Italian, Latin, French, German Terms for Music
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Created by:
lautnerpotterluver12 on December 20, 2011
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Terms for a Theory test or anybody's caring of Italian, Latin, French, German terms that are used in music. I stands for Italian, L stands for Latin, F stadns for French, G stands for German. Lit stands for literally.
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328 terms
Italian | English |
|---|---|
 a, à (i) (f) | at, to, by, for, in, in the style of |
| aber (g) | but |
| a cappella (i) | unaccompanied (referring to choral music-lit. 'in church style') |
| accelerando, accel. (i) | gradually getting faster |
| adagietto (i) | rather slow, but faster than adagio |
| adagio | slow (lit. 'at ease'), generally held to indicate a tempo between andante and largo |
| à deux à 2 (f), a due, a 2 (I) | for two performers or instruments (in orchestral or band music, it means that a part is to be played in unison by two instruments) |
| ad libitum, ad lib. (L) | at choice, meaning either that a passage may be performed freely or that an instrument in a score may be omitted. |
| affettuoso (i) | tenderly |
| affrettando, affret (i) | hurrying |
| agitato (i) | agitated |
| al, alla (i) | to the, in the manner of |
| à la pointe (f) | use the bow (of a string instrument) at the pointe, i.e the end opposite to that held by the player |
| alla breve (I) | with a minim beat, equivalent to 2/2 (cut time); i.e implying a faster tempo than the notes might otherwise suggest (see 1/2) |
| alla marcia (i) | in the style of a march |
| allargando (I) | broadening, i.e getting a little slower and probably also a little louder |
| allegretto (I) | fairly quick, but notquite as quick as allegro |
| allegro (I) | quick (lit. 'cheerful') |
| als (G) | than |
| alt (I) | high (in alt is used in vocal music to refer to notes in the octave above the treble stave, starting with the G; in altisimo, in the octave above that) |
| al tallone (I) | see au talon |
| amabile (I) | amiable, pleasant |
| am Frosch (G) | see au talon |
| amore (I), amour (F) | love |
| amoroso (I) | loving |
| andante (I) | at a walking pace (lit. 'going'), indicating a medium speed (più andante and molto andante are somewhat slower) |
| andantino (I) | slightly faster than andante (but it can also mean slightly slower: the term is ambiguous) |
| an der Spitze (G) | see à la pointe |
| anima (I) | soul ,spirit (con anima is ambiguous, meaning either 'with feeling' or 'spirited') |
| animando (I), animé (F) | animated, lively |
| apaisé (F) | calmed |
| a piacere (I) | at pleasure, meaning that the performer is not bound to follow the given rhythm exactly |
| appassionato (I) | with passion |
| a punto d'arco (I) | see à la pointe |
| arco (I) | bow of a string instrument, a direction after pizzicato |
| assai (I) | very,extremely (but sometimes used in the same sense as assez) |
| assez (F) | enough, sufficiently (but sometimes used in the same sense as assai) |
| a tempo | in time, indicating a return to the original speed after e.g rit, rall. |
| attaca (I) | go straight on, indicating an immediate move to the next section of music |
| Ausdruck (G) | expression (ausdrucksvoll: expressively) |
| au talon (f) | use the bow (of a string instrument) at the heel, i.e the end held by the player |
| avec (F) | with |
| ben, bene (I) | well, very |
| bestimmt (G) | with decision, definite |
| bewegt (G) | with movement, agitated |
| bis (I) | twice, indicating the repetition of a short passage |
| bravura (I) | skill, brilliance (con bravura: in a brilliant style) |
| breit (G) | broad, expansive |
| brillante (I), brilliant (F) | brilliant |
| brio (I) | vigour, animation (brioso, con brio: with vigour) |
| calando (I) | getting softer, dying away (and usually slowing down) |
| calmato (I), calme (f) | calm, tranquil |
| cantabile (I) | in a singing style |
| cantando (I) | singing |
| capriccioso (I), capricieux (F) | in a whimsical, fanciful style |
