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

  • dirge A generic term used for a composition designed specifically for a funeral or in commemoration of the dead.
  • divertissment [French] A light, entertaining dance and music combination related to the divertimento.
  • groove Groove is the sense of propulsive rhythmic “feel” or sense of “swing” created by the interaction of the music played by a band's rhythm section (usually drums, electric bass or double bass, guitar, and keyboards).
  • aria [Italian] Lyric song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, generally expressing intense emotion; found in opera, cantata, and oratorio.
  • con disperazione [Italian] Desperately.
  • mainstream Music which is currently popular and in demand.
  • seventh An interval of seven diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree.
  • arrangement A rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material, or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch. If a musical adaptation does not include new material, it is more accurately termed a transcription or orchestration.
  • degree Any tone of the diatonic scale.
  • calmato [Italian] Calm.
  • negligente [Italian] “Negligent”, unrestrained.
  • religioso [Italian] Religious, devout.
  • program music Music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas, images in the mind of the listener by musically representing a scene, image or mood. By contrast, absolute music stands for itself and is intended to be appreciated without any particular reference to the outside world.
  • gebrochen [German] “Broken”.
  • libretto [Italian] A “little book” that contains the complete text of an opera, oratorio, and so forth.