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

  • triplet Three notes of equal length that are to be performed in the duration of two notes of equal length.
  • comme ci-dessus [French] “As above”.
  • monothematic Work or movement based on a single theme.
  • seventh An interval of seven diatonic degrees, counting the first and last degree.
  • ska A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, combining elements of Caribbean music with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the offbeat.
  • connecting note A note held in common by two chords.
  • ridicolo [Italian] Absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous.
  • offset G On a flute, a G key which is extended to the side of the other two left-hand finger keys (along with the G♯ key), thus requiring less bending of the wrist, rendering it easier to reach and cover effectively, and less uncomfortable and fatiguing to play.
  • motteggiando [Italian] Bantering.
  • violento [Italian] Violent, vehement.
  • più [Italian] “More”.
  • aubade [French] A song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or evoking daybreak.
  • decibel A logarithmic unit for measuring the intensity of sound, corresponding to the listener's perception of loudness.
  • dopo [Italian] “After”.
  • just intonation Tuning system in which the notes are obtained by adding and subtracting natural fifths and thirds.