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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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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Some random terms

  • clef In musical notation, a symbol at the beginning of a staff that determines the pitches of the lines and spaces. The most common clefs are treble, for indicating pitches mostly above middle C, and bass, for indicating pitches mostly below middle C.
  • sixty-fourth note A note having the time duration of one sixty-fourth of a whole note.
  • pitch Highness or lowness of a tone, depending on the frequency (rate of vibration).
  • villancico [Spanish] A 15th and 16th century form of Spanish poetry that was often set to music.
  • ma [Italian] “But”.
  • character piece Term used for a broad range of 19th century piano music based on a single idea or program.
  • interlude Any piece of music played or sung between the movements of a larger composition.
  • ohne [German] “Without”.
  • passing note In part writing, A non-harmonic note that appears between two notes in stepwise motion. Usually it is a link between a melodic interval of a third in one of the voices.
  • jarabe [Spanish] Traditional Mexican dance form with multiple sections in contrasting meters and tempos.
  • envoi [French] A short final stanza of a ballade which serves as a summary or dedication.
  • key signature The sharps or flats appearing at the beginning of each staff indicating the key of the music.
  • con furia [Italian] “With fury”.
  • fauxbourdon [French] A technique of musical harmonization used in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. It consists of the cantus firmus and two other parts a sixth and a perfect fourth below.
  • moto perpetuo [Italian] Literally, “perpetual motion”. A term used to describe rapidly executed and persistently maintained figuration.