Multilingual Music Glossary

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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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Some random terms

  • recitativo accompagnato [Italian] Recitative accompanied by the entire orchestra.
  • stinger A chord at the end of a march that is used to punctuate the ending of the composition. The stinger is typically played by the entire ensemble on the last beat of the last measure of the composition and contains an accent.
  • pas de deux [French] An established item in ballet consisting of a dance performed by two dancers.
  • deux [French] “Two”.
  • recapitulation In sonata-allegro form, the final presentation of the original theme group, first presented in the exposition.
  • calmo [Italian] Calm.
  • pietoso [Italian] Pitiful, merciful, compassionate.
  • buffo [Italian] Comic, humorous.
  • rhapsody A one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colors and tonalities.
  • non [Italian] “Not”.
  • minor Term referring to a sequence of notes that define the tonality of the minor scale. The main difference from the major scale is the third, which is lowered by a semitone. The sixth and seventh degrees are usually lowered, too, generating the natural minor scale.
  • concerto grosso [Italian] A baroque style of music in which a small group of solo instruments (the concertino) plays in opposition to a larger ensemble (the ripieno).
  • frottola [Italian] A secular song that was popular in Italy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, direct predecessor of the madrigal.
  • canto [Italian] Literally, “singing”. The highest vocal part in choral music.
  • breath mark Indication of where to breathe in vocal and wind instrument parts. It may look like a large comma or apostrophe or like a tick/checkmark (✓), and is always written above the staff.