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

  • pas trop [French] “Not too much”.
  • calma [Italian] Calm.
  • Anlaufen [German] To open, to increase in volume.
  • disjunct A melodic line that moves by leaps and skips rather than in steps.
  • florid Rich, embellished.
  • immer [German] Ever, always.
  • quartal harmony Harmony based on the interval of the fourth as opposed to a third; used in twentieth century music.
  • ricapitolazione [Italian] Recapitulation.
  • mainstream Music which is currently popular and in demand.
  • amabile [Italian] Lovable, charming, amiable.
  • audition The term used for the try-outs that a musician must go through before his or her acceptance into an ensemble.
  • countertenor A male voice of unusually high range, generally achieved through falsetto. The countertenor has the range of either the female alto or soprano.
  • détaché [French] Not slurred.
  • sopra [Italian] “Above”.
  • non-harmonic note In part writing, a note that is dissonant with other notes in the same chord.