Too Too Wook Softly and Then Again Loudly

List of definitions of terms and concepts used by professional musicians

This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Well-nigh of the terms are Italian (encounter likewise Italian musical terms used in English), in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or electric current Italian meanings. Most of the other terms are taken from French and German, indicated past "Fr." and "Ger.", respectively.

Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The listing can never be consummate: some terms are common, and others are used only occasionally, and new ones are coined from time to time. Some composers prefer terms from their ain language rather than the standard terms listed here.

0–9 [edit]

On these organ stops, some of the knobs have numbers indicating the length in anxiety of the longest (the lowest annotation) organ pipe of the end

one′: "sifflet" or i foot organ stop
I: normally for orchestral string instruments, used to point that the player should play the passage on the highest-pitched, thinnest string
1+ 3⁄5 ′: Tierce organ cease
2′: ii feet – pipe organ indication; meet Organ stop § Pitch and length
2+ two⁄iii ′: pipage organ finish for the twelfth interval
Ii: usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the actor should play the passage on the string adjacent to the highest-pitched, thinnest cord, ie the ii^nd highest cord
Two: cymbal stop on pipe organ
III: usually for orchestral string instruments, used to bespeak that the player should play the passage on cord adjacent to (but higher in pitch) than the lowest-pitched, thickest cord, ie the third-highest string
4′: iv anxiety – pipe organ rank that speaks 1 octave college than 8′
4: normally for orchestral cord instruments, used to indicate that the thespian should play the passage on the everyman-pitched, thickest string, ie the 4th-highest string
IV–VI: mixture stop on pipe organ
8′: eight-foot pipe – pipage organ indication
16′: sixteen-human foot piping – pipe organ indication calling for one octave below viii′
32′: xxx-two-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for two octaves below viii′ also called sub-bass
64′: sixty-iv-foot pipe – pipe organ indication (only a few organs have this deep a pitch)

A [edit]

a or à (Fr.): at, to, by, for, in
à la (Fr.): in the fashion of...
a battuta: Return to normal tempo after a departure. Not recommended in cord parts, due to possible confusion with battuto (qv.); employ a tempo, which means the aforementioned thing
a bene placito: Upwardly to the performer
a cappella: lit. "as in a chapel"; song parts only, without instrumental accessory
a capriccio: A free and capricious approach to tempo
a due (a 2): intended as a duet; for two voices or instruments; together; ii instruments are to play in unison subsequently a solo passage for i of the instruments
a niente: To nothing; indicating a diminuendo which fades completely away
a piacere: At pleasure (i.e. the performer need not follow the rhythm strictly, for example in a cadenza)
a prima vista: lit. "at first sight". Sight-reading (i.eastward. played or sung from written note but without prior review of the written textile; refer to the figure)
a tempo: In fourth dimension (i.eastward. the performer should return to the chief tempo of the piece, such as after an accelerando or ritardando); also may be institute in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet)
ab (Ger.): off, organ stops or mutes
abafando (Port.): muffled, muted
abandon or avec (Fr.): complimentary, unrestrained, passionate
abbandonatamente, con abbandono: freely, in relaxed style
aber (Ger.): but
accarezzevole: Expressive and caressing
accelerando (accel.): Accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo
accelerato: with increased tempo
accent: Emphasis, emphasis
accentato/accentuato: Accented; with emphasis
acceso: Ignited, on burn
accessible: Music that is piece of cake to listen to/understand
acciaccato: Cleaved downwardly, crushed; the sounding of the notes of a chord non quite simultaneously, but from bottom to height
acciaccatura: Crushing (i.e. a very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure)
accompagnato: Accompanied (i.e. with the accompaniment following the soloist, who may speed upwards or slow downward at will)
accuratezza: Precision; accuracy. con accuratezza: with precision
acoustic: Relating to music produced by instruments, as opposed to electric or electronic ways
ad libitum (commonly advertising lib; Latin): At liberty (i.e. the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer. It can also hateful improvisation.)
adagietto: Fairly slowly (but faster than adagio)
adagio: Slowly
adagissimo: Very, very slowly
affannato, affannoso: Anguished
affetto or con affetto: with affect (that is, with emotion)
affettuoso, affettuosamente, or affectueusement (Fr.): With touch (that is, with emotion); see also con affetto
affrettando: Hurrying, pressing onwards
agile: Agile, nimble
agitato: Agitated
al or alla: To the, in the style of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine)
alcuna licenza: Used in con alcuna licenza, meaning (play) with some freedom in the time, see rubato
alla breve: In cutting-time; two beats per measure or the equivalent thereof
alla marcia: In the manner of a march
alla polacca: In the style of a polonaise, a ³
_four dance
allargando: Broadening, becoming progressively slower
allegretto: A little lively, moderately fast
allegretto vivace: A moderately quick tempo
allegrezza: Cheerfulness, joyfulness
allegrissimo: Very fast, though slower than presto
allegro: Cheerful or brisk; but usually interpreted as lively, fast
all'ottava: "at the octave", meet ottava
alt (Eng.), alt dom, or altered dominant: A jazz term which instructs chord-playing musicians such as a jazz pianist or jazz guitarist to perform a dominant (V7) chord with at least ane (frequently both) contradistinct (sharpened or flattened) 5th or 9th
altissimo: Very loftier; come across besides in altissimo
alto: Loftier; oft refers to a item range of vox, higher than a tenor merely lower than a soprano
alzate sordini: Lift or raise the mutes (i.e. remove mutes)
am Steg (Ger.): At the bridge (i.e. playing a bowed cord instrument near its bridge, which produces a heavier, stronger tone); meet sul ponticello
amabile: Amiable, pleasant
ambitus: Range between highest and lowest note
amore or amor (Sp./Port., sometimes Information technology.): Love; con amore: with love, tenderly
amoroso: Loving
anacrusis: A note or notes that precede the start total bar; a pickup
andamento: Used to refer to a fugue subject of above-boilerplate length
andante: At a walking step (i.e. at a moderate tempo)
andantino: Slightly faster than andante (but earlier it is sometimes used to mean slightly slower than andante)
ängstlich (Ger.): Anxiously
anima: Soul; con anima: with feeling
animandosi: Progressively more animated
animato: Animated, lively
antiphon: A liturgical or other composition consisting of choral responses, sometimes betwixt 2 choirs; a passage of this nature forming part of another composition; a repeated passage in a psalm or other liturgical piece, similar to a refrain.^[1]
antiphonal: A style of composition in which two sections of singers or instrumentalists exchange sections or music one after the other; typically the performers are on different sides of a hall or venue
apaisé (Fr.): Calmed
appassionato: Passionate
appoggiatura or leaning note: Ane or more grace notes that take upwards some notation value of the next full notation.
arco: The bow used for playing some cord instruments (i.e. played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato, in music for bowed instruments); normally used to abolish a pizzicato direction
aria: Cocky-contained piece for 1 vox ordinarily with orchestral accompaniment (which may be provided by a pianist using an orchestral reduction)
arietta: A short aria
arioso: Airy, or like an air (a tune) (i.due east. in the style of an aria); melodious
armonioso: Harmonious
arpeggio, arpeggiato: played similar a harp (i.e. the notes of the chords are to exist played quickly 1 after some other instead of simultaneously); in music for pianoforte, this is sometimes a solution in playing a broad-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise; arpeggios are frequently used as an accessory; see as well broken chord
articulato: Articulate
assai: Much, Very much
assez (Fr.): Enough, sufficiently
attacca: Attack or attach; become direct on (i.e. at the stop of a move, a management to attach the next move to the previous one, without a gap or break). Oftentimes used as "attacca subito," meaning a "sudden" movement transition (literally, "attack all of a sudden").
Ausdruck (Ger.): Expression
ausdrucksvoll or mit Ausdruck (Ger.): Expressively, with expression
avec (Fr.): With

