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Music vocabulary · Performance and Practice

Tremolo

Meaning in music, with examples

nounCommon term

In music, tremolo means: Rapid repetition of a note or rapid alternation between notes, creating a continuous trembling musical texture.

In Turkish: tremolo

How it is used

Used in string, keyboard and percussion writing. In performance instructions it concerns repeated attacks; an electronic tremolo effect instead varies loudness.

Example sentences

  1. The violins play a quiet tremolo under the tense dialogue.

    Rapid repeated bow movements provide a restless background without a new melody.

  2. Keep the piano tremolo even as you alternate between the two written notes.

    The pianist repeatedly switches pitches while maintaining a balanced flow of attacks.

Common collocations

  • string tremolo
  • unmeasured tremolo
  • piano tremolo
  • bowingThe way a string player uses the bow, including direction, pressure, speed, and phrasing, to shape sound and articulation.
  • stringsThe section of instruments played with a bow, mainly violins, violas, cellos and double basses. It also means the actual strings on an instrument such as a guitar.
  • articulationThe way notes are started, connected, separated, or accented in performance, shaping clarity and musical character.

More terms: Performance and Practice

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