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

  • agilità [Italian] A directive to perform with lightness or agility.
  • expression The blend of feeling and intellect brought to a performance by the performer.
  • mariachi [Spanish] Traditional Mexican ensemble popular throughout the country, consisting of trumpets, violins, guitar and bass guitar.
  • mambo [Spanish] Dance of Afro-Cuban origin with a characteristic quadruple-meter rhythmic pattern.
  • replica [Italian] Repetition.
  • ritmico [Italian] Literally, “rhythmic”. A directive to strictly conform to the written rhythm, emphasizing it.
  • paraphrase In the Renaissance, a melody borrowed from another source (usually chant) and then elaborated freely. In the 19th century, a virtuoso composition using popular melodies, usually from operas, in an elaborated manner.
  • part writing The component of counterpoint that recognizes each voice as an individual, horizontal melody rather than as a part of the resultant, vertical chords.
  • signature Key signature or time signature.
  • envoi [French] A short final stanza of a ballade which serves as a summary or dedication.
  • stinger A chord at the end of a march that is used to punctuate the ending of the composition. The stinger is typically played by the entire ensemble on the last beat of the last measure of the composition and contains an accent.
  • florid Rich, embellished.
  • pop Term born as an abbreviation of popular music, that since the 1950s has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternative to rock and roll.
  • Noël [French] Christmas.
  • larghissimo [Italian] An extremely slow tempo, slower than largo.