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

  • fundamental The base note upon which a chord is built.
  • heterophony Texture in which two or more voices (or parts) elaborate the same melody simultaneously, often the result of improvisation.
  • neoromantic A compositional style of the 20th century embodying the techniques and characteristics of the romantic period.
  • equal temperament Tuning system dividing the octave into 12 equal semitones.
  • serialism A method of composition in which various musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and tone color may be put in order according to a fixed series.
  • foxtrot Ballroom dance popular in the 19th century.
  • vocal range The range of notes that a singing voice can encompass.
  • fiero [Italian] Proud, haughty, noble.
  • clos [French] The second ending of a repeated section.
  • backbeat A style of rhythmic accentuation that puts accents on even beats. In common time this means having accents on beats 2 and 4.
  • contrary motion Simultaneous motion of two voices, one of which is in opposition to the other, with one voice rising in pitch while the other one falls in pitch.
  • progressive rock A subgenre of rock that reached its peak in the early 1970s and attempted to blend the visceral style of rock music with outside influences: classical, jazz, folk, and world musics, for example.
  • countermelody A sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent melody.
  • sospirando [Italian] Sighing.
  • villereccio [Italian] Rustic, rural.