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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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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Some random terms

  • natural key A key whose signature contains no sharps or flats; basically, C major and A minor.
  • decani [Latin] In Anglican church music, referring to the half of the choir sitting on the dean's side of the church.
  • cadenza [Italian] An improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a free rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display.
  • expression The blend of feeling and intellect brought to a performance by the performer.
  • attack The method of beginning a phrase.
  • castrato Male singer who was castrated during boyhood to preserve the soprano or alto vocal register, prominent in seventeenth and early eighteenth century opera.
  • tonguing In the performance of wind instruments, the technique of using the tongue to produce certain sounds and effects, and especially the technique in which notes are attacked and articulated.
  • reel Moderately quick dance in duple meter danced throughout the British Isles; the most popular Irish traditional dance type.
  • no chord A directive placed over a note (or a series of notes) signifying that the note(s) should be performed without accompaniment. Typically found in popular music notation.
  • ambitus [Latin] A range of pitches for a given voice in a part of music. It may also denote the pitch range that a musical instrument is capable of playing.
  • cent A logarithmic unit used in measuring the difference between two pitches in an equal-tempered scale. One cent is one one-hundredth of an equal-tempered semitone.
  • tristamente [Italian] Sadly.
  • overture An introductory movement, as in an opera or oratorio, often presenting melodies from arias to come. Also an orchestral work for concert performance.
  • stromentato [Italian] Accompanied.
  • volte [French] A Renaissance dance for couples in triple meter.