Glossary of musical terminology

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This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian (see also 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 current Italian meanings. Most of the other terms are taken from French and German, indicated by "Fr." and "Ger.", respectively.

Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The list can never be complete: 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 own language rather than the standard terms listed here.

Video Glossary of musical terminology

1-64

I: in violin family instrument music, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the highest-pitched, thinnest string
1?: "Sifflet" or one foot organ stop
1 ³/₅?: Tierce organ stop
2?: Two feet - pipe organ indication; see Organ stop § Pitch and length
II: in violin family instrument music, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the string adjacent to the highest-pitched, thinnest string
2 ²/₃?: Pipe organ stop for the twelfth interval
IV-VI: Mixture stop on pipe organ
II: Cymbal stop on pipe organ
III: in violin family instrument music, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on string adjacent to (but higher in pitch) than the lowest-pitched, thickest string
IV: in violin family instrument music, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the lowest-pitched, thickest string
4?: Four feet - pipe organ rank that speaks one octave higher than 8?
8?: Eight foot pipe - pipe organ indication
16?: Sixteen foot pipe - pipe organ indication calling for one octave below 8?
32?: Thirty-two foot pipe - pipe organ indication calling for two octaves below 8?, also called sub-bass (on most organs this is the lowest, deepest pitch)
64?: Sixty-four foot pipe - pipe organ indication (only a few organs have this deep a pitch)

Maps Glossary of musical terminology

A

a or à (Fr.): at, to, by, for, in, in the style of...
a 2: see a due
a battuta: Return to normal tempo after a deviation. Not recommended in string parts, due to possible confusion with battuto (qv.); use a tempo, which means the same thing.
a bene placito: Up to the performer
a cappella: (i.e. without instrumental accompaniment)
a capriccio: A free and capricious approach to tempo
a due: intended as a duet; for two voices or instruments; together; two instruments are to play in unison after a solo passage for one 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: Sight-read (lit. "at first sight") (i.e. played or sung from written notation but without prior review of the written material)
a tempo: In time (i.e. the performer should return to the main tempo of the piece, such as after an accelerando or ritardando); also may be found 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.): free, unrestrained, passionate
abbandonatamente, con abbandono: free, relaxed
aber (Ger.): but
accarezzevole: Expressive and caressing
accelerando (accel.): Accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo
accelerato: suddenly increasing the tempo
accent: Emphasize, make a particular part more important
accentato/accentuato: Accented; with emphasis
acceso: Ignited, on fire
accessible: Music that is easy to listen to/understand
acciaccato: Broken down, crushed; the sounding of the notes of a chord not quite simultaneously, but from bottom to top.
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 up or slow down at will)
accuratezza: Precision; accuracy con accuratezza: with precision
acoustic: Relating to music produced by instruments, as opposed to electric or electronic means
ad libitum (commonly ad lib; Latin): At liberty (i.e. the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer)
adagietto: Fairly slow (but faster than adagio)
adagio: At ease (i.e. play slowly)
adagissimo: Very, very slow
affannato, affannoso: Anguished
affetto or con affetto: with affect (that is, with emotion)
affettuoso, affettuosamente, or affectueusement (Fr.): With affect (that is, with emotion); see also con affetto
affrettando: Hurrying, pressing onwards
agile: Swiftly
agitato: Agitated
al or alla: To the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine)
alcuna licenza: lit. "no restriction", used in con alcuna licenza to mean (play) with some freedom in the time, see rubato
all' ottava: "at the octave", see ottava
alla breve: In cut-time; two beats per measure or the equivalent thereof
alla marcia: In the style of a march
alla polacca: In the style of a Polonaise, a 3/4 dance
allargando: Broadening, becoming a little slower each time
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 commonly interpreted as lively, fast
als (Ger.): Than
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 one (often both) altered (sharpened or flattened) 5th or 9th
altissimo: Very high
alto: High; often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but 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 string instrument near its bridge, which produces a heavier, stronger tone). See sul ponticello.
amabile: Amiable, pleasant
ambitus: Range between highest and lowest note
amore or amor (in Spanish/Portuguese and sometimes in Italian): Love, con amore: with love, tenderly
amoroso: Loving
anacrusis: A note or notes that precede the first full bar; a pickup
andamento: Used to refer to a fugue subject of above-average length
andante: At a walking pace (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: Life; feeling con anima : With feeling
animandosi: Animated, lively
animato: Animated, lively
antiphon: A liturgical or other composition consisting of choral responses, sometimes between two 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.
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: Passionately
appoggiatura or leaning note: One or more grace notes that take up some note value of the next full note.
arco: The bow used for playing some string instrument (i.e. played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato, in music for bowed instruments); normally used to cancel a pizzicato direction
aria: Self-contained piece for one voice usually 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 melody) (i.e. in the manner of an aria); melodious
armonioso: Harmoniously
arpeggio, arpeggiato: like a harp (i.e. the notes of the chords are to be played quickly one after another instead of simultaneously). In music for piano, this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise. Arpeggios are frequently used as an accompaniment. See also broken chord.
articulato: Articulately
assai: Much, Very much
assez (Fr.): Enough, sufficiently
attacca: Attack or attach; go straight on (i.e. at the end of a movement, a direction to attach the next movement to the previous one, without a gap or pause)
Ausdruck (Ger.): Expression
ausdrucksvoll or mit Ausdruck (Ger.): Expressively, with expression
avec (Fr.): With or with another

