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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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…

You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.

If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.

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

  • giubilo [Italian] Rejoicing, jubilation.
  • traurig [German] Sad.
  • rock A loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950s, characterized by a hard, driving duple meter and amplified instrumental accompaniment.
  • connecting note A note held in common by two chords.
  • incalzando [Italian] In a pressing or chasing manner.
  • mordent An ornament indicating that a note is to be played in a single rapid alternation with the note above or below.
  • accelerando [Italian] Gradually accelerating or getting faster.
  • scale A series of notes in ascending or descending order that presents the pitches of a key or mode, beginning and ending on the tonic of that key or mode.
  • riser A metal section on the head joint of a flute, shaped like a ‛top hat with the top cut off’, which raises the lip plate from the head joint tube.
  • Rococo [French] A term applied to French compositions of the 18th century, implying light, airy, graceful, and ornamented style, in response to the rigid, severe lines of the previous era.
  • loure [French] A slow, dignified French dance of the 17th and 18th centuries usually in 3/4 or 6/4 time.
  • scena [Italian] A term used to describe the stage, scene or act of an opera. Also, a term for a set of vocal movements in a theatrical production, usually including a recitative, arioso, and aria.
  • con malinconia [Italian] With melancholy.
  • passepied [French] A baroque dance in triple meter.
  • foxtrot Ballroom dance popular in the 19th century.