| Va | (Italian) 'go on', literally 'continues' or 'it continues' |
| Vacillant | (French) wavering, referring to vibrato on stringed instruments |
| Vacillando | (Italian) see Vacillant above |
| Vaghezza | (Italian) longing; alternatively, grace or charm |
| Vago | (Italian) vague |
| Valeur | (French) value, literally 'importance' or 'weight' |
| Valore | (Italian) see Valeur above |
| Valse | (French) a simple triple time dance derived from the old German Ländler; the dance generally has an introduction, a number of different melodies, before finishing with a coda; harmonically, the dance has one strong chord on the first beat, with two weaker chords on the second and third beat, this pattern repeated from bar to bar |
| Vamping | extemporising a simple accompaniment often 'by ear', without a written score |
| Vaporeuse | (French, feminine form) vaporous |
| Vaporeux | (French, masculine form) vaporous |
| Variante | (French, Italian) variant |
| Variata | (Italian, feminine form) varied |
| Variato | (Italian, masculine form) varied |
| Variazione | (Italian, singular) variation |
| Variazioni | (Italian, plural form) variations |
| Varié | (French) varied |
| Varsovienne | a dance originally from Warsaw, popular in ballrooms in the mid-1800s, rather like a mazurka |
| Vaterländisch | (German) pertaining to the Fatherland, i.e. patriotic |
| Vaudeville | originally satirical Parisian street songs which during the reign of Louis XIV taking on more topical songs found themselves incorporated into comedies performed at Paris fairs. The association between Vaudeville and comedy led to the term being applied to 'variety shows' |
| Vc | short for Violoncello |
| Veemente | (Italian) vehement |
| Velata | (Italian, feminine form) veiled |
| Velato | (Italian, masculine form) veiled |
| Veloce, Velocemente | (Italian) 'with velocity' |
| Velocissimo, Velocissimamente | (Italian, feminine form)' with extreme velocity' |
| Velocità | (Italian) velocity |
| Velouté | (French) velvety |
| Vent | (French) wind |
| Ventil | (German) valve |
| Ventilator | (English) used in Richard Strauss scores to mean 'Wind Machine', a device that uses the friction between wooden or card paddles and cloth or silk to mimic the sound of the wind |
| Ventile | (Italian) valve |
| Ventil, Corno | (Italian) valve horn |
| Ventile, Trombone | (Italian) valve trombone |
| Ventilhorn | (German) Valve horn |
| Ventilposaune | (German) valve trombone |
| Ventiltrompte | (German) valve trompet |
| Venusto | (Italian) pretty |
| Veränderungen | (German) 'changes', variations |
| Verbunko, Verbounkoche | late 18th century Hungarian dance, with military connotations, performed to the music of gypsy bands |
| Verdoppeln | (German) to double |
| Verdoppelt | (German) doubled |
| Verdoppelung | (German) doubling |
| Verein | (German) society |
| Vergnügt | (German) contented |
| Verhallend | (German) dying away |
| Verismo | the tendency, particularly in late 19th century Italian opera, to use strongly realistic subjects, as for example in the operas of Puccini. |
| Verklärt | (German) transfigured, glorified |
| Verlauf | (German) course, continuous |
| Verliebt | (German) 'loved', literally 'in a tender manner' |
| Verlierend | (German) 'losing itself', literally 'dying away' |
| Verlöschend | (German) 'extinguished', literally 'dying away' |
| Vernehmbar | (German) 'perceptible' |
| Verschiebung | (German) 'shoving away', literally 'soft pedal' |
| Verschieden | (German) various |
| Verschwindend | (German) 'disappearing', literally 'dying away' |
| Versetzung | (German) transposition |
| Verstärken | (German) to strengthen |
| Verstärkt | (German) strengthened |
| Verteilt, Vertheilt | (German) divided |
| Verweilend | (German) delaying, rallentando |
| Verzierungeen | (German) embellishments, ornaments |
| Vespéral, Vespérale | (French) of the evening |
| Via | (Italian) 'away!', remove |
| Vibraphone, Vibra-harp | a marimba with metal bars and tuned resonators that are fitted with caps that electrically open and close to produced a pulsed vibrato-like sound; also called 'Vibes' |
| Vibrato | a warming of the tone caused by moving the pitch periodically above and below the true pitch in an imperceptible manner, tremulo |
| Vibrer | (French) to vibrate |
| Vicino | (Italian) near |
| Vide | (French) 'Empty', e.g. 'corde à vide' which means 'open string' |
| Viel, Viele, Vielem | (German) much, many |
| Vielle | (French) precursor of the viol; alternatively abbreviation of 'vielle à roue', meaning 'wheel vielle', Hurdy-gurdy |
| Vier | (German) four |
| Vierfach | (German) fourfold |
| Vierhändig | (German) four-handed |
| Vierte, Viertes, Viertem, Vierten | (German) fourth |
| Viertel, Viertelnote | (German) quarter-note, crotchet |
| Vierundsechzigstel, Vierundsechzigstelnote | (German) sixty-fourth note, hemidemisemiquaver |
| Vif, Vive | (French, noun) lively |
| Vivement | (French, adverb) lively |
| Vigueur, Vigoureux, Vigoureusement | (French) variously, vigour, vigorous, vigorously |
