Music & Instruments
Culture · 111 words
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The words
111 words
- a cappella/ˌæ.kəˈpɛl.ə/adjective · C1Sung with no instruments at all.
- accordion keysnoun · B2The buttons pressed while squeezing a bellows instrument.
- acoustics/əˈkuː.stɪks/noun · C1The way a room shapes and reflects sound.
- album/ˈælbəm/noun · B1A full collection of songs released together.
- alto/ˈæl.təʊ/noun · B2+A singing voice between the highest and the middle.
- amplifier/ˈæm.plə.faɪ.ə/noun · B2+The box that makes an electric instrument loud.
- arrange/əˈɹeɪnd͡ʒ/verb · A2+To plan and organize the details of something in advance.
- backing tracknoun · B2Recorded music a singer performs over.
- bagpipes/ˈbæɡˌpaɪps/noun · B2+A wind instrument with a bag of air and droning pipes.
- banjo/ˈbæn.dʒəʊ/noun · B2A round-bodied string instrument with a bright twanging tone.
- bar/bɑː/noun · A2The place adults go in the evening for drinks.
- baritone/ˈbæɹ.ɪ.təʊn/noun · B2+A male voice between tenor and bass.
- bass drum/ˈbeɪsˌdɹʌm/noun · B2The big deep drum struck with a pedal.
- bass voicenoun · B2The lowest singing voice.
- bassoon/bəˈsuːn/noun · C1A very long low woodwind, doubled back on itself.
- beat/biːt/verb · B1To stir hard and fast until a mixture is smooth.
- blues/bluːz/noun · B1+A slow sad style built on a repeating twelve-bar pattern.
- bongo/ˈbɒŋ.ɡəʊ/noun · B2+A pair of small hand drums joined together.
- bow/ˈbəʊ̯/verb · B1To draw a taut length of horsehair across strings.
- bugle/ˈbjuːɡəl/noun · B2+A simple valveless brass horn used for military calls.
- busk/bʌsk/verb · C1To play in the street for coins.
- catchy/ˈkæt͡ʃi/adjective · B2So memorable you cannot stop humming it.
- cello/ˈtʃɛləʊ/noun · B2+The big deep-voiced string instrument held between the knees.
- chart/t͡ʃɑɹt/noun · B1The published list of what is selling best.
- clarinet/ˌklæɹɪˈnɛt/noun · B2A black tube with a single reed and a warm woody sound.
- clef/klɛf/noun · B2+The sign at the start of a staff that fixes the pitches.
- compose/kəmˈpəʊz/verb · B2To write a piece of music, or to put a text together carefully.
- conduct/ˈkɒndʌkt/verb · B2To lead an orchestra with hand and stick.
- crescendo/kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/noun · B2+A passage that grows steadily louder.
- cymbal/ˈsɪmbəl/noun · B2+A round metal plate that crashes when struck.
- demo/ˈdɛm.əʊ/noun · C1A rough recording made to show what a song could be.
- diminuendo/dɪˌmɪnjuːˈɛndəʊ/noun · C2A passage that fades steadily quieter.
- double bass/ˈdʌ.bl̩beɪs/noun · B2The biggest and deepest of the bowed string instruments.
- downbeat/ˈdaʊnbiːt/noun · C1The first and strongest beat of a bar.
- drum kitnoun · B1The full set of drums and cymbals one player uses.
- earplug/ˈɪəplʌɡ/noun · B1+A small plug worn to protect hearing at loud shows.
- falsetto/fɔːlˈsɛt.əʊ/noun · C1A man's voice singing far above its natural range.
- finale/fɪˈnɑːli, fə-/noun · B2The last and biggest movement of a work.
- flat/ˈflæt/noun · A2A home that is one floor inside a bigger building.
- flute/flu(ː)t/noun · B1+The thin silver instrument you hold sideways and blow across.
- french hornnoun · B2A brass instrument of coiled tubing with a wide bell.
- genre/ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/noun · B2+One family of art — comedy, horror, jazz, or romance.
- gig/ɡɪɡ/noun · B2A single live performance by a band.
- gong/ɡɒŋ/noun · B2+A huge hanging metal disc struck for a deep booming note.
- groove/ɡɹuːv/noun · B2The rhythmic feel that makes music move.
- harmonica/ˌhɑɹˈmɒ.nɪ.kə/noun · B2A small mouth instrument played by breathing in and out.
- harp/hɑːp/noun · B1+The tall triangle of strings plucked by angels in paintings.
- harpsichord/ˈhɑː(ɹ)p.sɪ.kɔː(ɹ)d/noun · C1An early keyboard whose strings are plucked, not struck.
- hauntingadjective · B2Beautiful in a way that stays with you afterwards.
- improvise/ˈɪm.pɹə.vaɪz/verb · B2To make the music up as you play it.
- interval/ˈɪntəvəʊ/noun · B2+The gap of time between two events; also, a theatre break.
- jazz/d͡ʒæz/noun · A2+The music of swing and improvisation, born in New Orleans.
- key/kiː/noun · A1The small metal thing you turn to open a lock.
- legato/ləˈɡɑ.təʊ/adjective · C1Played smoothly, each note running into the next.
