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

  • rastrum [Latin] A pen that has five points (nibs), for use in notating staff lines.
  • allegro [Italian] Literally, “cheerful”. A quick tempo marking, usually around 120–168 BPM.
  • con amore [Italian] “With love”, lovingly.
  • cut off An arm and hand motion by a conductor that indicates to an ensemble that they stop performing. This is normally done at the end of a composition, at the end of a movement or section, or on a fermata.
  • fipple The block, typically of wood, that forms the floor of the windway of an edge-blown aerophone.
  • operetta [Italian] A less serious form of opera made up of spoken dialog, songs and dances.
  • riser A metal section on the head joint of a flute, shaped like a ‛top hat with the top cut off’, which raises the lip plate from the head joint tube.
  • zart [German] Tender, delicate.
  • overtone A constituent frequency of a sound other than the fundamental frequency.
  • ostinato [Italian] Literally, “obstinate”. A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout a composition.
  • klein [German] Literally, “little”. In reference to intervals, “minor“.
  • Leitmotiv [German] A term adopted by Wagner's disciples to designate the “leading motives” in his operas.
  • affabile [Italian] Affable, pleasant.
  • prestissimo [Italian] Extremely fast tempo marking, usually around 200 BPM.
  • heavy metal Rock style that gained popularity in the 1970s, characterized by simple, repetitive ideas and loud, distorted instrumental solos.