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

  • accablé [French] Overwhelmed.
  • Burgundian chanson Fifteenth century French composition, usually for three voices, some or all of which may be played by instruments.
  • Manualiter [German] Organ compositions that are to be performed on the manual alone, i.e. without the pedals.
  • negligente [Italian] “Negligent”, unrestrained.
  • 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.
  • clos [French] The second ending of a repeated section.
  • vivacissimo [Italian] A fast tempo, faster than vivace.
  • pomposo [Italian] Pompous, stately, or ceremonious.
  • no chord A directive placed over a note (or a series of notes) signifying that the note(s) should be performed without accompaniment. Typically found in popular music notation.
  • sonata da chiesa [Italian] A baroque instrumental work intended for performance in a church, generally in four movements, arranged slow, fast, slow, fast.
  • Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis [German] The numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach.
  • strisciando [Italian] A directive to perform with a slur, a smooth slide, or a glide from one note to another.
  • villereccio [Italian] Rustic, rural.
  • poco a poco [Italian] Little by little.
  • rasch [German] Rapid, swift.