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

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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Some random terms

  • penny whistle A folk wind instrument similar to the recorder, but usually made of tin. It generally has six finger holes, and is prominent in British and Irish folk music.
  • fortepiano [Italian] A dynamic marking (fp) directing the performer to attack the written note at the dynamic level of forte (loud) followed by an immediate decrease in volume to piano (soft).
  • theme group Several themes in the same key that function as a unit within a section of a form, particularly in sonata-allegro form.
  • forefall An ascending appoggiatura.
  • largamente [Italian] With a broad, full sound.
  • quarter note A note having the time duration of one fourth of a whole note.
  • duplet A group of two notes played in the time usually taken to play three.
  • meno [Italian] “Less”.
  • assai [Italian] Much, very much.
  • inconsolato [Italian] Disconsolate, mournful.
  • heavy metal Rock style that gained popularity in the 1970s, characterized by simple, repetitive ideas and loud, distorted instrumental solos.
  • heterophony Texture in which two or more voices (or parts) elaborate the same melody simultaneously, often the result of improvisation.
  • metrical modulation The shifting from one meter to another in the middle of a composition.
  • moresca [Italian] An exotic Renaissance dance simulating a battle between the Moors and the Christians.
  • dolce [Italian] Sweet, soft, with tender emotion.