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

  • parlando [Italian] “Speaking”.
  • attacca [Italian] A musical directive for the performer to begin the next section of a composition immediately and without pause.
  • malinconico [Italian] Melancholic.
  • diatonic scale A seven note musical scale, consisting of five whole steps and two half steps.
  • sonata da camera [Italian] A baroque style of sonata, consisting in a suite of stylized dances, performed either by a small ensemble or by a soloist.
  • Stimmung [German] Mood. Also, tuning.
  • canzona [Italian] A 16th-century multipart vocal setting of a literary canzone, or a 16th- and 17th-century instrumental composition.
  • Konzertstück [German] An informal “concert piece”, usually in one movement, for solo instruments and orchestra.
  • concertante [Italian] A part that calls for some element of solo performance, as in a classical concerto.
  • goliard song Medieval Latin-texted secular song, often with corrupt or lewd lyrics; associated with wandering scholars.
  • uguale [Italian] Equal, the same.
  • ossia [Italian] An alternative version of a music, usually only a few measures long and marked as an added staff.
  • parody A humorous or satirical composition which exaggerates the features of some other composition.
  • martial music Music with a military feeling.
  • dramatic soprano A soprano voice type with a heavier tone color and more power throughout her range.