Multilingual Music Glossary

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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

  • connecting note A note held in common by two chords.
  • troppo [Italian] Too much.
  • mediant The third note of a diatonic scale.
  • concertmaster The term used to address the principal first violinist of an orchestra.
  • gai [French] Gay, merry.
  • duple meter A rhythmic pattern with the the number of beats per measure being divisible by two.
  • degree Any tone of the diatonic scale.
  • larghetto [Italian] A tempo not quite as slow as largo, usually around 60–66 BPM.
  • marcato [Italian] Marked, accented, emphasized, stressed.
  • ripresa [Italian] A refrain or repeat.
  • martial music Music with a military feeling.
  • backfall A descending appoggiatura.
  • theme The musical basis upon which a composition is built. Usually a theme consists of a recognizable melody or a characteristic rhythmic pattern.
  • dolente [Italian] Sorrowful.
  • non troppo [Italian] Not too much.