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

  • vif [French] A tempo directive meaning “lively”.
  • come prima [Italian] “As before”. A directive to return to a previous tempo or to play a particular passage in the manner of a previous passage.
  • chamber music Ensemble music for two to about ten players, with one player to a part and usually without a conductor, intended for performance in a room or chamber as opposed to a church or larger building.
  • mit [German] “With”.
  • Longo numbers A numbering system identifying keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti.
  • resonator Term referring to those parts of instruments which resonate or vibrate, thus enhancing the sound of the instrument.
  • Werke ohne Opuszahl [German] “Works without opus number”. A catalogue prepared in 1955 by Harry Halm and Georg Kinsky, listing all of the compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven that were not originally published with an opus number, or survived only as fragments. The abbreviation is also used sometime to refer to works without opus by other composers.
  • remote keys Those keys that have few notes in common. The key of C and the key of F sharp would be considered remote.
  • fundamental The base note upon which a chord is built.
  • traurig [German] Sad.
  • binary form Two-part structure of music; usually each part is repeated.
  • salsa [Spanish] A contemporary Latin American dance music principally of Afro-Cuban tradition.
  • stanchezza [Italian] Weariness.
  • masque [French] English genre of aristocratic entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance, developed during the 16th and 17th centuries.
  • klingen [German] To resonate.