Ad Libitum / Ad Lib. a tune meant to be sung or played very freely, without any regular pulse. They are written without any time signature or bar lines. The word 'freely' can be written Ad Libitum (or Ad lib.) meaning 'at will'.
The style and speed of the music is left for the player or singer to decide.
Air A tune or a melody.
Aria An air or tune.
Chorale Originally, a hymn tune of the Lutheran Church characterized by blocked chords. In casual modern usage, a classical setting, eg, by JS Bach, of such a tune, in usually four-voiced, that proceeds in a primarily one-tone texture with both harmonic progression and individual voice-leading having equal importance. For this reason, they are often used as theory examples.
Jazz 1. A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom. 2. Big band dance music.
Pentatonic can apply to a tune founded on any five notes
Rhythm all tunes have rhythm. Sometimes the rhythm is free flowing, but more often it is measured with a regularly occuring Pulse. The pulse is not like the ticking of a clock: there is a physical tension and relaxation in it. Unfortunately, we often lose this effortless continuity when learning to 'keep time' in music. In the early stages of keeping time, a measured rhythm can be Counted where each syllable is given a rhythmical pattern of long notes and short notes.
Strathspey A strathspey is a type of dance tune in 4/4 time. It is similar to a hornpipe but slower and more stately, and contains many dot-cut 'snaps.'
Time Signature A time signature is a device which shows how to count the time patterns in any bar. It is represented by either two numbers, a 'c', or 'c' with a vertical line through it. This is usually shown at the beginning of staves. These symbols give the number of beats to a bar.
Concerning the two numbers, the lower number represents the unit of time: it is written according to its value in terms of a semibreve. The number of top of a time-signature shows how many units there are to the bar.
The time signature is written on the stave just before the first note of the tune. A time signature with four quarter notes to the bar is written 4/4 (common time, also represented by a 'C'). The time signature for songs with two quarter notes to the bar is written 2/4, etc.