B [edit]

B: German for B flat (also in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish, Croatian, Estonian and Hungarian); H in German is B natural
ballabile: (from the Italian Ballabile pregnant "danceable") In ballet the term refers to a dance performed by the corps de ballet. The term Grand ballabile is used if nearly all participants (including principal characters) of a detail scene in a total-length piece of work perform a large-scale trip the light fantastic.
bar, or measure out: unit of music containing a number of beats as indicated by a time signature; also the vertical bar enclosing it.
barbaro: Barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro past Béla Bartók)
Bartók pizzicato: A term that instructs cord performers to play a pizzicato annotation to pull the string away from the fingerboard so that it snaps back percussively on the fingerboard.
bass: The lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the everyman melodic line in a musical limerick, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony; in an orchestral context, the term normally refers to the double bass.
basso continuo: Continuous bass, i.e. a bass accompaniment part played continuously throughout a slice by a chordal instrument (pipe organ, harpischord, lute, etc.), often with a bass musical instrument, to requite harmonic construction; used particularly in the Baroque menstruum
battement (Fr.): Used in the 17th century to refer to ornaments consisting of 2 adjacent notes, such as trills or mordents
battuto (Ital.): To strike the strings with the bow (on a bowed stringed musical instrument)
axle: Horizontal or diagonal line used to connect multiple consecutive notes.
beat

The pronounced rhythm of music
Ane single stroke of a rhythmic accent

belebt or belebter (Ger.): Spirited, vivacious, lively
bellicoso: Warlike, ambitious (English cognate is "bellicose")
ben or bene: Well; in ben marcato ("well marked") for case
bend: Jazz term referring either to establishing a pitch, sliding downwardly half a step and returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note.
beschleunigt (Ger.): Accelerated, as in mit beschleunigter Geschwindigkeit, at an accelerated tempo
bewegt (Ger.): Moved, with speed
binary: A musical grade in two sections: AB
bird'due south eye: A slang term for fermata, which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord every bit long as they wish or following cues from a conductor
bis (Fr., It.): Twice (i.e. echo the relevant action or passage)
bisbigliando: Whispering (i.e. a special tremolo effect on the harp where a chord or annotation is rapidly repeated at a low book)
bocca chiusa: with airtight mouth (sometimes abbreviated B.C.)
bravura: Boldness; equally in con bravura, boldly, flaunting technical skill
breit (Ger.): Wide
bridge

Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, or between two A sections (e.1000., in an A/B/A form).
Office of a violin family or guitar/lute stringed instrument that holds the strings in place and transmits their vibrations to the resonant body of the instrument.

brillante: Brilliantly, with sparkle. Play in a showy and spirited manner.
panache or brioso: Vigour; usually in con panache: with spirit or vigour
cleaved chord: A chord in which the notes are not all played at one time, only in some more or less consistent sequence. They may follow singly one later the other, or ii notes may exist immediately followed by another two, for example. Meet also arpeggio, which equally an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of cleaved chord; see Alberti bass.
bruscamente: Brusquely, all of a sudden

C [edit]

cabaletta: The concluding, rapid, audition-rousing section of an aria
cadence: A melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution
cadenza: A solo section, normally in a concerto or similar piece of work, that is used to display the performer's technique, sometimes at considerable length
calando: Falling away, or lowering (i.e. getting slower and quieter; ritardando along with diminuendo)
calma: Calm; so con calma, calmly. Also calmato significant calmed, relaxed
calore: Warmth; and then con calore, warmly
cambiare: To modify (i.due east. whatsoever alter, such as to a new musical instrument)
cambiata: An ornamental tone following a primary tone by a skip up or downward, normally of a third, and proceeding in the opposite direction by a step, not to be confused with changing tone.
catechism or kanon (Ger.): A theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon past other instruments with a time filibuster, creating a layered effect; encounter Pachelbel'due south Catechism.
cantabile or cantando: In a singing way. In instrumental music, a style of playing that imitates the style the human voice might express the music, with a measured tempo and flexible legato.
cantilena: a vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth, lyrical fashion
canto: Chorus; choral; chant
cantus mensuratus or cantus figuratus (Lat.): Meaning respectively "measured song" or "figured song". Originally used by medieval music theorists, information technology refers to polyphonic song with exactly measured notes and is used in dissimilarity to cantus planus. A later term for cantus mensuratus or cantus figuratus is cantus musicus ("musical song").^[2] ^[3]
capo: 1. capo (brusque for capotasto: "nut") : A cardinal-irresolute device for stringed instruments (e.g. guitars and banjos); 2. head (i.e. the beginning, as in da capo)
capriccio: "A humorous, fanciful, or baroque, composition, ofttimes characterized by an idiosyncratic departure from electric current stylistic norms."^[four] Come across likewise: Capriccio (disambiguation)
capriccioso: Arbitrary, unpredictable, volatile
cavalleresco: Chivalrous (used in Carl Nielsen's violin concerto)
cédez (Fr.): Yield, requite way
cesura or caesura (Lat.): Break, end; (i.due east. a complete break in audio) (sometimes nicknamed "railroad tracks" in reference to their appearance)
chiuso: Closed (i.due east. muted by mitt) (for a horn, or similar musical instrument; but run into also bocca chiusa, which uses the feminine course)
coda: A tail (i.e. a closing section appended to a move)
codetta: A small coda, but unremarkably applied to a passage appended to a section of a movement, not to a whole movement
col or colla: with the (col before a masculine noun, colla before a feminine noun); (see next for case)
col canto: with the singing, see colla voce
col legno: with the woods: for bowed strings, strike the strings with the stick of the bow (col legno battuto) or draw the stick across the strings (col legno tratto)
col pugno: With the fist (e.g., bang the piano with the fist)
coll'ottava: With the addition of the octave note to a higher place or below the written notation; abbreviated every bit col eight, coll' eight, and c. 8va
colla parte: literally "with the part". An indication that some other (written-out) role should be followed, i.e. conform the tempo, expression, phrasing, and possible rubato of the leading part. In vocal music, also expressed by colla voce
colla voce: literally "with the voice". An instruction, in a choral or orchestral role, that a song part should be followed, e.thou., play the aforementioned notes every bit the vocal part and conform the tempo, expression, etc. of the vocalist
coloratura: Coloration (i.e. elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line, or a soprano voice that is well-suited to such elaboration)
colossale: Enormous
come prima: Every bit before, typically referring to an earlier tempo
come sopra: As above (i.e. like the previous tempo)
mutual time: The time signature ⁴
₄ : four beats per measure, each beat a quarter note (a crotchet) in length. ⁴
₄ is often written on the musical staff equally . The symbol is not a C every bit an abbreviation for common time, but a cleaved circle; the total circle at ane time stood for triple fourth dimension, ³
_four .
comodo: Comfortable (i.eastward. at moderate speed); likewise, allegro comodo, tempo comodo, etc.
comp: i. abbreviation of accompanying, accompanying music, accompaniment; 2. describes the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that instrumental players used to support a musician'south tune and improvised solos.; iii. Ostinato
comping (jazz): ane. to comp; action of accompanying.
con: With; used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con amore (with tenderness); (see also col and colla)
con dolcezza: See dolce
con sordina or con sordine (plural): With a mute, or with mutes. Oftentimes seen in music as (incorrect Italian) con sordino, or con sordini (plural).
concerto: Limerick for solo instrument(s) and orchestra
concerto grosso: Limerick for a grouping of solo instruments (concertino or soli) and orchestra (ripieno or tutti)
conjunct: An adjective applied to a melodic line that moves by step (intervals of a 2nd) rather in disjunct motion (by leap).
contralto: Lowest female singing vocalism type
contrapuntalism: See counterpoint
coperti: (plural of coperto) covered (i.east. on a drum, muted with a cloth)
corda: String. On the pianoforte it refers to use of the soft pedal which controls whether the hammer strikes one or three strings; see una corda, tre corde below.
count: Series of regularly occurring sounds to assistance with ready identification of beat
crescendo: Growing; (i.e. progressively louder) (contrast diminuendo)
cuivré: Brassy. Used most exclusively as a French Horn technique to point a forced, rough tone. A note marked both stopped and loud will exist cuivré automatically^[1]
custos: Symbol at the very terminate of a staff of music which indicates the pitch for the beginning note of the adjacent line as a warning of what is to come up. The custos was commonly used in handwritten Renaissance and typeset Baroque music.
cut time: Same as the meter ⁱⁱ
₂ : ii half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and executed like mutual time ( ⁴
₄ ), except with the trounce lengths doubled. Indicated past . This comes from a literal cut of the symbol of mutual time. Thus, a quarter note in cut fourth dimension is only half a trounce long, and a mensurate has only two beats. See also alla breve.

