| Ma | (Italian) but |
| Macchina | (Italian) machine, mechanism |
| Machicotage | extemporised ornamentation of plainsong by the celebrant |
| Machine à vent | (German) wind machine |
| Mächtig | (German) mighty, powerful |
| Madrigal | a contrapuntal vocal work for several voices originating in 13th century Italian but taken up by English composers during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I |
| Madrileña (Sp.), Madrilène (Fr.) | a dance from the province of Madrid |
| Maelzel | the inventor of a mechanical metronome |
| Maestà, Maestade | (Italian) majesty, dignity |
| Maestoso |
(Italian) majestic |
| Maestro | (Italian) master, teacher, conductor |
| Maggiolata | (Italian) a May song, a Spring song |
| Maggiore | (Italian) major |
| Maggot | a fancy |
| Magna | (Italian) great |
| Magno | (Italian) great |
| Mailloche | (French) stick of bass drum |
| Main, Mains | (French) hand, hands |
| Mais | (French) but |
| Maître | (French) master |
| Maîtrise | a French choir school |
| Majestätisch | (German) majestic, majestically |
| Majestueux, Majestueuse | (French) majestic |
| Majestueusement | (French) majestically |
| Majeur | (French) major |
| Mal | (German) time, occasion |
| Malagueña | a kind of fandango |
| Malinconia, Malinconico | (Italian) melancholy |
| Malizia | (Italian) malice |
| Mancando, Mancante | (Italian) dying away |
| Mancanza | (Italian) lack |
| Manchega | a lively kind of seguidilla |
| Mandolin, Mandoline | (Italian) a lute-like instrument played with a plectrum |
| Mani | (Italian) hands |
| Manica | (Italian) shift (on a fingerboard) |
| Manico | (Italian) fingerboard |
| Manieren | (German) ornaments, graces |
| Männer | (German) men |
| Mano, Mani | (Italian) hand, hands |
| Maracas | a gourd filled with beans or beads used in Cuban dance-bands |
| Marcando, Marcato | (Italian) marking, marked |
| Marche | (German) march |
| Märchen | (German) tale, tales |
| Marcia | (Italian) march |
| Marimba | a xylophone-like percussion instrument fitted with resonators and played with drum sticks |
| Markiert | (German) marked, accented, emphasized |
| Markig | (German) vigorous |
| Marqué | (French) marked, accented, emphasised |
| Marsch | (German) march |
| Marteau | (French) hammer |
| Martelé | (French) hammered' |
| Marziale | (Italian) martial |
| Mascarade | (French) a masque, a 'masked' ball |
| Maschinenpauken | (German) mechanically tuned kettledrums |
| Masque | a ceremonial entertainment combining poetry, music and dance |
| Mässig | (German) moderate, moderately |
| Mässigen | (German) to moderate |
| Massimo, Massima | (Italian) the greatest |
| Matassins, Mattachins | the dance called Bouffons |
| Matelotte | (French) a sailor's hornpipe |
| Mattinata | (Italian) a morning song, aubade |
| Maultrommel | (German) Jew's harp |
| Mauresco (It.), Mauresque (Fr.) | Moorish |
| Maxixe | a vigorous Brazilian dance in simple duple time |
| Mazurka | a traditional dance from Poland originally sung and danced |
| M.D. | main droite (Fr.), Mano destra (It.) - right hand on the piano |
| Measure | bar |
| Medesimo | (Italian) same |
| Mehr | (German) more, many |
| Mehrere | (German) several |
| Melisma | (Greek) in vocal music, where one syllable is set over more than one note |
| Mélopée | (French) the art of composing songs |
| Même | (French) same |
| Men | (Italian) less |
| Meno | (Italian) less |
| Menuet (Fr.), Menuett (Ger.), Menuetto (It.) | minuet |
| Messa di voce | (Italian) a crescendo and a diminuendo on a single sustained note |
| Messa per i defunti | (Italian) requiem mass |
| Messe des morts | (French) requiem mass |
| Messing | (German) brass |
| Mesto | (Italian) mournful, sad |
| Mestizia | (Italian) sadness |
| Mesure | (French) measure, beat, time |
| Metà | (Italian) half |
| Metronome | a device for fixing the tempo of a piece of music |
| Mettere (It.), Mettre (Fr.) | to put |
| Mettez | (French) put! |
| Mezza, Mezzo | (Italian) half |