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B

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 meaning "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 particular scene in a full-length work perform a large-scale dance.
barbaro: Barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók)
Bartók pizzicato: A term that instructs string performers to play a pizzicato note 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 lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony; in an orchestral context, the term usually refers to the double bass.
basso continuo: Continuous bass (i.e. a bass accompaniment part played continuously throughout a piece by a chordal instrument (pipe organ, harpischord, lute, etc.), often with a bass instrument, to give harmonic structure), used especially in the Baroque period
battement (Fr.): Used in the 17th-century to refer to ornaments consisting of two adjacent notes, such as trills or mordents
battuto (Ital.): To strike the strings with the bow (on a bowed stringed instrument)
beat: 1. The pronounced rhythm of music; 2. One single stroke of a rhythmic accent
belebt or belebter (Ger.): Spirited, vivacious, lively
bellicoso: Warlike, aggressive (English cognate is "bellicose")
ben or bene: Well; in ben marcato ("well marked") for example
bend: Jazz term referring either to establishing a pitch, sliding down half a step and returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note.
beschleunigte (Ger.): Accelerated, as in mit beschleunigter Geschwindigkeit, at an accelerated tempo
bewegt (Ger.): Moved, with speed
binary: A musical form in two sections: AB
bird's eye: A slang term for fermata, which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord as long as they wish of following cues from a conductor
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 (sometimes abbreviated B.C.)
bravura: Boldness; as in con bravura, boldly
breit (Ger.): Broad
bridge: 1. Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, or between two A sections (e.g., in an A/B/A form).; 2. Part 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 style.
brio or brioso: Vigour; usually in con brio: with spirit or vigour
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, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken chord; see Alberti bass.
bruscamente: Brusquely

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C

cabaletta: The concluding, rapid, audience-rousing section of an aria
cadenza: A solo section, usually in a concerto or similar 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 meaning calmed, relaxed
calore: Warmth; so con calore, warmly
cambiare: To change (i.e. any change, such as to a new instrument)
canon or kanon (Ger.): A theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon by other instruments with a time delay, creating a layered effect; see Pachelbel's Canon.
cantabile or cantando: In a singing style. In instrumental music, a style of playing that imitates the way the human voice might express the music, with a measured tempo and flexible, legato.
canto: Chorus; choral; chant
capo: 1. capo (short for capotasto: "nut") : A key-changing device for stringed instruments (e.g. guitars and banjos); 2. head (i.e. the beginning, as in da capo)
capriccio: "A humorous, fanciful, or bizarre, composition, often characterized by an idiosyncratic departure from current stylistic norms." See also: Capriccio (disambiguation)
capriccioso: Capriciously, unpredictable, volatile
cavalleresco: Chivalrous (used in Carl Nielsen's violin concerto)
cédez (Fr.): Yield, give way
cesura or caesura (Lat.): Break, stop; (i.e. a complete break in sound) (sometimes nicknamed "railroad tracks" in reference to their appearance)
chiuso: Closed (i.e. muted by hand) (for a horn, or similar instrument; but see also bocca chiusa, which uses the feminine form)
coda: A tail (i.e. a closing section appended to a movement)
codetta: A small coda, but usually 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 example)
col legno: With the wood (i.e. the strings) (for example, of a violin) are to be struck with the wood of the bow, making a percussive sound; also battuta col legno: beaten with the wood
col pugno: With the fist (i.e. bang the piano with the fist)
coll'ottava: With the addition of the octave note above or below the written note; abbreviated as col 8, coll' 8, and c. 8va
colla parte: With the soloist; as an instruction in an orchestral score or part, it instructs the conductor or orchestral musician to follow the rhythm and tempo of a solo performer (usually for a short passage)
colla voce: With the voice; as an instruction in a choral music/opera score or orchestral part, it instructs the conductor or orchestral musician to follow the rhythm and tempo of a solo singer (usually for a short passage)
coloratura: Coloration (i.e. elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line, or a soprano voice that is well-suited to such elaboration)
colossale: Tremendously
come prima: Like the first (time) (i.e. as before, typically referring to an earlier tempo)
come sopra: As above (i.e. like the previous tempo)
common 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 as . The symbol is not a C as an abbreviation for common time, but a broken circle; the full circle at one time stood for triple time, 3
4.
comodo: Comfortable (i.e. at moderate speed); also, allegro comodo, tempo comodo, etc.
comp: 1. abbreviation of accompanying, accompanying music, accompaniment; 2. describes the chords, rhythms,and countermelodies that instrumental players used to support a musician's melody and improvised solos.; 3. Ostinato
comping: 1. 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 sordina or con sordine (plural): With a mute, or with mutes. Frequently seen in music as (incorrect Italian) con sordino, or con sordini (plural).
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 voice type
contrapuntalism: See counterpoint
coperti: (plural of coperto) covered (i.e. on a drum, muted with a cloth)
corda: String. On piano refers to use of the soft pedal which controls whether the hammer strikes one or three strings; see una corda, tre corde below.
crescendo: Growing; (i.e. progressively louder) (contrast diminuendo)
cuivré: Brassy. Used almost exclusively as a French Horn technique to indicate a forced, rough tone. A note marked both stopped and loud will be cuivré automatically
custos: Symbol at the very end of a staff of music which indicates the pitch for the first note of the next line as a warning of what is to come. The custos was commonly used in handwritten Renaissance and typeset Baroque music.
cut time: Same as the meter 2
2: two half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and executed like common time (4
4), except with the beat lengths doubled. Indicated by . This comes from a literal cut of the symbol of common time. Thus, a quarter note in cut time is only half a beat long, and a measure has only two beats. See also alla breve.

