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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Some random terms

  • slur A curved line drawn over or under a series of notes, indicating that those notes should be played legato.
  • harmonic Any integer multiple of the fundamental frequency of a tone. The fundamental frequency is considered to be the first harmonic; doubling its frequency you obtain the second harmonic, tripling it you obtain the third harmonic, and so on.
  • binary measure A measure containing two beats.
  • suono [Italian] Sound.
  • serenade [French] Night music; a classical instrumental genre that combines elements of chamber music and symphonic music.
  • Rococo [French] A term applied to French compositions of the 18th century, implying light, airy, graceful, and ornamented style, in response to the rigid, severe lines of the previous era.
  • strathspey A lively Scottish dance in 4/4 time related to the reel. A characteristic of this dance is the peculiar rhythmic pattern of a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth, known as the Scotch snap.
  • binary form Two-part structure of music; usually each part is repeated.
  • simple interval An interval covering a single octave or less.
  • calcando [Italian] Stressing, emphasizing.
  • quadrille [French] An early 19th century ballroom dance for four or more couples.
  • line A general term for a discrete voice or part in a vocal or instrumental composition.
  • marziale [Italian] Martial, with a military feeling.
  • intonation A term referring to the proper production of a tone so that it is exactly in tune.
  • new wave Subgenre of rock popular since the late 1970s, highly influenced by simple 1950s-style rock and roll; developed as a rejection of the complexities of art rock and heavy metal.