H

H: 1. In the German musical system, B natural, or the key of B natural. 2. "Hoboken", the cataloguer of Haydn 's works; H numbers are used instead of opus numbers for the works of Haydn.

Half-Cadence: A cadence that ends on the dominant instead of the tonic. Also called an imperfect cadence.

Half-Note: Half the time of a whole-note or semibreve. Known in England as a 'minim.'

Half-Step: Also known as a semitone. The smallest interval that is commonly used in Western music. There are 12 half-steps in an octave. Any two adjacent notes are a half-step apart.

Harmonic Progression: The movement from one chord to another, usually in terms of their function. (a progression is not a succession!)

Harmonic Series: A series of notes produced above the fundamental (the series includes the fundamental) which fall in the overtones of that pitch.

Harmony: 1) The study of progression, structure, and relationships of chords. 2) When pitches are in agreement, or consonant.

Hayden. Franz Joseph:(b Rohrau,1732; d Vienna, 1809), Austrian Composer. Prolific composer who was supported by Prince Paul Esterhäzy for over 30yrs. Prolific composer created music in the form of Masses, Operas, Cantatas, Symphonies, Concertos, String Quartets, Keyboard Sonatas, Chamber Nusic, Solo Cantatas and Solo Vocal Works. See Hoboken.

Head : Used in the context of Jazz, and is the original melody of a tune which is typically played before and after improvisations.

Head Voice: The upper register of the singing voice.

Heldentenor: A heroic tenor with a strong, robust singing voice.

Hemitonium: A half-step.

Heterophony: The simultanious performance of two slightly different melodies. Example would be Gamelon Music of Indonesia.

Homophony: Music in which one voice has the melody, performed with a chordal accompaniment.

Hymn: A song, often a chorale, written in praise of God, or for a religious congregation.