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

  • flessibile [Italian] Flexible.
  • polyharmony Two or more streams of harmony played against each other; common in twentieth century music.
  • word painting Musical depiction of words in text. Using the device of word painting, the music tries to imitate the emotion, action, or natural sounds as described in the text.
  • Übung [German] Exercise.
  • instrument Any device used to create music.
  • sextet A piece for six singers or instrumentalists. Also, a group of such musicians.
  • tief [German] Deep, low.
  • just intonation Tuning system in which the notes are obtained by adding and subtracting natural fifths and thirds.
  • grunge rock Contemporary Seattle-based rock style characterized by harsh guitar chords; hybrid of punk rock and heavy metal.
  • sideman A slang term for a musician in an ensemble who is not the leader of the ensemble.
  • wind instrument Any instrument that produces sound by means of a column of air.
  • répertoire [French] A list of compositions that an individual or ensemble is prepared to perform or that are available for performance.
  • Zungenstoss [German] Tongue thrust.
  • nicht [German] “Not“.
  • punk rock Subgenre of rock popular since the mid 1970s, characterized by loud volume levels, driving rhythms and simple forms typical of earlier rock and roll; often contains shocking lyrics and offensive behavior.