G
G is a note of the musical scale (= French, Italian:
sol)
Galliard
The galliard is a courtly dance of the late 16th
and early 17th century in triple metre usually following a slower duple
metre pavan. The two dances are often found in instrumental compositions
of the period, sometimes in suites.
Galop
The galop is a quick dance in duple metre, one of
the most popular ballroom dances of the 19th century. The dance appears
as a parody in Offenbach’s operetta Orpheus in the Underworld in a can-can.
Gamba
Gamba (Italian: leg) is in English used colloquially
to designate the viola da gamba or leg-viol, the bowed string instrument
popular from the 16th until the middle of the 18th century and held downwards,
in a way similar to that used for the modern cello, as opposed to the viola
da braccio or arm-viol, the instrument of the violin family, held on the
arm or shoulder.
Gavotte
A gracious Baroque
dance movement in duple meter. Usually it has four-measure phrases
that begin and end in the middle of the bar, and its meter is 
.
It uses simple rhythmic motives and does not often have syncopations or
other complications. It is generally moderate or sprightly in tempo.
It was frequently one of the movements following the sarabande
in harpsichord suites.
Gebrauchsmusik
A term originated in the 1920's (by Hindemith?)
meaning "music for use," i.e., music intended for practical use by amateurs,
in the home or at informal gatherings, as opposed to music written "for
its own sake" and intended chiefly for concert performance by professionals.
Characteristic traits are:
forms of moderate length
simplicity and clarity of style
small ensembles
avoidance of technical difficulties
parts of equal interest and so designed that
they can be played on whatever instruments are available
soberness and moderation of expression
emphasis on "good workmanship"
The opinion is held by some that Bach's cantatas
are the first examples of "gebrauchsmusik" in the sense of "music written
for immediate consumption." (Bach had to write a cantata for every
Sunday's service.)
Gigue
The gigue (= Italian: giga; English: jig) is a rapid
dance normally in compound duple metre (the main beats divided into three
rather than two). The gigue became the accepted final dance in the baroque
instrumental suite.
Giocoso
Giocoso (Italian: jocular, cheerful) is sometimes
found as part of a tempo instruction to a performer, as in allegro giocoso,
fast and cheerful. The same Italian adjective is used in the descriptive
title of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, a dramma giocoso.
Giusto
Giusto (Italian: just, exact) is found in tempo indications,
as, for example, allegro giusto, as in the last movement of Schubert’s
Trout Quintet, or tempo giusto, in strict time, sometimes, as in Liszt,
indicating a return to the original speed of the music after a freer passage.
Glissando
Derived from the French glisser, to slide, the Italianised
word is used to describe sliding in music from one note to another. On
the harp or the piano this is achieved by sliding the finger or fingers
over the strings or keys, and can be achieved similarly on bowed string
instruments, and by other means on the trombone, clarinet, French horn
and pedal timpani among others.
Glockenspiel
The glockenspiel is a percussion instrument similar
in form to the xylophone, but with metal rather than wooden bars for the
notes. The instrument appeared only gradually in the concert-hall and opera-house
and is found in Handel’s oratorio Saul and elsewhere. Mozart made famous
use of the glockenspiel in The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), where
it is a magic instrument for the comic bird-catcher Papageno. It is now
a recognised if sparingly used instrument in the percussion section of
the modern orchestra.
Golden Mean
(see Terms
entry)
Gong
The gong is a percussion instrument originating in
the East. In the modern orchestra it is usually found in the form of the
large Chinese tam-tam. The gong appears in Western orchestral music in
the late 18th century, and notable use of sets of gongs of varying size
is found adding exotic colour to Puccini’s oriental operas Madama Butterfly
and Turandot.
Gradus ad Parnassum
(Lat., "Steps to Parnassus" -- a mountain sacred
to Apollo and the Muses) A treatise on counterpoint by Johann
Joseph Fux (Vienna, 1725; 2nd ed., 1742) based on the compositional
techniques of Palestrina.
Approached the teaching of counterpoint
through an examination of species counterpoint. Used to great effect by
Mozart
in his studies.
Grave
Grave (Italian: slow, solemn) is used as an indication
of tempo and mood, meaning slow and serious.
Grazioso
Grazia (grace) forms the Italian adjective grazioso,
used as an indication of expression and of tempo, particularly in the 18th
century.
Plainchant, the modal chant of early Christian and
continuing Catholic worship and its derivatives, is often known as Gregorian
chant, after Pope Gregory the Great , St. Gregory, to whom the attempt
at standardisation of the chant in the late 6th century is attributed.
Guitar
The modern concert guitar is a plucked string instrument
generally with six strings. The instrument has a long history, in one form
or another. In more recent times it became popular in Vienna in the early
19th century with the work of the Italian composer and guitarist Mauro
Giuliani and in Paris with the Catalan Fernando Sor. In Spain it was, of
course, the national instrument. The player Andrés Segovia had a
strong influence on the form of the modern guitar, the repertoire of which
now includes fine concertos by the composers Joaquín Rodrigo, Manuel
Ponce, Villa-Lobos, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and others.