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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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…

You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.

If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.

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

  • mit Steigerung [German] With exaltation.
  • presque [French] “Almost”.
  • quasi [Italian] “Almost”.
  • chart Colloquial or jazz term for a score or arrangement.
  • quickstep A dance popular in the 1920s in duple meter. Also, a fast march.
  • rinforzando [Italian] Literally, “reinforcing”. Dynamic marking indicating that several notes, or a short phrase, are to be emphasized.
  • fluttertonguing Wind instrument technique in which the tongue is fluttered or trilled against the roof of the mouth.
  • cotillion [French] A popular dance in the French Courts in the 18th and 19th century, that preceded the Quadrille style of dancing.
  • dirge A generic term used for a composition designed specifically for a funeral or in commemoration of the dead.
  • Gregorian chant Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • slur A curved line drawn over or under a series of notes, indicating that those notes should be played legato.
  • natural minor scale A scale similar to the major scale, but with the third, sixth and seventh degrees lowered by a semitone.
  • foxtrot Ballroom dance popular in the 19th century.
  • accablement [French] Despondency, oppression.
  • moto perpetuo [Italian] Literally, “perpetual motion”. A term used to describe rapidly executed and persistently maintained figuration.