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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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

  • adirato [Italian] Angry, wrathful.
  • Leben [German] Life, vivacity.
  • sopra [Italian] “Above”.
  • Motown A style of music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1960s.
  • tenuto [Italian] A directive to perform a certain note or chord of a composition in a sustained manner for longer than its full duration.
  • festivo [Italian] Merry, festive.
  • outer voices The highest and the lowest voices in a polyphonic composition.
  • marcato [Italian] Marked, accented, emphasized, stressed.
  • larghissimo [Italian] An extremely slow tempo, slower than largo.
  • largo [Italian] A slow and solemn tempo marking, usually around 40–60 BPM.
  • quadruple counterpoint Counterpoint in four parts.
  • neoromantic A compositional style of the 20th century embodying the techniques and characteristics of the romantic period.
  • armonioso [Italian] Harmonious, pleasant-sounding.
  • double [French] During the Baroque period, a repetition or variation of an air or a dance that adds extra notes and/or ornaments.
  • lai [French] A song form composed in northern Europe, mainly France and Germany, from the 13th to the late 14th century.