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

  • ruhig [German] Calm, peaceful.
  • finale [Italian] The last movement in a composition of several movements.
  • body The middle section of a flute, with the majority of the keys.
  • über [German] “Above”, “over”.
  • arpeggio [Italian] Broken chord in which the individual tones are sounded one after another instead of simultaneously.
  • gracieusement [French] Gracefully.
  • Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis [German] The numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach.
  • musique concrète [French] Music made up of natural sounds and sound effects that are recorded and then manipulated electronically.
  • timoroso [Italian] Timorous, fearful; with hesitation.
  • dance Any physical movements done to music.
  • rhythm The subdivision of time into a defined pattern.
  • florid Rich, embellished.
  • liturgy In those churches that use standard written forms of services, the ritual or service of public worship.
  • unter [German] “Below”, “under”.
  • libretto [Italian] A “little book” that contains the complete text of an opera, oratorio, and so forth.