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

  • oral transmission Preservation of music without the aid of written notation.
  • schnell [German] Fast.
  • galop [French] A lively ballroom dance, generally in 2/4 time.
  • Nachahmung [German] Imitation.
  • Tafelmusik [German] Literally, “table music”. Music that is performed at feasts and banquets.
  • family A grouping of instruments which produce sound in the same manner and are constructed in the same way but in different sizes, such as the flute family, the clarinet family, the violin family and so on.
  • canzona [Italian] A 16th-century multipart vocal setting of a literary canzone, or a 16th- and 17th-century instrumental composition.
  • 8vb [Italian] A directive to perform an octave lower than written.
  • concertmaster The term used to address the principal first violinist of an orchestra.
  • Minnelied [German] A love song composed in the Minnesang tradition.
  • rondellus [Latin] A 13th century English style of three-voice composition.
  • zeloso [Italian] Zealous, keen, earnest.
  • resonator Term referring to those parts of instruments which resonate or vibrate, thus enhancing the sound of the instrument.
  • French model A flute with pointed French-style arms and open-hole finger keys, as distinguished from the plateau style with closed holes.
  • paso doble [Spanish] Literally, “double step”. A Spanish dance in a brisk duple meter, typically 2/4 time.