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

  • aeolian A mode used in Gregorian chant based upon the sixth tone of the major scale. In the key of C, the aeolian mode would be based on A, and would include A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A.
  • volando [Italian] Flying.
  • carol A festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character.
  • disco Commercial dance music popular in the 1970s, characterized by strong percussion in a quadruple meter.
  • common time 4/4 time.
  • forte [Italian] “Loud”.
  • oratorio [Italian] Large-scale dramatic genre originating in the Baroque, based on a text of religious or serious character, performed by solo voices, chorus and orchestra; similar to opera but without scenery, costumes or action.
  • radical bass An bass line produced by linking the fundamentals of the chords in a progression.
  • quintus [Latin] Term used in the 16th century for the fifth voice in a composition having five or more vocal parts. Sometimes it was a countermelody added on top of the usual four voices.
  • branle [French] Quick French group dance of the Renaissance.
  • Trommelbass [German] Literally, “drum-bass”. A bass line that contains steady, constant, repeated notes.
  • classical The music of the period circa 1750–1825. The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods.
  • serioso [Italian] Serious, grave.
  • bepop Complex jazz style developed in the 1940s.
  • donna [Italian] Literally, “woman”, or “lady”. In opera, each of the principal female singers.