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

  • schnell [German] Fast.
  • bore The diameter of the tube of a woodwind or brass instrument. The shape of the bore in part dictates the timbre or tone color of the instrument.
  • molto [Italian] “Very”, “much”.
  • répertoire [French] A list of compositions that an individual or ensemble is prepared to perform or that are available for performance.
  • comodo [Italian] Comfortable.
  • prelude An instrumental composition intended to introduce a larger composition or a set of compositions.
  • resonator Term referring to those parts of instruments which resonate or vibrate, thus enhancing the sound of the instrument.
  • motet Polyphonic vocal genre, secular in the Middle Ages but sacred or devotional thereafter.
  • volume Degree of loudness or softness of a sound.
  • pas [French] “Not”.
  • glee club Originally, a club designed for the singing of glees, originating in 1787 and dissolved in 1857. In modern usage, a glee club is a club usually, but not necessarily, exclusive to males, organized for the singing of vocal compositions.
  • Gregorian chant Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • restez [French] A directive to remain on a note.
  • ionian In the system of modes, the ionian mode is the one based on C; therefore, it is the modern major scale.
  • overtone A constituent frequency of a sound other than the fundamental frequency.