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

  • musico [Italian] Term applied to any musician in the 17th and 18th centuries.
  • hocket A Medieval practice of composition in which two voices would move in such a manner that one would be still while the other moved and vice-versa.
  • syllabic The style of chant which sets one note to each syllable of text.
  • Rinaldi numbers A numbering system identifying compositions by Antonio Vivaldi.
  • lentement [French] Slowly.
  • spiccato [Italian] Very separated, detached.
  • double exposition In a concerto, a twofold statement of the theme, once by the orchestra and once by the soloist.
  • expression The blend of feeling and intellect brought to a performance by the performer.
  • tailgate A slang term for a trombone Glissando in Dixieland jazz.
  • klingen [German] To resonate.
  • Renaissance The music of the period circa 1400–1600, directly following the Middle Ages and preceding the baroque era. Its style is characterized by charming melodies, imitative harmonies and lively ornamentation.
  • precisamente [Italian] Precisely, exactly.
  • sacred music Religious or spiritual music, for church or devotional use.
  • rant A country dance of Scotland and Northern England in duple meter and binary form.
  • innigster [German] “Sincere”.