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

  • basse dance [French] A graceful, stately court dance of the early Renaissance.
  • negligente [Italian] “Negligent”, unrestrained.
  • zusammen [German] Literally, “together”. A directive to perform a certain passage of music together with other musicians in the section. Typically found after a divisi.
  • stromentato [Italian] Accompanied.
  • fauxbourdon [French] A technique of musical harmonization used in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. It consists of the cantus firmus and two other parts a sixth and a perfect fourth below.
  • opera seria [Italian] Italian opera of the 18th and 19th centuries that was either heroic or tragic.
  • audition The term used for the try-outs that a musician must go through before his or her acceptance into an ensemble.
  • barcarolle [French] A folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers (oarsmen of the traditional Venetian rowing boat called gondola), or a piece of music composed in that style. It is characterized by a rhythm reminiscent of the gondolier's stroke, almost invariably a moderate tempo 6/8 meter.
  • backbeat A style of rhythmic accentuation that puts accents on even beats. In common time this means having accents on beats 2 and 4.
  • giocoso [Italian] Jolly, merry, playful.
  • cantio [Latin] A religious, monophonic, Latin song of the later Middle Ages.
  • languendo [Italian] Languishing.
  • bracket In a score, a vertical bracket that groups together the staves relative to the instruments of a section, like the woodwinds or the strings.
  • farce A comedy which aims to entertain the audience by means of extravagant and improbable situations.
  • heptatonic scale Any scale of seven tones.