D [edit]

da capo: From the head (i.e. from the beginning) (see also capo)
dal segno (D.S.): From the sign ()
dal segno alla coda (D.S. alla coda): Repeat to the sign and continue to the coda sign, so play coda
dal segno al fine (D.S. al fine): From the sign to the terminate (i.e. return to a place in the music designated by the sign and continue to the stop of the piece)
dal segno segno alla coda (D.Due south.S. alla coda): Same as D.S. alla coda, but with a double segno
dal segno segno al fine (D.Due south.S. al fine): From the double sign to the end (i.e. render to place in the music designated by the double sign (see D.S. alla coda) and continue to the finish of the piece)
decelerando: Slowing downwardly; decelerating; contrary of accelerando (aforementioned every bit ritardando or rallentando)
deciso: Firm
declamando: Solemn, expressive, impassioned
decrescendo (decresc.): Gradually decreasing volume (same as diminuendo)
deest: From the Latin deesse significant to be missing; placed subsequently a catalogue abridgement to indicate that this particular work does non appear in it;^[5] the plural, desunt, is used when referring to several works
delicatamente: Delicately
delicato: Frail
détaché (Fr.): Act of playing notes separately
devoto: Pious, religious
diminuendo, dim.: Dwindling (i.eastward. with gradually decreasing volume) (same equally decrescendo)
disjunct: An describing word applied to a melodic line which moves by leap (intervals of more than than a 2nd) as opposed to conjunct motion (by step)
di: Of
dissonante: Dissonant
divisi (div.): Divided (i.e. in a part in which several musicians normally play exactly the same notes they are instead to split the playing of the written simultaneous notes among themselves); it is most often used for cord instruments, since with them some other means of execution is oft possible (the return from divisi is marked unisono)
doit: Jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically upwardly
dolce: Sweet; con dolcezza: with sweetness
dolcemente: Sweetly
dolcissimo: Very sweetness
dolente: Sorrowful, plaintive
dolore: Pain, distress, sorrow, grief; con dolore: with sadness
doloroso: Sorrowful, plaintive
doppio movimento: lit. Double move, i.e. twice equally fast
double dot: Two dots placed adjacent after a note to bespeak that it is to be lengthened past three quarters of its value
double stop: The technique of playing two notes simultaneously on a bowed string instrument
downtempo: A slow, moody, or decreased tempo or played or done in such a tempo. Information technology likewise refers to a genre of electronic music based on this (downtempo)
drammatico: Dramatic
drone: Bass note or chord performed continuously throughout a limerick
drop: Jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards
duolo: (Ital.) grief
dumpf (Ger.): Deadening
Dur (Ger.): major; used in fundamental signatures as, for instance, A-Dur (A major), B-Dur (B ♭ major), or H-Dur (B major) (run into also Moll (modest))
dynamics: The relative volume in the execution of a slice of music

Due east [edit]

e (Ital.) or ed (Ital., used before vowels): And
eco: The Italian discussion for "echo"; an effect in which a group of notes is repeated, usually more softly, and perhaps at a dissimilar octave, to create an echo effect
égal (Fr.): Equal
eilend (Ger.): Hurrying
ein wenig (Ger.): A petty
einfach (Ger.): Simple
emporté (Fr.): Fiery, impetuous
en animant (Fr.): Becoming very lively
en cédant (Fr.): Yielding
en dehors (Fr.): Prominently, a directive to make the melody stand up out
en mesure (Fr.): In fourth dimension
en pressant (Fr.): Hurrying forrard
en retenant (Fr.): Slowing, holding back
en serrant (Fr.): Becoming quicker
encore (Fr.): Again (i.eastward. a request to perform once more a passage or a piece); a performer returning to the stage to perform an unlisted piece
energico: Energetic, strong
enfatico: Emphatic
eroico: Heroic
espansivo: Effusive; excessive in emotional expression; gushy
espirando: Expiring (i.e. dying away)
espressione: Expression; east.g. con (gran, molta) espressione: with (great, much) expression
espressivo, espress. or espr.: (Italian) Expressive
estinto: Extinct, extinguished (i.e. as soft as possible, lifeless, barely audible)
esultazione: Crowing
et (Fr.): And
Étude (Fr.): A composition intended for practice
etwas (Ger.): Every bit an adverb, piddling, somewhat, slightly
etwas bewegter (Ger.): Moving forward a piffling

F [edit]

facile: Piece of cake
autumn: Jazz term describing a annotation of definite pitch sliding down to some other note of definite pitch
falsetto: vocal register above the normal voice
fantasia: A slice not adhering to any strict musical grade; can as well be used in con fantasia: with imagination
feierlich (Ger.): Solemn, solemnly
fermata: Stop (i.e. a rest or note to exist held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor) (sometimes called bird'southward eye); a fermata at the end of a beginning or intermediate movement or section is usually moderately prolonged, but the final fermata of a symphony may exist prolonged for longer than the note's value, typically twice its printed length or more than for dramatic issue
feroce: Ferocious
festivamente: Cheerfully, in a celebratory manner
feurig (Ger.): Fiery
fieramente: Proudly
fil di voce: "thread of voice", very quiet, pianissimo
fill (Eng.): A jazz or rock term which instructs performers to improvise a scalar passage or riff to "make full in" the brief time between lyrical phrases, the lines of melody, or between two sections
fine: The end, frequently in phrases like al fine (to the end)
fioritura: the florid embellishment of melodic lines, either notated by a composer or improvised during a functioning.
apartment: A symbol ( ♭ ) that lowers the pitch of a notation past a semitone. The term may also be used as an adjective to describe a state of affairs where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone likewise depression.
flautando: Flutelike fashion; used particularly for string instruments to point a light, rapid bowing over the fingerboard
flebile: Feeble, low volume
flessibile: flexible^[6]
focoso or fuocoso: Fiery (i.e. passionate)
forte ( f ): Stiff (i.east. to be played or sung loudly)
forte-piano ( fp ): Strong-gentle (i.due east. loud, then immediately soft; see dynamics)
fortepiano: An early pianoforte
fortissimo ( ff ): Very loud (see annotation at pianissimo)
fortissimissimo ( fff ): As loud as possible
forza: Musical strength; con forza: with force
forzando ( fz ): Come across sforzando
freddo: Cold; hence depressive, unemotional
fresco: Fresh
fröhlich (Ger.): Lively, joyfully
fugue (Fr.), fuga (Latin and Italian): Literally "flight"; hence a complex and highly regimented contrapuntal class in music; a short theme (the bailiwick) is introduced in one vocalization (or part) alone, so in others, with fake and characteristic development every bit the piece progresses
funebre: Funeral; oftentimes seen as marcia funebre (funeral march), indicating a stately and plodding tempo
fuoco: Fire; con fuoco: with fire, in a fiery manner
furia: Fury
furioso: Furious

