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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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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Some random terms

  • festivo [Italian] Merry, festive.
  • 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.
  • libretto [Italian] A “little book” that contains the complete text of an opera, oratorio, and so forth.
  • phrygian The mode based upon the third note of the major scale. In the key of C major, phrygian mode would start on the key of E, and include all the notes of the C major scale.
  • subject The melody upon which a fugue is based; a melody, motive, or theme. The theme or melody upon which any composition is based.
  • genre Term used to identify a general category of music that shares similar performance forces, formal structures and/or style.
  • fanfare A short, lively, loud, militaristic composition, usually composed for brass instruments and percussions.
  • drone A harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much or all of a piece, sustained or repeated.
  • style Characteristic manner of presentation of musical elements: melody, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, form, etc.
  • pasticcio [Italian] A composition assembled from passages taken from numerous other sources by various composers.
  • triste [Italian] Sad.
  • episode Interlude or intermediate section in the baroque fugue, which serves as an area of relaxation between statements of the subject.
  • decibel A logarithmic unit for measuring the intensity of sound, corresponding to the listener's perception of loudness.
  • hopak A folk Ukrainian dance, introduced to the orchestra by such composers as Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky.
  • mosso [Italian] Moved, agitated.