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

  • rubato [Italian] “Robbed” time; the subtle pressing forward and holding back the tempo in performance.
  • ternary form A three-part musical structure (ABA) based on statement (A), contrast (B) and repetition (A).
  • custos [Latin] (Plural: custodes.) A symbol that appears at the end of a staff line with a single voice). It anticipates the first note of the following line and thus helps the player or singer to manage line breaks during performance. Custodes were frequently used until the 16th century.
  • contralto [Italian] The lowest female voice.
  • new wave Subgenre of rock popular since the late 1970s, highly influenced by simple 1950s-style rock and roll; developed as a rejection of the complexities of art rock and heavy metal.
  • feierlich [German] Solemn.
  • precisamente [Italian] Precisely, exactly.
  • intermezzo [Italian] Short lyric piece or movement, often for piano. Also, a comic interlude performed between acts of an eighteenth century opera seria.
  • ballad In jazz and popular music, a short song in a slow tempo, usually with a romantic or sentimental text.
  • septet A piece for seven singers or instrumentalists. Also, a group of such musicians.
  • rest A symbol standing for a measured break in the sound with a defined duration.
  • deux [French] “Two”.
  • bore The diameter of the tube of a woodwind or brass instrument. The shape of the bore in part dictates the timbre or tone color of the instrument.
  • big band A type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and contains saxophones, trumpets, trombones and a rhythm section.
  • refrain [French] A verse which repeats throughout a song or poem at given intervals.