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Instrumental Music – Definition
Instrumental music is music performed without vocals or sung lyrics. The musical expression is created entirely through instruments.
What is Instrumental Music?
In instrumental music, melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, and tone color communicate the musical ideas instead of words. Instrumental works exist in virtually every musical genre, including classical, jazz, blues, rock, film music, electronic music, and contemporary popular music.
Instrumental compositions may follow many different musical forms, ranging from simple song structures to extended works with multiple themes and sections.
How is Instrumental Music used in piano playing?
The piano is well suited to instrumental music because it can perform melody, harmony, and bass simultaneously. Pianists often shape the melody so it stands out clearly above the accompaniment while maintaining balance between the musical parts.
Performing instrumental music also develops phrasing, dynamics, articulation, and expressive control, allowing pianists to communicate musical ideas without the use of lyrics.