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

  • pentatonic scale A scale of five tones. Commonly, these tones correspond to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th of a major scale.
  • non [Italian] “Not”.
  • ripieno [Italian] The larger of the two ensembles in the concerto grosso.
  • leise [German] Quiet.
  • con anima [Italian] “With soul”, with feeling.
  • Handel-Werke-Verzeichnis [German] The numbering system identifying compositions by George Frederic Handel.
  • brace A symbol that looks like an archer's bow, used to connect two or more different staves that are to be played at the same time by the same instrument (e.g. a piano, a organ or a harp). This should not be confused with the bracket, that provides a visual connection between independent parts of a system.
  • bis [Latin] Literally, “twice”. A directive to repeat a passage.
  • doucement [French] Softly.
  • compound meter Meter in which each beat is divisible by three rather than two.
  • festivo [Italian] Merry, festive.
  • religioso [Italian] Religious, devout.
  • réjouissance [French] A jubilant composition used to conclude some Baroque orchestral suites.
  • double exposition In a concerto, a twofold statement of the theme, once by the orchestra and once by the soloist.
  • codetta [Italian] Literally, “little tail”. A passage similar to a coda, but on a smaller scale, concluding a section of a work instead of the work as a whole.