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

  • performer The musician that brings a composition to reality.
  • petite reprise [French] Repetition of the last few measures of a piece after a larger repetition. The starting point of the section to be repeated is usually indicated with a small “segno”.
  • risoluto [Italian] Bold, resolute.
  • quickstep A dance popular in the 1920s in duple meter. Also, a fast march.
  • mezzo [Italian] Half, medium.
  • binary measure A measure containing two beats.
  • très [French] “Very”, “much”.
  • prestissimo [Italian] Extremely fast tempo marking, usually around 200 BPM.
  • genre Term used to identify a general category of music that shares similar performance forces, formal structures and/or style.
  • relish An ornament of the English Renaissance and Baroque eras. A single relish consists of a trill with a turned ending or simply a turn. A double relish is a compound ornament, defined differently by different writers, but usually including a trill or an appoggiatura.
  • tertian harmony Term applied to harmony which is based upon the interval of the third.
  • envelope An acoustical term referring to the attack, steady state (or duration), and decay of a sound.
  • break In the flute or other wind instrument, the place between the lower register of the instrument and the higher. For example, the break on the flute is between C-sharp and D.
  • ternary form A three-part musical structure (ABA) based on statement (A), contrast (B) and repetition (A).
  • spiccato [Italian] Very separated, detached.