Music In French: Styles, Instruments and Musical Notes

Is there a song that transports you back in time? Is there a piece of music that gives you the chills? By reading our article, you are going to learn lots of vocabulary that will allow you to express your ideas about:

different kinds of music (music genres)
making music
singing and songs
musical shows
instruments and players

Without any further delay, let’s start our musical path!

If you wish to take the tests DELF, DALF or TCF, revising all our french vocabuary worksheets is always a great idea! So read on and start improving your French skills!

violin-violinist-street-music

Test my level for free

Music Genders

Do you have an account on Spotify? If so, what are the music genres that you usually listen to? Are you fond of discovering new genres? In the following list, you are going to learn to say in French some of the most popular music genres.

List of Music Genres

Music Genres	Genres de musique
pop	la musique pop
folk music, folk song	la musique folk, la chanson folk
classical music	la musique classique
jazz music	le jazz
country and western	la musique country
chamber music	la musique de chambre
rock music	le rock
reggae	le reggae
rap	le rap

Making music and listening to it

The following list will provide lots of useful terminology for whenever you want to talk about pieces of music.

List Of Vocabulary Related To Making Music

Making Music And Expressing Opinions About It	Vocabulaire pour faire de la musique et pour exprimer vos avis
a piece of music	un morceau de musique
a musician	un musicien / une musicienne
a work	une oeuvre
a tune	un air
a melody	une mélodie
rhythm	rhythme
a key	un ton
a note	une note
C, D, E, F, G, A, B	do, ré, mi, fa, sol, la, si
a beat	un temps
off the beat	à contretemps
to play or to sing in key	jouer ou chanter juste
to play or to sing out of tune	jouer ou chanter faux
to be out of tune	être désaccordé
to be in tune	être accordé
to have no ear for music	ne pas avoir d’oreille
to have a good ear	avoir de l’oreille
to compose	composer
a composer	un / une compositeur/ compositrice
to arrange a work	arranger une oeuvre
an arrangement	un arrangement
sheet music	la partition

Singing And Songs

Can you sing? What’s your favorite song? Do you pay attention to the lyrics? Get ready because in this part of the article, we are going to study some more vocabulary in order to express everything about vocal art.

List Of Singing And Songs

Singing And Songs	Le chant et les chansons
to sing	chanter
a singer / a vocalist	un chanteur / une chanteuse
to whistle	siffler
to hum	fredonner
choir / chorister	choeur, chorale / choriste
a song	une chanson
the lyrics	les paroles
a chorus	un refrain
a verse	un couplet
a hit song	un tube
in the charts	au hit-parade
a tenor	un ténor
a bass	une basse
a baritone	un baryton
a countertenor	un haute-contre
an alto	une haute-contre, une contralto
a soprano	une soprano
a mezzo-soprano	une mezzo-soprano

Musical shows and performing music

Do you enjoy going to concerts? Or do you prefer watching them on YouTube? Attending concerts is so good for health! Singing, shouting, jumping up and down and dancing are an excellent workout. Besides, concerts help you lower your cortisol levels and boost endorphins. See below the vocabulary to talk about musical shows.

List of Musical Shows

Musical Shows and Performing Music	Spectacles musicaux et l'exécution musicale
a concert, a gig	un concert
a recital	un récital
a concert hall	une salle de concert
a musical	une comédie musicale
to conduct an orchestra	diriger un orchestre
a rehearsal	une répétition
to rehearse	répéter
a soloist	un / une soliste
a duo, a trio	un duo /un trio
a quartet	un quatuor un quartette
to play	jouer
to perform	jouer en public
to play an instrument	jouer un instrument
the performance	l'exécution
an accompaniment	un accompagnement

Instruments And Players

Now, let’s finish by talking about those who make possible music, the objects that produce the magical sounds able to evoke feelings and memories.

List Of Instruments And Players

List Of Instruments And Players	Instruments de musique et les instrumentistes
Stringed instruments	Instruments à cordes
a guitar	une guitare
a guitarist	un / une guitariste
a violin / a fiddle	un violon
a violinist	un / une violoniste
a harp	une harpe
a harpist	un /une harpiste
a cello	un violoncelle
a cellist	un / une violoncelliste
a double bass	une contrebasse
Woodwind Instruments	Instruments à vent
a flute, a flutist	une flûte, un / une flûtiste
a recorder	une flûte à bec
a saxophone	une / un saxophoniste
a clarinet, a clarinettist	une clarinette, une / un clarinettiste
Brass Instruments	Cuivres
a trumpet, a trumpet player	une trompette, une / un trompettiste
a trombone, a trombone player	un trombone, une / un tromboniste
a horn, a horn player	un cor, une / un corniste
a tuba, a tuba player	un tuba, une joueuse / un joueur de tuba
Percussion Instruments	Percussions
a drum	un tambour
the drums	la batterie
a drummer	un batteur
the kettledrums	les timbales
a timpanist	un timbalier
Keyboard Instruments	Instruments à clavier
a piano	un piano
a grand piano	un piano à queue
a pianist	un / une pianiste
an organ	un orgue
a key	une touche
a keyboard	un clavier

Improve your French with GlobalExam!

We are the first online training platform for language proficiency exams. If you become one of our customers, you will have access to 620 hours of training material, as well as 328 practice tests and pre-assessment tests in real testing conditions. Thanks to our Statistics, you will be able to identify your weaknesses, work on the specific problematic area and obtain the results you need.

Take some times to read more articles we have written for you to enrich your French vocabulary and improve your language level.

Here with the list of vocabulary worksheets on many kinds of topics: