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

  • fortepiano [Italian] A dynamic marking (fp) directing the performer to attack the written note at the dynamic level of forte (loud) followed by an immediate decrease in volume to piano (soft).
  • flessibile [Italian] Flexible.
  • natural A symbol placed by a note signifying that the note should be played unaltered, as opposed to the sharp or flat of the note.
  • dal segno [Italian] A directive to go back to a specific place of a composition, marked by a sign.
  • heftig [German] Vehement, boisterous.
  • brio [Italian] Vivacity, spirit, liveliness.
  • vocal cords The vocal organs in the human being which produce sound.
  • whole note The note with the longest duration in currently used Western music notation.
  • impetuoso [Italian] Impetuous, vehement.
  • 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.
  • da capo aria [Italian] A lyric song in A-B-A form, commonly found in operas, cantatas and oratorios.
  • mezzo [Italian] Half, medium.
  • minstrel A court musician or entertainer of the 12th through 17th centuries who performed professionally.
  • remote keys Those keys that have few notes in common. The key of C and the key of F sharp would be considered remote.
  • instrumentation The particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition.