Are you hoping to hire someone to play classical wedding music in Raleigh NC for your wedding? If so, there are several terms you might want to learn before talking with the musicians!

Terms | Classical Wedding Music Raleigh NC

  • Pentatonic Scale – A musical scale having five notes. For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.
  • Pastoral – A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.
  • Partita – Suite of Baroque dances.
  • Partial – A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.
  • Part – A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.
  • Parody – A composition based on previous work. A common technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.
  • Overture – Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.
  • Ostinato – A repeated phrase.
  • Ornaments – Tones used to embellish the principal melodic tone.
  • Orchestration – Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra. Also, the study of music.
  • Orchestra – A large group of instrumentalists playing together.
  • Oratorio – An extended cantata on a sacred subject.
  • Opus – Convenient method of numbering a composer’s works where a number follows the word “opus”. For example, Opus 28, No. 4.
  • Operetta – A short light musical drama.
  • Opera – A drama where the words are sung instead of spoken.
  • Octet -A composition written for eight instruments.
  • Octave – Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.
  • Obbligato – An extended solo, often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.
  • Notation – First developed in the 8th century, methods of writing music.
  • Nonet – A composition written for nine instruments.
  • Nocturne – A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.
  • Neoclassical – Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.
  • Natural – A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.
  • Musicology – The study of forms, history, science, and methods of music.
  • Musette – A Baroque dance with a drone-bass.
  • Movement – A separate section of a larger composition.
  • Motif – Primary theme or subject that is developed.
  • Monotone – Repetition of a single tone.
  • Modulation – To shift to another key.
  • Modes – Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.
  • Minuet – Slow and stately dance music written in triple time.
  • Minor – One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark, melancholic mood.
  • Mezzo – The voice between soprano and alto. Also, in sheet music, a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.
  • Medley – Often used in overtures, a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.
  • Measure – The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two, three, four beats to a measure.
  • March – A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.

If you’re interested in learning more terms for classical wedding music in Raleigh NC, be sure to visit back with our next couple of blog posts!

Save the Date Music | Classical Wedding Music Raleigh NC

When deciding what type of wedding music you might want for your wedding ceremony, there’s a lot of uncertainty. It’s hard to choose which type of music and what type of musician. Many brides and grooms love the idea of having classical music in Raleigh NC but aren’t sure how to go about hiring musicians.

That’s where Save the Date Music steps in! Our wedding music planner can help you pick the best classical music in Raleigh NC for your wedding day! Contact Save the Date Music to ensure that your wedding day music makes a lasting impression on your guests. Make your wedding event simple and beautiful with the most recommended music planner in the Raleigh NC area!