A Helpful Glossary of Musical Terms

Anthem: a choral composition with English text. Anthems developed in the Anglican Church during the 16th century as an alternative to the Roman Catholic motet, sacred music with Latin text.

Baroque: a style of western music dating from 1600-1750 that was characterized by dramatic, ornamental sound and multiple melody lines. Important composers from this period include Johan Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frederic Handel.

Bellows: a wedge-shaped device that pumps air through the organ. Today many organs have bellows that are operated by electricity, but prior to this, organs required a person to pump the bellows by hand.  

Cornet: a brass, valved musical instrument. It is similar to a trumpet but smaller in size and produces a deeper sound.

Manual: a keyboard that is played with one’s hands. The organ at Old North has two manual keyboards and a pedal keyboard, which is played with one’s feet.

Prelude: a music composition, usually brief, that is played before a religious service or ceremony.

Postlude: a music composition played at the end of a service that is meant to continue the feeling of the service as the congregants exit.

Stop: a mechanism on the organ that controls the airflow through a set of pipes. Stops correspond to sets of pipes that have different tone qualities.  Using different stops changes the sound of the organ. The expression “pull out all the stops” originates with the organ and the idea that if one were to use all the stops at once, it would create a very loud and ornate sound. 

Read More About the Pipe Organ

Educators: See our Sounds of Old North: Classroom Resources.

See the organ by taking a tour of Old North church.

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