Books › A dictionary of musical terms, 1889 › scan 145
Scan 145
A dictionary of musical terms, 1889
40 lines. Read by computer on 9 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1instruments of the oboe class. (2) A reed-stop on an organ of 16-ft. pitch.
3Double relish. An ornament in old music:
5Written.
7Played.
9Double root. [Extreme sixth.]
10Double sharp. A sign (x) used before a note already sharp, to indicate that it is desired to raise the pitch by a semitone. It is contradicted by a natural and a sharp.
11Double sonata. A sonata for two solo instruments, as pianoforte and violin, or two pianofortes, &c.
12Double stopped diapason. [Bourdon.]
13Double-stopping. The stopping of two strings simultaneously with the fingers in violin playing. The practice was first suggested by John Francis Henry Biber in 1681, in a set of solos for a violin and a bass: one of these pieces is written in three staves, two for the violin playing in double-stopping, and the third for the bass. He also in the same work suggests a varied tuning in fourths and fifths for the purpose of making the double-stopping easy.
14Double-tonguing. A peculiar action of the tongue against the roof of the mouth used by flute players, to ensure a brilliant and spirited articulation of staccato notes. The term is sometimes applied also to the rapid repetition of notes in cornet playing.
15Double travale. A direction in tambourine playing. [Tambourine.]
16Down beat. The first beat in each bar is so called, because in counting time the hand or conducting stick is allowed to fall at that place.
17Down bow. The bow drawn over the strings from the heel or holding part of the bow to the point; the greatest power of tone in the strings is elicited by the down bow. [Bowing.]
18Double trumpet. An organ reed-stop similar in tone and scale to, but an octave lower in pitch than, the 8-ft. trumpet.
19Doublette (Fr.) A compound organ-stop consisting of two ranks, generally a twelfth and fifteenth.
20Doucement (Fr.) Softly, sweetly.
21Doux (Fr.) Soft, sweet.
22Douzième (Fr.) A twelfth.
23Doxology (Gk.) The hymn or song of praise—the Gloria Patri—used at the end of the Psalms in the Christian church; also any metrical form of the same.
24Doxologia magna (Lat.) The version of the angels' hymn, "Gloria in excelsis Deo," sung at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The greater doxology.
25Doxologia parva (Lat.) [Doxology.]
26Drag. (1) An ornament consisting of descending notes in lute-music. (2) A rallentando (in old English church music).
27Dramma lyrca, or per musica (It.) [Opera.]
28Drammaticamente (It.) In a dramatic Drammatico (It.) style.
29Dreichörig (Ger.) The triple stringed grand pianoforte. A trichord.
30Dreiklang (Ger.) A chord of three sounds. [Triad.]
31Drei-stimmig (Ger.) Music in three parts.
32Dritta (It.) Right; mano dritta, right hand.
33Driving notes. Syncopated notes. Notes driven through the ensuing accent.
34Droite (Fr.) Right; as main droite, right hand.
35Drone. (1) The monotonous bass produced from the larger of the three tubes of bag-pipes. As there are no governing holes in the drone the sound it gives forth serves as a continuous bass to any melody; the pipe second in size is tuned to give out the fifth above the drone; and the smaller pipe, called the chanter, has ventages by which the melody is made. [Bagpipes.] (2) The chorus or burden of a song.
36Druckbalg (Ger.) A reservoir of wind, as in an organ, &c.
37Drum. An instrument of percussion, of cylindrical form, having discs of vellum or parchment at each end, so made that the discs can be tightened or slackened at pleasure by means of braces acted upon by sliding knots of leather, or by the later application of screws. There are many kinds of drums: (1) The long drum, with two heads, held laterally and played on both ends with stuffed-nob drumsticks held in the hands of the performer. (2) The side-drum having two heads, the upper one only being played upon by two sticks of wood; the lower head has occasionally strings of catgut stretched over its surface, and then it is called a snare drum. (3) The kettle drum, always employed in pairs. (4) The bass-drum or grosse-caisse which is played with two sticks unless the player has to strike cymbals with his left hand.
38The drum is an instrument of Eastern origin; it was employed by the Hebrews, Romans, Parthians, and other nations in religious dances, and as signals of war, and was probably first brought to Western Europe by the Crusaders or their followers. [Naker, nakeres.] [Kettledrum.]
39Drum-major. The name of an officer in the British army who is responsible for the instruction of drummers in the various roll-calls, and for the invention and construction
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