ballad (1) Long narrative poem, or musical setting of such a poem. (2) Late-eighteenth-century German poetic form that imitated the folk ballad of England and Scotland and was set to music by German composers. The ballad expanded the LIED in both FORM and emotional content.
ballad opera GENRE of eighteenth-century English comic play featuring songs in which new words are set to borrowed tunes.
ballade (1) French FORME FIXE, normally in three stanzas, in which each stanza has the musical FORM aab and ends with a REFRAIN. (2) Instrumental piece inspired by the GENRE of narrative poetry.
ballata (from Italian ballare, "to dance"; pl. ballate) Fourteenth-century Italian song GENRE with the FORM AbbaA, in which A is the ripresa or REFRAIN, and the single stanza consists of two piedi (bb) and a volta (a) sung to the music of the ripresa.
ballet In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France, an entertainment in which both professionals and guests danced; later, a stage work danced by professionals.
balletto, ballett (Italian, "little dance") Sixteenth-century Italian (and later English) song GENRE in a simple, dancelike, HOMOPHONIC style with repeated sections and "fa-la-la" refrains.
band Large ENSEMBLE of winds, brass, and percussion instruments, or of brass and percussion instruments without winds.
bar form Song FORM in which the first section of MELODY is sung twice with different texts (the two STOLLEN) and the remainder (the ABGESANG) is sung once.
bard Medieval poet-singer, especially of epics.
Baroque (from Portuguese barroco, "a misshapen pearl") PERIOD of music history from about 1600 to about 1750, overlapping the late RENAISSANCE and early CLASSIC periods.
bas (French, "low"; pronounced BAH) In the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, term for soft instruments such as VIELLES and HARPS. See HAUT.
bass (from BASSUS) (1) The lowest part in an ENSEMBLE work. (2) Low male voice. (3) Low instrument, especially the string bass or bass VIOL.
basse danse (French, "low dance") Type of stately couple DANCE of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
basso continuo (Italian, "continuous bass") (1) System of NOTATION and performance practice, used in the BAROQUE PERIOD, in which an instrumental BASS line is written out and one or more players of keyboard, LUTE, or similar instruments fill in the HARMONY with appropriate CHORDS or IMPROVISED MELODIC lines. (2) The bass line itself.
basso ostinato (Italian, "persistent bass") or ground bass A pattern in the BASS that repeats while the MELODY above it changes.
bassus (Latin, "low") In fifteenth- and sixteenth-century POLYPHONY, the lowest part; originally CONTRATENOR BASSUS.
bebop (or bop) A style of JAZZ developed in New York in the 1940s that had a diversified RHYTHMIC texture, enriched HARMONIC vocabulary, and an emphasis on IMPROVISATION with rapid MELODIES and asymmetrical PHRASES.
bel canto (Italian, "beautiful singing") Elegant Italian vocal style of the early nineteenth century marked by lyrical, embellished, and florid melodies that show off the beauty, agility, and fluency of the singer's voice.
big band Type of large JAZZ ENSEMBLE popular between the world wars, featuring brass, reeds, and RHYTHM SECTIONS, and playing prepared arrangements that included rhythmic unisons and coordinated dialogue between sections and soloists.
binary form A FORM comprised of two complementary sections, each of which is repeated. The first section usually ends on the DOMINANT or the relative major, although it many end of the TONIC or other KEY; the second section returns to the tonic.
blue note Slight drop or slide in pitch on the third, fifth, or seventh degree of a MAJOR SCALE, common in BLUES and JAZZ.
blues (1) African-American vocal GENRE that is based on a simple repetitive formula and characterized by a distinctive style of performance. (2) TWELVE-BAR BLUES.
bop See BEBOP.
branle gay RENAISSANCE DANCE in a lively triple METER based on a sideways swaying step.
breve (from Latin brevis, "short") In medieval and RENAISSANCE systems of RHYTHMIC NOTATION, a NOTE that is normally equal to half or a third of a LONG.
bull lyre Sumerian LYRE with a bull's head at one end of the soundbox.
burden (1) In English medieval POLYPHONY, the lowest voice. (2) In the English CAROL, the REFRAIN.
Byzantine chant The repertory of ecclesiastical CHANT used in the Byzantine RITE and in the modern Greek Orthodox Church.
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