Multilingual Music Glossary

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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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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

  • Köchel Verzeichnis [German] The numbering system identifying compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
  • sharp An accidental symbol that raises the pitch of a note by a semitone.
  • canon Strict imitation, in which one voice imitates another at a staggered time interval.
  • geschwind [German] Swift, swiftly.
  • Wiederholung [German] Repetition.
  • coloratura soprano [Italian] A type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps.
  • madrigal choir Small vocal ensemble that specializes in a cappella secular works.
  • syncopation Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse of a composition by means of a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat.
  • placido [Italian] Calm, placid.
  • expression The blend of feeling and intellect brought to a performance by the performer.
  • saltando [Italian] Proceeding in leaps or skips.
  • chord progression Series of chords played in order.
  • pantonality Term used to describe music that is not in one tonality or key, but shifts freely among many or all keys.
  • enharmonic Two notes, intervals, or scales having different names but equal pitch.
  • Motown A style of music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1960s.