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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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

  • harmony Tones sounding simultaneously.
  • Turmmusik [German] Literally, “tower music”. A term referring to the music, usually performed on wind instruments, which is played from a tower of a town hall or a church tower. Turmmusik was common in Germany from the 16th century to the 18th century.
  • pastorale [Italian] Pastoral, country-like.
  • fragmentation The technique of developing a theme by dividing it into smaller units; most common in the music of the Viennese Classicists.
  • burlesco [Italian] Jocular, in a playful style.
  • 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.
  • post-modern A term adopted around the mid-1970s to describe our current eclectic, experimental age.
  • galliard [French] Lively triple-meter French court dance.
  • dolente [Italian] Sorrowful.
  • sight-singing The practice of singing a composition at sight, without previous preparation.
  • florid Rich, embellished.
  • whole note The note with the longest duration in currently used Western music notation.
  • smear A slang term for a glissando performed on a trombone.
  • key signature The sharps or flats appearing at the beginning of each staff indicating the key of the music.
  • melodrama A spoken dialogue that is accompanied by music.