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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Some random terms

  • comma [Italian] Difference in pitch between a note derived from pure tuning and the same note derived from some other tuning method.
  • instrumentation The particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition.
  • faburden A 15th-century English technique of improvising two parts around the main melody of a cantus firmus. The first part would be sung a third below the melody, except for a few notes that would be a fifth below; the second part would be sung a fourth above the main melody.
  • fortissimo-piano [Italian] A dynamic marking (ffp) indicating that the marked note should be attacked very loudly, instantly diminishing to a much softer volume.
  • sans [French] “Without”.
  • un pochettino [Italian] A little bit.
  • Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis [German] The numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach.
  • stretto [Italian] In a fugue, that situation in which the subject and answer overlap one another, or when two subjects enter in close succession.
  • root The fundamental note of a chord.
  • molto [Italian] “Very”, “much”.
  • cassation Classical instrumental genre related to the serenade or divertimento, often performed outdoors.
  • comodo [Italian] Comfortable.
  • Kammer [German] Chamber, room.
  • ricercare [Italian] Literally, “search”. Term used in the Renaissance originally meaning a keyboard or lute composition of an introductory nature, similar to a prelude, but later meaning a free composition more resembling a fantasia or a fugue. Both forms of the ricercare were characterized by complexity and an esoteric nature.
  • spagnoletta [Italian] An Italian dance of the late 16th century.