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

  • modo [Italian] Way, manner.
  • unison Interval between two notes of the same pitch; the simultaneous playing of the same note.
  • retrograde Backward statement of a melody.
  • con grazia [Italian] “With grace”.
  • con fuoco [Italian] Literally, “with fire”. A directive to play with vehement energy or fervid emotion.
  • pantomime Theatrical genre in which an actor silently plays all the parts in a show while accompanied by singing.
  • harmony Tones sounding simultaneously.
  • clos [French] The second ending of a repeated section.
  • dolce [Italian] Sweet, soft, with tender emotion.
  • très [French] “Very”, “much”.
  • program symphony A multi-movement composition with extra-musical content that directs the attention of the listener to a literary or pictorial association.
  • prima donna [Italian] Literally, “first lady”. Term used in opera for the principal female singer of the opera or of the opera company.
  • mezzo-soprano [Italian] The female voice between soprano and contralto.
  • branle [French] Quick French group dance of the Renaissance.
  • sentence Term applied to a complete, independent musical idea, usually consisting of two or four phrases, ending with a cadence.