Glossary
backbeat: in soul or other western popular music, when the drummer or other musician emphasizes beats 2 and 4 instead of beats 1 and 3
ballad: a story set to music
cascara: Spanish for “shell”; the cascara is a rhythmic pattern played on the timbales
clave rhythm: a two-bar rhythmic pattern that is the foundation of Afro-Cuban music
claves: a pair of wooden sticks that are struck together to play the clave rhythm
composer: a person who writes their own songs or music
coro: the Spanish word for “chorus”
emotion: a feeling
guajeo: a repeated pattern of arpeggiated chords played on the piano
guitar: a stringed instrument that is played by strumming or picking the strings. A guitar has a long fretted neck and six or twelve strings.
inspiration: a person, place, thing, or thought that gives someone a creative idea
lyrics: the words in a song
medley: a piece of music compiled from parts of existing songs
melody: the main tune of a piece of music, made up of pitches that go up and down
modulation: in a song, when all the notes get higher or lower at the same time
pulse: a rhythmic beat or sound, like a heartbeat
rhythm: pattern of sound and silence over a steady beat
salsa: the name given to Afro-Cuban dance music as it is played in America
soul: a quality of music or other art that you can feel in your body, or that allows you to express your feelings in a bigger way than talking or writing
steady beat: the pulse in music
tempo: the speed of music
tumbao: a repetitive rhythmic pattern heard on the bass, congas, and piano in salsa music
verse: a musical section in a song where the melody stays the same but the lyrics change