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D

da capo: From the head (i.e. from the beginning) (see also capo)
Dal segno (D.S.): From the sign ()
dal segno al coda (D.S. al coda): Repeat to the sign and continue to the coda sign, then play coda
dal segno al fine (D.S. al fine): From the sign to the end (i.e. return to a place in the music designated by the sign and continue to the end of the piece)
dal segno segno al coda (D.S.S. al coda): Same as D.S. al coda, but with a double segno
dal segno segno al fine (D.S.S. al fine): From the double sign to the end (i.e. return to place in the music designated by the double sign (see D.S. al coda) and continue to the end of the piece)
decelerando: Slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando (same as ritardando or rallentando)
deciso: Decisively
declamando: Solemn, expressive, impassioned
decrescendo (decresc.): Gradually decreasing volume (same as diminuendo)
deest: From the Latin deesse meaning to be missing; placed after a catalogue abbreviation to indicate that this particular work does not appear in it. The plural, desunt, is used when referring to several works.
delicatamente or delicato: Delicately
détaché (Fr.): Act of playing notes separately
devoto: Religiously
diminuendo, dim.: Dwindling (i.e. with gradually decreasing volume) (same as decrescendo)
disjunct: An adjective applied to a melodic line which moves by leap (intervals of more 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 string instruments, since with them another means of execution is often possible. (The return from divisi is marked unisono.)
doit: Jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically upwards.
dolce: Sweetly
dolcissimo: Very sweetly
dolente: Sorrowfully, plaintively
dolore: Pain, distress, sorrow, grief con dolore: with sadness
doloroso: Sorrowfully, plaintively
doppio movimento: Twice as fast
double dot: Two dots placed side by side after a note to indicate that it is to be lengthened by 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. It also refers to a genre of electronic music based on this (downtempo).
drammatico: Dramatically
drone: Bass note or chord performed continuously throughout a composition
drop: Jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards
duolo: (Ital.) grief
dumpf (Ger.): Dull
Dur (Ger.): major; used in key signatures as, for example, A-Dur (A major), B-Dur (B? major), or H-Dur (B major). (see also Moll (minor).)
dynamics: The relative volume in the execution of a piece of music

E

e (Ital.) or ed (Ital., - used before vowels): And
eco: The Italian word for "echo"; an effect in which a group of notes is repeated, usually more softly, and perhaps at a different octave, to create an echo effect
ein wenig (Ger.): A little
Empfindung (Ger.): Feeling
en dehors (Fr.): Prominently
en pressant (Fr.): Hurrying forward
en retenant (Fr.): Slowing
encore (Fr.): Again (i.e. perform the relevant passage once more); a performer returning to the stage to perform an unlisted piece
energico: Energetic, strong
enfatico: Emphatically
eroico: Heroically
espansivo: Effusive; excessive in emotional expression; gushy.
espirando: Expiring (i.e. dying away)
espressione: Expression; expressively (e.g. con (gran, molta) espressione: with (great, much) expression)
espressivo, espress. or espr.: (Italian) Expressively
estinto: Extinct, extinguished (i.e. as soft as possible, lifeless, barely audible)
esultazione: With Exultation
etwas (Ger.): Somewhat

