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

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

  • martellato [Italian] Literally, “hammered”. Strongly marked.
  • 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.
  • well-tempered A term applied to an instrument that is voiced and tuned satisfactorily, with the pitches, tone, and timbre having the desired quality of sound.
  • sin' al fine [Italian] Literally, “to the end”. Usually attached to another directive, implying that whatever the other directive stated should be carried out to the end of the composition.
  • planctus [Latin] Medieval style of song and poetry of a lamenting character.
  • tango [Spanish] A dance in 2/4 time from Argentina.
  • vivacissimamente [Italian] A directive to perform in a very lively or brisk manner.
  • harmony Tones sounding simultaneously.
  • brio [Italian] Vivacity, spirit, liveliness.
  • maestro [Italian] A title of respect given to a master musician.
  • temperament The division of an octave into twelve equal parts.
  • instrumentation The particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition.
  • galante [Italian] Gallant, courtly, elegant.
  • dal niente [Italian] Literally, “from nothing”. Out of silence.
  • beat A throbbing that is heard when two tones are slightly out of tune.