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

  • recitativo accompagnato [Italian] Recitative accompanied by the entire orchestra.
  • afflitto [Italian] Sad, melancholy.
  • orchestration The practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble) or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium.
  • siciliana [Italian] A type of aria or instrumental movement in the late 17th and 18th centuries, normally written as a dance in a slow 6/8 or 12/8 time with short phrases.
  • amorevole [Italian] Loving, affectionate.
  • elegy A funeral song; a mournful or plaintive composition.
  • deux [French] “Two”.
  • sin' al fine [Italian] Literally, “to the end”. Usually attached to another directive, implying that whatever the other directive stated should be carried out to the end of the composition.
  • bis [Latin] Literally, “twice”. A directive to repeat a passage.
  • big band A type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and contains saxophones, trumpets, trombones and a rhythm section.
  • harmonic minor scale A minor scale where the seventh tone is raised by a semitone, both ascending and descending.
  • prima donna [Italian] Literally, “first lady”. Term used in opera for the principal female singer of the opera or of the opera company.
  • 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.
  • mainstream Music which is currently popular and in demand.
  • rondò [Italian] A form in which a principal theme (sometimes called the refrain) alternates with one or more contrasting themes, generally called episodes, but also occasionally referred to as digressions, or couplets. Possible patterns in the Classical Period include ABA, ABACA, ABABCA, etc.