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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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

  • amabile [Italian] Lovable, charming, amiable.
  • fluttertonguing Wind instrument technique in which the tongue is fluttered or trilled against the roof of the mouth.
  • duplet A group of two notes played in the time usually taken to play three.
  • early music European music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque.
  • appassionato [Italian] Passionate, with intense emotion or feeling.
  • Zwischenspiel [German] An interlude played between the verses of a hymn.
  • agitato [Italian] Agitated, excited, restless.
  • militare [Italian] Military.
  • sonata-allegro form The opening movement of the sonata cycle, consisting of themes that are stated in the first section (exposition), developed in the second section (development), and restated in the third section (recapitulation).
  • 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.
  • feierlich [German] Solemn.
  • minstrel A court musician or entertainer of the 12th through 17th centuries who performed professionally.
  • oral tradition Music that is transmitted by example or imitation and performed from memory.
  • national anthem A song, usually an anthem, a fanfare, a march, or a hymn, that is used as a national symbol.
  • burlesque [French] A humorous composition, usually involving parody or grotesque exaggeration.