Grand [edit]

G.P.: Grand Pause, Full general Intermission; indicates to the performers that the unabridged ensemble has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic issue during a loud section
gaudioso: With joy
gemächlich (Ger.): Unhurried, at a leisurely stride
gemendo: Groaningly
gentile: Gentle
geschwind (Ger.): Rapidly
geteilt (Ger.): Run into divisi
getragen (Ger.): Solemnly, in a stately tempo
giocoso: Playful
gioioso: With joy
giusto: Strict, exact, correct (e.g. tempo giusto in strict time)
glissando: A continuous sliding from ane pitch to some other (a true glissando), or an incidental calibration executed while moving from 1 melodic note to another (an constructive glissando). See glissando for further information; and compare portamento.
grace annotation: An extra note added equally an embellishment and non essential to the harmony or melody.
grandioso: M, solemn
grave: Slow and serious
grazioso (Fr. gratieusement or gracieusement): Graceful
guerriero: Warlike, martial
gustoso: (It. tasteful, amusing) With happy emphasis and forcefulness; in an agreeable manner

H [edit]

H: German for B natural; B in German means B flat
Hauptstimme (Ger.): Main vocalism, chief part (i.e. the contrapuntal line of primary importance, in opposition to Nebenstimme)
hemiola (English language, from Greek): The imposition of a blueprint of rhythm or joint other than that implied by the time signature; specifically, in triple fourth dimension (for case in ³
₄ ) the imposition of a duple pattern (as if the time signature were, for example, ^two
₄ ). See Syncopation.
hervortretend (Ger.): Prominent, pronounced
hold, see fermata
homophony: A musical texture with i vox (or melody line) accompanied by subordinate chords; besides used as an adjective (homophonic). Compare with polyphony, in which several independent voices or melody lines are performed at the same fourth dimension.
claw: A musical thought, oftentimes a short riff, passage or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener".

I [edit]

immer (Ger.): Always
imperioso: Imperious, overbearing
impetuoso: Impetuous
improvvisando: With improvisation
improvvisato: Improvised, or equally if improvised
improvise: To create music at the spur of the moment, spontaneously, and without preparation (often over a given harmonic framework or chord progression)
in alt: octave above the treble staff, Thou₅ to K₆ ^[7]
in altissimo: Octave to a higher place the in alt octave, Thousand₆ to Thousand₇
in modo di: In the fine art of, in the style of
in stand: A term for contumely players that requires them to straight the bell of their musical instrument into the music stand, instead of up and toward the audience, thus muting the sound just without irresolute the timbre as a mute would^[viii]
incalzando: Getting faster and louder
innig (Ger.): Intimate, heartfelt
insistendo: Insistently, deliberately
intimo: Intimate
intro: Opening section of a slice
irato: Angry
-issimamente: A suffix meaning as ... every bit tin can be (e.yard. leggerissimamente, meaning equally light as can be)
-issimo: A suffix meaning extremely (e.one thousand. fortissimo or prestissimo)
izq. or iz. (Spa.): Left (paw); abbreviation of izquierda

J [edit]

Jazz standard (or simply "standard"): A well-known composition from the jazz repertoire which is widely played and recorded.
jete (Fr. jeté ): Jump; a bowing technique in which the actor is instructed to let the bow bounce or jump off the strings.

K [edit]

keyboardist (Eng.): A musician who plays whatsoever instrument with a keyboard. In Classical music, this may refer to instruments such as the pianoforte, pipage organ, harpsichord, and so on. In a jazz or popular music context, this may refer to instruments such every bit the pianoforte, electric piano, synthesizer, Hammond organ, and then on.
Klangfarbenmelodie (Ger.): "Tone-color melody", distribution of pitch or melody among instruments, varying timbre
kräftig (Ger.): Potent

L [edit]

lacrimoso or lagrimoso: Tearful (i.e. sorry)
laissez vibrer, 50.v. (Fr.): French for lasciare vibrare ("allow vibrate").
lamentando: Lamenting, mournfully
lamentoso: Lamenting, mournfully
langsam (Ger.): Slowly
largamente: Broadly (i.e. slowly) (aforementioned as largo)
larghetto: Somewhat slow; not every bit slow as largo
larghezza: Broadness; con larghezza: with broadness; broadly
larghissimo: Very slow; slower than largo
largo: Broad (i.eastward. irksome)
lasciare suonare: "Let ring", pregnant permit the sound to continue, practice non damp; used oft in harp or guitar music, occasionally in piano or percussion. Abbreviated "lasc. suon."
bound or skip: A melodic interval greater than a major 2nd, as opposed to a step. Melodies which movement by a jump are chosen "disjunct". Octave leaps are not uncommon in florid vocal music.
lebhaft (Ger.): Briskly, lively
legato: Joined (i.due east. smoothly, in a connected way) (see besides articulation)
leggiadro: Pretty, graceful
leggierissimo: Very lite and delicate
leggiero or leggiermente: Calorie-free or lightly (the different forms of this word, including leggierezza, "lightness", are spelled without the i in modernistic Italian, i.e. leggero, leggerissimo, leggermente, leggerezza.)
leidenschaftlich(er) (Ger.): (More than) passionately
lent (Fr.): Slow
lentando: Gradual slowing and softer
lentissimo: Very slow
lento: Slow
liberamente: Freely
libero: Free
lilt: A jaunty rhythm
l'istesso, l'istesso tempo, or lo stesso tempo: The same tempo, despite changes of time signature, come across metric modulation
lo stesso: The same; applied to the manner of joint, tempo, etc.
loco: [in] place, i.eastward. perform the notes at the pitch written, generally used to abolish an 8va or 8vb direction; in cord music, besides used to betoken render to normal playing position (come across Playing the violin)^[1]
long accent: Striking hard and go on full value of annotation (>)
lontano: Distant, far away
lugubre: Lugubrious, mournful
luminoso: Luminous
lunga: Long (often applied to a fermata)
lusingando, lusinghiero: Coaxingly, flatteringly, caressingly

