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dưn b’u: Vietnamese zither with a pitch-bending bar.

dưn ken: Vietnamese double reed aerophone.

dưn nguyet: Vietnamese moon-shaped, long-necked lute with two strings.

dưn nhi: Vietnamese two-stringed, bowed lute.

dưn tranh: Vietnamese sixteen-string zither.

dabtara: Ethiopian church musicians who are also scribes and healers.

darabukkah: A Middle Eastern membranophone with an hour-glass shape.

dbyangs: A type of biphonic Tibetan chant characterized by sustained notes in a low register and audible harmonics.

dbyangs-yig: Literally ́written account of the song, a dbyangs-yig is a song book of Tibetan dbyangs.

development: In general, the process of elaborating or varying a theme. More specifically the middle, contrasting section in Western sonata form.

dhol: The double-headed South Asian membranophone associated with bhangra.

diaspora: A people living outside their historic homeland in two or more places and who maintain memories of attachments to their place of origin. Diasporas often arise from situations of forced migration or exile.

digital electronic instruments: Electrophones, such as the digital synthesizer, in which a specialized computer emulates acoustic patterns. These digital simulations are converted into electric oscillations which are then amplified and transformed into audible vibrations by electric speakers.

disjunct motion: Melodic motion by leaps, using large intervals. See also conjunct motion.

dotted rhythm: The pairing of a long and short rhythm, as in iambic meter. It is so named because a dot represents the rhythm in Western notation.

double reed: A reed which is constructed from two thin strips of cane bound together so that they vibrate against each other. An example of a double reed instrument is the oboe.

dowr: (Literally ́bit, period or cycle.") Rhythmic cycles in medieval Persian music.

drones: Pipes without any finger holes on a set of bagpipes which produce a steady single tone. A drone produces its sound with a single reed.

duple meter: A grouping (measure) of two beats.

duration: The manner in which music organizes time. Durations can be described in terms of rhythm, pulse and meter.

dynamics: The intensity of a musical event.