Major differences between opera, suite, fugue, operetta, symphony etc.
In: Culture
Music terms have had various meanings through out the years, but here are the ones you mentioned, plus a few more. Note that some terms even today are still debated/can have a broader meaning than what appears here.
* Opera: a dramatic work with very little talking, singing comprises about 90%. Typically 2 hours in length can be much longer. Generally features at least 2 ballets, 2 arias, 2 contrapuntal sections, a symphonic section, and an overture. Example: Mozart’s Don Giovani
* Operetta: a dramatic work with mostly singing (about 75%) and some talking. Typically shorter in length about 1 and a half hours. Features a light comical tone that usually pokes fun at the style as a whole or at actors etc. Features arias and contrapuntal sections, but lacks the opera’s ballets and symphonic sections. Overtures are optional. Example: Mozart’s The Magic Flute
* Musical: a dramatic work that features mostly talking, with the occasional song. About 2 hours in length. Features a showstopper and an aria usually. Example: High School Musical
* Aria: A song sung by a member of a dramatic piece. It is analogous to a soliloquy, where a character explains or monologues something speaking to themselves/the audience. Example: Dido’s Lament
* Showstopper: the largest musical number in a dramatic work. It usually involves multiple cast members, a lot of dancing, and is designed to get the audiences attention. Typically lighter in nature and found at the start of act 2. Example: Ya Got Trouble, from The Music Man
* Piece: the smallest form of music; sometimes called a movement. Typically no singing, as that would be called a song.
* Song: the smallest form of vocal music; requires singing can be chorus (group) or solo (alone).
* Suite: a collection of pieces that are linked by a common theme. Typically 2 – 4 pieces in length. Can be featured as part of a larger work. Typically played by smaller ensembles such as quartets. Example: Vivialdi’s Winter
* Symphony: a larger collection of pieces, typically 4 to 9; These are played by orchestras. May including singing. Example: The Planets, by Gustav Holst
* Fugue: a style of music in which a main melodic idea is presented and then repeated in variations by various instruments or groups. Example Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor.
* Canon: a style of music in which a melodic idea is presented and then repeated at a delay; different from a fugue in that the repetition occurs while the main idea is still playing. Example Pachabel’s Canon in D; Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
* Ballet: a piece which is written to be danced to, with the dance being ballet. Example Swan Lake
* Contrapuntal: a piece featuring two melodic ideas; they can be the same or different.
* Sonata: A piece, which may include singing, that present a main melodic idea, performs a variation of that idea (typically in a different key), then returns to the main idea.
* Chorus: can refer to a group of people singing or to a repeated musical feature placed between verses/variations (this is also called a refrain) Example most pop songs use this method, also most religious music
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