Passionato
(Italian) Passionately
Pastoral (Adjective)
That which depicts the life of shepherds, usually as an ideal type of life
Pastorale (Noun)
A type of composition written in a pastoral manner
Pavane (MORE)
A slow processional type of dance originating from at least the 1500s and most likely from Italy
Pavillon
(French) The bell of a brass instrument
Pegbox
The part of a stringed instrument that houses the tuning pegs
Peghead
The part of a stringed instrument that holds the parts in which the strings are wound and tuned. Also called headstock
Peitsche
(German) Slapstick
Penillon
(Welsh) Singing accompanied with the harp, many times improvised
Pentatonic scale
A scale of 5 notes
Perfect Interval (MORE)
Used to describe intervals of 1, 4,
5 and 8
Perfect Cadence (OUTLINE) (ARTICLE)
The strongest type of cadence, usually ending a section within a composition or marking the end of the composition. Also called "full"
Perfect Pitch
The ability to know a pitch’s name by just by hearing it played. Also called Absolute Pitch
Peu
(French) Little
Phalanges (Singular: Phalanx)
The bones that make up the fingers and the toes. In the hand, phalanges can be distal, intermediate or proximal
Phrase
A musical sentence, usually 2-4 measures in length
Piano (MORE)
A musical instrument played by means of a keyboard
Piano (p)
(Italian) Soft
Pianissimo (pp)
(Italian) Very Soft
Pianississimo (ppp)
(Italian) Very, very soft
Piatti
(Italian) Cymbals
Picardy third
The practice of ending a piece of music that is in a minor key by playing the last chord in the major key
Piccolo (MORE)
A woodwind instrument without a reed, similar to a flute but on a smaller scale
Pick-up
On an electric string instrument, the device that captures the mechanical vibrations and converts them to an electrical signal that can then be amplified and/or recorded
Pick-up measure
A measure, usually at the beginning of a piece, that has fewer beats than the time signature indicates. If a pick-up measure is used in a piece, usually the leftover beats are found in the last measure
Piracy
The act of stealing copyrighted material
Pitch
Used to describe the highness or lowness of a note, determined scientifically by the wave length and its vibration. The faster the vibration, the higher the note
Più
(Italian) more
Più mosso
Faster
Pizzicato
On a stringed instrument, when the player plucks the strings instead of using the bow
Plagel Cadence (OUTLINE) (ARTICLE)
A chord progression/cadence of IV-I (subdominant to dominant), used at the end of hymns and other religious songs, also called Amen Cadence
Plainchant, Plainsong
Plainchant or Plainsong traditionally was used in the Roman Catholic Mass and first notated in the 10th century A.D. It is written with melody only and is based on the modes. It has no rhythm and was written with the acoustics of the large cathedrals in mind
Plectrum
A device used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. In some keyboard instruments, i.e. the harpsichord, the plectra are attached to the jack mechanism