 | Term | Definition |
| |
larghissimo |
extremely slow 1 |
| |
largo |
very slow 1 |
| |
grave |
very slow 2 |
| |
adagio |
slow 1 |
| |
lento |
slow 2 |
| |
larghetto |
rather slow |
| |
andante |
a moderate walking tempo 1 |
| |
andantino |
a moderate walking tempo 2 |
| |
moderato |
moderately |
| |
allegretto |
rather fast |
| |
allegro |
fast |
| |
vivace |
very fast 1 |
| |
vivo |
very fast 2 |
| |
presto |
very fast 3 |
| |
prestissimo |
extremely fast |
| |
accelerando |
gradually growing faster |
| |
alla breve |
cut time |
| |
allargando |
gradually growing slower |
| |
a tempo |
at the original tempo |
| |
calando |
growing slower and softer |
| |
l'istesso tempo |
at the same tempo |
| |
meno mosso |
less motion, slightly slower |
| |
morendo |
growing slower, dying away |
| |
piu allegro |
more quickly |
| |
piu mosso |
more motion, faster |
| |
rallentando |
gradually growing slower 1 |
| |
ritardando |
gradually growing slower 2 |
| |
stretto |
pressed together, hurried |
| |
stringendo |
swiftly accelerating |
| |
tempo primo |
the first tempo |
| |
accent |
marked stress |
| |
altissimo |
highest |
| |
arpeggio |
a broken chord |
| |
attacca |
begin that which follows without pausing |
| |
cadenza |
a florid, showy, passage for a solo instrument |
| |
chord |
harmony of two or more tones sounded together |
| |
chromatic |
consecutive half-steps |
| |
coda |
a "tail", a closing passage |
| |
da capo |
from the beginning |
| |
dal segno |
from the sign |
| |
divisi |
players divide when multiple notes are given |
| |
enharmonic |
same pitch but different notation |
| |
fermata |
a hold |
| |
fine |
the end |
| |
glissando |
rapid sliding scale effect |
| |
grace note |
ornament, usually written very small |
| |
loco |
"place"--- after 8va it means perform as written |
| |
nuance |
shading, change in tone color, tempo, or degree of force |
| |
ossia |
or else, alternative |
| |
ottava |
play an octave higher |
| |
8va bassa |
play an octave lower |
| |
phrase |
a musical sentence, a melodic entity |
| |
segue |
follows without pause in the same manner |
| |
soli |
group or section solo |
| |
tacet |
silent, not played |
| |
tempo |
rate of speed |
| |
tutti |
all play |
