Da capo From the beginning; an indication usually meaning that the opening section of a piece is to be repeated after the middle section.

Da capo aria Aria in A B A form; after the B section, the term da capo is written; this means from the beginning and indicates a repetition of the opening A section.

Decrescendo Gradually softer.

Development Second section of a sonata-form movement, in which themes from the exposition are developed and the music moves through several different keys.

Diminuendo See decrescendo.

Diminution Variation of a fugue subject in which the original time values of the subject are shortened.

Dissonance Tone combination that is unstable and tense.

Dixieland See New Orleans jazz.

Dominant chord Triad built on the fifth note of the scale, which sets up tension that is resolved by the tonic chord.

Dotted note Note with a dot to the right of it. This dot increases the note's undotted duration by half.

Dotted rhythm Long-short rhythmic pattern in which a dotted note is followed by a note that is much shorter.

Double bass ("bass fiddle"; bass) Largest string instrument, having the lowest range of the string family.

Double-reed woodwinds Instruments whose sound is produced by two narrow pieces of cane held between the player's lips; these pieces vibrate when the player blows between them.

Double stop See stop.

Downbeat First, or stressed, beat of a measure.

Drone Long, sustained tone or tones accompanying a melody.

Dubbing In recorded music, the insertion of sounds, which may themselves be live or prerecorded, that then become part of the resulting piece of music.

Duple meter Pattern of 2 beats to the measure.

Dynamic accent Emphasis that a note receives when a performer plays it more loudly than the notes around it.

Dynamics Degrees of loudness or softness in music.