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

  • largo [Italian] A slow and solemn tempo marking, usually around 40–60 BPM.
  • bas [French] Low in pitch.
  • Zwischenspiel [German] An interlude played between the verses of a hymn.
  • melodrama A spoken dialogue that is accompanied by music.
  • head joint The top section of a flute, with the tone hole where the player initiates the sound by blowing air across the opening.
  • sixteenth note A note having the time duration of one sixteenth of a whole note.
  • chamber music Ensemble music for two to about ten players, with one player to a part and usually without a conductor, intended for performance in a room or chamber as opposed to a church or larger building.
  • mixolydian The Gregorian mode based upon the fifth tone of the scale. This mode, based on G, includes all the tones of the C major scale.
  • schwungvoll [German] Rousing, spirited, energetic.
  • codetta [Italian] Literally, “little tail”. A passage similar to a coda, but on a smaller scale, concluding a section of a work instead of the work as a whole.
  • opéra comique [French] French comic opera that is not necessarily sung throughout.
  • 8vb [Italian] A directive to perform an octave lower than written.
  • allegro [Italian] Literally, “cheerful”. A quick tempo marking, usually around 120–168 BPM.
  • Wiederholung [German] Repetition.
  • a tempo [Italian] A directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation.