Multilingual Music Glossary

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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

  • ruhig [German] Calm, peaceful.
  • con brio [Italian] With vivacity or spirit.
  • natural A symbol placed by a note signifying that the note should be played unaltered, as opposed to the sharp or flat of the note.
  • habanera [Spanish] Moderate duple meter dance of Cuban origin, popular in the nineteenth century. It is based on a characteristic rhythmic figure.
  • accablement [French] Despondency, oppression.
  • brio [Italian] Vivacity, spirit, liveliness.
  • Minnesinger [German] A poet or musician of the Minnesang tradition in Germany, active during the 12th through the 15th centuries.
  • schneller [German] Faster.
  • allant [French] Going on, lively.
  • accent The stress of one tone over others.
  • sideman A slang term for a musician in an ensemble who is not the leader of the ensemble.
  • larigot [French] A shepherd's flute or pipe.
  • serialism A method of composition in which various musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and tone color may be put in order according to a fixed series.
  • pas de deux [French] An established item in ballet consisting of a dance performed by two dancers.
  • opera seria [Italian] Italian opera of the 18th and 19th centuries that was either heroic or tragic.