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- B: German for B
flat (also in Finnish, Icelandic and Danish); H in
German is B natural
- barbaro: barbarous (notably used
in Allegro barbaro by Béla
Bartók)
- Bartók pizzicato: a term which
instructs string performers to play a pizzicato note to pull the string away
from the fingerboard so that it snaps back percussively on the fingerboard.
- bass: the lowest of the standard
four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a
musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony;
in an orchestral context, the term usually refers to the double
bass.
- basso continuo: continuous bass;
i.e., a bass part played continuously throughout a piece to give harmonic
structure, used especially in the Baroque period
- beat: (1) the pronounced rhythm of
music; (2) one single stroke of a rhythmic accent
- bellicoso: warlike, aggressive
- ben or bene:
well; in ben marcato ("well
marked") for example
- bend: jazz term referring either
to establishing a pitch, sliding down half a step and returning to the
original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note.
- beschleunigte (Ger):
accelerated, as in mit
beschleunigter Geschwindigkeit, at an accelerated tempo
- bewegt (Ger):
moved, with speed
- binary: a musical form in two
sections: AB
- bird's eye: a slang term for fermata,
which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord as long as they wish
- bis (Lat):
twice; i.e., repeat the relevant action or passage
- bisbigliando: whispering; i.e., a
special tremolo effect on the harp where
a chord or note is rapidly repeated at a low volume
- bocca chiusa:
with closed mouth
- bravura: boldness; as in con
bravura, boldly
- breit (Ger):
broad
- bridge: Transitional passage
connecting two sections of a composition, also transition. Also the part of
a stringed instrument that holds the strings in place and transmits their
vibrations to the resonant body of the instrument.
- brillante: brilliantly, with
sparkle
- brio: vigour; usually in con
brio
- brioso: vigorously (same as con
brio)
- broken
chord: A chord in
which the notes are not all played at once, but in some more or less
consistent sequence. They may follow singly one after the other, or two
notes may be immediately followed by another two, for example. See also arpeggio in
this list, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken
chord; see Alberti bass.
- bruscamente: brusquely
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