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

  • gebrochen [German] “Broken”.
  • Noël [French] Christmas.
  • common time 4/4 time.
  • Gregorian chant Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • al segno [Italian] A directive to return to the sign.
  • attacca [Italian] A musical directive for the performer to begin the next section of a composition immediately and without pause.
  • quintet A piece for five singers or instrumentalists. Also, a group of such musicians.
  • lamentevole [Italian] Plaintive, mournful.
  • villereccio [Italian] Rustic, rural.
  • program symphony A multi-movement composition with extra-musical content that directs the attention of the listener to a literary or pictorial association.
  • blue note In blues or jazz, a note that for expressive purposes is sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than usual.
  • polyharmony Two or more streams of harmony played against each other; common in twentieth century music.
  • oratorio [Italian] Large-scale dramatic genre originating in the Baroque, based on a text of religious or serious character, performed by solo voices, chorus and orchestra; similar to opera but without scenery, costumes or action.
  • fluttertonguing Wind instrument technique in which the tongue is fluttered or trilled against the roof of the mouth.
  • zu [German] “Too” (excessively).