Multilingual Music Glossary
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…
You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.
If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.
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
- strepitoso
Boisterous, noisy. - symphonie concertante
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. - lacrimoso
Tearful. - bluegrass A form of American country music, inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as jazz and blues. In bluegrass, as in jazz, each instrument takes its turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment.
- teneramente
Tenderly. - mazurka A lively Polish dance in 3/4 or 3/8 time with the accent usually on the second or third beat of the measure.
- buffo
Comic, humorous. - litany A prayer or processional of supplication to God, to Mary, or to the saints in which the priest or deacon chants the supplication and the congregation responds with “Ora pro nobis”, “Kyrie eleison”, etc.
- legatissimo
Very legato, extremely smooth and connected. - vocalise
A vocal exercise that is sung without words, typically using different vowel sounds. - imitation Compositional technique in which a melodic idea is presented in one voice (or part), then restated in another while the first voice continues with new material.
- spiritual A style of music invented by Afro-American slaves. Spirituals are generally religious songs with elements of African rhythms, Biblical texts, and American accents. Usually the text is concerned with earthly tribulations and heavenly justice and reward.
- common chord A chord consisting of the root, third, and fifth.
- tosto
Swiftly, rapidly. - cantio
A religious, monophonic, Latin song of the later Middle Ages.