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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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

  • vaudeville [French] A variety show with unrelated acts consisting of stand-up comedy, virtuoso instrumental and vocal performance, and song and dance acts.
  • cadence A sequence of chords that terminates a musical phrase or section.
  • a cappella [Italian] Choral or vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment.
  • con malinconia [Italian] With melancholy.
  • double exposition In a concerto, a twofold statement of the theme, once by the orchestra and once by the soloist.
  • capriccio [Italian] A piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character. The typical capriccio is fast, intense, and often virtuosic in nature.
  • martial music Music with a military feeling.
  • ambitus [Latin] A range of pitches for a given voice in a part of music. It may also denote the pitch range that a musical instrument is capable of playing.
  • cantor [Latin] Solo singer or singing leader in Jewish and Christian liturgical music.
  • oral transmission Preservation of music without the aid of written notation.
  • transcription Either notating an unnotated piece, or rewriting a piece, either simply recopying, as for clarity, or as an arrangement for another instrument.
  • cent A logarithmic unit used in measuring the difference between two pitches in an equal-tempered scale. One cent is one one-hundredth of an equal-tempered semitone.
  • octave Interval between two tones seven diatonic pitches apart; the upper tone vibrates twice as fast as the lower one.
  • petite reprise [French] Repetition of the last few measures of a piece after a larger repetition. The starting point of the section to be repeated is usually indicated with a small “segno”.
  • prologue The introduction or preface to a dramatic work. The prologue usually tells the audience the background to the story about to be presented.