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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Some random terms

  • Zimmerman numbers The numbering system identifying compositions by Henry Purcell.
  • eilig [German] Hurried, hasty, speedy.
  • ravvivando [Italian] Animating, brightening up; quickening.
  • soprano [Italian] The highest female voice.
  • parallel keys Two keys, one major and one minor, having the same tonic.
  • salsa [Spanish] A contemporary Latin American dance music principally of Afro-Cuban tradition.
  • carol A festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character.
  • concert pitch The tuning pitch of an ensemble, typically A440.
  • rock A loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950s, characterized by a hard, driving duple meter and amplified instrumental accompaniment.
  • Tafelmusik [German] Literally, “table music”. Music that is performed at feasts and banquets.
  • Kammerton [German] Literally, “Chamber pitch”. The pitch system used for instruments in Germany during the baroque period. In this system, the A above middle C was probably about 410–425 Hz.
  • waltz Ballroom dance type in triple meter; in the Romantic era, a short, stylized piano piece.
  • polycoral Performance style developed in the late sixteenth century involving the use of two or more choirs that alternate with each other or sing together.
  • belebend [German] Lively.
  • sarabande [French] Stately Spanish baroque dance type in triple meter, a standard movement of the Baroque suite.