M [edit]

ma: Only
ma non tanto: Merely not much
ma non troppo: But non besides much
maestoso: Majestic, stately
maggiore: The major key
magico: Magical
magnifico: Magnificent
principal droite (Fr.): [played with the] right paw (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)
principal gauche (Fr.): [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MG or g.g.)
malinconico: Melancholic
mancando: Dying away
mano destra: [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: Doc or m.d.)
mano izquierda (Spa.): [played with the] left mitt (abridgement: m.iz.)
mano sinistra: [played with the] left mitt (abbreviation: MS or one thousand.s.)
marcatissimo: With much accentuation
marcato, marc.: Marked (i.eastward. with accentuation, execute every annotation every bit if information technology were to be accented)
marcia: A march; alla marcia means in the manner of a march
martellato: Hammered out
marziale: Martial, solemn and trigger-happy
mäßig (Ger.): (sometimes given equally "mässig", "maessig") Moderately
Doc: See mano destra or primary droite
measure: Too "bar": the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete bicycle of the time signature (e.g. in ⁴
₄ time, a measure has four quarter notation beats)
medesimo tempo: Same tempo, despite changes of fourth dimension signature
medley: Slice composed from parts of existing pieces, usually iii, played one after some other, sometimes overlapping.
melancolico: Melancholic
melisma: The technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung
meno: Less; run into meno mosso, for example, less mosso
messa di voce: In singing, a controlled swell (i.e. crescendo and so diminuendo, on a long held notation, especially in Baroque music and in the bel canto period)^[1]
mesto: Mournful, sad
meter or metre: The design of a music slice'due south rhythm of strong and weak beats
mezza voce: One-half voice (i.e. with subdued or moderated volume)
mezzo: One-half; used in combinations similar mezzo forte ( mf ), pregnant moderately loud
mezzo forte ( mf ): Half loudly (i.due east. moderately loudly). See dynamics.
mezzo piano ( mp ): Half softly (i.east. moderately soft). See dynamics.
mezzo-soprano: A female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh higher up middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of a contralto.
MG: See main gauche
minore: Small-scale key
misterioso: Mysterious
mit Dämpfer (Ger.): With a mute
M.Grand.: Metronome Marker. Formerly "Mälzel Metronome."^[9]
mobile: Mobile, changeable
moderato: Moderate; often combined with other terms, usually relating to tempo; for example, allegro moderato
modéré (Fr.): Moderate
modesto: Minor
modulation: The act or process of changing from i fundamental (tonic, or tonal heart) to another. This may or may not be accompanied past a change in key signature.
Moll (Ger.): minor; used in key signatures equally, for example, a-Moll (A pocket-size), b-Moll (B ♭ minor), or h-Moll (B pocket-sized); see also Dur (major)
molto: Very
mordent: Rapid alternation of a note with the note immediately beneath or in a higher place it in the scale, sometimes further distinguished as lower mordent and upper mordent. The term "inverted mordent" ordinarily refers to the upper mordent.
morendo: Dying (i.e. dying abroad in dynamics, and peradventure likewise in tempo)
mosso: Moved, moving; used with a preceding più or meno, for faster or slower respectively
moto: Move; usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly
move: A department of a musical composition (such every bit a sonata or concerto)
MS: See mano sinistra
munter (Ger.): Lively
Musette (Fr.): A trip the light fantastic toe or tune of a drone-bass character, originally played by a musette
muta [in...]: Modify [to...]: an teaching either to change instrument (e.g. flute to piccolo, horn in F to horn in B ♭ ) or to change tuning (e.g. guitar muta six in D). Note: muta comes from the Italian verb mutare (to change); therefore information technology does not hateful "mute", for which con sordina or con sordino is used.^[1]

Due north [edit]

nach und nach (Ger.): Literally "more than and more than" with an increasing feeling. Ex. "nach und nach belebter und leidenschaftlicher" (with increasing animation and passion)
narrante: Narrating
natural: A symbol ( ♮ ) that cancels the result of a sharp or a apartment
naturale (nat.): Natural (i.e. discontinue a special effect, such every bit col legno, sul tasto, sul ponticello, or playing in harmonics)
N.C.: No chord, written in the chord row of music notation to prove at that place is no chord existence played, and no unsaid harmony
Nebenstimme (Ger.): Secondary part (i.due east. a secondary contrapuntal office, e'er occurring simultaneously with, and subsidiary to, the Hauptstimme)
nicht (Ger.): Not
niente: "zip", barely audible, dying away, sometimes indicated with a dynamic n
nobile or nobilmente (Ital.) or Noblement (Fr.): In a noble mode
noblezza: Dignity
nocturne (Fr.): A piece written for the nighttime
notes inégales (Fr.): Unequal notes; a principally Baroque performance practice of applying long-short rhythms to pairs of notes written as equal; run into also swung note
notturno: Run across nocturne.
number opera: An opera consisting of "numbers" (e.g. arias, intermixed with recitative)

O [edit]

obbligato: Bound, constrained
octave: Interval between one musical pitch and some other with one-half or double its frequency. Twelve semitones equal an octave, so do the showtime and the eighth (hence "october"ave) note in a major or minor calibration.
ohne Dämpfer (Ger.): Without a mute
omaggio: Homage, commemoration
one-vocalism-per-part (OVPP): The practice of using solo voices on each musical line or office in choral music.
ordinario (ord.) (Ital.) or position ordinaire (Fr.): In bowed string music, an indication to discontinue extended techniques such as sul ponticello, sul tasto or col legno, and return to normal playing. The aforementioned as "naturale".
organ trio: In jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ player and ii other instruments, often an electrical guitar player and a drummer.
oppure or ossia: Or (giving an alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, boosted small notes, or an additional staff)
ostinato: Obstinate, persistent (i.e. a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition)
ottava: Octave (e.thousand. ottava bassa: an octave lower)
ouverture (Fr.): run across Overture
oversinging: a term used to describe song styles that boss the music they are performed in
overture: An orchestral composition forming the prelude or introduction to an opera, oratorio, etc.

P [edit]