F

facile: Easily, without fuss
fall: Jazz term describing a note of definite pitch sliding downwards to another note of definite pitch.
falsetto: vocal register above the normal voice
fantasia: A piece not adhering to any strict musical form. Can also be used in con fantasia: with imagination
feierlich (Ger.): Solemn, solemnly
fermata: Finished, closed (i.e. a rest or note is to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor) (sometimes called bird's eye); a fermata at the end of a first or intermediate movement or section is usually moderately prolonged, but the final fermata of a symphony may be prolonged for longer than the note's value, typically twice its printed length or more for dramatic effect.
feroce: Ferociously
festivamente: Cheerfully, celebratory
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 "fill in" the brief time between lyrical phrases, the lines of melody, or between two sections
fine: The end, often in phrases like al fine (to the end)
flat: A symbol (?) that lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone. The term may also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too low.
flautando or flautendo: Flutelike; used especially for string instruments to indicate a light, rapid bowing over the fingerboard
flebile: Mournfully
flessibile: flexible
focoso or fuocoso: Fiery (i.e. passionately)
forte (f): Strong (i.e. to be played or sung loudly)
forte piano (fp): Strong-gentle (i.e. loud, then immediately soft (see dynamics), or an early pianoforte)
fortissimo (ff): Very loud (see note at pianissimo)
fortississimo (fff): As loud as possible
forza: Musical force con forza: with force
forzando (fz): See sforzando
freddo: Cold(ly); hence depressive, unemotional
fresco: Freshly
fröhlich (Ger.): Lively, joyfully
fugue (Fr.), fuga (Latin and Italian): Literally "flight"; hence a complex and highly regimented contrapuntal form in music. A short theme (the subject) is introduced in one voice (or part) alone, then in others, with imitation and characteristic development as the piece progresses.
funebre: Funeral; often 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: Furiously

G

G.P.: Grand Pause, General Pause; indicates to the performers that the entire ensemble has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic effect during a loud section
gaudioso: With joy
gemächlich (Ger.): Unhurried, at a leisurely pace
gemendo: Groaningly
gentile: Gently
geschwind (Ger.): Quickly
geteilt (Ger.): See divisi
getragen (Ger.): Solemnly, in a stately tempo
giocoso or gioioso: Gaily
giusto: Strictly, exactly (e.g. tempo giusto in strict time)
glissando: A continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale executed while moving from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando for further information; and compare portamento.
grace note: An extra note added as an embellishment and not essential to the harmony or melody.
grandioso: Grandly
grave: Slowly and seriously
grazioso: Gracefully
guerriero: War-like, militarily
gustoso: With happy emphasis and forcefulness

H

H: German for B natural; B in German means B flat
Hauptstimme (Ger.): Main voice, chief part (i.e. the contrapuntal line of primary importance, in opposition to Nebenstimme)
hemiola (English, from Greek): The imposition of a pattern of rhythm or articulation other than that implied by the time signature; specifically, in triple time (for example in 3
4) the imposition of a duple pattern (as if the time signature were, for example, 2
4). See Syncopation.
hervortretend (Ger.): Prominent, pronounced
Hold, see Fermata
Homophony: A musical texture with one voice (or melody line) accompanied by subordinate chords; also used as an adjective (homophonic). Compare with polyphony, in which several independent voices or melody lines are performed at the same time.

I

immer (Ger.): Always
imperioso: Imperiously
impetuoso: Impetuously
improvvisando: With improvisation
improvvisato: Improvised, or as 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, G₅ to F₆
in altissimo: Octave above the in alt octave, G₆ to F₇
in modo di: In the art of, in the style of
in stand: A term for brass players that requires them to direct the bell of their instrument into the music stand, instead of up and toward the audience, thus muting the sound but without changing the timbre as a mute would
incalzando: Getting faster and louder
innig: Intimately, heartfelt
insistendo: Insistently, deliberate
intimo: Intimately
intro: Opening section of a piece
irato: Angrily
-issimamente: A suffix meaning as ... as can be (e.g. leggerissimamente, meaning as light as can be)
-issimo: A suffix meaning extremely (e.g. fortissimo or prestissimo)

J

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 player is instructed to let the bow bounce or jump off the strings.

K

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

L

lacrimoso or lagrimoso: Tearfully (i.e. sadly)
laissez vibrer, l.v. (Fr.): French for lasciare suonare ("let vibrate").
lamentando: Lamenting, mournfully
lamentoso: Lamenting, mournfully
langsam (Ger.): Slowly
largamente: Broadly (i.e. slowly) (same as largo)
larghetto: Somewhat slowly; not as slow as largo
larghezza: Broadness; con larghezza: with broadness; broadly
larghissimo: Very slowly; slower than largo
largo: Broadly (i.e. slowly)
lasciare suonare: "Let ring", meaning allow the sound to continue, do not damp; used frequently in harp or guitar music, occasionally in piano or percussion. Abbreviated "lasc. suon."
leap or skip: A melodic interval greater than a major 2nd, as opposed to a step. Melodies which move by a leap are called "disjunct". Octave leaps are not uncommon in florid vocal music.
lebhaft (Ger.): Briskly, lively
legato: Joined (i.e. smoothly, in a connected manner) (see also articulation)
leggierissimo: Very lightly and delicately
leggiero, leggiermente or leggiadro: Lightly, delicately (The different forms of this word, including leggierezza, "lightness", are properly spelled without the i in Italian, i.e. leggero, leggerissimo, leggermente or leggerezza.)
leidenschaftlich(er) (Ger.): Passionately
lent (Fr.): Slowly
lentando: Gradual slowing and softer
lentissimo: Very slowly
lento: Slowly
liberamente: Freely
libero: Free, freely
lilt: A jaunty rhythm
l'istesso, l'istesso tempo, or lo stesso tempo: The same tempo, despite changes of time signature, see metric modulation
lo stesso: The same; applied to the manner of articulation, tempo, etc.
loco: [in] place (i.e. perform the notes at the pitch written, generally used to cancel an 8va or 8vb direction). In string music, also used to indicate return to normal playing position (see Playing the violin).
long accent: Hit hard and keep full value of note (>)
lontano: From a distance; distantly
lugubre: Lugubrious, mournful
luminoso: Luminously
lunga: Long (often applied to a fermata)
lusingando, lusinghiero: Coaxingly, flatteringly, caressingly

