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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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…

You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.

If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.

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

  • Leichen-musik [German] Funeral music.
  • arabesque [French] An ornament or an embellished work. The term is taken from the Arabic art and architecture which is very ornate.
  • ad libitum [Latin] Literally, “at will”. At the discretion of the performer. At pleasure, changing the tempo of a particular passage. Sometimes, a part that may be omitted if desired.
  • con semplicità [Italian] “With simplicity”.
  • cantabile [Italian] Songful, in a singing style.
  • marziale [Italian] Martial, with a military feeling.
  • compound meter Meter in which each beat is divisible by three rather than two.
  • ruggiero [Italian] A musical scheme which is at times harmonic and at times melodic. It is seen in 16th and 17th century music, for both vocal and instrumental pieces and improvisations.
  • tacet [Latin] Literally, “he is silent”. An indication that a performer is to be silent for some time.
  • reggae Jamaican popular music style characterized by offbeat rhythms and chanted vocals over a strong bass part.
  • leggiero [Italian] Light, delicate.
  • simple meter A meter in which the main beats are subdivided into twos, such as 2/4 or 3/4.
  • yodel A style of singing or calling that involves switching the registers of the voice rapidly from head voice to chest voice (or falsetto and natural voice). Although this type of singing is typically associated with the high warbling of the Swiss and Tyrolean mountaineers, forms of yodeling can be found in several cultures, including African, Persian, and cowboy singers in the United States.
  • Zungenstoss [German] Tongue thrust.
  • jazz A musical style created mainly by African-Americans in the early twentieth century that blended elements drawn from African musics with the popular and art traditions of the West.