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

  • pianississimo [Italian] Extremely soft, softer than pianissimo.
  • time signature A symbol placed at the left side of the staff indicating the meter of the composition.
  • altissimo [German] Term used to indicate the tones of the second octave above the treble staff (G6 to F7), which are said to be “in altissimo”.
  • scherzando [Italian] Literally, “joking”. A directive to perform in a lively, playful, animated manner.
  • più [Italian] “More”.
  • choro [Portuguese] Literally, “cry”, or “lament”. Brazilian popular music instrumental style, born in 19th-century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style has often a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by the improvisations of the musician.
  • shanty A song sung by sailors while working on a ship. A shanty has a chorus, which is sung by all, and verses that are usually sung by one voice.
  • religioso [Italian] Religious, devout.
  • faburden A 15th-century English technique of improvising two parts around the main melody of a cantus firmus. The first part would be sung a third below the melody, except for a few notes that would be a fifth below; the second part would be sung a fourth above the main melody.
  • yodel A style of singing or calling that involves switching the registers of the voice rapidly from head voice to chest voice (or falsetto and natural voice). Although this type of singing is typically associated with the high warbling of the Swiss and Tyrolean mountaineers, forms of yodeling can be found in several cultures, including African, Persian, and cowboy singers in the United States.
  • klein [German] Literally, “little”. In reference to intervals, “minor“.
  • voce piena [Italian] “Full voice”.
  • SATB An abbreviation used to denote the number of voice parts in a vocal composition. It implies that the composition has one soprano part, one alto part, one tenor part, and one bass part. Common variants of this are: SSATTB (Soprano in two-parts, Alto, Tenor in two-parts , and Bass), SSATB, SSA, TTBB, etc.
  • head voice The highest register of the voice, excluding falsetto.
  • consonant A chord (or an interval) that is pleasing and harmonious to the ear.