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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Some random terms

  • vago [Italian] Vague, indefinite.
  • part writing The component of counterpoint that recognizes each voice as an individual, horizontal melody rather than as a part of the resultant, vertical chords.
  • ninth An interval of five diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree.
  • con passione [Italian] “With passion”.
  • third An interval of three diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree.
  • verve [French] A high degree of energy, excitement or spirit. Often referred to as the artistic inspiration and special feeling of excitement that is used by artists to realize the expression of ideas in performance or composition.
  • mariachi [Spanish] Traditional Mexican ensemble popular throughout the country, consisting of trumpets, violins, guitar and bass guitar.
  • bridge A passage connecting two sections of a composition.
  • innigster [German] “Sincere”.
  • Anlaufen [German] To open, to increase in volume.
  • symphonic poem A piece of orchestral music in one principal self-contained section called a “movement” in which a program from a poem, a story or novel, a painting, or another source is illustrated or evoked.
  • toccata [Italian] Virtuoso composition, generally for organ or harpsichord, in a free and rhapsodic style; in the Baroque, it often served as the introduction to a fugue.
  • sforzando [Italian] Literally, “forcing”. Dynamic marking indicating a strong, sudden accent.
  • weniger [German] “Less”.
  • burden A phrase or theme that recurs at the end of each verse in a folk song or ballad.