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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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

  • dotted note A note that has a dot placed to the right of the notehead, indicating that the duration of the note should be increased by half again its original duration.
  • harmonic Any integer multiple of the fundamental frequency of a tone. The fundamental frequency is considered to be the first harmonic; doubling its frequency you obtain the second harmonic, tripling it you obtain the third harmonic, and so on.
  • stanchezza [Italian] Weariness.
  • moto [Italian] Motion, movement.
  • vocalese A style or genre of jazz singing wherein lyrics are written for melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation.
  • motteggiando [Italian] Bantering.
  • garbato [Italian] Kind, amiable, graceful
  • recorder A wind instrument of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras. The recorder is a simple instrument related to the flute; it is sounded by blowing into one end and the pitch is adjusted by covering finger holes.
  • poco [Italian] “Not very”, “not much”.
  • funk American musical style that originated in the 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music.
  • tutti [Italian] “All”. A directive to perform with all instruments together.
  • corps [French] Literally, “body”. May indicate the body of an instrument or a company of performers.
  • technique The mechanical aspect of performing a composition.
  • 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♯.
  • placido [Italian] Calm, placid.