The Ultimate Music Vocabulary Guide in Spanish

Do you love music and want to learn useful music vocabulary in Spanish? Today, I’ll take you on a trip through the world of music in Spanish. 

Whether you’re a music fan who enjoys listening to your favorite rock band or hip hop singer or a professional musician in need of some technical music terms, in this post I’ll give you the vocabulary in Spanish you need. 

Keep reading for the following music in Spanish vocabulary:

• phrases and adjectives to talk about music 
• a list of music genres 
• names of musical instruments 
• music-related verbs
• a bonus section of miscellaneous music vocabulary in Spanish
• music notation terms and musical theory words

Discover all the music vocabulary you’ll ever need in this beautiful language. 

How to Talk About Music in Spanish

Along with math, music is one of the two truly universal languages. This means that every human on Earth can appreciate and understand the emotions expressed through music. This makes talking about music crucial. 

Feelings, ideas, emotions, and thoughts—sometimes written centuries ago or expressed in far away cultures—are transmitted through music to be enjoyed, deciphered, and discussed. Knowing how to do it in Spanish gives you an extra dimension to talk about the magical thing that music is. 

Why Learn Music Vocabulary in Spanish?

Ideally, you should learn vocabulary about all different areas of life as a language goal. Learning Spanish, from this perspective, would involve an accumulation of learning Spanish vocabulary in topics such as music, math, golf, or football. You just need to keep increasing your vocabulary every time, including new areas of knowledge. 

You can also take it as an approach to learning a new language. This method is called theme-based learning, and it is the practice of integrating curriculum areas around a topic. This way, you’ll be learning Spanish by studying different themes, instead of focusing directly on grammar, making your learning process more interesting and fluid. 

Finally, the smartest reason to learn music vocabulary in Spanish is simply to be able to share the pleasure that music brings to our lives with more people. Music exists everywhere you go. It’s like the weather: a perfect icebreaker and a useful bridge to communicate with others. 

Music in Spanish

Music is a vast subject that encompasses many topics. For that reason, I have divided the lesson into several sections so you can focus on one type of music vocabulary at a time. 

Describing Music in Spanish

Let’s start with one of the most common topics you would discuss with your friends. How do you find a specific kind of music? How to describe it and talk about it? 

Imagine you’re going to a rock concert and want to tell your friend about it. How would you do it? Here are some ideas: 

¿Te gusta el rock? 
Do you like rock? 

Sí, es muy interesante.
Yes, it’s very interesting. 

No, es muy aburrido. 
No, it’s very boring.

Sí, me encanta. 
Yes, I love it.

No me gusta. 
I don’t like it. 

¿Y qué tal la ópera? 
And what about opera? 

Me gusta mucho. 
I like it so much. 

Es muy bonita (hermosa).
It’s very beautiful. 

No me gusta mucho. 
I don’t like it very much. 

Es muy aburrida. 
It’s very boring.

¿Qué te parece el reggaetón?
What do you think about reggaeton?

Me gusta, la música es buena. 
I like it, the music is good. 

Lo odio, esa música es terrible (pésima).
I hate it, that music is terrible (awful). 

Adjectives for Music

Now, a short list of useful adjectives to describe music: 

nonita, hermosa	beautiful
terrible, pésima	terrible, awful
interesante	interesting
excelente	excellent
genial	great
magnífica	magnificent
extraordinaria	extraordinary
buena	good
espectacular	spectacular
aburrida	boring
legendaria	legendary
mística	mystical
intensa	intense
alegre	joyful
triste	sad

Music Genres in Spanish

There are plenty of Latin music genres that originated in Spanish-speaking countries, so let’s start with those and then move on to the rest of music genres from all around the world. 

la salsa	salsa
el flamenco	flamenco
el tango	tango
la cumbia	cumbia
la bachata	bachata
el merengue	merengue
el mambo	mambo
el reggaetón	reggaeton
el cha-cha-chá	cha-cha-cha
la banda	banda
el mariachi	mariachi
el son cubano	Cuban son
el bossa nova	bossa nova
la lambada	lambada
la samba	samba
el jazz	jazz
el rap	rap
el blues	blues
el rock	rock
el hip-hop	hip hop
el heavy metal (rock pesado)	heavy metal
el reggae	reggae
el vals	waltz
la ópera	opera
la música country	country music
la música electrónica	electronic music
la música clásica	classical music
la música popular	pop music
la música disco	disco music
la música folklórica	folk music