parlando or parlante: Lit. speaking; like spoken communication, enunciated
Partitur (Ger.): Total orchestral score
passionato: Passionate
pastorale: In a pastoral manner, peaceful and simple
patetico: Passionate, emotional. A related term is Pathetique: a proper name attributed to certain works with an emotional focus such as Tchaikovsky'due south 6th symphony.
pausa: rest
pedale or ped: In pianoforte scores, this instructs the player to press the damper pedal to sustain the note or chord beingness played. The actor may exist instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). In organ scores, information technology tells the organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard with the feet.
pensieroso: Thoughtfully, meditatively
perdendosi: Dying abroad; decrease in dynamics, perhaps besides in tempo
pesante: Heavy, ponderous
peu à peu (Fr.): Lilliputian by little
pezzo: A composition
piacevole: Pleasant, agreeable
piangendo: Literally 'crying' (used in Liszt'southward La Lugubre Gondola no. 2).
piangevole: Plaintive
pianissimo ( pp ): very gently (i.e. perform very softly, fifty-fifty softer than pianoforte). This convention can exist extended; the more than p s that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play or sing, thus ppp (pianissimissimo) would be softer than pp . Dynamics in a piece should exist interpreted relative to the other dynamics in the same piece. For example, pp should be executed very softly, simply if ppp is found later in the slice, pp should be markedly louder than ppp . More than than 3 p s ( ppp ) or three f s ( fff ) are uncommon.
pianoforte ( p ): Gently (i.eastward. played or sung softly) (run across dynamics)
piano-vocal score: The same as a song score, a piano system along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar
Picardy third: A Picardy third, Picardy cadence (ˈpɪkərdi ) or, in French, tierce picarde is a harmonic device used in Western classical music. It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic at the stop of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor primal.
piena: Full, as, for example, a voce piena = "in full phonation"
pietoso: Pitiful, piteous
più: More than; see mosso
piuttosto: Rather, somewhat (e.g. allegro piuttosto presto)
pizzicato: Pinched, plucked (i.e. in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow; compare arco, which is inserted to cancel a pizzicato educational activity; in music for guitar, to mute the strings by resting the palm on the bridge, simulating the audio of pizz. of the bowed string instruments)
plop: Jazz term referring to a annotation that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwardly.
pochettino or poch.: Very footling; diminutive of poco
pochissimo or pochiss.: Very little; summit of poco
poco: A lilliputian, every bit in poco più allegro (a little faster)
poco rall: a gradual decrease in speed
poco a poco: Piffling by little
poetico: Poetic soapbox
poi: Then, indicating a subsequent instruction in a sequence; diminuendo poi subito fortissimo, for example: getting softer then suddenly very loud
pomposo: Pompous, ceremonious
ponticello or sul ponticello (pont.): On the bridge (i.e. in string playing, an indication to bow or to pluck very near to the bridge, producing a characteristic glassy audio, which emphasizes the college harmonics at the expense of the fundamental); the opposite of sul tasto
portamento: Carrying (i.e. 1. mostly, sliding in pitch from ane note to another, usually pausing just above or below the final pitch, then sliding rapidly to that pitch. If no pause is executed, and then it is a basic glissando; or 2. in pianoforte music, an joint betwixt legato and staccato, like portato)
portato or louré: Carried (i.e. non-legato, merely not as detached every bit staccato) (same as portamento)
posato: Settled
potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr.): Potpourri (equally used in other senses in English) (i.e. a kind of musical form structured every bit ABCDEF... etc.; the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia)
precipitato: Precipitately
prelude, prélude (Fr.), preludio (It), praeludium (Lat.), präludium (Ger.): A musical introduction to subsequent movements during the Bizarre era (1600s/17th century). It tin besides be a movement in its own right, which was more mutual in the Romantic era (mid-1700s/18th century)
prestissimo: Extremely rapidly, as fast equally possible
presto: Very quickly
prima or primo (the masculine form): First
prima donna: Leading female singer in an opera company
prima volta: The outset time; for example prima volta senza accompagnamento (the first time without accompaniment)

Q [edit]

quartal: Equanimous of the musical interval of the fourth; as in quartal harmony
quarter tone: Half of a semitone; a pitch division not used in most Western music note, except in some contemporary art music or experimental music. Quarter tones are used in Western popular music forms such as jazz and blues and in a variety of not-Western musical cultures.
quasi (Latin and Italian): About (due east.g. quasi recitativo almost a recitative in an opera, or quasi una fantasia most a fantasia)
quintal: Composed of the musical interval of the 5th; every bit in quintal harmony

R [edit]

rallentando or rall.: Broadening of the tempo (often non discernible from ritardando); progressively slower
rapide (Fr.): Fast
rapido: Fast
rasch (Ger.): Fast
rasguedo (Spa.): (on the guitar) to play strings with the back of the fingernail; esp. to fan the strings rapidly with the nails of multiple fingers
ravvivando: Quickening (lit. "reviving"), as in "ravvivando il tempo", returning to a faster tempo that occurred earlier in the piece^[x]
recitativo: Recitative (lyrics not to be sung but to be recited, imitating the natural inflections of speech)
religioso: Religious
repente: Suddenly
reprise: Repetition of a phrase or verse; return to the original theme
restez (Fr.): Stay in position, i.due east., practice not shift (cord instruments)
retenu (Fr.): Hold dorsum; aforementioned as the Italian ritenuto (see below)
Ridicolo: Ridiculous, comical
riff: a repeated chord progression or refrain
rilassato: Relaxed
rinforzando ( rf , rfz or rinf.): Reinforcing (i.e. emphasizing); sometimes similar a sudden crescendo, but often practical to a single annotation
risoluto: Resolute
rit.: An abbreviation for ritardando;^[eleven] also an abridgement for ritenuto ^[12]
ritardando, ritard., rit.: Slowing downwardly; decelerating; opposite of accelerando
ritenuto, riten., rit.: Suddenly slower, held dorsum (unremarkably more so but more than temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note); contrary of accelerato
ritmico: Rhythmical
ritmo: Rhythm (e.yard. ritmo di # battute meaning a rhythm of # measures)
ritornello: A recurring passage
rolled chord: See Arpeggio
rondo: A musical form in which a certain section returns repeatedly, interspersed with other sections: ABACA is a typical structure or ABACABA
roulade (Fr.): A rolling (i.e. a florid song phrase)
rubato: Stolen, robbed (i.e. flexible in tempo), applied to notes inside a musical phrase for expressive effect
ruhig (Ger.): Calm, peaceful
run: A rapid serial of ascending or descending musical notes which are closely spaced in pitch forming a calibration, arpeggio, or other such pattern. Encounter: Fill (music) and Melisma.
ruvido: Rough

S [edit]

