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

Hint: Don't worry about accents over letters, just skip them.

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…

You may browse the glossary alphabetically, or directly search for a term by using the search box above.

If you are looking for a symbol, check out our Guide to Musical Symbols.

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

  • tune An air or melody, a succession of sounds that has definite character and shape and is pleasing to the ear.
  • stentando [Italian] Literally, “having difficulty”. A directive to perform in an ungraceful, heavy manner, holding back each note.
  • appassionato [Italian] Passionate, with intense emotion or feeling.
  • overture An introductory movement, as in an opera or oratorio, often presenting melodies from arias to come. Also an orchestral work for concert performance.
  • grandioso [Italian] Majestic, grand, noble.
  • brioso [Italian] Vivacious, spirited, lively.
  • major Term referring to a sequence of notes that define the tonality of the major scale. This series consists of seven notes: the tonic, followed by the next note a whole step up from the tonic, the third is a whole step from the second, the fourth is a half step from the third, the fifth is a whole step from the fourth, the sixth is a whole step from the fifth, the seventh is another whole step, followed by the tonic, a half step above the seventh.
  • murky A style of keyboard playing in which the bass consists of quick alternating octaves rather than slower, longer notes.
  • tenuto [Italian] A directive to perform a certain note or chord of a composition in a sustained manner for longer than its full duration.
  • form The structure of a composition, the frame upon which it is constructed.
  • Ausdrucksvoll [German] Expressive.
  • leggiero [Italian] Light, delicate.
  • toujours [French] Always.
  • cadenza [Italian] An improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a free rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display.
  • well-tempered A term applied to an instrument that is voiced and tuned satisfactorily, with the pitches, tone, and timbre having the desired quality of sound.