Wachsend - Wütend
Yylophone - Zydeco
W
Wachsend - (German) "growing"; a dynamics directive to gradually increase the volume and sound intensity; see also dynamics
Wagner Tuba - a brass bass instrument invented by Richard Wagner to bridge the gap in tones between the french horn and trombone still used today primarily in film and television
Wait - a medieval night watchman minstrel of German towns who wandered the streets performing background music for the citizens
Walking bass - a steady rhythmic movement of the bass line serving as counterpoint in compositions of the Baroque period
Waltz - (German) "revolve"; a popular 19th century couples dance and music, typically in 3/4 or uneven meter originating from the German Ländler dance style
Washboard - a makeshift wooden or metal percussion instrument constructed of corrugated sheets which produces a high-pitched scraping sound when brushed with thimbles worn on the fingertips, from the 1950s skiffle boom
Wassail - English music composed for the Old Norse Wassail festival of singing and dancing during the Christmas holiday season
Water drum - a percussion instrument filled with water dipped into water to produce various pitches of tone when struck
Wehmütig - (German) "wistful"; play in a wistful or melancholy manner
Weihnachtslied - (German) "Christmas song"; a type of German Christmas carol
Wenig - (German) "little"; not very much; just a little
Whip - a percussion instrument of two wood strip hinged at the end which produce a clacking sound when slapped together
Whistle - a small flute with or without a blowhole, often containing a rattle inside, mostly used for signaling; see also whistling
Whistling - musical sound produced with the mouth by blowing air across a curled tongue with the lips puckered; to signal with a whistle
Wiengenlied - (German) "cradle song"; a lullaby; a song used to lull to sleep
Wind - the air blown into or through a brass or woodwind instrument
Wind band - concert band; an orchestra with no stringed instruments sometimes including the double bass
Wind instrument - a musical instrument which produces sound when air is blown into its mouthpiece including brass and woodwind instruments
Wind Quintet - a composition written for five wind instruments typically the clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon and double-bass or horn; a group of five musicians playing wind instruments
Wire brush - a drumstick with a fan of wires on one end used to produce a brushing or sweeping sound
Wolno - (Polish) "loose, freely"; play freely; allowed; improvise
Woodwind - wind instruments which produce sound by blowing air over a vibrating reed or by mouthpiece design as in the flute
Wütend - (Austrian) "angry, furious"; play furiously with strong accent
X
Xylophone - (Greek) "sound off wood"; a percussion instrument constructed of rows of metal or wooden bars of different pitched lengths arranged in scale order like a piano, which produce tones when stuck with a mallet or donger
Xylorimba - a xylophone with a deeper range of lower notes
Xacara - a comic interlude in stage plays; also called Jascara
Xilofono - (Italian) "wood sound"; the Italian word for xylophone
Y
Yaravi - (Spanish) "aviary"; an Andean song in a slow triple or uneven meter; a traditional love song of Peru
Yodel - (German) "yell"; a singing style of rapid alternations of tone with falsetto, using vowel sounds rather than lyrics articulated in high to low registers, popular in Switzerland, Austria, and American hillbilly country music
Z
Zählzeit - (German) "beat"; the beat of the music; the count of a composition
Zampogna - an Italian bagpipe, traditionally used in southern regions of Italy
Zart - (German) "subdued"; play in a delicate manner; depressed
Zarzuela - (Spanish) a type of musical drama in use from 17th to 19th century Spain which consists of popular or operatic music tunes alternating between spoken and singing acts; a musical genre of Baroque Spain named after a town
Zither - a flat-backed plucked stringed instrument played layed flat or on the knees from 17th century Germany
Zwischenspiel - (German) "interlude"; the organ music played in church between the verses of hymns; music played between the acts of an opera
Zartheit - (German) "tenderness"; play tenderly, with tenderness
Zartlich - (German) "tenderly"; to be played tenderly of in a slow easy manner
Zeichen - (German) "mark"; sign; mark; notation; point of action
Zeitmass - (German) "time"; time per measure; the tempo
Zelo, zeloso - (Italian) "zealous"; play zealously; with zeal
Zelosemente - (French) "zealous"; sing or play with zeal
Zeihen - (German) "drawn out"; to draw out; delay; slowing
Zeimlich - (German) "fairly"; fair, quite, rather than; a prefix or preposition
Zero ring - a type of o-ring on the perimeter of a drum to prevent unwarranted overtones and resonance
Zitterned - (German) "tembling"; trembling; with a tremble; shaken
Zögernd - (German) "delay"; hesitant; delayed
Zurückhalten - (German) "hold back"; delayed; held back; a delay of tempo; suppress, restrain
