Terminology

Terminology Dictionary
Because The Forte Project is a wind band anime, many terms the characters use in their everyday conversations may not be accessible to viewers who have not participated in a concert band before. This page lists in alphabetical order many of the words commonly found in the band jargon, specifically defining those terms which appear in the anime.

Accent (music)
An accent is an emphasis placed on a note to make it louder, heavier, or stand out.

All-Japan Band Competition
A large wind band competition in Japan, organized by the All-Japan Band Association and the Asahi Shimbun. The competition is divided into four groups: junior high school, high school, college, and adult. Each symphonic band plays 2 pieces, a set piece, and an free-choice piece.[1][2] There are three types of awards given: Gold, Silver, Bronze. Based on the sheer number of musicians participating, the All-Japan Band competition is the largest music competition in the world.

Band camp
Band camp refers to a period of somewhere between 1-3 weeks where a concert band or marching band holds intense daily rehearsals, typically 6-8 hours long. Sometimes band camp will last only 3 or 4 days with long hours of highly efficient rehearsal-- which is what the North Hanasakigaoka Concert Band is planning to do after Miki, Rin and Mirai graduated.

The purpose of this is to facilitate group bonding and provide an concentrated environment for musical improvement that is not possible during the school year. In American schools, band camp typically takes place during the 3-4 weeks of the summer right before school starts. In Japan, band camp is usually during the summer break between the first and second trimesters of the school year.

Some band camps simply take place at school, and students commute to and from camp every day. Other camps are overnight camps, where band students sleep in cabins. These camps typically have more bonding time built in, and are more immersive. Regardless of location, most band camps include fun activities built in such as pool parties, talent shows, prank wars, and daily games. In Japan, many band camps also include firework (sparkler) parties.

Brass
Short for the brass family, brass refers to the trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba sections of the band. All of the female main characters of The Forte Project play brass instruments.

Many people wrongly assume that the saxophone is also a brass instrument because of its color, but the saxophone's use of a single reed mouthpiece makes it a woodwind instrument.

In a concert band or symphony orchestra, the de-facto leader of all the brass is the principal trumpet, while the de-facto leader of all the woodwinds is the principal clarinet (concert band) or principal oboe (orchestra).

Conductor
The conductor leads the musical direction of the ensemble. Contrary to what most people believe, the conductor's primary purpose is not to maintain tempo (tempo is the responsibility of each individual member). Rather, the conductor's main purpose is to unify the ensemble both as students and as musicians, and also to teach his own musical interpretations to the ensemble, using verbal and body language to communicate musical expression to influence each player's style.

The conductor's job is also to execute clear meter-- which is less important for simple meters like 4/4 or 3/4 time, but very important for music that uses unusual meter like 7/4 or 5/8 time.

The current conductor of the North Hanasakigaoka High School Concert Band is Kamisaki Nagahiko.

Embouchure
Embouchure (pronounced ON-buh-sure) is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments. Each instrument has a unique embouchure that takes time and practice to learn. While woodwind embouchures are more varied, brass embouchures are quite similar across the board, and so a trombone player like Kurosaki Makoto could easily switch to tuba if so desired. A well-developed embouchure helps a player develop good sound quality; a poorly developed embouchure leads to poor sound quality. Arisugawa Suzu, a beginner, has yet to develop a proper trombone embouchure, and so is still struggling with basic tone production.

Ictus
In conducting, the ictus is a quick flicking motion of the conductor's fingers, wrists, or baton that signifies the exact moment the beat falls in his stroke. It is very easy to follow the tempo of a conductor who has developed a clear ictus.

Phrasing
In music, the act of phrasing is to express the shaping of notes in time. Phrasing involves determining which notes to group together as one unit (a "phrase") and when to crescendo or diminuendo between phrases or throughout phrases.

Aiyama Shou is especially specialized in phrasing, as he is the substitute conductor when Kamisaki-sensei is not at school.

Piece vs. song
Classical musicians and concert band members are very adamant about maintaining the differentiation between a song and a ''piece. ''A "song" refers to shorter and less serious music, typically with singers. Both folk and popular music would be considered songs. A "piece" is a more serious composition that has more complex phrasing, and typically does not have a human voice as the main focus. Both The Voice on the Mountain and Barbarossa are pieces, not songs, and many band members can become very upset when outsiders casually refer to them as "songs."

Principal Player
A principal player, sometimes called the "first chair," is typically the most skilled player in each instrumental section. This player typically is charged with playing any solos written in the music, and if the conductor sees it fit to reduce the amount of players playing a part, the principal player will typically be the "last one standing."

A principal player is not necessarily a section leader; for example, Asada Reika plays principal trumpet, but Aomizu Rin is the section leader of the brass section.

Score order
To say that a list of musicians and/or instruments is in "score order" means that it is listed in the same order that the various instruments are lined up in a conductor's score. When listing musicians or sections in a concert band or orchestra, it is customary to do so by score order (rather than alphabetical or numerical). The score order for concert band is as follows: In full orchestral score order, these instruments would then be followed by harp, piano, violin, viola, cello, and string bass. If a full choir is present, the string instruments would be followed by the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass singers.
 * Flute
 * Bb Clarinet
 * Alto/Tenor Saxophone
 * Trumpet
 * Horn in F
 * Trombone
 * Tuba
 * Percussion

Section leader
The section leader is usually the best player in his/her instrumental section, though that is not always the case. Sometimes, small sections are combined into one section, such as the North Hanasakigaoka High School Concert Band's brass section-- comprised of horns, trumpets, trombones and tubas-- of which Aomizu Rin is the section leader. Depending on the culture of each ensemble, the section leader is chosen either by audition or by popular vote for seniority or playing ability.

Sectionals
The term "sectionals" is used when the band breaks off into its individual "sections" (usually divided by the instrument you play) in order to practice as a group. During this time, the section leader usually helps the section members work on what they need help with the most. With all of the sections working on their own individual parts of the music, when the band meets for rehearsal next time, all of the smaller "pieces" fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Tuner
A tuner is a device used for measuring pitch, typically to the standard pitch of A440 (a stand A pitch), though there is a recent trend of many bands increasingly tuning sharper to A441, A442, or even A443. The North Hanasakigaoka Concert Band usually uses Bb 4 and 5 on a glockenspiel as the standard concert pitch.

Most tuners have a little needle that hovers in the center when the player is in tune, falls left when they are flat, and falls right when they are sharp.

Tutti
Tutti is a command seen in sheet music for ensembles, meaning "together." It is a heads-up for musicians that they are about to play in unison. The opposite of tutti would be "solo," meaning that the musician who has that part will be playing by themselves; "soli," meaning that the musicians whom play the same instrument with that command will play by themselves as a section; or "divisi," usually seen in parts meant to be played by more than one person per stand, and meaning that two or more musicians will split up instead of playing in unison.

Woodwinds
Short for the woodwind family, woodwinds consist of the following sections: Flute, clarinet, and saxophone. The specific instruments include flute, Clarinet(B♭ clarinet), Alto Saxophone and Tenor Saxophone. The woodwind section is much more diverse than the brass section because they are responsible for the most of the variations in color in the band, and hence would require a greater variety of timbres. In The Forte Project, all male main characters except Minami Ryota play the woodwinds.

In a concert band, the de-facto leader of all the woodwinds is the principal clarinet, who may also be called the concertmaster or ''concertmistress. ''In an orchestra, the de-facto woodwind authority is the principal oboe. The de-facto leader of all the brass is the principal trumpet, in both band and orchestra.