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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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

  • 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.
  • response Short choral answer to a solo verse; an element of liturgical dialogue.
  • glee club Originally, a club designed for the singing of glees, originating in 1787 and dissolved in 1857. In modern usage, a glee club is a club usually, but not necessarily, exclusive to males, organized for the singing of vocal compositions.
  • pochissimo [Italian] “Very little”.
  • sequence Restatement of an idea or motive at a different pitch level.
  • quartal harmony Harmony based on the interval of the fourth as opposed to a third; used in twentieth century music.
  • zu [German] Shown as zu2, zu3, etc., it is a directive to indicate the number of musicians to perform the indicated passage of music.
  • Rococo [French] A term applied to French compositions of the 18th century, implying light, airy, graceful, and ornamented style, in response to the rigid, severe lines of the previous era.
  • root The fundamental note of a chord.
  • form The structure of a composition, the frame upon which it is constructed.
  • misurato [Italian] A directive to perform in a measured or strict tempo.
  • stretto [Italian] In a fugue, that situation in which the subject and answer overlap one another, or when two subjects enter in close succession.
  • liturgy In those churches that use standard written forms of services, the ritual or service of public worship.
  • verse A single line in a metrical composition, e.g. a poem. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza.
  • schneller [German] Faster.