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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Some random terms

  • staggered breathing A technique used in musical ensembles by wind instruments to create the effect of a continuous sound with no breaks for performers to breathe. The effect is created by making sure that in each section no performer is breathing at the same time, so that it seems like no one is breathing at all.
  • enharmonic Two notes, intervals, or scales having different names but equal pitch.
  • squillante [Italian] Ringing.
  • rhythm The subdivision of time into a defined pattern.
  • ballade [French] A one-movement musical piece with lyrical and dramatic narrative qualities, usually having a text dealing with courtly love.
  • serialism A method of composition in which various musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and tone color may be put in order according to a fixed series.
  • gai [French] Gay, merry.
  • triad A chord made up of three notes.
  • principal A section leader in a large ensemble (band or orchestra) also called first chair, except for the first violins, where the leader is termed the concertmaster.
  • Italian overture The baroque precursor of the classical symphony, evolved during the 17th and 18th centuries; it is characterized by its three movement form, consisting of a fast, a slow, and a fast movement.
  • melody Succession of single tones or pitches perceived by the mind as a unity.
  • un peu [French] A little.
  • fifth An interval of five diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree.
  • prestissimo [Italian] Extremely fast tempo marking, usually around 200 BPM.
  • canon Strict imitation, in which one voice imitates another at a staggered time interval.