Baby grand

A small grand piano.

---

Bagatelles

Sketches, short pieces, trifles.

---

Balance

The harmonious adjustment of volume and timbre between instruments or voices; it can be between players or vocalists or electronically while recording or mixing.

---

Ballad

A song, short and simple, designed to suit a popular audience. Usually in descriptive form.

---

Ballade

In the medieval period a form of trouvères music and poetry. In later time, German poetry set as a through-composed song.

---

Band

An instrumental ensemble, usually made up of wind and percussion instruments and no string instruments.

---

Banjo

A five stringed instrument with long neck, whose sound is reinforced by a parchment covered hoop.

---

Barcarolle

A song of air sung by the Venetian gondoliers.

---

Bar line

The vertical line placed on the staff to divide the music into measures.

---

Baroque

The period 1600-1750. Read more about the Baroque Period.

---

Bass clef

Another name for the F clef.

---

Basso continuo, Continuo, Thorough-bass

The Baroque practice in which the bass part is played by a viola da gamba(cello) or bassoon while a keyboard instrument performed the bass line and the indicated chords.

---

Baton

Conductor's stick which is used to keep time.

---

Battuto

Beat, bar, or measure. A due or a tre battuta, the musical rhythm in groups of two or three respectively.

---

Ben

Well. Used with other words, e.g. ben marcato, well accented, emphasized.

---

Binary form

The term for describing a composition of two sections. AB, each of which may be repeated.

---

Bis

Repeated twice. An encore.

---

Bitonality

The occurrence of two different tonalities at the same time.

---

Bourreé

A French dance from the 17th century in brisk duple time starting with a pickup.

---

Brass family

Wind instruments made out of metal with either a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece, such as trumpet, cornet, bugle, Flugelhorn, trombone, tuba, baritone horn, euphonium, saxhorn, and French horn.

---

Broken chord

Notes of a chord played in succession rather than simultaneously. Arpeggio.