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

  • mediant The third note of a diatonic scale.
  • invention Mostly in reference to baroque music, a short, contrapuntal composition, usually implying an originality of idea.
  • Reigenlied [German] Medieval dance form in triple meter, characterized by repeated notes and phrases.
  • ninth An interval of five diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree.
  • accent The stress of one tone over others.
  • envelope An acoustical term referring to the attack, steady state (or duration), and decay of a sound.
  • cadence A sequence of chords that terminates a musical phrase or section.
  • custos [Latin] (Plural: custodes.) A symbol that appears at the end of a staff line with a single voice). It anticipates the first note of the following line and thus helps the player or singer to manage line breaks during performance. Custodes were frequently used until the 16th century.
  • bergamasca [Italian] A kind of Renaissance clumsy rustic dance.
  • triste [Italian] Sad.
  • giubiloso [Italian] Jubilant.
  • pianississimo [Italian] Extremely soft, softer than pianissimo.
  • parallel motion In part writing, parallel motion occurs when two voices move keeping exactly the same interval between them.
  • mambo [Spanish] Dance of Afro-Cuban origin with a characteristic quadruple-meter rhythmic pattern.
  • madrigal choir Small vocal ensemble that specializes in a cappella secular works.