M

ma: But
ma non troppo, ma non tanto: But not too much
maestoso: Majestically, in a stately fashion
maggiore: The major key
magico: Magically
magnifico: Magnificent
main droite (Fr.): [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)
main gauche (Fr.): [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MG or m.g.)
malinconico: Melancholic
mancando: Dying away
mano destra: [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)
mano sinistra: [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MS or m.s.)
marcatissimo: With much accentuation
marcato, marc.: Marked (i.e. with accentuation, execute every note as if it were to be accented)
marcia: A march; alla marcia means in the manner of a march
martellato: Hammered out
marziale: Martial, solemn and fierce
mäßig (Ger.): (sometimes given as "mässig", "maessig") Moderately
MD: See mano destra or main droite
measure (Eng.): Also "bar" the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete cycle of the time signature (e.g. in 4
4 time, a measure has four quarter note beats)
medesimo tempo: Same tempo, despite changes of time signature
medley: Piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping.
melancolico: Melancholic
melisma: The technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung
meno: Less; see meno mosso, for example, less mosso
messa di voce: In singing, a controlled swell (i.e. crescendo then diminuendo, on a long held note, especially in Baroque music and in the bel canto period)
mesto: Mournful, sad
meter or metre: The pattern of a music piece's rhythm of strong and weak beats
mezza voce: Half voice (i.e. with subdued or moderated volume)
mezzo: Half; used in combinations like mezzo forte (mf), meaning moderately loud
mezzo forte (mf): Half loudly (i.e. moderately loudly). See dynamics.
mezzo piano (mp): Half softly (i.e. moderately softly). See dynamics.
mezzo-soprano: A female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above 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
misterioso: Mysteriously
mit Dämpfer (Ger.): With a mute
M.M.: Metronome Marking. Formerly "Mälzel Metronome."
mobile: Flexible, changeable
moderato: Moderate; often combined with other terms, usually relating to tempo; for example, allegro moderato
modere (Fr.): Moderately
modesto: Modest
modulation: The act or process of changing from one key (tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature.
Moll (Ger.): minor; used in key signatures as, for example, a-Moll (A minor), b-Moll (B? minor), or h-Moll (B minor) (see also Dur (major))
molto: Very
mordent: Rapid alternation of a note with the note immediately below or above it in the scale, sometimes further distinguished as lower mordent and upper mordent. The term "inverted mordent" usually refers to the upper mordent.
morendo: Dying (i.e. dying away in dynamics, and perhaps also in tempo)
mosso: Moved, moving; used with a preceding più or meno, for faster or slower respectively
moto: Motion; usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly
movement: A section of a musical composition (such as a sonata or concerto)
MS: See mano sinistra
munter (Ger.): Lively
Musette (Fr.): A dance or tune of a drone-bass character, originally played by a musette
muta [in...]: Change: either a change of instrument (e.g. flute to piccolo, horn in F to horn in B?); or a change of tuning (e.g. guitar muta 6 in D). Note: does not mean "mute", for which con sordina or con sordino is used. Muta comes from the Italian verb mutare (to change into something).

N

nach und nach (Ger.): Literally "more and more" with an increasing feeling. Ex. "nach und nach belebter und leidenschaftlicher" (with increasing animation and passion)
narrante: Narratingly
natural: A symbol (?) that cancels the effect of a sharp or a flat
naturale (nat.): Natural (i.e. discontinue a special effect, such as col legno, sul tasto, sul ponticello, or playing in harmonics)
N.C.: No chord, written in the chord row of music notation to show there is no chord being played, and no implied harmony
Nebenstimme (Ger.): Secondary part (i.e. a secondary contrapuntal part, always occurring simultaneously with, and subsidiary to, the Hauptstimme)
nicht (Ger.): Not
niente: "nothing", barely audible, dying away, sometimes indicated with a dynamic n
nobile or nobilmente (Ital.) or Noblement (Fr.): In a noble fashion
noblezza: Nobility
nocturne (Fr.): A piece written for the night
notes inégales (Fr.): Unequal notes; a principally Baroque performance practice of applying long-short rhythms to pairs of notes written as equal; see also swung note
notturno: See nocturne.
number opera: An opera consisting of "numbers" (e.g. arias, intermixed with recitative)

