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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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…

You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.

If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.

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

  • allmählich [German] Used in conjunction with a tempo directive to indicate that the directive should be performed gradually, little by little.
  • misurato [Italian] A directive to perform in a measured or strict tempo.
  • decay The time that it takes for a note to die away once the musician has stopped producing the sound.
  • theme The musical basis upon which a composition is built. Usually a theme consists of a recognizable melody or a characteristic rhythmic pattern.
  • Werke ohne Opuszahl [German] “Works without opus number”. A catalogue prepared in 1955 by Harry Halm and Georg Kinsky, listing all of the compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven that were not originally published with an opus number, or survived only as fragments. The abbreviation is also used sometime to refer to works without opus by other composers.
  • quadruplum [Latin] Polyphony having four voices. Also, the highest of these voices.
  • consonant A chord (or an interval) that is pleasing and harmonious to the ear.
  • closed-hole A flute finger key which is fully covered.
  • subject The melody upon which a fugue is based; a melody, motive, or theme. The theme or melody upon which any composition is based.
  • melodrama A spoken dialogue that is accompanied by music.
  • brillante [Italian] Bright, brilliant.
  • villanelle [French] A French term used in the 16th century for pastoral poems or songs. The term was later revived, and applied to compositions by later composers.
  • round Perpetual canon at the unison in which each voice enters in succession with the same melody.
  • dopo [Italian] “After”.
  • Zimmerman numbers The numbering system identifying compositions by Henry Purcell.