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

  • festivo [Italian] Merry, festive.
  • prima volta [Italian] “First time”; may refer to the first ending of a repetition.
  • staccato [Italian] A style of playing notes in a detached, separated, distinct manner, as opposed to legato.
  • disco Commercial dance music popular in the 1970s, characterized by strong percussion in a quadruple meter.
  • dissonance Any interval or chord that sounds impure, harsh, or unstable.
  • labium [Latin] Literally, “lip”. The part of an edge-blown aerophone (such as a flute, recorder or whistle) that splits the air column.
  • semitone A minor second; the smallest interval in the system of Western music.
  • sanft [German] Soft, mild, smooth.
  • cantata [Italian] A baroque genre for voice(s) and instruments based on a poem, including recitatives, arias, and sometimes choruses.
  • risoluto [Italian] Bold, resolute.
  • flessibile [Italian] Flexible.
  • quadruple counterpoint Counterpoint in four parts.
  • guerriero [Italian] Martial, warlike.
  • gaudioso [Italian] Joyous, joyful.
  • pianississimo [Italian] Extremely soft, softer than pianissimo.