| Vigore, Vigoroso, Vigorosamente | (Italian) variously, vigour, vigorous, vigorously |
| Vihuela | Spanish plucked stringed instrument played and strung like a lute but looking more like a guitar |
| Villancico | (from the Spanish 'villano', rustic) a peasant song form that by the 16th century had became choral and was then incorporated with other movements into cantatas celebrating religious feast days |
| Villanella, Villanesca, Villota, Villotta | (Italian & Spanish) an uncomplicated Neapolitan madrigal from the 16th century in which each stanza is set to a repeated musical line, commonly featuring consecutive fifths |
| Viol, Viola da gamba | a family of stringed instruments (pardessus de viole, treble, alto, tenor, division bass, Lyra viol, Baryton (with sympathetic strings), consort bass and violone) featuring an arched belly, a flat back, sloping shoulders, light construction, deep ribs, sometimes C sound holes, a fretted fingerboard and six strings, tuned, like the guitar, in fourths with a third in the middle, which is played on the lap or between the legs (hence the term 'da gamba', of the leg, which is generally only applied to the bass, i.e. viola da gamba). The outcurved bow is held with the hand placed underneath the stick, with one or two fingers touching and tensioning the bow hair |
| Viola | the alto member of the violin family |
| Viola d'amore, Viole d'amour | a large viola sized bowed string instrument with no frets, and sympathetic strings running under the fingerboard and through the bridge |
| Viola Pomposa | a small cello sized bowed string instrument of the violin family |
| Violento, Violentamente | (Italian) violent, violently |
| Violenza | (Italian) violence' |
| Violin | a family of stringed instruments (violino piccolo - tuned an octave above the viola, violin, second violin - slightly larger violin, viola, tenor - played down like a violoncello now rare, violoncello piccolo - small five stringed cello, violoncello - also called 'cello, double bass) featuring an arched belly, arched back, shallow ribs, commonly four strings tuned in fifths, unfretted fingerboard, right-angled shoulders, F sound holes, the smaller members (down to viola) played under the chin, the larger members played between the legs, with the bow (originally out-curved but now in-curved) held with the hand lying above the stick; some double-bass players retain the under-hand bowing associated with the viol family |
| Virelai | medieval French song-form originating from Vire in Normany |
| Virginal | a member of the harpsichord family - the plucking mechanism passes through the sound board so that the strings are plucked close to the middle of their sounding length giving the instrument a strong plangent tone |
| Vite, Vitement | (French) quick, quickly |
| Vito | a Andalusian dance |
| Vivace, Vivacemente, Vivezza, Vivido, Vivo | (Italian) vivacious, liveliness, lively |
| Vivacetto | (Italian) rather vivacious |
| Vivacissimamente | (Italian) very vivacious |
| Vivacità, Vivacezza | (Italian) vivacity |
| Vivamente, Vivente | (Italian) in a lively fashion |
| Vocalize, Vocalise (French), Vocalizzo (Italian) | to sing a vowel |
| Voce, Voci | (Italian) voice, voices |
| Voce di petto, Voce di testa | (Italian) chest voice, head voice |
| Voces aequales (Latin), Voci eguali (Italian) | equal voices |
| Voglia | (Italian) longing |
| Voile | (French) veil - as when placing a cloth over a drum to muffle it |
| Voix | (French) voice, voices |
| Volante | (Italian) flying |
| Volksleid | (German) folk song |
| Volkston | (German) folk style |
| Voll, Volles, Vollem | (German) full |
| Völlig | (German) complete |
| Volltönig, Volltönend | (German) full-sounding, sonorous |
| Volentá | (French) will, one's pleasure |
| Volta, Volte, Lavolta | a quick dance in triple time in which the lady is lifted into the air during a quarter-circle turn |
| Volti | (Italian) turn, turn over |
| Volti subito, V.S. | (Italian) turn over quickly |
| Volubile, Volubilmente | (Italian) voluble, volubly |
| Vom | (German) from the |
| Von | (German) from, of |
| Von hier | (German) from here |
| Vor | (German) for, before, forward |
| Voraus | (German) beforehand |
| Vorbereiten, Vorbereitung | (German) to prepare, preparation |
| Vorhalt | (German) variously, suspension (harmony), retardation (tempo), long appogiatura (ornamentation), syncopation (rhythm) |
| Vorhanden | (German) available |
| Vorher, Vorherig, Vorig | (German) formerly, foregoing |
| Vornehm | (German) noble |
| Vorschlag | (German) 'forestroke', as in Kurzer Vorschlag meaning 'acciaccatura', or Langer Vorschlag meaning 'appogiatura' |
| Vorspiel | (German) overture |
| Vortrag, Vortragen, Vorzutragen | (German) performance, to perform, to perform prominently |
| Vorwärts | (German) forwards |
| V.S. | (Italian) 'volti subito', turn over quickly |
| Vuoto, Vuota | (Italian) empty as in 'corda vuota' meaning 'open string' |
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