7 Powerful Music Dictionaries for Teachers and Students

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March 10, 2016
Music has its own beautiful language that is usually not easily accessible to everyone. The musical jargon is full of technical terminology that requires specific dictionaries to explain. And as is the case with science terminology we talked about yesterday, today's post features  a set of powerful music dictionaries and references that teachers and students can use in class to help with music learning. We invite you to check them out and share with your colleagues.

1- Index of Music Terms



This section in About Education features ‘music glossaries or definition of words commonly used in music to further help you in your study. Words are grouped according to their first letter.’

2- Music Dictionary


This music dictionary is compiled and shared in ArtsAlive which is an educational website that belongs to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Besides this awesome dictionary, ArtsAline also provides some very useful materials and resources for music and arts teachers.

3- Musictionary Music Dictionary


‘Musictionary is a handy little music dictionary, always available in your pocket. The app offers more than 500 words with descriptions, many with images. Bookmark your favorite words, to make it easier to find them later, if you need to refresh your memory.Use the search function to find words to lookup, or browse the entire dictionary.’

4- MusicTools Music Dictionary


‘MusicTools is a set of tools designed for music students, amateur, and professional musicians. This initial release contains a comprehensive music dictionary and a set of useful quick reference charts. MusicTools contains thousands of definitions, abbreviations and performance notations used in music from the 18th century through the present day. Future versions will contain additional tools to assist all levels of musicians with rehearsal and performance.’

5- Music Dictionary 101 Free


‘Have you ever wanted to know what the most commonly used Classical Music Terms means and how to pronounce them? Explore the Classical Music Dictionary complete with over 270 definitions covering the whole realm of western classical music and to make your learning easier, you can listen to pronunciation of each term. Music Dictionary 101 is ad supported.’

6- Learning Music Dictionary


‘This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian (see also Italian musical terms used in English), in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings.’

7- Musical Terms Free


‘Musical Terms Free is a music dictionary of foreign music terms, includes 779 Germen, French and Italian terms. All of the term explanations come with spoken audio pronunciation. There are also a search page and a favorite page for your study.’