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

  • accablé [French] Overwhelmed.
  • canon Strict imitation, in which one voice imitates another at a staggered time interval.
  • moins [French] “Less”.
  • jarabe [Spanish] Traditional Mexican dance form with multiple sections in contrasting meters and tempos.
  • pietoso [Italian] Pitiful, merciful, compassionate.
  • post-modern A term adopted around the mid-1970s to describe our current eclectic, experimental age.
  • scat singing A vocal jazz style that consists of improvised nonsense syllables sung to an an improvised melody, usually over an instrumental accompaniment.
  • envoi [French] A short final stanza of a ballade which serves as a summary or dedication.
  • locrian A mode based upon the seventh tone of the major scale.
  • wind instrument Any instrument that produces sound by means of a column of air.
  • smaniato [Italian] Furious, vehement.
  • closed-hole A flute finger key which is fully covered.
  • fado [Portuguese] A type of street song and dance of Portugal, usually accompanied by a guitar.
  • cantor [Latin] Solo singer or singing leader in Jewish and Christian liturgical music.
  • sonata da camera [Italian] A baroque style of sonata, consisting in a suite of stylized dances, performed either by a small ensemble or by a soloist.