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

  • ballata [Italian] A type of fourteenth-century italian secular song, similar to the French virelai.
  • gentile [Italian] Gentle, kind.
  • suono [Italian] Sound.
  • exposition The first statement of a theme.
  • Eingang [German] An introduction, preface or prelude.
  • opera seria [Italian] Italian opera of the 18th and 19th centuries that was either heroic or tragic.
  • conjunct Smooth, connected, moving in stepwise motion.
  • madrigal Renaissance secular work originating in Italy for voices, with or without instruments, set to a short, lyric love poem.
  • character piece Term used for a broad range of 19th century piano music based on a single idea or program.
  • subject The melody upon which a fugue is based; a melody, motive, or theme. The theme or melody upon which any composition is based.
  • plus [French] “More”.
  • brillante [Italian] Bright, brilliant.
  • blue note In blues or jazz, a note that for expressive purposes is sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than usual.
  • lointain [French] “Distant”, “faraway”.
  • forefall An ascending appoggiatura.