[78-L] Musical Dictionary

[marimbamoods at comcast.net]

for the culture in all of us . . . 




Obligato - being forced to practice 



Metronome - short, city musician who can fit into a Honda Civic 



Lento - the days leading up to Easto 



Largo - beer brewed in Germany for the Florida Keys 



Piu Animato - clean out the cat's litter box 



Con Spirito - drunk again 



Colla Voce - this shirt is so tight I can't sing 



Improvisation - what you do when the music falls down 



Prelude - warm-up before the clever stuff 



Flats - English apartments 



Chords - things organists play with one finger 



Discords - thing that organists play with two fingers 



Suspended Chords - useful for lynching the vocalist 



Time Signatures - things for drummers to ignore 



Melody - an ancient, now almost extinct art in songwriting 



Klavierstuck - A term used by German furniture movers attempting to get a 

piano through a narrow doorway. 



Music Stand - An intricate device used to hold music. Comes in two sizes - too high 

or too low - always broken. 



Tonic - A medicinal drink consumed in great quantity before a performance, and in 

greater quantity afterwards. 



Dominant - What parents must be if they expect their children to practice. 



Concert Hall - A place where large audiences gather, for the sole purpose of 

removing paper wrappings from candy and gum. 



Sotto Voce - singing while drunk 



Agogic - playing high enough on an oboe to make the eyes bulge. 



Cadenza - slapping noise on office furniture 



Fandango - grabbing the pull chain on the ceiling fan 



Prima Volta - jump start with a battery 




Refrain - proper technique for playing bagpipes 



Smorzando - with melted chocolate and marshmallow