Dictionary of Music - Birding America

singing school 381sicilianosicilienneside drumSee SICILIANA.See SICILIANA.British name for SNARE DRUM.sightreading The ability to perform a piece ofmusic at first sight, without studying or practicing itbeforehand. Sightreading requires an instant understandingof pitches and rhythms as well as the abilityto produce them more or less correctly, that is, shapingthe musical phrases. There is less emphasis onplaying or singing every single note with completeaccuracy, and more on understanding the overallidea of a piece. Skill in sightreading is important forprofessional musicians, as well as making amateurmusic-making more pleasurable. See also SOLFÈGE,def. 1.sight-singing Performing vocal music withoutprior rehearsal; see SIGHTREADING.signature A name for the signs placed at thebeginning of a musical composition to indicate thekey and meter. See KEY SIGNATURE; TIME SIGNA-TURE.sim.An abbreviation for SIMILE.simile (sē′mē le) Italian: “same.” Also, simili(sē′mē lē). A direction to continue performing in thesame manner as before, for example, to continueplaying broken chords (with the notes played in successioninstead of together). It is sometimes indicatedby the sign . Abbreviated sim.sin´al (sēn′äl) Italian: “up to.” A term used in themusical directions sin’al fine (“up to the end”), andsin’al segno (“up to the sign”), both indicating thepoint to which a section of a piece is to be repeated.sine (sīn) toneSee under OSCILLATOR.sinfonia (sēn fô nē′ä) Italian. 1 Today, the Italianterm for SYMPHONY. 2 During the baroque period(1600–1750), an OVERTURE. 3 A title used by J.S.Bach and others for various kinds of independentinstrumental piece. Bach used it for a group of keyboardpieces with three voice-parts (see underINVENTION). Other composers used it for pieces thatmight just as well have been called “canzona,”“sonata,” or even “trio sonata.” (See also SINFONIACONCERTANTE; SINFONIETTA, def. 1.) 4 Sinfonia Seeunder VIRTUAL ORCHESTRA.sinfonia concertante (sēn fô nē′ä kôn′′chertän′te) Italian. In the eighteenth century, a work inwhich one or more solo instruments have an importantpart and serve as a contrast to the full orchestra,much as in the CONCERTO GROSSO. Examplesinclude Johann Christian Bach’s Sinfonia concertantein A major for violin, cello, and orchestra (oneof a series of twelve published in Paris in 1771),Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat, K. 364, forviolin, viola, and orchestra, and more than twodozen such pieces by Karl Stamitz.sinfonietta (sēn fôn yet′ä) Italian: “little symphony.”1 A short symphony, usually played by achamber (small) orchestra. 2 A chamber (small)orchestra.similiSee SIMILE.simphonie (saN fô nē′) French.HURDY-GURDY, def. 2.A name for thesinging The art of producing musical sounds withthe voice (see VOICE, def. 2).singing sawSee SAW, MUSICAL.simple meter Any meter in which the number ofbeats in a measure is a multiple of two, such as 2/2,2/4, 4/4, 4/8, etc., that is, a meter in which there are2, 4, 8, or 16 beats per measure. See also COMPOUNDMETER.singing school In eighteenth-century America, amore or less informal class in music conducted byteachers who traveled from town to town. Pupilswere taught mainly how to read music and how tosing. Singing schools were especially popular along