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

  • eclogue A rustic poem usually having to do with shepherds, springtime and love. In Romantic piano music, a light, lyrical, uncomplicated composition.
  • double tonguing A technique used in playing the flute and brass instruments which allows notes to be played in rapid succession. It is achieved by rapidly forming the consonants “T” and “K” in quick succession.
  • poco a poco [Italian] Little by little.
  • lacrimoso [Italian] Tearful.
  • new age Style of popular music of the 1980s and 1990s, characterized by soothing timbres and repetitive forms that are subjected to shifting variation techniques.
  • close The ending of a composition or passage.
  • Reigenlied [German] Medieval dance form in triple meter, characterized by repeated notes and phrases.
  • cantus firmus [Latin] “Fixed melody”, usually of very long notes, often based on a fragment of Gregorian chant that served as the structural basis for a polyphonic composition, particularly in the Renaissance.
  • clos [French] The second ending of a repeated section.
  • decay The time that it takes for a note to die away once the musician has stopped producing the sound.
  • decani [Latin] In Anglican church music, referring to the half of the choir sitting on the dean's side of the church.
  • divertimento [Italian] Instrumental composition intended for entertainment, usually in a number of movements. The term is used particularly in the second half of the 18th century.
  • major Term referring to a sequence of notes that define the tonality of the major scale. This series consists of seven notes: the tonic, followed by the next note a whole step up from the tonic, the third is a whole step from the second, the fourth is a half step from the third, the fifth is a whole step from the fourth, the sixth is a whole step from the fifth, the seventh is another whole step, followed by the tonic, a half step above the seventh.
  • recital A performance given by a soloist or a small ensemble.
  • deciso [Italian] Decided, bold.