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

  • strathspey A lively Scottish dance in 4/4 time related to the reel. A characteristic of this dance is the peculiar rhythmic pattern of a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth, known as the Scotch snap.
  • terzetto [Italian] A three-voice compositional form of the 18th century, usually short, which may or may not be accompanied.
  • al fine [Italian] An indication to repeat a composition either from the beginning (da capo), or from the dal segno symbol, to the place marked fine (Italian for “end”).
  • elegante [Italian] Elegant, graceful.
  • quarter tone Half a semitone.
  • mixolydian The Gregorian mode based upon the fifth tone of the scale. This mode, based on G, includes all the tones of the C major scale.
  • baroque The music of the period circa 1600–1750, directly following the Renaissance and preceding the Classical era. Its style is characterized by rich ornamentation.
  • acoustical instrument Any musical instrument not relying on external power for operation.
  • natural A symbol placed by a note signifying that the note should be played unaltered, as opposed to the sharp or flat of the note.
  • decay The time that it takes for a note to die away once the musician has stopped producing the sound.
  • Noël [French] Christmas.
  • gymel A Medieval technique of splitting one voice part into two parts, both with the same range. In most cases the voices would start and end together, but would diverge in the middle of the composition.
  • traditional music Music that is learned by oral transmission and is easily sung or played by most people.
  • basso continuo [Italian] Literally, “continuous bass”. A bass part that runs continuously throughout a work, characteristic of Baroque music.
  • classical The music of the period circa 1750–1825. The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods.