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

  • mutig [German] Courageous, spirited.
  • ut [Latin] The syllable first associated with the tonic of the key, now replaced by the syllable "Do" but still used in France. In the fixed Do system, this is always C.
  • bizzarro [Italian] Odd, whimsical, irregular.
  • progressive rock A subgenre of rock that reached its peak in the early 1970s and attempted to blend the visceral style of rock music with outside influences: classical, jazz, folk, and world musics, for example.
  • moto [Italian] Motion, movement.
  • volta subito [Italian] A directive to turn the page quickly.
  • bridge A passage connecting two sections of a composition.
  • giocoso [Italian] Jolly, merry, playful.
  • meter The basic scheme of note values and accents which remains unaltered throughout a composition or a section of it.
  • springer An ornament consisting of the main tone followed by the tone above it followed by the tone above that, then returning to the original main tone.
  • world music A 20th century term used by the music recording industry to categorize non-American music that does not fit into any of the established genres. This music tends to be folk music from outside of the United States of America.
  • camminando [Italian] Literally, “walking”. With easy and gentle progression.
  • virelai [French] A Medieval and Renaissance form of French poetry and song, written in an ABBA form with a courtly text.
  • sonata-allegro form The opening movement of the sonata cycle, consisting of themes that are stated in the first section (exposition), developed in the second section (development), and restated in the third section (recapitulation).
  • bagatelle [French] A short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The term literally means a “trifle”, as a reference to the innocent character of the piece.