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

  • allegramente [Italian] Cheerfully.
  • sempre [Italian] Always.
  • semitone A minor second; the smallest interval in the system of Western music.
  • gavotte [French] Duple meter baroque dance of a pastoral character.
  • vamp till ready In 20th century music, an indication to the accompanist to repeat a passage until the soloist is prepared to enter.
  • Leben [German] Life, vivacity.
  • dispersed harmony Harmony in which the notes which form the various chords are widely dispersed.
  • courante [French] A family of triple meter dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era.
  • simple meter A meter in which the main beats are subdivided into twos, such as 2/4 or 3/4.
  • grand staff A combination of two staves with a brace, usually used for piano music.
  • étude [French] Study piece that focuses on a particular technical problem.
  • stabile [Italian] Firm.
  • traditional music Music that is learned by oral transmission and is easily sung or played by most people.
  • serialism A method of composition in which various musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and tone color may be put in order according to a fixed series.
  • interpretation The manner in which a performer carries out a composer's performance directions.