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

  • dominant The fifth degree of a diatonic scale.
  • Motown A style of music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1960s.
  • Abendmusik [German] Evening music, usually religious in nature, originating in the 17th century.
  • turn An ornament consisting of four notes, alternating the main note with the one above it and the one below.
  • ricapitolazione [Italian] Recapitulation.
  • monophony Music that is written for only one voice or part.
  • harmony Tones sounding simultaneously.
  • con forza [Italian] “With force”, vigorously.
  • consonant A chord (or an interval) that is pleasing and harmonious to the ear.
  • soul A style of composition developed in America in the 1960s conveying strong emotion. This style of music is characterized by dramatic delivery of the vocal line, commonly including wails, sighs, cries, falsetto, whispers, etc.
  • con passione [Italian] “With passion”.
  • bourrée [French] An old French dance in use during the Baroque period, very rapid and hearty, usually in 2/4 or 2/2 time.
  • flamenco [Spanish] A genre of dance and music characterized by its use of modes, its unusual rhythm patterns and its use of guitar accompaniment.
  • heptatonic scale Any scale of seven tones.
  • Anlaufen [German] To open, to increase in volume.