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

  • stretto [Italian] A directive to quicken the tempo.
  • pianissimo [Italian] Very soft, softer than piano.
  • perfect Term applied to the intervals of a unison, octave, fourth, and fifth when they are exactly in tune and not augmented nor diminished.
  • morbidezza [Italian] Softness, tenderness.
  • altissimo [German] Term used to indicate the tones of the second octave above the treble staff (G6 to F7), which are said to be “in altissimo”.
  • affannato [Italian] Anguished.
  • motive The briefest intelligible and self-contained fragment of a musical theme or subject.
  • bracket In a score, a vertical bracket that groups together the staves relative to the instruments of a section, like the woodwinds or the strings.
  • serioso [Italian] Serious, grave.
  • lyric opera Hybrid form combining elements of grand opera and opéra comique and featuring appealing melodies and romantic drama.
  • quadruple meter Metrical pattern with four beats to a measure.
  • larghissimo [Italian] An extremely slow tempo, slower than largo.
  • one hundred and twenty-eighth note A note having the time duration of one hundred twenty-eighth of the time duration of a whole note.
  • flebile [Italian] “Plaintive”.
  • new wave Subgenre of rock popular since the late 1970s, highly influenced by simple 1950s-style rock and roll; developed as a rejection of the complexities of art rock and heavy metal.