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

  • scherzando [Italian] Literally, “joking”. A directive to perform in a lively, playful, animated manner.
  • lai [French] A song form composed in northern Europe, mainly France and Germany, from the 13th to the late 14th century.
  • largamente [Italian] With a broad, full sound.
  • suono [Italian] Sound.
  • sight-singing The practice of singing a composition at sight, without previous preparation.
  • libero [Italian] Literally, “free”. A directive to perform in a free, unrestrained style.
  • falsetto [Italian] Vocal technique whereby men can sing above their normal range, producing a lighter sound.
  • étude [French] Study piece that focuses on a particular technical problem.
  • meantone temperament Temperament yielding acoustically pure thirds by decreasing the natural fifth by 16 cents. Due to the non-circular character of this temperament, only a limited set of keys are playable. Used for tuning keyboard instruments for performance of pre-1650 music.
  • ledger line Short, horizontal line added to the top or the bottom of a staff for the reception of a note too high or too low to be represented on the staff.
  • mazurka A lively Polish dance in 3/4 or 3/8 time with the accent usually on the second or third beat of the measure.
  • music drama Wagner's term for his operas.
  • theme and variations A style of composition that first presents a basic theme and then develops and alters that theme in successive statements.
  • Eingang [German] An introduction, preface or prelude.
  • gavotte [French] Duple meter baroque dance of a pastoral character.