- lute/l(j)uːt/noun · C1An old pear-shaped plucked instrument with a bent neck.
- major/ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/adjective · A2Big and important.
- mandolin/ˈmændə(ˌ)lɪn/noun · C1A small round-backed instrument with paired strings.
- maracasnoun · B2+A pair of shakers filled with seeds or beads.
- mellow/ˈmɛləʊ/adjective · B2Softened and relaxed by ripeness or age.
- metronome/ˈmɛt.ɹəˌnoʊm/noun · B2+A device that ticks a steady beat to practise to.
- microphone/ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/noun · B2The device that catches your voice so machines can record it.
- minor/ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/adjective · B2Little and not serious.
- mixing desknoun · C1The panel where all the separate sounds are balanced.
- movement/ˈmuːv.mənt/noun · A2+A change of position; something going from here to there.
- notation/noʊˈteɪʃən/noun · C1The agreed set of symbols a field writes in.
- oboe/ˈəʊbəʊ/noun · B2+A slim woodwind with a double reed and a nasal tone.
- orchestra pitnoun · C1The sunken space where players sit below a stage.
- organ/ˈɔːɡən/noun · B2A working part inside your body with its own job, like the pump in your chest.
- overture/ˈəʊvətjʊə/noun · B2+The orchestral opening played before an opera begins.
- piccolo/ˈpɪkələʊ/noun · C1A tiny flute that plays higher than anything else.
- pitch/pɪt͡ʃ/noun · B2How high or low a note sounds.
- pluck/plʌk/verb · B2To pull and release a single string.
- reggae/ˈɹɛɡeɪ/noun · B2+A Jamaican style with the accent on the off-beat.
- rehearsal roomnoun · B2The space a band books to practise in.
- rest/ɹɛst/verb · A2To stop working so your body can recover.
- roadie/ˈɹəʊdi/noun · B2+The crew member who moves and sets up the gear.
- saxophone/ˈsæksəˌfəʊ̯n/noun · B1+The curved golden horn at the heart of smoky jazz.
- score/skɔː/noun · A2The numbers that show how many points each side has.
- semitone/ˈsɛmitoʊn/noun · C1The smallest step between two neighbouring notes.
- single/ˈsɪŋɡl̩/adjective · A2Not married and not in a relationship.
- sitar/ˈsɪtɑɹ/noun · C1A long-necked Indian instrument with sympathetic strings.
- snare drumnoun · C1A sharp-sounding drum with wires stretched under its skin.
- soprano/səˈpɹænoʊ/noun · B2+The highest singing voice.
- soundchecknoun · B2The test run before an audience is let in.
- speaker/ˈspikɚ/noun · A2+The device that turns electricity into sound you can hear.
- staccato/stəˈkɑːtoʊ/adjective · C1Played in short detached notes.
- stave/steɪv/noun · C1The five lines music is written on.
- strum/strʌm/verb · B2+To sweep across the strings with the hand.
- studio sessionnoun · B2A booked period of recording time.
- syncopation/ˌsɪŋ.kəˈpeɪ.ʃən/noun · C1Putting the accent where the beat is not.
- synthesizer/ˈsɪn.θəˌsaɪ.zə(ɹ)/noun · B2+An electronic keyboard that can make any sound.
- tambourine/ˌtæm.bəˈɹiːn/noun · B2A small hand drum ringed with jingling discs.
- techno/ˈtɛknoʊ/noun · B1+Fast electronic dance music built from machines.
- tenor/ˈtɛnə(ɹ)/noun · B2+The highest ordinary male singing voice.
- timpani/ˈtɪmpəni/noun · C1Big tuned kettle drums at the back of an orchestra.
- tone-deafadjective · C1Unable to hear the difference between pitches.
- tour/tɔː(ɹ)/noun · A2A run of concerts in different towns.
- transpose/tɹænsˈpəʊz/verb · C1To move a whole piece into a different key.
- triangle/ˈtɹaɪəŋɡəl/noun · B2A shape with exactly three sides.
- trombone/ˌtɹɒmˈbəʊn/noun · B2A brass instrument whose pitch slides on a long tube.
- trumpet/ˈtɹʌmpɪt/noun · B1The shiny brass instrument you blow into, with three buttons on top.
- tuba/ˈtjuː.bə/noun · B2The largest and lowest brass instrument.
- tune upphrase · B2To adjust an instrument until its pitches are right.
- tuning fork/tjʉːnɪŋ foːk/noun · B2A two-pronged steel fork that sounds one exact pitch.
- ukulele/juː.kəˈleɪ.li/noun · B2+A tiny four-stringed guitar from Hawaii.
- upbeat/ʌpˈbit/adjective · B2+Cheerfully positive and hopeful.
- vibrato/vɪˈbɹɑːtoʊ/noun · C1A slight wobble in pitch that warms a held note.
- viola/ˈviː.ələ/noun · B2+A slightly larger, deeper-voiced relative of the violin.
- violin/ˌvaɪ.əˈlɪn/noun · A2+The small wooden string instrument you hold under your chin and play with a bow.
- xylophone/ˈzaɪ.ləˌfəʊn/noun · B2Tuned wooden bars struck with small hammers.