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

Found a word you don't know? No problem. Look it up in the Music Glossary!

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

  • partita [Italian] In the 18th and 19th century, a multi-movement composition consisting of dances and non-dance movements or entirely of non-dance movements.
  • adirato [Italian] Angry, wrathful.
  • interpretation The manner in which a performer carries out a composer's performance directions.
  • cover Recording that remakes an earlier, often successful, recording.
  • bepop Complex jazz style developed in the 1940s.
  • da capo [Italian] Literally, “from the beginning”. A directive to go back to the beginning of the composition.
  • program music Music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas, images in the mind of the listener by musically representing a scene, image or mood. By contrast, absolute music stands for itself and is intended to be appreciated without any particular reference to the outside world.
  • scat singing A vocal jazz style that consists of improvised nonsense syllables sung to an an improvised melody, usually over an instrumental accompaniment.
  • Gregorian chant Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • con semplicità [Italian] “With simplicity”.
  • Cecilia [Italian] Saint honored as the patroness of music.
  • grandioso [Italian] Majestic, grand, noble.
  • ancora [Italian] “Again”.
  • leap Any movement from one note to another through means of an interval that is greater than a second.
  • movement Complete, self-contained part within a larger musical work.