| cédez (F) | yield, relax the speed |
| col, coll' colla, colle (I) | with, with the |
| colla parte (I) | keep with the soloist, a direction to an accompanist |
| colla voce (I) | keep with the singer, a direction to an accompanist |
| col legno (I) | with the wood, a direction to a string player to play with the wood of the bow rather than with the hair |
| coll' ottava (I) | with the octave,a direction to a keyboard player to double notes an octave higher, or lower if bassa is added |
| come (I), comme (F) | as similar to |
| come prima (I) | as before (not necessarily as the beginning) |
| come sopra (I) | as above (=come prima) |
| comodo (I) | convenient (tempo comodo: at a comfortable speed) |
| con (I) | with |
| corda, corde (I) | string, strings (see una corda, tre corde) |
| crescendo, cresc., cres. (I) | gradually getting louder |
| da (I) from | da capo, D.C (I) from the beginning |
| dal segno D.S (I) | from the sign |
| Dämpfer (G) | mute |
| deciso (I) | with determination |
| decrescendo, decresc., decres. (I) | gradually getting softer |
| delicato (I) | delicate |
| détaché (F) | detached, usually applying to bowing on string instruments |
| divisi, div. (I) | divided, a direction to orchestral players (usually strings) to divide into two or more groups |
| doch (G) | however, yet |
| dolce (I) | sweet, soft (dolcissimo, dolciss.: as sweetly as possible) |
| dolente (I) | sad, mournful |
| dolore (I) | grief (doloroso: sorrowful) |
| doppio movimento (I) | twice as fast |
| douce, doux (F) | soft, sweet (doucement: softly, sweetly) |
| duolo (I) | = dolore |
| e, ed (I) | and |
| égal (F), eguale (I) | equal |
| ein (G) | a |
| einfach (G) | simple |
| Empfindung (G) | emotion, feeling (empfindungsvoll: with feeling) |
| emporté (F) | fiery, impetuous |
| en animant (F) | becoming more lively |
| en cédant (F) | yielding |
| en dehors (F) | prominent (lit. 'outside') a direction to make a melody stand out |
| energico (I) | energetic |
| enlevez (F) | take up, take off a direction for a pedal or a mute |
| en mesure (F) | in time |
| en pressant (F) | hurrying on |
| en retenant (F) | holding baack (slowing a little) |
| en serrant (F) | becoming quicker |
| espresssione (I) | expression |
| espressivo, espress., espr. (I)m expressif (F) | expressive |
| estinto (I) | as soft as possible, lifeless |
| et (F) | and |
| etwas (G) | somewhat, rather |
| f | see forte |
| facile (I,F) | easy |
| felice (I) | happy |
| feroce (I) | fierce |
| feurig (G) | fiery |
| fin (F), fine (I) | end |
| Flatterzunge, Flzg. (G) | flutter-tonguing, a direction for wind instruments |
| flautato, flautando (I) | flute-like, a direction for natural harmonics on string instruments |
| flessibile (I) | flexible, i.e not in strict tempo |
| fliessend (G) | flowing |
| flottant (F) | floating |
| forte, f (I) | loud (fortissimo, ff, fff:very loud) |
| fortepiano, fp (I) | loud, then immediately soft |
| forza (I) | force (forzando, forzato, fz: forcing, strongly accenting) |
| frei (G) | free |
| fretta (I) | haste |
| frisch (G) | vigorous |
| frölich | cheerful, joyful |
| fuoco (I) | fire |
| furioso (I) | furious, frenzied |
| genbunden (G) | joined |
| gehend (G) | at a steady speed (lit. 'going') equivalent to andante |
| gesangvoll (G) | in a singing style, equivalent to cantabile |
| gesangwind (G) | quick |
| giocoso (I) | playful, humorous |
| giojoso (I) | joyful, merry |
| giusto (I) | proper, exact, (tempo giusto: in strict time) |
| glissando, gliss. (pseudo-I) | slide (a rapid scale passage produced by e.g drawing a thumb or finger-tip along the white keys of a piano, or by sweeping the fingers across the strings of a harp, or by sliding the finger along a string of string instrument) |
| G.P (Generalpause) (G) | an indication to individual performers that all are silent |
| gracieux (F) | graceful |
| grandioso (I) | grandly |
| grave (I,F) | very slow, solemn |
| grazioso (I) | graceful |
| immer (G) | always |
| impetuoso (I) | impetuous |
| incalzando (I) | getting quicker (lit. 'pressing forward') |
