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

  • branle [French] Quick French group dance of the Renaissance.
  • grosso [Italian] Large, great, grand.
  • backbeat A style of rhythmic accentuation that puts accents on even beats. In common time this means having accents on beats 2 and 4.
  • agitato [Italian] Agitated, excited, restless.
  • serenade [French] Night music; a classical instrumental genre that combines elements of chamber music and symphonic music.
  • rap An American style of rhythmic chanting consisting of improvised rhymes performed to rhythmic accompaniment.
  • 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.
  • rumba [Spanish] A dance originating in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Spanish colonizers and of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves.
  • Burgundian chanson Fifteenth century French composition, usually for three voices, some or all of which may be played by instruments.
  • con [Italian] “With”.
  • vocalise [French] A vocal exercise that is sung without words, typically using different vowel sounds.
  • inline G On a flute, the standard position of the left-hand G (third-finger) key: in line with the first and second keys.
  • genre Term used to identify a general category of music that shares similar performance forces, formal structures and/or style.
  • tranquillo [Italian] Calm, quiet.
  • sacred music Religious or spiritual music, for church or devotional use.