| mf, mp | (Italian) mezzo forte, mezzo piano - halfway between 'forte' and 'piano' ('loud' and 'soft') |
| M.G. | main gauche (Fr.) - left hand on the piano |
| Mi contra fa | (Italian) tritone |
| Microtones | intervals smaller than a semitone |
| Milieu | (French) middle |
| Militaire (Fr.), Militare (It.), Militär | military |
| Militärtrommel | (German) side drum |
| Minaccevole, Minaccevolmente | (Italian) menacing, menacingly |
| Minder | (German) less |
| Mineur | (French) minor |
| Minim | a half-note, a note half the value of a semibreve |
| Minne | (German) love |
| Minore | (Italian) minor |
| Minstrels | entertainers who covered a wide range of activities from light farce to the performance of serious song - also, Troubadours, Trouvères, Minnesingers, Mastersingers |
| Minuet | a dance in simple triple time |
| Miracle plays | the use of drama to tell biblical stories, also: Mysteries, Moralities |
| Mise | (French) putting |
| Missa pro defunctis | (Italian) requiem mass |
| Mistero, Misterio | (Italian) mystery |
| Mistico | (Italian) mystic |
| Misura | (Italian) measure, bar; also 'strict time' see Misurato |
| Misurato | (Italian) measured; i.e. 'in strict time' |
| Mit | (German) with |
| Mitleidig | (German) pitiful |
| Mitte | (German) middle |
| Moderato (It.), Modéré (Fr.) | moderate (speed) |
| Modinha | a type of popular song from Portugal |
| Modo | (Italian) manner, mode |
| Möglich | (German) possible |
| Moins | (French) less |
| Moitié | (French) half |
| Moll | (German) minor (reference to key) |
| Molle, Mollemente | (Italian) gentle, gently |
| Molto | (Italian) much |
| Monter | (FRench) to raise |
| Montez | (French) raise! |
| Moqueur | (French) mocking, waggish |
| Morasco | moresca |
| Morbido, Morbidezza | (Italian) 'soft' or 'gentle', 'softness' or 'gentleness' |
| Morceau | (French) piece |
| Morendo | (Italian) dying |
| Morgenlied | morning song, aubade |
| Mormorando, Mormorante, Mormorevole, Mormoroso | (Italian) murmuring |
| Mosso | (Italian) moved |
| Motif (Fr.), Motiv (Ger.), Motivo (It.), Motive (Eng.) | the smallest identifiable self-existent element of melody or rhythm |
| Moto | (Italian) motion |
| Moto perpetuo | (Italian) Perpetuum mobile |
| Moto precedente | (Italian) the same speed as before |
| Motteggiando | (Italian) bantering |
| Mouvement | (French) movement |
| Mouvementé | (French) bustling, animated |
| Movente | (Italian) moving |
| Movimento | (Italian) motion |
| mp, mf | (Italian) mezzo piano, mezzo forte - halfway between 'piano' and 'forte' ('soft' and 'loud') |
| M.S. | Mano sinistra (It.) - left hand on the piano |
| Müde | (German) tired, languid |
| Mühelos | (German) effortless |
| Muiñeira, Muñeira | a Spanish dance in compound duple time |
| Mundharmonika | (German) mouth organ, harmonica |
| Munter | (German) lively |
| Murciana | a trype of fandango |
| Murmelnd (Ger.), Murmurando (It.) | murmuring |
| Muscadin | a type of hornpipe |
| Musette | (French) a type of bagpipe, a gavotte with a persistent bass drone imitating the bagpipe |
| Musica falsa, Music ficta | the sharpening or flattening of notes prescribed or permitted in modal music for the purpose of avoiding certain intervals, harmonies or whatever |
| Musica figurata | (Italian) contrapuntal music in which time values are not common through the voices as it would be in 'note against note' counterpoint, decorated plainsong |
| Musica parlante | (Italian) recitative |
| Musica reservata | serious music |
| Musico | a castrato |
| Musikwissenschaft | (German) musicology |
| Musique concrète | (French) electrically combined sounds derived from natural sources rather than musical instruments |
| Muta | (Italian) change |
| Mutano | (Italian) change |
| Mute | a device to reduce or eliminate the sound coming from an instrument, a person who cannot speak (i.e. is dumb) |
| Muth, Mut | (German) courage, boldness |
| Muthig, Mutig | (German) bold |
| Mysteriös | (German) mysterious |
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