saltando: Lit. "jumping": bouncing the bow every bit in a staccato arpeggio
sanft (Ger.): Gently
sans nuances (Fr.): Without shades, with no subtle variations
sans presser (Fr.): Without rushing
sans rigueur (Fr.): Without strictness, freely
scatenato: Unchained, wild
scherzando, scherzoso: Playfully
scherzo: A lite, "joking" or playful musical course, originally and normally in fast triple metre, often replacing the minuet in the later Classical period and the Romantic period, in symphonies, sonatas, string quartets and the like; in the 19th century some scherzi were independent movements for piano, etc.
schleppend, schleppen (Ger.): In a dragging manner, to elevate; ordinarily nicht schleppen ("don't elevate"), paired with nicht eilen ("don't hurry") in Gustav Mahler'southward scores
schlicht (Ger.): Plain, elementary
schnell (Ger.): Fast
schneller (Ger.): Faster
schmerzlich (Ger.): Sorrowful
schwer (Ger.): Heavy
schwungvoll (Ger.): Lively, swinging, bold, spirited
scioltezza: Fluency, agility (used in con scioltezza)
sciolto: Fluent, active
scordatura: Altered or alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument
scorrendo, scorrevole: Gliding from note to notation
secco (sec) (Fr.): Dry (sparse accompaniment, staccato, without resonance); with basso continuo accompaniment, this often means that only the chordal instrument will play, with the sustained bass instrument not playing
segno: sign, commonly Dal segno (see above) "from the sign", indicating a return to the betoken marked by
segue: Lit. "it follows"; to be carried on to the side by side section without a break
sehr (Ger.): Very
sehr ausdrucksvoll (Ger.): Very expressive
sehr getragen (Ger.): Very sustained
semitone: The smallest pitch divergence between notes (in most Western music) (e.g. F–F ♯ ) (Annotation: some contemporary music, not-Western music, and dejection and jazz uses microtonal divisions smaller than a semitone)
semplice: Elementary
sempre: E'er
sentimento: Feeling, emotion
sentito: lit. "felt", with expression
senza: Without
senza misura: Without measure
senza replica: Without repetition: "when a movement, repeated in the commencement instance, must, on the Da Capo, be played throughout without repetition."^[13]
senza sordina or senza sordine (plural): Without the mute. See sordina.
serioso: Seriously
serrez (Fr.): Getting faster
sforzando ( sf or sfz ): Getting louder with a sudden potent accent
shake: A jazz term describing a trill between one note and its pocket-sized third; or, with contumely instruments, between a note and its next overblown harmonic
sharp: A symbol ( ♯ ) that raises the pitch of the note by a semitone;the term may as well be used as an describing word to describe a state of affairs where a singer or musician is performing a annotation in which the intonation is somewhat as well loftier in pitch
short accent: Striking the note difficult and short (^)
si (Fr.): Seventh notation of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in stock-still-doh solmization; too used for the fifth notation, sol, when sharpened, in solmization.
siciliana: A Sicilian dance in ¹²
_eight or ⁶
₈ meter^[fourteen]
sign: Run across segno
silenzio: Silence (i.eastward. without reverberations)
simile: Similar (i.eastward. continue applying the preceding directive, whatever information technology was, to the following passage)
sipario: Drape (phase)
slancio: Momentum, con slancio: with momentum; with enthusiasm
slargando or slentando: Condign broader or slower (that is, condign more largo or more lento)
slur: A symbol in Western musical note (generally a curved line placed over the notes) indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played without separation (that is, with legato joint)
smorzando (smorz.): Extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo every bit well
soave: Smoothen, gentle
sognando: Dreaming
solenne: Solemn
solo or soli (plural): Alone (i.eastward. executed past a single instrument or voice). The instruction soli requires more one actor or vocalizer; in a jazz big ring this refers to an entire section playing in harmony. In orchestral works, soli refers to a divided string section with only one player to a line.
solo break: A jazz term that instructs a pb player or rhythm department member to play an improvised solo cadenza for i or two measures (sometimes abbreviated as "pause"), without any accompaniment. The solo role is ofttimes played in a rhythmically free manner, until the actor performs a pickup or lead-in line, at which time the band recommences playing in the original tempo.
sommo (masc.), somma (fem.): Highest, maximum; con somma passione: with the greatest passion
sonata: A piece played as opposed to sung
sonatina: A little sonata
sonatine: A little sonata, used in some countries instead of sonatina
sonore: Sonorous (Deep or ringing sound)
sonoro: With full sound
sopra: In a higher place; directive to cross hands in a limerick for pianoforte, e.1000. m.s. sopra: left mitt over; opposite: sotto (beneath)
sopra una corda or sull'istessa corda: To be played on one string
soprano: The highest of the standard four vocalization ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)
sordina, sordine (plural): A mute, Note: sordina, with plural sordine, is strictly correct Italian, but the forms sordino and sordini are much more commonly used as terms in music. Instruments can have their tone muted with wood, rubber, metal, or plastic devices, (for cord instruments, mutes are clipped to the bridge; for contumely instruments, mutes are inserted in the bell), or parts of the body (guitar; French Horn), or fabric (clarinet; timpani), among other ways. In piano music (notably in Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata), senza sordini or senza sordina (or some variant) is sometimes used to mean keep the sustain pedal depressed, since the sustain pedal lifts the dampers off the strings, with the issue that all notes are sustained indefinitely.
sordino: Run into sordina.
sortita: A main singer's commencement entrance in an opera
sospirando: Sighing
sostendo (Galician): belongings back, (notably used in El Camino Real by Alfred Reed)
sostenuto: Sustained, lengthened
sotto voce: In an undertone (i.e. quietly)
soutenu (Fr.): sustained
Sprechgesang: "spoken singing", expressionist vocal technique cogent pitched speaking. Used almost notably in the compositions of Arnold Schoenberg such as Pierrot lunaire.
spianato: Shine, even
spiccato: Singled-out, separated (i.due east. a way of playing the violin and other bowed instruments by billowy the bow on the string, giving a feature staccato effect)
spinto: Lit. "pushed"
spirito: Spirit, con spirito: with spirit, with feeling
spiritoso: Spirited
staccato: Making each annotation brief and detached; the opposite of legato. In musical notation, a small dot under or over the head of the note indicates that it is to be articulated as staccato.
stanza: A poetry of a song
stem: Vertical line that is direct continued to the [note] head.
stentando or stentato (sten. or stent.): Labored, heavy, in a dragging way, belongings back each note
stornello: Originally truly 'improvised' now taken equally 'appearing to be improvised,' an Italian 'folk' song, the style of which used for instance by Puccini in certain of his operas
strascinando or strascicante: Indicating a passage should exist played in a heavily slurred mode; in some contexts it indicates a rhythmic move resembling shuffling
strepitoso: Noisy, forceful
stretto: Tight, narrow (i.east. faster or hastening ahead); besides, a passage in a fugue in which the contrapuntal texture is denser, with shut overlapping entries of the field of study in dissimilar voices; by extension, similar closely imitative passages in other compositions
stringendo: Gradually getting faster (literally, tightening, narrowing) (i.due east. with a pressing forward or acceleration of the tempo, that is, condign stretto)
strisciando: To be played with a smooth slur, a glissando
suave (Sp.): Soft
subito: Immediately (due east.grand. subito pp , which instructs the histrion to of a sudden driblet to pianissimo as an effect); often abbreviated as sub.
sul: Lit. "on the", as in sul ponticello (on the bridge); sul tasto (on the fingerboard); sul E (on the E cord), etc.
sul E: "on the E", indicating a passage is to be played on the Due east string of a violin. As well seen: sul A, sul D, sul Thou, sul C, indicating a passage to exist played on one of the other strings of a string instrument.
suono reale: Actual sound; primarily used with notated harmonics where the written pitch is likewise the sounding pitch
sur la touche (Fr.): Sul tasto
syncopation: A disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of downbeat rhythm with emphasis on the sub-partitioning or up-beat (e.g. in Ragtime music).

T [edit]

tacet (Lat.)

Lit. "he/she keeps silent": exercise non play

tasto , sul tasto or tastiera (tast.)

On the fingerboard (i.e. in string playing, an indication to bow or to pluck over the fingerboard); playing over the fingerboard produces a duller, less harmonically rich, gentler tone. The opposite of sul ponticello.

tasto solo

'single key'; used on a basso continuo office to indicate that only the written notes should be played, without RH chords as usually played by the harpsichordist/organist

tempo

Time (i.e. the overall speed of a slice of music)

tempo di marcia

March tempo

tempo di mezzo

The middle section of a double aria, commonly plant in bel canto era Italian operas, especially those of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and their contemporaries every bit well in many early operas by Verdi. When nowadays, the tempo di mezzo mostly signals a shift in the drama from the irksome cantabile of the first function to the cabaletta of the 2nd, and this can accept the course of some dramatic announcement or activeness to which the character(s) react in the cabaletta finale.^[15]

tempo di valzer

Flit tempo

tempo giusto

In strict time

tempo primo, tempo uno, or tempo I (sometimes tempo I° or tempo ^1ero)

Resume the original speed

tempo rubato

"Stolen time"; an expressive mode of performing a rhythm; see rubato

ten.

See tenuto

teneramente; tendre or tendrement (Fr.)

Tenderly

tenerezza

Tenderness

tenor

The 2nd lowest of the standard four vox ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)

tenuto

Held (i.e. bear on a note slightly longer than usual, merely without generally altering the note'southward value)

ternary

Having three parts. In detail, referring to a three-part musical form with the parts represented by letters: ABA

tessitura

The 'best' or nigh comfortable pitch range, mostly used to identify the most prominent / mutual song range inside a slice of music

tierce de Picardie (Fr.)