O

obbligato: Required, indispensable
octave: Interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. Twelve semitones equals an octave, so does the first and eighth (hence "oct"ave) note in a major or minor scale.
ohne Dämpfer (Ger.): Without a mute
omaggio: Homage, celebration
one-voice-per-part (OVPP): The practice of using solo voices on each musical line or part in choral music.
ordinario (ord.) (Ital.): 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 same as "naturale".
organ trio: In jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ player and two other instruments, often an electric guitar player and a drummer.
ossia or oppure: Or instead (i.e. according to some specified alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, additional 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.g. ottava bassa: an octave lower)
overture: An orchestral composition forming the prelude or introduction to an opera, oratorio, etc.

P

parlando or parlante: Like speech, enunciated
Partitur (Ger.): Full orchestral score
passionato: Passionately
pastorale: In a pastoral style, peaceful and simple
patetico: Passionately, with great emotion. A related term is Pathetique: A name attributed to certain works with an emotional focus such as Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony.
pausa: rest
pedale or ped: In piano scores, this instructs the player to press the damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). In organ scores, it tells the organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard with the feet.
penseroso: Thoughtfully, meditatively
perdendosi: Dying away; decrease in dynamics, perhaps also in tempo
pesante: Heavy, ponderous
peu à peu (Fr.): Little by little
pezzo: A composition
piacevole: Pleasant, agreeable
piangendo: Literally 'crying' (used in Liszt's La Lugubre Gondola no. 2).
piangevole: Plaintive:
pianissimo (pp): very gently (i.e. perform very softly, even softer than piano). This convention can be extended; the more ps that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play or sing, thus ppp (pianississimo) would be softer than pp. Dynamics in a piece should be interpreted relative to the other dynamics in the same piece. For example, pp should be executed as softly as possible, but if ppp is found later in the piece, pp should be markedly louder than ppp. More than three ps (ppp) or three fs (fff) are uncommon.
piano (p): Gently (i.e. played or sung softly) (see dynamics)
piano-vocal score: The same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar
Picardy third: A Picardy third, Picardy cadence ('p?k?rdi ) 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 end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key.
pienna (Ital.): Full, as, for example, a voce pienna = "in full voice"
pietoso: Pitiful, piteous
più: More; 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 instruction; in music for guitar, to mute the strings by resting the palm on the bridge, simlulating the sound of pizz. of the bowed string instruments)
plop: Jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards.
pochettino or poch.: Very little; diminutive of poco
pochissimo or pochiss.: Very little; superlative of poco
poco: A little, as in poco più allegro (a little faster)
poco a poco: Little by little
poetico: Poetic discourse
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 (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 sound, which emphasizes the higher harmonics at the expense of the fundamental); the opposite of sul tasto
portamento: Carrying (i.e. 1. generally, sliding in pitch from one note to another, usually pausing just above or below the final pitch, then sliding quickly to that pitch. If no pause is executed, then it is a basic glissando; or 2. in piano music, an articulation between legato and staccato, like portato)
portato or louré: Carried (i.e. non-legato, but not as detached as staccato) (same as portamento)
posato: Settled
potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr.): Potpourri (as used in other senses in English) (i.e. a kind of musical form structured as 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 Baroque era (1600's/17th century). It can also be a movement in its own right, which was more common in the Romantic era (mid-1700s/18th century)
prestissimo: Extremely quickly, as fast as possible
presto: Very quickly
prima or primo (the masculine form): First
prima donna: Leading female singer in an opera company
prima volta: The first time; for example prima volta senza accompagnamento (the first time without accompaniment)

Q

quartal: Composed 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 notation, 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 non-Western musical cultures.
quasi (Latin and Italian): As if, almost (e.g. quasi recitativo like a recitative in an opera, or quasi una fantasia like a fantasia)
quintal: Composed of the musical interval of the fifth; as in quintal harmony

R

rallentando or rall.: Broadening of the tempo (often not 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 (Ital., "reviving"): Quicken pace (as "ravvivando il tempo", returning to a faster tempo that occurred earlier in the piece)
recitativo: Recitatively; one voice without accompaniment
religioso: Religiously
repente: Suddenly
reprise: Repeat a phrase or verse; return to the original theme
restez (Fr.): Stay (i.e. remain on a note or string)
retenu (Fr.): Hold back; same as the Italian ritenuto (see below)
ridicolosamente or ridicolo: Humorously, inaccurate, and loosely
rilassato: Relaxed
rinforzando (rf or rinf.): Reinforced (i.e. emphasized); sometimes like a sudden crescendo, but often applied to a single note
risoluto: Resolutely
rit.: An abbreviation for ritardando; also an abbreviation for ritenuto
ritardando, ritard., rit.: Slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando
ritenuto, riten., rit.: Suddenly slower, held back (usually more so but more temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note); opposite of accelerato
ritmico: Rhythmical
ritmo: Rhythm (e.g. ritmo di # battute meaning a rhythm of # measures)
ritornello: A recurring passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria (also in works for chorus).
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 vocal phrase)
rubato: Robbed (i.e. flexible in tempo), applied to notes within a musical phrase for expressive effect
ruhig (Ger.): Calm, peaceful
run: A rapid series of ascending or descending musical notes which are closely spaced in pitch forming a scale, arpeggio, or other such pattern
ruvido: Roughly

