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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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

  • tardamente [Italian] Slowly.
  • duration The length of time that a note is sounded or a rest (silence) is observed.
  • deciso [Italian] Decided, bold.
  • modal Having to do with modes; this term is applied most particularly to music that is based upon the Gregorian modes, rather than to music based upon the major, minor, or any other scale.
  • ronde [French] Lively Renaissance round dance or country dance associated with the outdoors, in which the participants danced in a circle or a line.
  • symphonie concertante [French] A musical genre of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that resembles a concerto for two to four solo instruments. It is a composition in two or three movements of a lighthearted character, usually in a major key. The genre features a few solo instruments and orchestra.
  • giusto [Italian] A directive to perform in an equal, steady, exact tempo.
  • split E mechanism On a flute, a system whereby the second G key (positioned below the G♯ key) is closed when the right middle-finger key is depressed, enabling a clearer third octave E; standard on most flutes, but omitted from many intermediate- and professional-grade flutes, as it can reduce the tonal quality of 3rd octave F♯.
  • con disperazione [Italian] Desperately.
  • sin' al fine [Italian] Literally, “to the end”. Usually attached to another directive, implying that whatever the other directive stated should be carried out to the end of the composition.
  • moto [Italian] Motion, movement.
  • allargando [Italian] Growing broader, slowing down.
  • tuning The adjustment of the pitch of an instrument. Also, the set pitches to which an instrument is tuned.
  • dampen A directive to muffle, deaden or restrain the tone of an instrument.
  • dramma giocoso [Italian] A kind of comic opera originating around 1750, with sentimental or pathetic plots bordering on tragedy rather than the traditional lighthearted comic plots.