Glossary of Sheet Music Terms
Subject Terms | Publishing & Printing Terms Specialized Subject TermsThe terms below were developed to describe the music and illustrations of this digital collection and have not been based on standard sources. A few of them are drawn from the Library of Congress Subject Headings, but most are unique to this finding aid. The description of the dances are, for the most part, based on the New Harvard Dictionary of Music, edited by Don Michael Randel (Belknap Press, 1986). |
Classical music | Music Search | Example |
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Dance and Dance music | Music Search | Illustration Search |
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--Cakewalks | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
1) A dance in duple time (2/4) characterized by
high stepping and leaning back of the upper body. It became very
popular on the stage and as a social dance in the 1890's to early
1900's. 2) During the same period the cakewalk became popular as a syncopated march strongly influenced by ragtime. Bibliography: Brooke Baldwin, "The Cakewalk: A Study in Stereotype and Reality," Journal of Social History 15 (1981): 205-218. |
--Cotillions | Music Search | Example |
A social dance popular in the 18th and 19th centuries related to contredanse and quadrille. They were often performed at the end of a ball. The actual music and danse steps varied. The music used might be waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, and galops. |
--Fox Trots | Music Search | Example |
American social dance introduced in 1913. The dance steps themselves were highly varied and borrowed from other dances. Popular variants included the quickstep (originally a fast military march) and slow blues. |
--Galops | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
A fast line dance in duple time (2/4) often used as the last dance in the Quadrille. The name is derived by the galloping motion used to move up and down the line. |
--Gavottes | Music Search | Example |
A Baroque dance in duple time, generally has a moderate tempo, and uses simple rhythms. |
--Mazurkas | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
Originally a Polish folk dance, this is usually a lively dance (3/4 time) with strong rhythms. Mazurkas were usually danced by 4, 8 or 12 couples. In the mid 19th century it became a very popular drawing-room dance, along with the polka. |
--Minuets | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
A highly stylized dance in a moderate tempo, triple meter. It was very popular in France from the mid-seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century. By the mid-nineteenth century it was considered to be "old fashioned" and was not frequently danced. It remains part of the classical piano literature to the present time. |
--Polka mazurkas | Music Search | Example |
A lively couple dance in 3/4 time combining the strong rhythms of the mazurka with the meter of the polka. |
--Polkas | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
The polka, originating in Bohemia in the early 19th century, was an extremely popular fast dance characterized by strong rhythms (duple time 2/4). |
--Polonaises | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
A processional dance of Polish origin but developed primarily outside of Poland. |
--Quadrilles | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
A dance for four or more couples, often in 2/4 or 6/8 time There were multiple sections titled: Le pantalon, L'ete, La poule, La pastourelle and Finale. |
--Schottisches | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
A slow round dance in triple time (3/4), sometimes called the German polka. |
--Tangos | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
A dramatic dance that originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the late 19th century. It is characterized by exaggerated movements by the dancers and abrupt rhythmic and dynamic contrasts in the music. |
--Tarantellas | Music Search | Example |
An rapid folk dance in 6/8 time from southern Italy with shifts between major and minor keys. |
--Waltzes | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
The waltz remains one of the most popular ballroom dances for couples today. It originated in southern Germany and Austria but has evolved from slower, rustic German dances to the elegant, sophisticated and graceful version made popular in the late nineteenth century. |
Education and fraternal organizations | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
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Entertainment | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
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Fashion and costume | Illustration Search | Example |
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Food and Eating | Illustration Search | Example |
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Historical and Patriotic Music | Music Search | Illustration Search |
God save the Southern land | Example |   Wedding of the Blue and the Gray | Example |
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Human activities of ordinary people | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
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    --Afro-Americans | Illustration Search | Example |
    --Children | Illustration Search | Example |
    --Couples | Illustration Search | Example |
    --Groups | Illustration Search | Example |
    --Men | Illustration Search | Example |
    --Photographs | Illustration Search | Example |
    --Women | Illustration Search | Example |
Instrumental music | Music Search | Example |
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Legacies of Racism and Discrimination | Music Search | Illustration Search |
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    --Afro-Americans | Music Search | Example |
This term is used only for "dialect" and "plantation"
songs. For illustrations see Stereotypes--Afro-Americans
Other groups include: American Indians, Arabs, Asian, Couples, Dutch, English, Eskimo, French, Germans, Gypsies, Handicapped, Hawaiians, Hispanic, Irish, Italians, Jews, Men, Scots, Swedes, and Women |
    --Stereotypes | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
This term is used to describe caricatures of ethnic groups. |
    --Stereotypes--Afro-Americans | Illustration Search | Example |
This term is used only for illustrations |
Marches and Military Music | Music Search | Example |
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Performers | Illustration Search | Example |
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Politics | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
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Religion | Illustration Search | Example |
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Society and Culture | Illustration Search | Example |
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  --Afro-Americans | Illustration Search | Example |
  --American Indians | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Children | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Couples | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Groups | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Men | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Supernatural & Imaginary Beings | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Women | Illustration Search | Example |
  --Sentimental Song | Music Search | Example |
Much of the collection consists of sentimental songs or a
variation on the theme of longing for family, home, and state or
country. There are many examples of each type that are collected
under this heading. Examples are:
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--State songs | Music Search |
Names of states figuring prominently on the title page, in
the title or words are listed here. Many states are represented.
North and South Carolina are entered under Carolinas. Additionally
there is a general category for Southern States (i.e., Dixie songs)
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Vices, Gambling, etc. | Music Search | Illustration Search | Example |
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For additional information about the printing and publishing of music see the Bibliography |
Chromolithography | Example |
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Engraving | Example |
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Lithography | Example |
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Stereotype Process | Example |
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