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

  • Leitmotiv [German] A term adopted by Wagner's disciples to designate the “leading motives” in his operas.
  • paraphrase In the Renaissance, a melody borrowed from another source (usually chant) and then elaborated freely. In the 19th century, a virtuoso composition using popular melodies, usually from operas, in an elaborated manner.
  • moto [Italian] Motion, movement.
  • samba [Portuguese] Afro-Brazilian dance, characterized by duple meter, responsorial singing and polyrhythmic accompaniments.
  • disco Commercial dance music popular in the 1970s, characterized by strong percussion in a quadruple meter.
  • goliard song Medieval Latin-texted secular song, often with corrupt or lewd lyrics; associated with wandering scholars.
  • dodecaphony Ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale are sounded as often as one another in a piece of music while preventing the emphasis of any.
  • spianato [Italian] leveled, even, smooth.
  • Trommelbass [German] Literally, “drum-bass”. A bass line that contains steady, constant, repeated notes.
  • pastorale [Italian] Pastoral, country-like.
  • compound interval An interval greater than an octave.
  • spigliato [Italian] Self-confident, bold, smooth.
  • voce piena [Italian] “Full voice”.
  • orchestra An instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large, with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well.
  • masque [French] English genre of aristocratic entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance, developed during the 16th and 17th centuries.