Classical Music Vocabulary

A recurring musical fragment that serves as a unifying element in a larger work.

• Coda

• Motif

• Development

• Counterpoint

A large scale orchestral work typically consisting of four movements and featuring multiple instruments.

• Oratorio

• Concerto

• Opera

• Symphony

A musical form featuring a recurring theme interspersed with contrasting sections. It means "a little round" in English.

• Theme and Variations

• Trio

• Sonata

• Rondo

An Austrian composer born in 1756 who is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time and a master of the Classical style.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Ludwig van Beethoven

• Joseph Hadyn

The section of a musical composition where the composer takes the thematic material from the exposition and explores it further, often in a contrasting key.

• Exposition

• Development

• Recapitulation

A slow, stately dance in triple meter, often used as the third movement in a symphony or string quartet.

• Rondo

• Minuet

• Trio

• Theme and Variation

A composition for two violins, a viola, and a cello, typically consisting of four movements.

• Symphony

• Opera

• Oratorio

• String Quartet

A composition for three instruments or three voices.

• Sonata

• Concerto

• Trio

• String Quartet

A composition for one or more instruments, usually consisting of three or four movements, often played by a soloist.

• Trio

• Minuet

• Sonata

• Concerto

A large-scale vocal work, usually on a religious theme, performed with an orchestra and choir.

• Symphony

• Oratorio

• Chamber Music

• Opera