S

saltando: Bouncing the bow as in a staccato arpeggio, literally means "jumping"
sanft (Ger.): Gently
scatenato: Unchained, wildly
scherzando, scherzoso: Playfully
scherzo: A light, "joking" or playful musical form, originally and usually 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 drag; usually nicht schleppen ("don't drag"), paired with nicht eilen ("don't hurry") in Gustav Mahler's scores
schnell (Ger.): Fast
schneller (Ger.): Faster
schwer (Ger.): Heavy
schwungvoll (Ger.): Lively, swinging, bold, spirited
scioltezza: Fluency, agility (used in con scioltezza)
scordatura: Altered or alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument)
scorrendo, scorrevole: Gliding from note to note
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, usually Dal segno (see above) "from the sign", indicating a return to the point marked by
segue: Carry on to the next section without a pause
sehr (Ger.): Very
semitone: The smallest pitch difference between notes (in most Western music) (e.g. F-F?) (Note: some contemporary music, non-Western music, and blues and jazz uses microtonal divisions smaller than a semitone)
semplice: Simply
sempre: Always
sentimento: Feeling, emotion
sentito: Expressively
senza: Without
senza misura: Without measure
senza replica: Without repetition: "when a movement, repeated in the first instance, must, on the Da Capo, be played throughout without repetition."
senza sordina or senza sordine (plural): Without the mute. See sordina.
serioso: Seriously
sforzando (sf or sfz): Made loud (i.e. a sudden strong accent)
shake: A jazz term describing a trill between one note and its minor third; or, with brass 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 also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is somewhat too high in pitch.
short accent: Hit the note hard and short (^)
si (Fr.): Seventh note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-doh solmization.
siciliana: A Sicilian dance in 12
8 or 6
8 meter
sign: See segno
silenzio: Silence (i.e. without reverberations)
simile: Similarly (i.e. continue applying the preceding directive, whatever it was, to the following passage)
sipario: Curtain (stage)
slancio: Momentum, con slancio: with momentum; with enthusiasm
slargando or slentando: Becoming broader or slower (that is, becoming more largo or more lento)
smorzando (smorz.): Extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo as well
soave: Smoothly, gently
sognando: Dreamily
solenne: Solemn
solo or soli (plural): Alone (i.e. executed by a single instrument or voice). The instruction soli requires more than one player or singer; in a jazz big band 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 lead player or rhythm section member to play an improvised solo cadenza for one or two measures (sometimes abbreviated as "break"), without any accompaniment. The solo part is often played in a rhythmically free manner, until the player performs a pickup or lead-in line, at which time the band recommences playing in the original tempo.
somma (Ital.): Sum; total, con somma passione: with great 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: Ringing
sopra: Above
sopra una corda or sull'istessa corda: To be played on one string
soprano: The highest of the standard four voice 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 string instruments, mutes are clipped to the bridge; for brass instruments, mutes are inserted in the bell), or parts of the body (guitar; French Horn), or fabric (clarinet; timpani), among other means. 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 effect that all notes are sustained indefinitely.
sordino: See sordina.
sortita: A principal singer's first entrance in an opera
sospirando: Sighing
sostendo (Galican): holding back, (notably used in El Camino Real by Alfred Reed)
sostenuto: Sustained, lengthened
sotto voce: In an undertone (i.e. quietly)
spianato: Smooth, even
spiccato: Distinct, separated (i.e. a way of playing the violin and other bowed instruments by bouncing the bow on the string, giving a characteristic staccato effect)
spinto: Literally "pushed"
spirito: Spirit, con spirito: with spirit; with feeling
spiritoso: Spiritedly
staccato: Making each note 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 verse of a song
stentando or stentato (sten. or stent.): Labored, heavy, in a dragging manner, holding back each note
stornello: Originally truly 'improvised' now taken as 'appearing to be improvised,' an Italian 'folk' song, the style of which used for example by Puccini in certain of his operas.
strascinando or strascicante: Indicating a passage should be played in a heavily slurred manner
strepitoso: Noisy, forceful
stretto: Tight, narrow (i.e. faster or hastening ahead); also, a passage in a fugue in which the contrapuntal texture is denser, with close overlapping entries of the subject in different voices; by extension, similar closely imitative passages in other compositions
stringendo: Gradually getting faster (literally, tightening, narrowing) (i.e. with a pressing forward or acceleration of the tempo, that is, becoming stretto)
strisciando: To be played with a smooth slur, a glissando
subito: Suddenly (e.g. subito pp, which instructs the player to suddenly drop to pianissimo as an effect); often abbreviated as sub.
sul (Ital.): Literally, "on", as in sul ponticello (on the bridge); sul tasto (on the fingerboard); sul E (on the E string), etc.
sul E: "on E", indicating a passage is to be played on the E string of a violin. Also seen: sul A, sul D, sul G, sul C, indicating a passage to be 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 also 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-division or up-beat (e.g. in Ragtime music).

