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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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

  • theme The musical basis upon which a composition is built. Usually a theme consists of a recognizable melody or a characteristic rhythmic pattern.
  • rounded binary Compositional form with two sections, in which the second ends with a return to material from the first; each section is usually repeated.
  • blue note In blues or jazz, a note that for expressive purposes is sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than usual.
  • à la [French] In the manner of.
  • agitato [Italian] Agitated, excited, restless.
  • leggiero [Italian] Light, delicate.
  • gig A term commonly applied to a musical engagement of one night's duration only.
  • turn An ornament consisting of four notes, alternating the main note with the one above it and the one below.
  • tarantella [Italian] A fast Italian dance in 6/8 time, characterized by alternations between major and minor tonalities and a quickening of tempo throughout the composition.
  • ma [Italian] “But”.
  • doloroso [Italian] Sorrowful, painful.
  • troppo [Italian] Too much.
  • orchestra An instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large, with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well.
  • one hundred and twenty-eighth note A note having the time duration of one hundred twenty-eighth of the time duration of a whole note.
  • Nachahmung [German] Imitation.