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more about problems with musical terms

When it comes to musical terms and terminology, music presents special problems. Often, understanding music requires the ability to read obscure or archaic words or to translate one or more foreign languages into English. In many situations, simply to follow an orchestra, keep track of an opera, or decide what pieces are on the program, a person must be able to read a score, follow a libretto, or translate the pieces named on the program. Sometimes, even after you've translated a word or looked it up a dictionary you still can't understand it.

Unfortunately, these kinds of documents are usually written in difficult-to-understand terms because obscure and archaic words and foreign languages comprise the language of music. To add to these difficulties, the music world is filled with personalities from around the world with strange-sounding and complicated names; composer names and the names of their works are often in foreign tongues.

We are not talking about the formidable challenges one faces when trying to master the grammar and semantics of a foreign tongue, except in the sense that music is a foreign tongue. Here our only challenge is to acquire a working knowledge of simple, explicit musical termsphrases, titles, person or place names, and the likethe kinds of terms one finds in a "fake book" or in a concert program handed to one at the door upon entering an auditorium.

Native speakers of English who must deal with music of the Western classical tradition are especially at risk. For example, members of a church chorus may have an easy time humming the melody of a Bach hymn or even reading its lyrics, which are usually translated into English, but they may need help with understanding German musical directions on their sheet music, especially if they are old-fashioned or out of date. And native speakers of English who are untrained in foreign languages may have similar difficulties.

Even musicians trained in the Western classical tradition often run into trouble when they wrestle with musical terms, titles of works, person names, or place names used in other musical traditions, such as the Eastern European or Northern Indian traditions, or the folk music of other lands.

how this situation came about

Why is music filled with obscure foreign words and not with good, honest English words that we can all understand? Our Western musical tradition is replete with terms drawn from Italian, German, or other languages. How did this happen?

Western musical notation as we know it today—music writing—got its start during Middle Ages.

As time went by, notation systems evolved. One nation or another took the lead at developing new or different musical techniques, instruments, and styles. New developments like these called for new terms that could be used to record the changes and additions that were being made to the musical repertoire.

Most of the terms used in music today were introduced by musicians who did not speak English. It was natural for them to borrow and apply terms taken from their native language, or words borrowed from other languages in which they were educated, such as Latin.

The Renaissance saw a musical efflorescence in Italy. As a result, many musical terms dating from the 14th and 15th century (and after) are Italian or of Italian origin. Words like cantabile (in a smooth, lyrical, flowing style; songlike), adagio (in a slow tempo), allegretto (in a moderately quick tempo) and lento (in a very slow tempo) stem from this source. As time went on, musical innovators from other nations like Germany and France started composing and became active contributors. theyadopted and absorbed the traditional terminology but also introduced terms in their own languages.

why doesn't someone do something?

Much of the written language of music consists of the notes to be played (musical notation) and the comments and musical directions that accompany the notes (words like adagio). That's not so hard to deal with. Why doesn't someone just translate the foreign words we see on printed musical scores into English ones? Why don't people just speak plain English when they talk about music?

The fact is that today a few English-speaking composers do occasionally add English remarks to their scores. Nevertheless, most scores are marked in one or more foreign languages, and the all English-speaking composers continue to employ foreign terms. Why? The answer is summed up in two words—communication and tradition:

Musicians are a subculture; they have a world of their own. Most play the same instruments and receive virtually the same training no matter where they were born or where they live; they "speak" (play), read, and write the same language, the language of music. This is as true of those who compose or play Western music as it is of those who compose and play in countries like India, Indonesia, China, or Japan. Since most musicians already speak a common language, why set up needless language barriers between musicians of different nations by scoring a work in more than one tongue? Why print multiple versions of a score for an orchestra when one will do?

Each musician inherits the musical language of preceding generations, the tongue of a single subculture. Since the vast majority of compositions are written in this tongue no matter where or when they were composed, any trained musician can pick up a score and play it no matter when it was created or by whom. Why spoil this arrangement?

In a sense, musicians translate their language into music whenever they play for us. But hearing a musician play is not the same thing as reading musical notation, listening to a musician talk about music in his own language, or reading about music in a literary passage in a book. Extra miles remain before the rest of us can move comfortably through the world of "music-speak." Why don't we ask musicians to help?

Musicians had to struggle to train themselves to overcome the challenges of learning their language. They already have a language that works for them. Why should they solve the problem for the rest of us? Tradition amply demonstrates that they won't.

help

It's up to the rest of us to do something about it, and The Muse Of Music has taken a step forward by providing the glossary offered on these pages. It's handier, quicker, and more powerful than a conventional musical or foreign dictionary. Although you can't take it with you to the next concert you attend, it's accessible on Electricka's web site, the next best thing.

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