Multilingual Music Glossary
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
- légèrement
![[French]](https://www.flutetunes.com/img/languages/fr.png "French")
Lightly. - natural A symbol placed by a note signifying that the note should be played unaltered, as opposed to the sharp or flat of the note.
- cadence A sequence of chords that terminates a musical phrase or section.
- ridicolo
![[Italian]](https://www.flutetunes.com/img/languages/it.png "Italian")
Absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous. - envelope An acoustical term referring to the attack, steady state (or duration), and decay of a sound.
- mezzo-soprano The female voice between soprano and contralto.
- swing A style of jazz playing whose flexible, improvised rhythms resist notation.
- jota
![[Spanish]](https://www.flutetunes.com/img/languages/es.png "Spanish")
A type of Spanish dance song characterized by a quick triple meter and guitar and castanet accompaniment. - smaniato Furious, vehement.
- ionian In the system of modes, the ionian mode is the one based on C; therefore, it is the modern major scale.
- prima volta “First time”; may refer to the first ending of a repetition.
- tempestoso Stormy.
- technique The mechanical aspect of performing a composition.
- dispersed harmony Harmony in which the notes which form the various chords are widely dispersed.
- rhythm section In a popular music band or ensemble, the performers who establish the rhythmic pulse of a song or musical piece, and who lay down the chordal structure.