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

  • squillante [Italian] Ringing.
  • adirato [Italian] Angry, wrathful.
  • medley A piece of music that is composed of melodies of other compositons strung together.
  • ad libitum [Latin] Literally, “at will”. At the discretion of the performer. At pleasure, changing the tempo of a particular passage. Sometimes, a part that may be omitted if desired.
  • fipple The block, typically of wood, that forms the floor of the windway of an edge-blown aerophone.
  • unter [German] “Below”, “under”.
  • lentezza [Italian] “Slowness”.
  • cantus firmus [Latin] “Fixed melody”, usually of very long notes, often based on a fragment of Gregorian chant that served as the structural basis for a polyphonic composition, particularly in the Renaissance.
  • spiritoso [Italian] Spirited, lively.
  • natural A symbol placed by a note signifying that the note should be played unaltered, as opposed to the sharp or flat of the note.
  • perdendo [Italian] Losing volume.
  • 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.
  • moresca [Italian] An exotic Renaissance dance simulating a battle between the Moors and the Christians.
  • vocalization The singing of vocalises.
  • Leben [German] Life, vivacity.