Multilingual Music Glossary
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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
- alto flute A flute pitched in the key of G, sounding a 4th lower than the concert flute.
- opus
A number, often assigned by a publisher, used to classify a particular work of a composer. - allegramente
Cheerfully. - sentence Term applied to a complete, independent musical idea, usually consisting of two or four phrases, ending with a cadence.
- chromatic scale A scale consisting of all 12 semitones.
- alt
Term used to indicate the tones of the first octave above the treble staff (G5 to F6), which are said to be “in alt”. - foxtrot Ballroom dance popular in the 19th century.
- mambo
Dance of Afro-Cuban origin with a characteristic quadruple-meter rhythmic pattern. - mezzo
Half, medium. - corps
Literally, “body”. May indicate the body of an instrument or a company of performers. - con
“With”. - texture The interweaving of melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) elements in the musical fabric. Texture is generally described as monophonic (single line), heterophonic (elaboration on a single line), homophonic (single line with accompaniment), or polyphonic (many voiced).
- niente
Literally, “nothing”. With almost no sound. - theme group Several themes in the same key that function as a unit within a section of a form, particularly in sonata-allegro form.
- temperament The division of an octave into twelve equal parts.