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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Some random terms

  • quadruplet A group of four notes played in the time usually taken to play six.
  • Requiem [Latin] A composition to honor the deceased.
  • string quintet Standard chamber ensemble made up of either two violins, two violas and cello, or two violins, viola and two cellos.
  • opera seria [Italian] Italian opera of the 18th and 19th centuries that was either heroic or tragic.
  • larynx The upper part of the trachea in the human throat. It is the mechanism that varies the tone of the voice.
  • register A division of the range of an instrument or singing voice. Usually registers are defined by a change in the quality of the sound between a lower range and a higher range.
  • yodel A style of singing or calling that involves switching the registers of the voice rapidly from head voice to chest voice (or falsetto and natural voice). Although this type of singing is typically associated with the high warbling of the Swiss and Tyrolean mountaineers, forms of yodeling can be found in several cultures, including African, Persian, and cowboy singers in the United States.
  • metronome Device used to indicate the tempo by sounding regular beats at adjustable speeds.
  • contrary motion Simultaneous motion of two voices, one of which is in opposition to the other, with one voice rising in pitch while the other one falls in pitch.
  • canto [Italian] Literally, “singing”. The highest vocal part in choral music.
  • prima donna [Italian] Literally, “first lady”. Term used in opera for the principal female singer of the opera or of the opera company.
  • dur [French] Literally, “hard”. With a harsh or ungraceful tone.
  • tablature Any form of musical notation using symbols or letters rather than notes on the staff to describe pitches.
  • impromptu [French] A single-movement piano composition of the Romantic era, usually short, with a spontaneous character.
  • timbre [French] The quality of a sound; that component of a tone that causes different instruments (for example a flute and a violin) to sound different from each other while they are both playing the same note.