Multilingual Music Glossary

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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

  • veloce [Italian] Fast.
  • mezzo [Italian] Half, medium.
  • vif [French] A tempo directive meaning “lively”.
  • martial music Music with a military feeling.
  • flamenco [Spanish] A genre of dance and music characterized by its use of modes, its unusual rhythm patterns and its use of guitar accompaniment.
  • un pochettino [Italian] A little bit.
  • mediant The third note of a diatonic scale.
  • Abendmusik [German] Evening music, usually religious in nature, originating in the 17th century.
  • affannato [Italian] Anguished.
  • transcription Either notating an unnotated piece, or rewriting a piece, either simply recopying, as for clarity, or as an arrangement for another instrument.
  • hocket A Medieval practice of composition in which two voices would move in such a manner that one would be still while the other moved and vice-versa.
  • ballade [French] A one-movement musical piece with lyrical and dramatic narrative qualities, usually having a text dealing with courtly love.
  • rinforzando [Italian] Literally, “reinforcing”. Dynamic marking indicating that several notes, or a short phrase, are to be emphasized.
  • teneramente [Italian] Tenderly.
  • pentatonic scale A scale of five tones. Commonly, these tones correspond to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th of a major scale.