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

  • ledger line Short, horizontal line added to the top or the bottom of a staff for the reception of a note too high or too low to be represented on the staff.
  • con passione [Italian] “With passion”.
  • voice Either human voice or a melodic layer or part of a polyphonic composition.
  • dance Any physical movements done to music.
  • dodecaphony Ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale are sounded as often as one another in a piece of music while preventing the emphasis of any.
  • lyrics The words of a song.
  • decani [Latin] In Anglican church music, referring to the half of the choir sitting on the dean's side of the church.
  • pianississimo [Italian] Extremely soft, softer than pianissimo.
  • portamento [Italian] Literally, “carrying”. In singing or playing continuous-pitch instruments, the technique of gliding from one note to another without actually defining the intermediate notes: a smooth sliding between two pitches.
  • syncopation Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse of a composition by means of a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat.
  • rondò [Italian] A form in which a principal theme (sometimes called the refrain) alternates with one or more contrasting themes, generally called episodes, but also occasionally referred to as digressions, or couplets. Possible patterns in the Classical Period include ABA, ABACA, ABABCA, etc.
  • petite reprise [French] Repetition of the last few measures of a piece after a larger repetition. The starting point of the section to be repeated is usually indicated with a small “segno”.
  • vivacissimamente [Italian] A directive to perform in a very lively or brisk manner.
  • chromatic scale A scale consisting of all 12 semitones.
  • dal niente [Italian] Literally, “from nothing”. Out of silence.