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

  • Meistergesang [German] A tradition of songwriting and performance in Germany during the Middle Ages and early Renaissance.
  • Kantorei [German] The musicians of a Protestant German court.
  • Anlaufen [German] To open, to increase in volume.
  • crescendo [Italian] A directive to smoothly increase the volume.
  • intonation A term referring to the proper production of a tone so that it is exactly in tune.
  • bizzarro [Italian] Odd, whimsical, irregular.
  • con anima [Italian] “With soul”, with feeling.
  • strict counterpoint The strict application of the rules of part writing.
  • moderato [Italian] A moderate tempo, faster than andante but slower than allegretto, usually around 100–120 BPM.
  • rock A loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950s, characterized by a hard, driving duple meter and amplified instrumental accompaniment.
  • pesante [Italian] “Heavy”, slow or with importance.
  • rounded binary Compositional form with two sections, in which the second ends with a return to material from the first; each section is usually repeated.
  • ballad In jazz and popular music, a short song in a slow tempo, usually with a romantic or sentimental text.
  • double trill A simultaneous trill on two notes, usually in the distance of a third.
  • triad A chord made up of three notes.