Concert master:  First chair violinist in an orchestra.

Concert pitch:  The international tuning pitch -- currently A 440 or 442. The pitch for non-transposing (C) instruments.

Concertino:  A short concerto. The group of soloists in a concerto grosso.

Concerto:  A piece for a soloist and orchestra.

Conducting:  The directing of a group of musicians.

Conductor:  The person who directs a group of musicians.

Conjunct:  Pitches on successive degrees of the scale; opposite of disjunct.

Consonance:  Intervallic relationships which produce sounds of repose. Frequently associated with octave, third and sixth intervals; however, fourths and fifths may be sounds of consonance, as in both early and 20th-century music.

Consort:  A 17th-century term for instrumental chamber ensembles and for the compositions written for these ensembles.

Contra:  The octave below normal.

Corda, corde:  String.

Countermelody:  A vocal part which contrasts with the principal melody.

Counterpoint:  The technique of combining single melodic lines or parts of equal importance.

Crescendo:  gradually become louder

Crescendo:  Gradually louder.

Cue:  Indication by the conductor or a spoke word or gesture for a performer to make an entry. Small notes that indicate another performer's part. Music occurrence in a film.

Cut time:  2/2 meter.

Dal:  "From the," "by the."

Dal segno, D. S.:  Repeat from the sign . Frequently followed by al Fine.

Damper pedal:  On pianos, the pedal that lifts the dampers from the strings.

Deceptive cadence:  Chordal progression dominant (V) to a chord other than the expected tonic.