| innig (G) | heartfelt, sincere |
| inquieto (I) | restless |
| in relievo (I) | prominent (lit. 'in relief') a direction to make a melody stand out |
| joyeux (F) | joyful |
| kräftig | strong |
| lacrimoso, lagrimando, lagrimoso (I) | sad (lit. tearful) |
| lamentoso (I) | lamenting |
| langsam (G) | slow,equivalent to adagio and lento |
| largamente (I) | broadly |
| larghetto (I) | rather slow, but slightly faster than largo |
| largo (I) | slow, stately |
| lebhaft (G) | lively, equivalent to vivace |
| legato (I) | smooth (lit. 'bound, tied') indicating no break between notes (legatissimo: as smooth as possible) |
| légèrement (F), leggiero (I), leicht (G) | light, nimble |
| Leid (G) | grief, pain (leidboll, leidensvoll: sorrowful) |
| Leidenschaft (G) | passion (leidenschaftlich: passionate) |
| leise (G) | soft, gentle |
| lent (F), lento (I) | slow (lentement: slowly) |
| liberamente (I), librement (F) | freely |
| licenza (I) | licence, freedom (con alcuna licenza: with some freedom, particulary with regard to tempo and rhythm) |
| lieblich (G) | lovely |
| l'istesso (I) | the same |
| loco (I) | at the normal pitch |
| lointain (F), lontano (I) | distant |
| lourd (F) | heavy, equivalent to pesante |
| lugurbre (I) | morunful |
| lunga (I) | long |
| lusingando (I) | coaxing; in a sweet, persuasive style |
| lustig (G) | cheerful |
| m | see main, mano mezza |
| ma (I) | but |
| maestoso (I) | majestic |
| main (F) | hand |
| mais (F) | but |
| mano (I) | hand |
| mancando (I) | fading away |
| marcato, marc (I) | emphatic, accented |
| martelé (F), martellato (I) | strongly accented, generally used in string music to denote a particular type of bowingm but can also be applied to music fr piano or other instruments |
| marziale (I) | in a military style |
| mässig (G) | at a moderate speed |
| meno (I) | less |
| mesto (I) | sad |
| mezza, mezzo (I) | half |
| misterioso | mysterious |
| misura(I) | measure |
| mit (G) | with |
| moderato (I) modéré (F) | at a moderate speed |
| moins (F) | less |
| molto (I) | very, much |
| morendo (I) | dying away |
| mosso (I) | with motion, animated |
| moto, movimento (I) | movement, motion |
| mouvement, mouvt (F) | movement, motion |
| munter (G) | lively |
| muta (I) | change |
| nach und nach (G) | gradually |
| naturale, nat. (I) | in the ordinary way, a direction to a singer or instrumentalist to resume the normal method of performance |
| nicht (G) | not |
| niente (I) | nothings |
| nobilmente (I) | nobly |
| noch (G) | still, yet |
| non (I,F) | not |
| nuovo (I) | new (di nuovo; again) |
| obbligato (I) | obligatory, indicating that an instrument has a special role and is essential (though the word is sometimes incorrectly used to mean 'optional') |
| ohne (G) | without |
| ossia (I) | or, alternatively (often used to indicate a simpler version of a difficult passage) |
| ostinato (I) | persistent, generally referring to a persistently repeated rhythm or melodic figure (a basso ostinato is a bass line with this feature) |
| ottava, ott. (I) | octave (octavva bassa: octave lower, ottava alta: octave higher) |
| parlanda (I) | speaking, a direction to sing in a conversational style |
| patetico (I) | with deep feeling, with pathos (not 'pathetic' in the sense of feeble!) |
| pausa (I) | a pause |
| pedale (I) pédale (F) | pedal |
| per (I) | by, for, through, to |
| perdendosi (I) | dying away |
| pesante (I) | heavy |
| peu (F) | little (peu à peu: little by little, gradually) |
| piacevole (I) | pleasant |
| piangevole (I) | plaintive, in the style of lament |
| piano, p (I) | quiet (pianissimo, pp, ppp: very quiet) |
| pietoso, pietosamente (I) | tenderly literally pitfully |
| più (I) | more |
| pizzicato (I) | a string instrument being plucked |
| placido (I) | calm, peaceful |
| plus (F) | more |
| pochettino (I) | rather little |
| pochissimo (I) | very little |
| poco (I) | little, slightly (poco a poco: little by little, gradually) |
| poi (I) | then |
| ponticello (I) | bridge on stringed instruments |
