Multilingual Music Glossary

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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

  • affettuoso [Italian] Tender, loving, affectionate.
  • dolcissimo [Italian] Very sweet, very soft.
  • note A notational symbol used to represent the duration of a sound and, when placed on a music staff, to also indicate the pitch of the sound.
  • canzona [Italian] A 16th-century multipart vocal setting of a literary canzone, or a 16th- and 17th-century instrumental composition.
  • martial music Music with a military feeling.
  • un pochettino [Italian] A little bit.
  • tempo [Italian] Literally, “time”. The speed of a piece of music, usually reckoned by the rate of its beats.
  • repercussion The frequent repetition of the same sound. Also, the re-entrance of the subject and answer in a fugue following other material.
  • animato [Italian] Animated or spirited.
  • music drama Wagner's term for his operas.
  • big band A type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and contains saxophones, trumpets, trombones and a rhythm section.
  • vocalization The singing of vocalises.
  • enharmonic Two notes, intervals, or scales having different names but equal pitch.
  • species counterpoint A technique of strict counterpoint involving the addition of voices to a melody advancing from simple to more complex harmonies.
  • mais [French] “But”.