Musical Instruments in Spanish

Let’s now learn some of the most common musical instruments in Spanish: 

el piano	piano
la guitarra	guitar
la guitarra eléctrica	electric guitar
el bajo	bass
el violín	violin
la trompeta	trumpet
el saxofón	saxophone
la batería	drums
el teclado	keyboard
el corno inglés	English horn
el corno francés	French horn
el violonchelo	cello
el clarinete	clarinet
el contrabajo	double bass
la gaita	bagpipes
el acordeón	accordion
la flauta	flute
el arpa	harp
la armónica	harmonica
el timbal	kettle drum
la mandolina	mandolin
la pandereta	tambourine
las maracas	maraca
el órgano	organ
el oboe	oboe
el trombón	trombone
los platillos	cymbals
el oboe	oboe
el ukelele	ukelele
las castañuelas	castanets
el sintetizador	synthesizer
el amplificador	amplifier
el xilófono	xylophone
el instrumento	instrument
el instrumento de percusión	percussion instrument
el instrumento de viento	wind instrument
el instrumento de cuerda	string instrument

Other Music Vocabulary in Spanish

It’s time to learn common music vocabulary that wasn’t included in any of the previous categories.

la orquesta	orchestra
la canción	song
la banda de rock	rock band
el/la cantante	singer
el/la solista	soloist
el compositor / la compositora	composer
el músico	musician
la música	music
la letra	lyrics
la sinfonía	symphony
el dueto	duet
el ensayo	rehearsal
el concierto	concert
el repertorio	repertoire
el escenario	stage
el micrófono	microphone
el altavoz, la bocina	loudspeaker
el coro	choir, chorus
ll director de orquesta	conductor
el disco	record
la cinta / el cassette	tape
el sencillo	single
el sonido	sound
el vocalista	vocalist

Music-related Verbs

Just a quick reminder of the different verbs that are usually associated with music.

cantar	to sing
tocar (un instrumento)	to play (an instrument)
escuchar	to listen
oír	to hear
bailar	to dance
componer	to compose
escribir	to write
aplaudir	to clap
sonar	to sound
gustar	to like
gritar	to shout

Music Notation Terms in Spanish

Last but not least, let’s get a bit more technical. This section is specifically designed for musicians and music enthusiasts who dig a little bit deeper in their love and appreciation of music. 

In addition to music notation terms, the list below includes musical theory vocabulary that you’ll find useful if you are a composer or music producer. 

la nota musical	musical note
el acorde	chord
el puente	bridge
la sordina	mute
el acento	accent
el compás	bar
la clave de fa	bass clef
la clave de do	C clef
la clave de sol	G clef
do central	middle C
la bemol	flat
la doble bemol	double flat
el silencio de corchea	eight rest
la blanca	half note
la negra	quarter note
el silencio de negra	quarter rest
el tiempo, el pulso	beat
el contrapunto	counterpoint
tiempo fuerte	downbeat
la partitura	music score
el barítono	baritone
el tenor	tenor
el contratenor	counter tenor
la soprano	soprano
el ritmo	rhythm
la armonía	harmony
la melodía	melody
el intervalo	interval
el metrónomo	metronome
la escala	scale
el semitono	semitone
la ligadura	slur
la síncopa	syncopation
(al) unísono	unison
la entrada anacrúsica	upbeat
el tono	whole tone
la voz	voice
el pentagrama	Staff
el silencio	rest
el fraseo	phrasing
las notas de paso	passing tones
la octava	octave
el tono	pitch
la secuencia	sequence
la disonancia	dissonance
la cadencia	cadence
el cuarteto	quartet
diatónico	diatonic
la obertura	overture
mayor	major
menor	minor
homofónico	homophonic
polifónico	polyphonic
la pausa	rest
do	A
re	B
mi	C
fa	D
sol	E
la	F
si	G

Talk About Music and Practice Your Spanish

The cool part about learning music vocabulary in Spanish is that you can practice it without feeling that you’re studying. Listening to music is a pleasure and talking about it is, too. What better motivation to practice your Spanish than talking about something that you enjoy?

Sign up for a free class with one of our certified, native Spanish speaking teachers from Guatemala, and start talking about music in Spanish today!

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