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

  • false note A muted or dampened note that has rhythm but often no discernible pitch.
  • timbre [French] The quality of a sound; that component of a tone that causes different instruments (for example a flute and a violin) to sound different from each other while they are both playing the same note.
  • aubade [French] A song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or evoking daybreak.
  • sextuplet A group of six notes played in the time usually taken to play four.
  • head joint The top section of a flute, with the tone hole where the player initiates the sound by blowing air across the opening.
  • inversion The position of a chord when the fundamental is not the lowest note. Also, the inversion of the order of the notes of an interval, obtained by raising or lowering either of the notes the necessary number of octaves.
  • diminuendo [Italian] A directive to smoothly decrease the volume.
  • andante [Italian] Literally, “going”. A moderate tempo marking, usually around 76–108 BPM.
  • canción [Spanish] A popular genre of Latin American music, particularly in Cuba, where many of the compositions originate.
  • tessitura [Italian] The most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument.
  • disco Commercial dance music popular in the 1970s, characterized by strong percussion in a quadruple meter.
  • register A division of the range of an instrument or singing voice. Usually registers are defined by a change in the quality of the sound between a lower range and a higher range.
  • première [French] Literally, “first”. The first public performance of a musical or dramatic work.
  • sinfonia [Italian] A term brought into use in the late Renaissance with a variety of specific meanings, generally implying a composition similar to a canzona or a prelude. By the 18th century the term had a similar implication as the term sonata. During the 18th century it came to be used for a three movement composition, until it gradually took on the meaning of our modern term symphony.
  • lentement [French] Slowly.