absolute pitch (Sense of)- That sense which some people possess of the actual pitch of any note heard. Absolute pitch is really an innate form of memory: the possessor retains in his or her mind (consciously or unconsciously) the pitch of some instrument to which he or she has been accustomed and instinctively relates to that pitch every sound heard. Many good musicians possess this faculty; as many others do not.

Baroque- (Fr.) Bizarre. Term applied to the ornate architecture of Germany and Austria during the 17th and 18th century. Borrowed to describe comparable music developments from about 1600 to the deaths of Bach and Handel in 1750 and 1759 respectively. It was a period in which harmonic complexity grew alongside emphasis on contrast. The period saw the emergence of composers such as Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach.

Classical Era- Musis composition roughly between 1750 and 1830 (i.e. post-Baroque and pre-Romantic).

ragtime- An early type of jazz. A famous composer of Ragtime was Scott Joplin. Popular from around 1895-1920, when other forms of jazz took over. Ragtime's popularity had a revival in 1970s, when Joplin's music was used for the film The Sting. A Rag is a ragtime composition. To rag is to play in ragtime.

Synchopation is found at the beginning and end of this phrase from the Maple Leaf Rag (All of the downbeats are highlighted in red)

syncopation- A style used in order to vary position of the stress on notes so as to avoid regular rhythm. Syncopation is achieved by accenting a weak instead of a strong beat, by putting rests on strong beats, by holding on over strong beats, and by introducing a sudden change of time signature. This style of composition was exploited to fullest capabilities by jazz musicians, often in improvisation.

Victorian Era- An era in which proper conduct and "high society" was emphasized and praised.