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

  • geschwind [German] Swift, swiftly.
  • fertig [German] Dexterous, nimble, quick.
  • white noise Sounds containing every audible frequency at approximately the same intensity.
  • double sharp An accidental sign (‛x’) that raises a note by two semitones.
  • basse dance [French] A graceful, stately court dance of the early Renaissance.
  • symphonic poem A piece of orchestral music in one principal self-contained section called a “movement” in which a program from a poem, a story or novel, a painting, or another source is illustrated or evoked.
  • piangendo [Italian] Literally, “crying”. In a tearful, mournful or plaintive manner.
  • sempre [Italian] Always.
  • sextet A piece for six singers or instrumentalists. Also, a group of such musicians.
  • a tempo [Italian] A directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation.
  • through-composed Song form that is composed from beginning to end without repetitions of any major sections, each verse having its own, unique melody.
  • donna [Italian] Literally, “woman”, or “lady”. In opera, each of the principal female singers.
  • gentile [Italian] Gentle, kind.
  • double exposition In a concerto, a twofold statement of the theme, once by the orchestra and once by the soloist.
  • chorale Baroque congregational hymn of the German Lutheran church, usually written for four voice harmony.