Musical metalanguage shares the multilayered structure of general language which depends on the contextually conditioned discourse levels (registers) which enable communication in functionally different situations. Register variety is most obvious on the lexical level (which often points towards the professional identity of musicians) and is thus considered to be worth further terminological survey. Multiplicity of linguistic levels can be regarded as cultural richness, but at the same time it often hinders the communication in professional and scientific contexts, which should offer the utmost compliance with the linguistic norm. The purpose of the present research is identifying some characteristic features of terminological usage among music professionals in the Republic of Croatia depending on their social and professional identity, with special respect to the terminological norm. It has been shown that the probability of use of recommended terms correlates with the examinees' professional role, teaching and/or scientific activity, regional distribution and age.