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March 28, 2021 by Luis F. Dominguez Spanish Vocabulary 2 comments

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). 

music vocabulary

Adjectives for Music

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

nonita, hermosabeautiful
terrible, pésimaterrible, awful
interesanteinteresting
excelenteexcellent
genialgreat
magníficamagnificent
extraordinariaextraordinary
buenagood
espectacularspectacular
aburridaboring
legendarialegendary
místicamystical
intensaintense
alegrejoyful
tristesad

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 salsasalsa
el flamencoflamenco
el tangotango
la cumbiacumbia
la bachatabachata
el merenguemerengue
el mambomambo
el reggaetónreggaeton
el cha-cha-chácha-cha-cha
la bandabanda
el mariachimariachi
el son cubanoCuban son
el bossa novabossa nova
la lambadalambada
la sambasamba
el jazzjazz
el raprap
el bluesblues
el rockrock
el hip-hophip hop
el heavy metal (rock pesado)heavy metal
el reggaereggae
el valswaltz
la óperaopera
la música countrycountry music
la música electrónicaelectronic music
la música clásicaclassical music
la música popularpop music
la música discodisco music
la música folklóricafolk music

Musical Instruments in Spanish

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

el pianopiano
la guitarraguitar
la guitarra eléctricaelectric guitar
el bajobass
el violínviolin
la trompetatrumpet
el saxofónsaxophone
la bateríadrums
el tecladokeyboard
el corno inglésEnglish horn
el corno francésFrench horn
el violonchelocello
el clarineteclarinet
el contrabajodouble bass
la gaitabagpipes
el acordeónaccordion
la flautaflute
el arpaharp
la armónicaharmonica
el timbalkettle drum
la mandolinamandolin
la panderetatambourine
las maracasmaraca
el órganoorgan
el oboeoboe
el trombóntrombone
los platilloscymbals
el oboeoboe
el ukeleleukelele
las castañuelascastanets
el sintetizadorsynthesizer
el amplificadoramplifier
el xilófonoxylophone
el instrumentoinstrument
el instrumento de percusiónpercussion instrument
el instrumento de vientowind instrument
el instrumento de cuerdastring 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 orquestaorchestra
la canción song
la banda de rockrock band
el/la cantantesinger
el/la solistasoloist
el compositor / la compositora composer
el músicomusician
la músicamusic
la letralyrics
la sinfoníasymphony
el duetoduet
el ensayorehearsal
el conciertoconcert
el repertoriorepertoire
el escenariostage
el micrófonomicrophone
el altavoz, la bocinaloudspeaker
el corochoir, chorus
ll director de orquestaconductor
el discorecord
la cinta / el cassettetape
el sencillosingle
el sonidosound
el vocalistavocalist

Music-related Verbs

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

cantarto sing
tocar (un instrumento)to play (an instrument)
escucharto listen
oírto hear
bailarto dance
componerto compose
escribirto write
aplaudirto clap
sonarto sound
gustarto like
gritarto 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 musicalmusical note
el acordechord
el puentebridge
la sordinamute
el acentoaccent
el compásbar
la clave de fabass clef
la clave de doC clef
la clave de solG clef
do centralmiddle C
la bemolflat
la doble bemoldouble flat
el silencio de corcheaeight rest
la blancahalf note
la negraquarter note
el silencio de negraquarter rest
el tiempo, el pulsobeat
el contrapuntocounterpoint
tiempo fuertedownbeat
la partituramusic score
el barítonobaritone
el tenortenor
el contratenorcounter tenor
la sopranosoprano
el ritmorhythm 
la armoníaharmony
la melodíamelody
el intervalointerval
el metrónomometronome
la escalascale
el semitonosemitone
la ligaduraslur
la síncopasyncopation
(al) unísonounison
la entrada anacrúsicaupbeat
el tonowhole tone
la vozvoice
el pentagramaStaff
el silenciorest
el fraseophrasing
las notas de pasopassing tones
la octavaoctave
el tonopitch
la secuenciasequence
la disonanciadissonance
la cadenciacadence
el cuartetoquartet
diatónicodiatonic
la oberturaoverture
mayormajor
menorminor
homofónicohomophonic
polifónicopolyphonic
la pausarest
doC
reD
miE
faF
solG
laA
siB

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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Luis F. Dominguez
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Luis F. Domínguez is a freelance writer and independent journalist interested in travel, languages, art, books, history, philosophy, politics and sports. He has written for Fodor’s, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, Telemundo, and Villa Experience, among other brands of print and digital media in Europe and North America.
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2 comments on this post

  1. Ajit C
    July 20, 2021

    Hello Sir, this is an excellent list. But there is a small mistake at the bottom; the scale in English is C-D-E-F-G-A-B, so the first note (Do) should be C, not A.

    Do – C
    Re – D
    Mi – E
    Fa – F
    Sol – G
    La – A
    Si – B

    ¡Muchas gracias!

    Reply
    • Luis F. Dominguez
      August 3, 2021

      Hello Ajit!

      Thank you so much for your comment. You were right and I made the corrections on the blog post.

      Have a good day!

      Reply

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