected' so that it takes only two semibreves |
| Imperfektion (in der Mensuralnotation) | (German f.) imperfection (in mensural notation) |
| imperiosamente | (Italian) imperiously, pompously, haughtily, stately |
| Imperiosità | (Italian) stateliness, pomposity |
| imperioso | (Italian) imperious, pompous, lofty, haughty |
| Imperium | (Latin) supreme power, sovereignty |
| imperturbabile | (Italian) quietly, easily |
| Impeto | (Italian m.) impetus, impetuosity, vehemence |
| impétueusement | (French) impetuously |
| impétueux (m.), impétueuse (f.) | (French) impetuous, in a boisterous manner |
| impetuosamente | (Italian) impetuously |
| Impetuosità | (Italian f.) impetuosity |
| impetuoso | (Italian) impetuous, vehement, boisterous, impetuously, vehemently, boisterously |
| Impetuous, Impetuously | acting with sudden energy, moving forcefully or rapidly, impetuoso (Italian), heftig (German), impétueux (French m.), impétueuse (French f.), impétueusement (French) |
| Impetus | (Latin) the force with which a body moves, motive power, moving force, a stimulus, an incentive |
| Implied intervals | intervals not expressed in a figured bass, but which are understood to be a component part of any chord |
| Impluvium | (Latin) the square water-cistern in the centre of the atrium of a Roman house |
| Imponderabilia | (pseudo-Latin) factors the influence of which on some project it is not easy to evaluate in concrete terms |
| imponente | (Italian) imposing in style, haughtily, emphatic |
| Imponenza | (Italian f.) an imposing style, haughty |
| imponierend | (German) imposing in style, haughtily |
| Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto | (Italian) or IVA, valued added tax, VAT |
| Impostazione | (Italian f.) placing of the voice |
| Imprenta | (Spanish f.) press |
| Impresario (s.), Impressarii (pl.) | (Italian m., from impresa, meaning 'undertaking') the agent, organiser or manager of an opera or concert company |
| Impresion | (Spanish f.) impression, edition |
| Impresor | (Spanish m.) printer |
| Impressionism | an idea borrowed from art, where a work's 'colour' describes, or gives an impression of an experience |
| in jazz, the term has a particular meaning, namely, a form of jazz centred around collective improvisation and the concept, expressed by saxophonist Ornette Coleman (born 1930), of 'harmolodics' |
| Impressionisme | (French m.) impressionism |
| Impressionismo | (Spanish m.) impressionism |
| Impressionismus | (German m.) impressionism |
| imprimere | (Latin) print |
| Imprimatur | (Latin, literally 'let it be printed') the formula licensing the publication of a book, an official license to publish |
| the term is now restricted to the license granted by a bishop for the publication of a religious work |
| Imprimatura | (Italian) a coloured wash laid over a panel or canvas, either before or after the preliminary drawing is made |
| Imprimé | (French) a printed dress-fabric (usually of linen or cotton) |
| Imprimeur | (French) printer |
| Imprimis | (Latin) in the first place (introducing the first is a sequence of items) |
| Impromptu | (English, Spanish m. from the Latin in promptu, 'in readiness') an improvisation, an extempore performance |
| common in the nineteenth century, an instrumental piece that is designed to give the impression of having been improvised on the spur of the moment, for example, a fantasia |
| a term used by some composers, notably Frédéric Chopin (1810-49), to express a piece of music of a lyrical nature |
| Impromtü | (German n.) impromptu |
| Impronta (s.), Impronte (pl.) | (Italian f.) mark, impression, stamp, impress, imprint, print, trace |
| Impronta del piede | (Italian f.) foot-print |
| improntare | (Italian) to impress, to imprint, to mark, to prepare |
| Impronte digitali | (Italian f. pl.) finger-prints |
| impronunziabile | (Italian) unpronounceable |
| Improperia | a series of antiphons and responses sung on the morning of Good Friday in place of the usual daily Mass of the Roman rite |
| Improv | an abbreviation of 'improvisation', used in jazz to describe the improvisational section of a work |
| Improvisação | (Portuguese) improvisation |
| Improvisação coletiva | (Portuguese) group improvisation |
| Improvisación | (Spanish f.) improvisation, impromptu |
| improvisadamente | (Spanish) suddenly |
| improvisado | (Spanish) improvised |
| improvisado (m.), improvisada (f.) | (Italian) improvised |
| Improvisador (m.), Improvisadora (f.), | (Spanish) an improviser |
| improvisando | (Italian) with improvisation |
| improvisar | (Spanish) to improvise |
| Improvisateur (m.), Improvisatrice (f.) | (French) an improviser |
| Improvisatie | (Dutch) improvisation |
