Abbreviations

4t quartet
5t quintet
A alto voice
accord accordion
acl alto clarinet
afl alto flute
flute in G; British usage: bass flute
almglock Almglocken
herdbells
alt alternative
abwechselnd
alto tbn alto trombone
ampd amplified
arr arranged, arrangement
bearbeitet
asx alto saxophone
atp tromba contralta
contralto trumpet pitched in F and used in late 19th-century and early 20th-century Russian scores; parts are playable on a B-flat trumpet.
b sxhn bass saxhorn
Bar baritone voice
bar hn baritone horn
a baritone saxhorn in B-flat, narrower in bore than a euphonium
basset hn basset horn
bcl bass clarinet
bcl(A) bass clarinet in A
bd bass drum
bd/cym bass drum with attached cymbal
bfl bass flute in C
not to be confused with alto flute in G
bgtr bass guitar
bn bassoon
brake dr brake drum
Bs bass voice
Bs-Bar bass-baritone voice
bsx baritone saxophone
btbn bass trombone
btp bass trumpet
C-cl C clarinet
Ca Contralto
cast castanets
cb sxhn contrabass saxhorn
cb tbn contrabass trombone
cbcl contrabass clarinet
cbn contrabassoon
cel celesta
chimes chimes
tubular bells, cloches, campane
Chinescym Chinese cymbal
chmb chamber
as in “chamber orchestra.”
chor chorus
cimb cimbalom
dulcimer of Hungarian origin; not to be confused with cimbasso, a brass bass instrument.
cimbasso cimbasso
cl clarinet
B-flat or A clarinet if unmodified; occasionally may refer to C clarinet (see Preface, p. xi)
cnt continuo
crit ed critical edition
an edition based on scholarly evaluation of the sources and taking into account historical performance practice.
crot crotales
antique cymbals
crt cornet
CT countertenor
cym cymbals (pair)
d’am d’amore
D-cl D clarinet
db double bass
contrabass
dbl doubling, doubles, doubled
doppio, doppelt
didg didgeridoo
dr drum
duduk duduk
dur duration
Ebcl E-flat clarinet
sometimes used in this book generically to indicate the piccolo clarinet, whether in
E-flat or D (see Preface, p. xi).
ed edited; edition
Eh English horn
cor anglais
elec electric
as in electric bass, electric guitar, etc.
ens ensemble
euph euphonium
field dr field drum
deep drum with snares (military drum, parade drum, Rührtrommel, tamburo rullante con corde, caisse roulante avec cordes)
fig. rehearsal figure
in this book, rehearsal letters or numbers are enclosed in square brackets: [ ]
fl flute
NB: in baroque usage, flauto indicates recorder
flag flageolet
an end-blown flute which served in the 18th century as a predecessor to the orchestral piccolo.
flug flugelhorn, fluegelhorn
glock glockenspiel
orchestra bells, campanelli, carillon
gtr guitar
harm harmonium
harmica harmonica
hbchor handbell choir
heckl heckelphone
helicon helicon
herdbells herdbells
Almglocken, sheepbells, etc. (i.e., bells with internal clapper)
hi-hat high-hat cymbal
hn horn
hp harp
hpsd harpsichord
incl including
indef indefinite
as in “indefinite pitch,” or unpitched
inst instrument(s); instrumentation
kybd keyboard
kybd glock keyboard glockenspiel
lg large
gross, grande
mand mandolin
marac maracas
marim marimba
max maximum
massimo
mic microphone
min minimum
minimo, mindestmass
Ms mezzo-soprano voice
mvt movement
Satz; mouvement
n.d. no date (in a score)
n.pl.no no plate number
a plate number is not present in the score.
narr narrator
ob oboe
hautbois
ob d’am oboe d’amore
ob da cacc oboe da caccia
ondes ondes martenot
oph ophicleide
opt optional
orch; orchd orchestra; orchestrated
org organ
orig original
pcs pieces
as in “2 pieces of metal”
perc percussion
pf piano
Klavier
pf-cond piano-conductor score
pfLH piano LH
piano for left hand only
pic piccolo
ottavino, kleine Flöte, petite flûte
pic tp piccolo trumpet
usually in Bb or A
pl.no. plate number
a number assigned by a publisher and found at the foot of every page of music in the score; sometimes the only reliable identifier of a particular edition
posthn posthorn
pr pair
paire; Paar; paio
pub published, publisher
publ.no. publisher number
a number assigned by a publisher and found only on the title page and the first page of music, unlike the plate number
ratch ratchet
raganella, crécelle, Ratsche
rec recorder
Blockflöte, flûte à bec
red reduced, reduction
rev revised; revision
S soprano voice
sandblks sandpaper blocks
sarr sarrusophone
Sc. Scene
sd snare drum
caisse claire, tambour, kleine Trommel, side drum
serp serpent
set drum set, trap set
sirenwhstl siren whistle
cyclone whistle
slgh-bells sleighbells
pellet bells, grelots, Schellen, sonagli
sm small
sn snares
as in “snares off,” or “sd w/o sn”
spkr speaker
ssx soprano saxophone
stlpan steelpan
str strings
str 4t string quartet
2 violins, viola, cello
str 5t string quintet
2 violins, viola, cello, double bass
sus cym suspended cymbal
sx saxophone
synth synthesizer
szl cym sizzle cymbal
T tenor voice
tambn tambourine
tambour de basque, tamburino
tambn prov tambourin provençal; tambour de provence
long narrow 2-headed drum without snares; not to be confused with the tambourine
tbn trombone
Posaune
td tenor drum
deep drum without snares (Rührtrommel ohne Saiten; Wirbeltrommel, Rolltrommel, tamburo rullante, caisse roulante, or tambour roulant sans timbre)
templeblks temple blocks
ten tenor
as applied to an instrument: e.g., tenor banjo
thunder thundersheet
tmp timpani
NB: the number of drums is not specified in these listings; 2tmp means 2 players, not 2 drums
tp trumpet
Treb treble voice
boy soprano, child soprano
tri triangle
tsx tenor saxophone
tuba tuba
v. volume number
va viola
var variable
vc violoncello
cello
vib vibraphone
vibrslp vibraslap
jawbone
vn violin
vn pic violino piccolo
w/ with
con, avec, mit
w/o without
senza, sans, ohne
Wag tb Wagner tuba
whip whip
slapstick, frusta, Peitsche, fouet
wnd mach wind machine
woodblk woodblock
xyl xylophone
zurna zurna
± “with or without”
indicates voices or instruments which can be omitted safely in concert performance.