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

  • alto flute A flute pitched in the key of G, sounding a 4th lower than the concert flute.
  • opus [Latin] A number, often assigned by a publisher, used to classify a particular work of a composer.
  • allegramente [Italian] Cheerfully.
  • sentence Term applied to a complete, independent musical idea, usually consisting of two or four phrases, ending with a cadence.
  • chromatic scale A scale consisting of all 12 semitones.
  • alt [German] Term used to indicate the tones of the first octave above the treble staff (G5 to F6), which are said to be “in alt”.
  • foxtrot Ballroom dance popular in the 19th century.
  • mambo [Spanish] Dance of Afro-Cuban origin with a characteristic quadruple-meter rhythmic pattern.
  • mezzo [Italian] Half, medium.
  • corps [French] Literally, “body”. May indicate the body of an instrument or a company of performers.
  • con [Italian] “With”.
  • texture The interweaving of melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) elements in the musical fabric. Texture is generally described as monophonic (single line), heterophonic (elaboration on a single line), homophonic (single line with accompaniment), or polyphonic (many voiced).
  • niente [Italian] Literally, “nothing”. With almost no sound.
  • theme group Several themes in the same key that function as a unit within a section of a form, particularly in sonata-allegro form.
  • temperament The division of an octave into twelve equal parts.