b-boying/b-girling: hip hop dancing; also known as breaking

ballad: a story set to music

banjo: a 5-stringed instrument played by plucking the strings

bahri: a seaside subculture in the gulf of Aqaba

Bedouin: nomadic people of the Jordanian desert lands 

clawhammer technique: a method of playing the banjo with a ‘claw like’ hand shape

composer: a person who writes their own songs or music

Creole: a language made up from a mixture of languages

cypher: a circle of musicians jamming together

dabka: a traditional dance in many Arabic countries, usually celebratory

drone: a continuous musical note

flow: the way an MC’s lyrics fit with the beat in hip hop

folk tale: a story that is passed through oral tradition from generation to generation

freestyle: an improvisational verse performed on the spot

gaseed: Arabic word for poetry

graffiti: hip hop’s visual art form; images with social messages in public spaces

ghazal: a song or poem about love

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.

harmonium: a small keyboard instrument where sound is produced by air through a hand-operated bellow

hook: a repeated phrase that returns like a chorus

improvisation: the act of making up something on the spot

lyrics: the words in a song

MC: “Master of Ceremonies,” in hop hip, this would be the lead rapper or host of an event

melody: the tune of the song

message: something that the musicians want you to learn

modulation: in a song, when all the notes get higher or lower at the same time

oral tradition: the passing down of stories, songs, or other practices from generation to generation through word of mouth

ornamentation: decoration that is added to make something fancier in music

parade: a public procession of people moving together, usually celebratory

producer: assist musicians with their recording projects

rest: a silent beat in sheet music

rhythmic layers: layers of repeated rhythms on top of each other to create a more complex polyrhythm

sargam: a pattern of musical notes and syllables in music of India, much like a scale

scale: a pattern of pitches

second line: a brass band parade, behind the main line 

second line instruments: instruments used in a second line parade, such as the trumpet, saxophone, snare drum, and the sousaphone.

solfège: a series of syllables used to teach melodies

solo: one musician performing alone

steady beat: the pulse in music

syncopation: an interruption of the steady beat

tabla: a pair of small hand drums used in Indian music

top rock: a foot movement used in break dancing

verse: a musical section in a song where the melody stays the same but the lyrics change