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

  • stanchezza [Italian] Weariness.
  • assai [Italian] Much, very much.
  • rhythm The subdivision of time into a defined pattern.
  • dirge A generic term used for a composition designed specifically for a funeral or in commemoration of the dead.
  • nocturne [French] A composition to be played at night in the open air. Also used by composers for piano and orchestral pieces that suggest some aspect of the night and are usually solemn and contemplative.
  • tierce de Picardie [French] A practice from the baroque era of ending a composition with a major chord, when the rest of the composition is in a minor key, thus giving the composition a sense of finality.
  • instrumentation The particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition.
  • 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.
  • lusingando [Italian] Caressing, flattering.
  • barcarolle [French] A folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers (oarsmen of the traditional Venetian rowing boat called gondola), or a piece of music composed in that style. It is characterized by a rhythm reminiscent of the gondolier's stroke, almost invariably a moderate tempo 6/8 meter.
  • Hertz [German] The basic unit of measurement of frequency, definable as one cycle per second. Usually abbreviated “Hz”.
  • transposition Shifting a melody up or down in pitch, while keeping the same relative pitches.
  • melisma (Plural: melismata.) A group of notes sung melodically to a single syllable.
  • technique The mechanical aspect of performing a composition.
  • sonata da chiesa [Italian] A baroque instrumental work intended for performance in a church, generally in four movements, arranged slow, fast, slow, fast.