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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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…

You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.

If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.

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

  • Empfindung [German] Feeling, sentiment.
  • 8va [Italian] A directive to perform an octave higher than written.
  • threnody A poem, a song, or an instrumental composition that expresses lament for the dead.
  • rest A symbol standing for a measured break in the sound with a defined duration.
  • giocoso [Italian] Jolly, merry, playful.
  • rinforzando [Italian] Literally, “reinforcing”. Dynamic marking indicating that several notes, or a short phrase, are to be emphasized.
  • ohne [German] “Without”.
  • 15mb [Italian] A directive to perform two octaves lower than written.
  • traurig [German] Sad.
  • windway The pathway or duct in the mouthpiece of a edge-blown aerophone that directs the air stream over the fipple and onto the labium where the air is split and vibrates to produce a sound.
  • fingering The methodical use of fingers in the playing of instruments.
  • allargando [Italian] Growing broader, slowing down.
  • prelude An instrumental composition intended to introduce a larger composition or a set of compositions.
  • sottovoce [Italian] Almost whispering.
  • rounded binary Compositional form with two sections, in which the second ends with a return to material from the first; each section is usually repeated.