T

tacet

Silent; do not play

tasto or tastierra (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 part to indicate that the notes should be played only by the bass instrument, without harmony/chords played by the harpsichordist/organist

tempo

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

tempo di marcia

March tempo

tempo di mezzo

The middle section of a double aria, commonly found in bel canto era Italian operas, especially those of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and their contemporaries as well in many early operas by Verdi. When present, the tempo di mezzo generally signals a shift in the drama from the slow cantabile of the first part to the cabaletta of the second, and this can take the form of some dramatic announcement or action to which the character(s) react in the cabaletta finale.

tempo di valse

Waltz 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

"Robbed time"; an expressive way of performing a rhythm; see rubato

teneramente; tendre or tendrement (Fre)

Tenderly

tenerezza

Tenderness

tenor

The second lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)

tenuto

Held (i.e. touch on a note slightly longer than usual, but without generally altering the note's value)

ternary

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

tessitura

The 'best' or most comfortable pitch range, generally used to identify the most prominent / common vocal range within a piece of music

Tierce de Picardie

See Picardy third

timbre

The quality of a musical tone that distinguishes voices and instruments

time

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

tosto

Rapidly

tranquillo

Calmly, peacefully

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 2) 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 by rapidly moving the bow while the arm is tense;
A rapid, measured or unmeasured alternation between two or more notes, usually more than a whole step apart. In older theory texts this form is sometimes referred to as a "trill-tremolo" (see trill).
A rapid, repeated alteration of volume (as on an electronic 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 (see vibrato).

trill: A rapid, usually unmeasured alternation between two harmonically adjacent notes (e.g. a 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: Too much; usually seen as non troppo, meaning moderately or, when combined with other terms, not too much, such as allegro [ma] non troppo (fast but not too fast)
turn: Multi-note ornament above and below the main note; it may also be inverted
tutti: All; all together, usually used in an orchestral or choral score when the orchestra or all of the voices come in at the same time, also seen in Baroque-era music where two instruments share the same copy of music, after one instrument has broken off to play a more advanced form: they both play together again at the point marked tutti. See also ripieno.

U

un, una, or uno: One, as for example in the following entries
un poco or un peu (Fr.): A little
una corda: One string (i.e. in piano music, depress the soft pedal, altering, and reducing the volume of, the sound). For most notes in modern pianos, this results in the hammer striking two strings rather than three. Its counterpart, tre corde (three strings), is the opposite: the soft pedal is to be released.
unisono (unis) (Fr.): 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 among themselves). Often used to mark the return from divisi.
uptempo: A fast, lively, or increased tempo or played or done in such a tempo. It is also used as an umbrella term for a quick-paced electronic music style.
ut (Fr.): First note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-do solmization.

V

vagans (Lat., "wandering"): The fifth part in a motet, named so most probably because it had no specific range
vamp: Improvised accompaniment, usually a repeating pattern played before next musical passage. See vamp till cue. See comp and comping.
vamp till cue: A jazz, fusion, and musical theatre term which instructs rhythm section members to repeat and vary a short ostinato passage, riff, or "groove" until the band leader or conductor instructs them to move onto the next section
variazioni: Variations, con variazioni: with variations/changes
veloce: Velocity, con veloce: with velocity
velocissimo: As quickly as possible; usually applied to a cadenza-like passage or run
via: Away, out, off; as in via sordina or sordina via: 'mute off'
vibrato: Vibrating (i.e. a more or less rapidly 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 volume of a note, or to rapid repetition of a single note.
vif (Fr.): Quickly, lively
violoncello: cello
virtuoso: (noun or adjective) performing with exceptional ability, technique, or artistry
vite (Fr.): Fast
vittorioso: Victoriously
vivace: Very lively, up-tempo
vivacissimo: Very lively
vivamente: Quickly and lively
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 piano
voce: Voice
volante: Flying
volti subito (V.S.): Turn suddenly (i.e. turn the page quickly). While this indication is sometimes added by printers, it is more commonly indicated by orchestral members in pencil as a reminder to quickly turn to the next page.

W

wenig (Ger.): A little, not much
wolno (Pol.): Loose, slowly

Z

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

References

External links

Classical musical terms
Musical Terms Dictionary Definitions
Music Dictionary, Dolmetsch Online
Cole, Richard; Schwartz, Ed (October 22, 2012). "Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary". Virginia Tech Department of Music. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014.

Source of the article : Wikipedia

Minggu, 07 Januari 2018