ations; the opposite of cacophony. (From
the Greek word meaning _well-sounding_.)

_Facile_--easy.

_Fanfare_--a trumpet call.

_Fantasia_--An instrumental composition not based on any regular form.

_Fiasco_--a complete failure or breakdown.

This use of the word _fiasco_ (which means in Italian a flask,
or bottle) is said to have reference to the bursting of a
bottle, the complete ruin of the bottle being compared with
the complete failure of a performance.

_Gamut_--all the tones of a scale.

_Glissando_--playing a scale on the keyboard by drawing the finger along
over the keys, thus depressing them in very rapid succession. The word
is derived from the French word _glisser_--to glide.

_Harpsichord_--one of the immediate predecessors of the piano.

_Humoresque_--a capricious, fantastic composition. (Cf. _fantasia_.)

_Idyl_--a short, romantic piece of music in simple and unaffected style.

_In alt_--pitches in the first octave above the treble staff. Thus
_e.g._, "C in alt" is the C represented by the second added line above
the treble staff.

_In altissimo_--pitches in the octave above the _alt_ octave.

_Instrumentation_--see _orchestration_.

_Interlude_--a short movement between two larger movements.

_Loco_--place; _i.e._, play as written. (See p. 15, Sec. 46.)

_Lunga trillo_--a long trill.

CHAPTER XX

MISCELLANEOUS TERMS (_Continued_)

_Lyric_--a short, song-like poem of simple character. Also applied to
instrumental pieces of like character.

_Maggiore_--major.

_Marcato il canto_--the melody well marked; _i.e._, subdue the
accompaniment so that the melody may stand out strongly.

_Melos_--melody. This word _melos_ is also applied to the peculiar style
of vocal solo found in Wagner's music dramas. See _recitative_ (p. 75,
Sec. 170).

_Mellifluous_--pleasing; pleasant sounding.

_Menuetto, menuet_--same as _minuet_. (See p. 68, Sec. 151.)

_Mezzo soprano_--a woman's voice of soprano quality, but of somewhat
lower compass than the soprano voice. Range approximately b to g''.

_Minore_--minor.

_Nocturne_ (sometimes spelled _nocturn_, _notturna_, _nokturne_,
etc.)--a night piece; a quiet, melodious, somewhat sentimental
composition, usually for piano solo.

_Nuance_--delicate shading; subtle variations in tempo and dynamics
which make the rendition of music more expressive.

_Obbligato_ (sometimes incorrectly spelled _obligato_)--an accessory
me