Glossary
These are short, informal descriptions for some of the musical terms that I’ve come across, or terms I think will be relevant sometime later in the story. I hope it’s easy to understand, but if not it’s probably best to research it yourself.
(instrument name) Concerto: It’s usually a composition piece that has a soloist of whichever instrument.
1st and 2nd Violin difference: 1st violins usually has the main melody of the piece, while 2nd violin may have a similar melody, they usually provide supporting tones or counter melodies. It’s safe to assume that 1st violins get the more difficult parts. (Just to be clear, there’s a group of “1st violins” and a group of “2nd violins.” There’s usually 3rd violins too, but they have even more of a supporting role in comparison to the 1st and 2nds.)
Conductor: They’re the ones leading musicians to be on beat. They cue the band on various things during the performance, e.g., when to be loud/soft etc. Conductors are also the ones in charge of the piece’s interpretation (e.g., “it should be lively, have the notes be shortened so it seems like it’s bouncing”). During practice, they’re also really scary when they’re singling you out for your mistakes…
Concert Hall: It’s a stage where musicians perform with a large auditorium. There’s a few of these called “Great Halls.” I’m not sure, but I think they’re a grander version of concert halls? You can easily find an image of one through Google.
Concertmaster (樂隊首席): They are in charge of tuning, and leading the bowing movements (the up and down motions lol) of the string section. It is usually the most skilled violinist (a 1st violinist) that takes this role. There isn’t a difference between concertmaster and the lead 1st violinist, it’s just an additional title.
Concert Pianist: Piano soloist. Pianos aren’t usually incorporated into orchestra performances.
Musikvereinsplatz/Musikverein: A concert hall in Vienna.
Opus #__: Opus basically means “work”, and it’s used to number which song is which in a collection of songs. For example, Beethoven Opus 50 (or Op. 50 for short) would be Beethoven’s 50th song. The numberings however, are not made by the composer (ex. Beethoven), but another person who published the composer’s works; the resources of whoever the publisher was at the time period could have been limited, therefore the numbering could be a little bit off from the actual chronological order. An opus can also have a set of songs within itself, so it could be named something like Op. 36, Nocturne 8.
Perfect Pitch (also known as Absolute Pitch): The ability to tell what note is what pitch on a scale (e.g., if you press random keys on a piano, the person with perfect pitch can tell what notes you’ve pressed down on). People born with this ability are pretty rare, but if you’re learning music you can train yourself to learn this (to a certain degree), which is called “pseudo-absolute pitch”. That takes a lot of practice however. I’m using perfect pitch instead of absolute pitch because that’s what I’ve known it as, but I may change terms as I go along.
Philharmonic: It just means “dedicated to music”. A lot of orchestra bands have this in their name apparently.
Repertoire: Basically a list of prepared songs, ready to be played.
Rosin: Pronounced ROZZ-INN (like moss with a Z, and inn), it is a sticky, hardened sap used to make the bow stick to the strings of the violin. It’s applied pretty regularly. If you don’t, it’ll make the violin screech/squeak sometimes. It is rubbed onto the hairs of the bow, and it usually leaves a white, sticky, powdery residue on the bow and your fingers.
Score (taken from chapter 3): They’re basically musical sheets, but a compilation of every part for every instrument in the orchestra, for a song. Since his father was a conductor, he needs the score to read to make sure the orchestra is playing properly. Here is an example of a score.
Stradivarius (斯式琴): A series of string instruments made by the Stradivari family, primarily Antonio Stradivari, known for their amazing sound quality. There were about 1100 made roughly 250 yrs ago, but only 650 survived. Approximately 512 are violins. The price ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions.
Tuning: Every string or button on an instrument is supposed to make a specific sound. If the sound is off (either it’s too high, or too low), then adjustments are made to the instrument so it sounds right. If you don’t tune, the song you are playing can sound wrong. Musicians always tune before they play, even if they’re right on stage.
Names + short descriptions (here for my benefit lol)
Lu Ziwen (陆子文): Our late MC. He was a prospering pianist before he was killed by his lover in a fit of jealousy.
Qi Mu (戚暮): Formerly a fallen star. He is our current MC. He’s a violinist.
Min Chen (闵琛): Our ML. A conductor and pianist, I believe.
Albrecht Burenza (多伦萨): His name is read as Duo Luo Sa, but MTL gives me Albert Borenza/Durenza. I changed Albert to Albrecht to make it more German. His name keeps getting translated as Mr. Toronto (Duolunduo) lmao. He’s one of the 4 famous conductors. Is he gna be relevant? Who knows I’m not losing his name now.
Luo Yu Sen (罗遇森): Bad BF. Has a really pathetic personality.
Lamby TL 