Types of Songs (CBH)

__TOC__
Air de cour: A short song of several stanzas for one or more voices accompanied by lute or harpsichord.
Anthem: A short choral piece based on a religious text or source.
Arabesque: A short imaginative piece.
Aria: An elaborate solo song generally with instrumental accompaniment.
Arioso: A style of recitative that is more song-like and expressive than ordinary recitative.
Aubade: A piece of instrumental music played in the morning as opposed to the serenade, which is played in the evening.
Ayre: An English solo song accompanied by the lute, theorbo, or bass viol (and occasionally by two singers).
Bagatelle: A short piece for a keyboard instrument.
Ballad: A solo song that tells a story in simple verse. The same music is repeated for each stanza.
Bandinerie: A fast, dancelike piece.
Canon or Fugue: A musical composition in which a melody in one voice-part is imitated by other voice-parts that are slightly offset (e.g., row, row, row your boat).
Carol, Noel, or Weihnachtslied: A song sung in honor of a holiday (e.g., Christmas songs).
Chant: Usually refers to the music of churches.
Fa-la: An English song sung in nonsense syllables (e.g., falala, fa la la).
Fanfare: A tune used to announce someone's arrival, the start of a parade, the start of a jousting tournament, etc.
Folk music: Music that is learned by word of mouth.
Hymn: Any song that expresses praise or love of a deity.
Improvisation: Composing a song or theme as it is being performed.
Jig: A lively dance.
Lai: A form of music and poetry developed in France in the 13th Century.
Lament: A composition that mourns someone's death.
Lullaby: A cradle song used by mothers to lull their babies to sleep.
Lyric: Means "songlike." Often used to describe instrumental pieces that are short and expressive.
Medley: A group of familiar tunes played one after another and loosely linked together.
National anthem: A song adopted by a kingdom as its official song.
Ode: A musical setting of a poem written in honor of a person or special occasion.
Opera: A play in which the characters sing rather than speak.
Parody: An exaggerated imitation of a composition, often to make fun of it.
Program music: A general term for music that tells a story.
Psalm: A musical composition based on the text from the book of Psalms.
Recitative: A style of singing that closely resembles speech, with little change in pitch and rhythm.
Round: A vocal composition with three or more parts that enter one after another, repeating the same words (e.g., canons and fugues).
Serenade: A love song sung during the evening below a beloved's window.
Shanty: A work song sung by sailors to help keep time during jobs that require teamwork.
Swan song: A term used for a person's final work before his death.