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

  • ma [Italian] “But”.
  • pantonality Term used to describe music that is not in one tonality or key, but shifts freely among many or all keys.
  • meno [Italian] “Less”.
  • musico [Italian] Term applied to any musician in the 17th and 18th centuries.
  • florid Rich, embellished.
  • piccolo [Italian] Literally, “small”. A small flute that sounds an octave above the regular flute, and also an octave above its written music.
  • martellato [Italian] Literally, “hammered”. Strongly marked.
  • blues African-American music genre, characterized by simple repetitive structures and by the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes.
  • allmählich [German] Used in conjunction with a tempo directive to indicate that the directive should be performed gradually, little by little.
  • encore [French] “Again”.
  • foot joint The last section of a flute, played farthest towards the right.
  • divisi [Italian] Literally, “divided”. A directive in ensemble music that instructs one section to divide into two or more separate sections, each playing a separate part. Often these separate parts are written on the same staff.
  • duple meter A rhythmic pattern with the the number of beats per measure being divisible by two.
  • circular breathing Technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. This is accomplished by breathing in through the nose while simultaneously blowing out through the mouth using air stored in the cheeks.
  • double whole note A note twice as long as a whole note. Mainly used in pre-1650 music.