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

  • divertissment [French] A light, entertaining dance and music combination related to the divertimento.
  • florid Rich, embellished.
  • bossa nova [Portuguese] Brazilian dance related to the samba, popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
  • equal temperament Tuning system dividing the octave into 12 equal semitones.
  • ridicolo [Italian] Absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous.
  • rabbia [Italian] Rage, fury, anger.
  • belebend [German] Lively.
  • traurig [German] Sad.
  • 15mb [Italian] A directive to perform two octaves lower than written.
  • vamp Short passage with simple rhythm and harmony that introduces a soloist.
  • cantando [Italian] Singing.
  • anacrusis One or more unstressed notes preceding the first downbeat in a bar.
  • teneramente [Italian] Tenderly.
  • tenerezza [Italian] Tenderness.
  • pochettino [Italian] A little bit.