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

  • lentement [French] Slowly.
  • mesto [Italian] Sad.
  • ambitus [Latin] A range of pitches for a given voice in a part of music. It may also denote the pitch range that a musical instrument is capable of playing.
  • flute A woodwind instrument that is held horizontally and sounded by blowing across the mouthpiece of the instrument.
  • religioso [Italian] Religious, devout.
  • con calore [Italian] With warmth.
  • tonguing In the performance of wind instruments, the technique of using the tongue to produce certain sounds and effects, and especially the technique in which notes are attacked and articulated.
  • dolce [Italian] Sweet, soft, with tender emotion.
  • opera A drama set to music, usually sung throughout, originating in 17th-century Italy.
  • polonaise [French] Stately Polish processional dance in triple meter.
  • system The collection of staves, two or more, as used for writing down of keyboard, chamber, choral, or orchestral music.
  • accelerando [Italian] Gradually accelerating or getting faster.
  • accompagnato [Italian] Accompanied.
  • mosso [Italian] Moved, agitated.
  • Lombard rhythm A rhythm associated primarily with baroque music, generally consisting of a stressed sixteenth note followed by a dotted eighth note.