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

  • minuet A 17th-century court dance in moderate triple meter, originating in France.
  • world music A 20th century term used by the music recording industry to categorize non-American music that does not fit into any of the established genres. This music tends to be folk music from outside of the United States of America.
  • un peu [French] A little.
  • intermezzo [Italian] Short lyric piece or movement, often for piano. Also, a comic interlude performed between acts of an eighteenth century opera seria.
  • pochettino [Italian] A little bit.
  • voce piena [Italian] “Full voice”.
  • suite [French] A work made up of a series of contrasting dance movements, generally all in the same key.
  • gig A term commonly applied to a musical engagement of one night's duration only.
  • metrical modulation The shifting from one meter to another in the middle of a composition.
  • accent The stress of one tone over others.
  • Tzigane [French] Term used for a composition having gypsy influences or flavor.
  • arrangement A rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material, or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch. If a musical adaptation does not include new material, it is more accurately termed a transcription or orchestration.
  • compound meter Meter in which each beat is divisible by three rather than two.
  • recitativo accompagnato [Italian] Recitative accompanied by the entire orchestra.
  • Requiem [Latin] A composition to honor the deceased.