| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Ancient music | Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music. Ancient music refers to the various musical systems that were developed across various geographical regions such as Persia, India, China, Greece, Rome, Egypt and Mesopotamia. |
| Andalusian classical music | Andalusian classical music (or Arabo-Andalusian music, moussiqua al-âla) is a style of Arabic music found across North Africa, though it evolved out of the music of Andalusia between the 9th and 15th centuries, during the Al-Andalus period. |
| Answer song | An answer song (or answer record) is, as the name suggests, a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s. |
| Anthem | An anthem is a composition to an English religious text sung in the context of an Anglican service. The term has evolved to mean a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a certain group of people, as in the term "national anthem". |
| Architectural acoustics | Architectural acoustics is the science of controlling sound within buildings. The first application of architectural acoustics was in the design of opera houses and then concert halls. |
| Arco | Arco, a directive in music for string instruments to indicate that the hair of the bow should be used to play in the normal way (following a passage played pizzicato, for example). |
| Aria | An aria (Italian for air; plural: arie or arias in common usage) in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment. |
| Arpeggio | In music, an arpeggio is a broken chord where the notes are played or sung in succession rather than simultaneously. |
| Arrangement | In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. |
| Art music | Art music (or serious music or sometimes erudite music) is an umbrella term generally used to refer to musical traditions implying advanced structural and theoretical considerations. It is most particularly used as a distinction to popular music and traditional music. |
| Art song | An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one singer with piano accompaniment. |
| Articulation | In music, articulation refers to the direction or performance technique which affects the transition or continuity on single note or between multiple notes or sounds. |
| Artificial harmonic | To produce an artificial harmonic, a stringed instrument player holds down a note on the neck with the left or right (left if one is right handed, or right if one is left handed) hand, thereby shortening the vibration length of the string, uses a finger to lightly touch a point on the string that is an integer divisor of its vibration length, and plucks or bows the side of the string that is closer to the bridge. |
| ASCAP | Acronym for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers |
| Atonality | Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. |
| Augmentation | In music and music theory augmentation is the lengthening or widening of rhythms, melodies, intervals, chords. The opposite is diminution (as in "a diminished triad"). |
| Augmented chord | In general, an augmented chord is any chord which contains an augmented interval. |
| Augmented fifth | An augmented fifth is a musical interval that spans five scale degrees and consists of eight semitones. |
| Augmented sixth chord | An augmented sixth chord contains the interval of an augmented sixth above its bass. |
| Augmented triad | In music, an augmented triad is a triad consisting of two major thirds. |
| Authentic performance | The historically informed performance, period performance, or authentic performance movement is an approach by musicians and scholars to research and perform works of classical music in ways similar to how they may have been performed when they were originally written. |
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