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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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

  • monothematic Work or movement based on a single theme.
  • misterioso [Italian] Mysterious.
  • legato [Italian] Literally, “tied together”. A directive to perform a certain passage in a smooth, connected style. It is usually indicated by a slur over the affected notes.
  • Kantorei [German] The musicians of a Protestant German court.
  • diatonic scale A seven note musical scale, consisting of five whole steps and two half steps.
  • sonoro [Italian] Resounding.
  • quadruple meter Metrical pattern with four beats to a measure.
  • lydian The church mode based on F, containing the notes of the C major scale, yet using F as the tonic.
  • ruggiero [Italian] A musical scheme which is at times harmonic and at times melodic. It is seen in 16th and 17th century music, for both vocal and instrumental pieces and improvisations.
  • French model A flute with pointed French-style arms and open-hole finger keys, as distinguished from the plateau style with closed holes.
  • interval Difference in pitch between two notes.
  • sanft [German] Soft, mild, smooth.
  • divertimento [Italian] Instrumental composition intended for entertainment, usually in a number of movements. The term is used particularly in the second half of the 18th century.
  • audition The term used for the try-outs that a musician must go through before his or her acceptance into an ensemble.
  • sonata da camera [Italian] A baroque style of sonata, consisting in a suite of stylized dances, performed either by a small ensemble or by a soloist.