| Improvisation | (English, German f., French f.) in acting, when an actor remains 'in character' but makes up action or dialogue without prior scripting |
| or extemporization, to compose or perform (music, verse, etc.) extempore, that is, spontaneously |
| an impromptu is a musical work that, although composed in advance, should be played in such a way as to give the impression that is being improvised |
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| Improvisational comedy | also called 'improv' or 'impro', comedy that is performed with a little to no predetermination of subject matter and structure. The performers discover their lines and actions spontaneously, typically following a general theme and format, often in response to audience suggestions. Improvisational comedy is a form of improvisational theatre |
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| Improvisational theatre | a form of theatre in which the actors perform spontaneously, without a script. Improvisation has been employed in live theatre at least since sixteenth-century Commedia Dell'arte. Modern improvisation began in the classroom with the theatre games of Viola Spolin and Keith Johnstone in the 1950s, then evolved quickly to become an independent artform worthy of presentation before a paying audience |
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| improvisato | 'improvised', found in the titles of Dmitri Kabalevsky's Op.21 No. 1 (1934) Improvisato for violin and piano, Adrej Tchulovsky's Recitando improvisato and Hans Werner Henze's Rondo improvisato |
| Improvisator | (German m.) one who improvises |
| Improvisatrice | (French f.) a poetess, a female improviser |
| Improvise | improvvisare (Italian), improvisieren (German), improviser (French), to compose or perform (music, verse, etc.) extempore |
| improvise | (French) extemporaneous |
| improviser | (French) to improvise |
| improvisieren | (German) to improvise |
| improvisierte Vorstellung | (German f.) ad lib performance, improvisation |
| improviso | (Portuguese) improvise |
| improviso, de | (Spanish) suddenly |
| improvvisamente | (Italian) extemporaneously, suddenly, unexpectedly |
| improvvisando | (Italian) improvising |
| improvvisare | (Italian) to improvise, to perform or sing extemporaneously |
| Improvvisata (f.) | (Italian) an agreeable surprise |
| Improvvisato (m.), Improvvisata (f.) | (Italian) an impromptu, a work that has been improvised
[information supplied by Sabrina Mudd] |
| Improvvisatore (m.), Improvvisatrice (f.) | (Italian) one who sings, or declaims, in verse, extemporaneously |
| Improvvisazione | (Italian f.) improvisation |
| improvviso | (Italian) sudden, unexpected, unforeseen, extemporaneous |
| Improvvissatore (s.), Improvvissatori (pl.) | (Italian) one who sings, or declaims, in verse, extemporaneously |
| Imprudencia | (Spanish f.) imprudence |
| imprudente | (Spanish) imprudent |
| Impudencia | (Spanish f.) impudence |
| impudente | (Spanish) impudent |
| impúdico | (Spanish) immodest, shameless |
| Impudor | (Spanish m.) immodesty,shamelessness |
| impuesto | (Spanish) imposed |
| impuesto sobre el valor añadido | (Spanish m.) VAT, value added tax |
| impugnar | (Spanish) to contest,to refute |
| Impuls | (German m.) impulse |
| impulsar | (Spanish) to impel |
| Impulsion | (French f.) impulse |
| Impulsividad | (Spanish f.) impulsiveness |
| impulsivo | (Spanish) impulsive |
| Impulso | (Italian m., Spanish m.) impulse |
| impune | (Spanish) unpunished |
| impunidad | (Spanish f.) impunity |
| impureza | (Spanish f.) impurity |
| impuro | (Spanish) impure |
| imputación | (Spanish f.) charge |
| imputar | (Spanish) to attribute, to charge (the accused) |
| IMS | abbreviation of 'International Musicological Society' |
| im Schnitt darstellen | (German) to profile |
| imshi! | (Arabic) go away!, be off! |
| im Stil der Janitscharen-Musik | (German) alla turca (Italian), à la turque (French), nach türkischer Art (German), in the Turkish style |
| im Stile einer ... | (German) in the style of ... |
| im Sprechchorrufen | (German) chant |
| im Takt | (German) a tempo, in time (to the music) |
| im Tempo | (German) a tempo, return to the original pace |
| im Tempo des Scherzo | (German) in the tempo of the Scherzo |
| im Tempo I zurückkehren | (German) returning to Tempo I |
| im tiefsten Winter | (German) in the depths of winter |
| im übrigen | (German) besides, apart from |
| im ungewissen lassen | (German) to leave in the dark |
| im unklaren sein | (German) to be in the dark |
| im Unterbewußtsein | (German) subconsciously |
| im Volkston | (German) in the style of a German folk song |
| Imzad | or imzhad, a one-stringed Tuareg fiddle, played by women |
| im Zeitmaß | (German) in time, a tempo |
| Imzhad | see imzad |
