| a cappella |
without instrumental accompaniment, as choral singing. |
| accompanist |
one who provides a musical accompaniment, esp. on a piano. |
| appertain |
to belong or be related as an attribute, accompaniment, consideration, or the like; pertain (usu. fol. by "to"). |
| aria |
a solo piece for voice with instrumental accompaniment, usu. sung in an opera. [1/2 definitions] |
| backing |
the instruments or voices that provide accompaniment for a soloist. [1/3 definitions] |
| castanet |
one of a pair of slightly concave wooden or ivory instruments, held in the hand and clicked together to provide rhythmic accompaniment, esp. to certain Spanish dances. |
| comp1 |
to play an accompaniment to jazz music, as on a piano or guitar, often of syncopated chords. |
| complement |
something that makes a fine accompaniment to something else, makes it complete or perfect, or creates a perfect balance for it. [2/7 definitions] |
| continuo |
a continuous bass accompaniment on a keyboard instrument, used esp. in baroque music. |
| doo-wop |
a singing style most popular in the 1950s, characterized by a lead singer performing with a chorus singing nonsense syllables, either with or without instrumental accompaniment. |
| entail |
to call for or bring about as a necessary accompaniment; necessarily involve. [1/5 definitions] |
| glee |
a song scored for three or more voices, performed without accompaniment. [1/2 definitions] |
| homophonic |
of music, having only one melodic line predominating, with other voices or parts as accompaniment. [1/2 definitions] |
| madrigal |
a type of song popular in the Renaissance, usu. sung by four to six singers who sing the same words but at different times and usu. with no instrumental accompaniment. |
| motet |
a piece of multivoice religious music with entwined melodies, usu. sung without accompaniment. |
| obbligato |
not to be left out; obligatory (used of a musical part or accompaniment that is considered prominent but usu. ornamental). [2 definitions] |
| opera1 |
a dramatic work set to music, with an accompaniment by an orchestra. [1/3 definitions] |
| ostinato |
a brief melodic phrase repeated over and over by the same instrument, used esp. as an accompaniment to a soloist or an ensemble passage. |
| part song |
a song written for several voice parts, to be sung without accompaniment. |
| patty-cake |
a child's game of clapping hands as accompaniment to this rhyme. [1/2 definitions] |
| ragtime |
a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American musical form, having a syncopated melody and an accompaniment in two-four time, usu. written for the piano. |