Multilingual Music Glossary

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Found a word you don't know? No problem. Look it up in the Music Glossary!

We are currently providing explanations for 2484 terms from 12 languages, including English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Latin…

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Please note: a music glossary is just like a dictionary. It contains explanations to musical terms. If you are looking for a piece, please go here instead: search tunes.

Some random terms

  • partita [Italian] In the 18th and 19th century, a multi-movement composition consisting of dances and non-dance movements or entirely of non-dance movements.
  • a tempo [Italian] A directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation.
  • pietoso [Italian] Pitiful, merciful, compassionate.
  • morbidezza [Italian] Softness, tenderness.
  • sforzando [Italian] Literally, “forcing”. Dynamic marking indicating a strong, sudden accent.
  • con disperazione [Italian] Desperately.
  • suono [Italian] Sound.
  • à la [French] In the manner of.
  • a cappella [Italian] Choral or vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment.
  • flebile [Italian] “Plaintive”.
  • subito [Italian] At once, immediately.
  • augmentation Statement of a melody in longer note values, often twice as slow as the original.
  • smear A slang term for a glissando performed on a trombone.
  • contralto [Italian] The lowest female voice.
  • da capo aria [Italian] A lyric song in A-B-A form, commonly found in operas, cantatas and oratorios.