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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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

  • Eingang [German] An introduction, preface or prelude.
  • quickstep A dance popular in the 1920s in duple meter. Also, a fast march.
  • alterezza [Italian] Pride or haughtiness.
  • romantic The era of music following the classical period, going from about 1815 to 1910.
  • quadruplum [Latin] Polyphony having four voices. Also, the highest of these voices.
  • pesante [Italian] “Heavy”, slow or with importance.
  • sacred music Religious or spiritual music, for church or devotional use.
  • tertian harmony Term applied to harmony which is based upon the interval of the third.
  • fortissimo [Italian] Very loud, louder than forte.
  • theme and variations A style of composition that first presents a basic theme and then develops and alters that theme in successive statements.
  • coda [Italian] Literally, “tail”. The last part of a piece, usually added to a standard form to bring it to a close.
  • chromatic Any music or chord that contains notes not belonging to the diatonic scale.
  • duplet A group of two notes played in the time usually taken to play three.
  • bagatelle [French] A short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The term literally means a “trifle”, as a reference to the innocent character of the piece.
  • très [French] “Very”, “much”.