| portamento (I) | slide from one note to the next literally carrying, a direction to a voice, bowed instrument or trombone (but not to keyboard instruments since they always play in 'steps' of at least a semitone) |
| possibile (I) | possible (presto possibile: as fast as possible) |
| precipitando, precipitato, precipitoso (I) | rushing, headlong |
| presser, pressez (F) | hurry |
| preto (I) | fast, a tempo faster than allegro (prestissimo: very fast) |
| prima, primo (I) | first (prima volta: first time, used to distinguish between two different interpretations of a repeated section of music; tempo primo, first speed, used to revert to the opening tempo of a piece of music) |
| quasi (I, L) | as if, resembling (quasi recitativo: like a recitative) |
| ralentir (F) | slacken, slow down |
| rallentando (I) | gradually getting slower |
| rasch (G) | quick |
| repetizione, replica (I) | repetition |
| retenu (F) | held back |
| rigoroso (I) | strict |
| rinforzando, rinforzato (I) | reinforcing |
| risoluto (I) | bold, strong |
| ritardando (I) | gradually slowing |
| ritenuto (I) | held back |
| ritmico (I) | rhythmically |
| rubato, tempo rubato (I) | with some freedom of time |
| ruhig (G) | peaceful |
| sans (F) | without |
| sautillé (F) | springing, a lightly bouncing bow technique on string instruments |
| scherzando, scherzoso (I) | playful, joking |
| schleppen, schleppened (G) | dragging |
| schnell (G) | fast |
| schwach (G) | weak |
| sec (F), secco (I) | crisp (dry), suppress the sound ASAP-don't allow it to continue to reverberate |
| seconda, secondo (I) | second |
| segue (I) | go straight on; follow |
| sehr (G) | very |
| semplice (I) | simple, plain |
| sempre (I) | always |
| senza (I) | without |
| seul (F) | alone |
| serrer, serrez (F) | hurry, quicken, equivalent to stringendo |
| sforzando (I) | accented, forced |
| simile (I) | continue in the same way |
| sino, sin' (I) | until, up to (sin' al fine: until the end) |
| slargando, slentando (I) | getting slower |
| slancio (I) | enthusiasm, impetus (con slancio: with impetuousity) |
| smorzando (I) | dying away in tone and speed |
| soave (I) | gentle, smooth |
| solenne (I) | solemn, grave |
| sonoramente (I), sonore (F), sonoro (I) | resonant, with rich tone |
| sopra (I) | above (when you play one hand over another) |
| sordino (I) | mute |
| sospirando (I) | sighing |
| sostenuto (I) | sustained |
| sotto (I) | below (one hand below another) |
| sotto voce (I) | in an undertone |
| sourdine (F) | mute |
| sous (F) | under |
| spiccato (I) | detached; bouncing bow technique on string instruments |
| spiritoso (I) | spirited |
| staccato (I) | shortly detached |
| stark (G) | strong |
| strepitoso (I) | noisy, boisterous |
| stretto (I) | quickening the speed |
| stringendo (I) | gradually getting faster |
| subito (I) | suddenly |
| sulla (I) | on the sting |
| süss (G) | sweet |
| tacet (L) | silent, a direction that a particular part has nothing to play in a section of music |
| tanto (I) | so much |
| tasto (I) | the fingerboard of a string instrument |
| tempo (I) | speed |
| teneramente (I) | tenderly |
| tenerezza (I) | tenderness |
| tenuto (I) | held |
| tosto (I) | swift, rapid |
| tranquillo (I) | calm |
| traurig (G) | sad |
| tre (I) | 3 |
| tremolando, tremolo (I) | trembling |
| très (F) | very |
| trionfale (I) | triumphant |
| tristamente (I), triste (I, F) | sad |
| troppo (I) | too much |
| tutti (I) | all |
| un (F), una, uno (I) | one |
| und (G) | and |
| unisono (I) | in unisioni |
| veloce (I) | swift |
| vibrato (I) | vibrating |
| viel (G) | much |
| vif (F) | lively |
| vigoroso (I) | strongly vigorous |
| vite (F) | quick |
| vivace (I), vivement (F), vivo (I) | lively, quick |
| voce (I), voix (F) | voice |
| volante (I) | flying, fast |
| voll (G) | full |
| volta (I) | time |
| volti subito, VS (I) | turn page at once |
| vorgetragen (G) | brought out, prominent |
| wenig (G) | little |
| wieder (G) | again |
| zart (G) | tender, delicate |
| ziemlich (G) | moderately |
| zu (G) | to, too |
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