| Term | Description |
|---|
| B (Ger) | B flat in German (and Icelandic); B natural is called H |
| barbaro | barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók) |
| bass | the lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony |
| basso continuo | continuous bass; i.e., a bass part played continuously throughout a piece to give harmonic structure, used especially in the Baroque period |
| beat | (1) the pronounced rhythm of music; (2) one single stroke of a rhythmic accent |
| bellicoso | warlike, aggressive |
| ben or bene | well, as in, for example, ben marcato (meaning "well-marked") |
| bewegt (Ger) | moved, speeded |
| bis (Lat) | twice; i.e., repeat the relevant action or passage |
| bisbigliando | whispering; i.e., a special tremolo effect on the harp where a chord or note is rapidly repeated at a low volume |
| bocca chiusa | with closed mouth |
| bravura | boldness; as in con bravura, boldly |
| breit (Ger) | broad |
| bridge | Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, also transition. Also the part of a string instrument that holds the strings in place. |
| brillante | brilliantly, with sparkle |
| brio | vigour; usually in con brio |
| brioso | vigorously (same as con brio) |
| broken chord | a chord in which the notes are not all played at once, but in some more or less consistent sequence. They may follow singly one after the other, or two notes may be immediately followed by another two, for example. See also arpeggio in this list, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken chord; see Alberti bass. |
| bruscamente | brusquely |