Run into Picardy tertiary

timbre

The quality of a musical tone that distinguishes voices and instruments

fourth dimension

In a jazz or rock score, later on a rubato or rallentendo department, the term "time" indicates that performers should return to tempo (this is equivalent to the term "a tempo")

tosto

Immediately

tranquillo

Calm, peaceful

trattenuto (tratt.)

Held back with a sustained tone, similar to ritardando

tre corde (tc)

Three strings (i.e. release the soft pedal of the piano) (see una corda)

tremolo

Shaking. As used in 1) and two) below, it is notated by a strong diagonal bar (or bars) across the note stem, or a detached bar (or bars) for a set of notes.

A rapid, measured or unmeasured repetition of the same note. String players perform this tremolo with the bow past rapidly moving the bow while the arm is tense;
A rapid, measured or unmeasured alternation between two or more notes, normally more than than a whole step apart. In older theory texts this form is sometimes referred to as a "trill-tremolo" (run across trill).
A rapid, repeated alteration of volume (as on an electronic musical instrument);
vibrato: an inaccurate usage, since vibrato is actually a slight undulation in a sustained pitch, rather than a repetition of the pitch, or variation in volume (encounter vibrato).

tresillo (Sp.): A duple-pulse rhythmic cell in Cuban and other Latin American music
trill: A rapid, ordinarily unmeasured alternation between 2 harmonically adjacent notes (due east.g. an interval of a semitone or a whole tone). A similar alternation using a wider interval is called a tremolo.
triplet (shown with a horizontal bracket and a '3'): Three notes in the place of two, used to subdivide a beat.
triste: Sad, wistful
tronco, tronca: Broken off, truncated
troppo: Besides much; usually seen as non troppo, meaning moderately or, when combined with other terms, not as well much, such as allegro [ma] non troppo (fast but not too fast)
turn: Multi-note ornamentation above and beneath the primary note; information technology may also exist inverted. Also called gruppetto.
tutti: All; all together, commonly used in an orchestral or choral score when the orchestra or all of the voices come in at the same time, too seen in Bizarre-era music where two instruments share the same copy of music, later on one instrument has broken off to play a more advanced class: they both play together again at the point marked tutti. Encounter also ripieno.

U [edit]

un, una, or uno: One or "a" (indefinite article), as exemplified in the following entries
united nations poco or un peu (Fr.): A little
una corda: One string (i.e., in piano music, depressing the soft pedal, which alters and reduces the book of the sound). For almost notes in modern pianos, this results in the hammer striking 2 strings rather than iii. Its counterpart, tre corde (three strings), is the opposite: the soft pedal is to be released.
unisono (unis): In unison (i.e., several players in a group are to play exactly the same notes within their written part, as opposed to splitting simultaneous notes amongst themselves); ofttimes used to mark the return from divisi
uptempo: A fast, lively, or increased tempo, or played or washed in such a tempo;^[16] information technology is also used equally an umbrella term for a quick-paced electronic music style
ut (Fr.): Kickoff annotation of the serial ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-practise solmization

V [edit]

vagans (Lat.): Lit. "wandering":^[17] the fifth office in a motet, named so most probably because it had no specific range
vamp: Improvised accompaniment, usually a repeating pattern played earlier next musical passage. See vamp till cue. Run across comp and comping (jazz).
vamp till cue: A jazz, fusion, and musical theatre term which instructs rhythm section members to repeat and vary a brusque ostinato passage, riff, or "groove" until the band leader or conductor instructs them to motility onto the side by side section
variazioni: Variations, con variazioni: with variations/changes
veloce: Fast
velocità: Speed; con velocità: with speed
velocissimo: As fast equally possible; normally applied to a cadenza-like passage or run
via: Away, out, off; as in via sordina or sordina via: 'mute off'
vibrato: Vibrating (i.east. a more or less apace repeated slight variation in the pitch of a note, used as a means of expression). Often confused with tremolo, which refers either to a similar variation in the book of a note, or to rapid repetition of a single annotation.
vif (Fr.): Lively
violoncello: cello
virtuoso: (noun or describing word) performing with exceptional ability, technique, or artistry
vite (Fr.): Fast
vittorioso: Victorious
vivace: Lively, up-tempo
vivacissimo: Very lively
vivamente: With liveliness
vivezza: Liveliness, vivacity
vivo: Lively, intense
vocal score or piano-vocal score: A music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra (like oratorio or cantata) where the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced to two staves and adapted for playing on pianoforte
voce: Phonation
volante: Flying
volti subito (Five.S.): Turn immediately (i.e. plough the page rapidly). While this indication is sometimes added by printers, it is more unremarkably indicated by orchestral members in pencil every bit a reminder to quickly turn to the next page.

West [edit]

weich (Ger.): Gentle, gently
wenig (Ger.): A lilliputian, non much
weniger (Ger.): Less
wolno (Politician.): Loose, slowly

Z [edit]

Zählzeit (Ger.): Beat
zart (Ger.): Tender
Zartheit (Ger.): Tenderness
zärtlich (Ger.): Tenderly
Zeichen (Ger.): Sign, mark
Zeitmaß or Zeitmass (Ger.): Time-mensurate (i.e. tempo)
zelo, zeloso, zelosamente: Zeal, zealous, zealously
ziehen (Ger.): To depict out
ziemlich (Ger.): Fairly, quite, rather
zitternd (Ger.): Trembling (i.eastward. tremolando)
zögernd (Ger.): Hesitantly, delaying (i.due east. rallentando)
zurückhalten (Ger.): Hold back

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^{due east} Collins Music Encyclopedia, 1959.
^ Apel, Willi (ed.) (1969). "Cantus". Harvard Dictionary of Music, p. 130. Harvard University Press
^ Dubost, Michel and Lalanne, Stanislas (eds.) (2009). Le nouveau Théo: L'Encyclopédie catholique pour tous, p. 1843 (electronic edition). Fleurus. ISBN 2728914176 (in French)
^ "Capriccio" in The Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Michael Randel, Belknap Printing
^ Virtually the word deest
^ "Italian Musical Terms". www.musictheory.org.uk . Retrieved 2016-12-02 .
^ Italian for Opera Lovers by Sasha Newborn, August 1994, at Academia.edu
^ Sussman, Richard; Abene, Mike (2012). "Muted Brass". Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age. Oxford University Press. p. 156. ISBN978-0-nineteen-538099-6.
^ Cole, Richard; Schwartz, Ed. "M.M." Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Lexicon. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013.
^ Blom, Eric (2001). "Ravvivando". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. ‎
^ musicdictionary ^{[ permanent dead link ]}; Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition; Gardner Read, Music Note, 2nd edition, p. 282.
^ Dolmetsch Online, "Tempo"; Oxford American Dictionary; Collins English Dictionary.
^ Hummel, quoted in Rudolf, Max (2001). A Musical Life: Writings and Messages, p.125. Pendragon. ISBN 9781576470381.
^ Definition of Siciliano at Dictionary.com
^ Gossett, Philip, Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera Chicago: Academy of Chicago, 2006 ISBN 978-0-226-30482-3, p. 618
^ "uptempo". Oxford English Dictionary . Retrieved 2018-09-14 .
^ George Grove, ed. (1900). "vagans". A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan. p. 212.

External links [edit]

Classical musical terms
Musical Terms Dictionary Definitions
Music Lexicon, Dolmetsch Online
Cole, Richard; Schwartz, Ed (October 22, 2012). "Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary". Virginia Tech Section of Music. Archived from the original on Oct 22, 2014.

catheyater1992.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_music_terminology