Musical Terms

The list of musical terms is also available in Swedish.

Index

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U V

A

con abbandono                   with abandonment
a cappella			for choir, without instrument
a capriccio			capricious, whimsical
accelerando			becoming faster
acciaccatura			crushed note, short appogiatura
adagietto			somewhat faster and lighter than adagio
adagio - adagissimo		slow - extremely slow
ad libitum			at one's pleasure
a due (voci)(a tre, a quattro)	with two voices (three, four)
affettuoso, con affetto		lovingly
affrettando			hastening
con agilità			with agility
agitato				agitated
con alcuna licenza		with freedom in execution
al fine				to the end (e.g., D.C. al fine)
alla breve			minim beat
alla caccia			lyrics and music illustrate hunt
allargando			broadening
allegramente			briskly
allegretto			not as fast as allegro
allegro - allegrissimo		lively, cheerful
al luogo			sounding as written (see also loco)
a(l) piacere			at pleasure
al segno			to the mark (sign), repeat
alta				high
alternativo			alternately
altro				other
amabile				amiable
amoroso, con amore		with love, lovingly
anche				too, also
ancora                          still, again
ancora una volta		once again
andante				moving along, walking pace
andantino			somewhat quicker or slower than andante
con anima			with soul, with feeling
animando			becoming more animated
animato				animated, lively
appassionato, passionato	passionate
appena				scarcely
appogiatura			grace-note
a (prima) vista			at sight, to play directly from the sheet
arco				bow; indicates play with the bow
arioso				aria-like
arpeggio			arpeggio, battery
assai				enough, rather, very (with tempo, e.g.,
                                    allegro-assai)
a tempo				to previous tempo after deviation
attacca				"attack!", begin, go on (e.g., between two
                                    movements)

B

basso				low, bass (one octave lower)
basso ostinato			ground bass (that is repeated)
battuta				beat, bar
ben, bene			well (e.g., ben tenuto = well held)
con bocca chiusa		humming, with mouth closed
con bravura			with skill
brillante			brilliant
con brio			with vigour
buffo				comical, funny
burlando                        joking
burlesca, alla burla		burlesque

C

cadenza                         solo improvisation, concluding harmonic sequence
calando				becoming softer, waning
calmato, calmo			calm
cantabile, cantando		in a singing style
canto				song, melody
cappriccioso			capricious, whimsical
carezzando, carezzevole		caressing
coda				"tail", final part
colla parte			with the part (follow the main part)
col legno			with the wood (of the violin bow)
come prima, come sopra		as before (previous tempo)
commodo, comodo  		comfortably, at ease
concertante			concertante
coperto				muffled (e.g., when playing the timpani)
coro				choir
crescendo/decrescendo		growing louder/decreasing

D

da capo				from the beginning
dal segno			(repeat) from the sign
deciso/indeciso			decided/undecided
delicato, delicatemente,
  con delicatezza		delicate, delicately, with delicacy
diminuendo, dim, dimin		diminishing
disperato			desperate
distinto			distinct
divisi				divided (choir or orchestra parts)
dolce - dolcissimo		sweet, soft - very soft
dolente, doloroso, con dolore	in pain, painful, with pain
dopo				after, afterwards
doppio movimento		double the speed
con duolo			with pain
durata				duration

E

e, ed				and
egualmente			equally, in a similar way
elegiaco			elegiac, mournful
eroico				heroic
espressivo, con espressione	expressive

F

facile				easy
feroce				ferocius (in Finnish: hurjasti)
festivo				festive
fioritura		        florid ornaments (of melody)
forte - fortissimo -
  forte fortissimo		strong, loud - very loud - even louder
forza				force
forzando, forzato, fz		forcing, forced
fugato				in fugal style
funèbre				mournful, funereal
fuocoso, con fuoco		fiery, with fire
furioso				furious

G

gaio				gay, full of mirth
gioioso				joyful
giusto, giustamente		perfect, suitably
glissando			sliding
gran				great, much, big
grandioso, con grandezza	grandiose
grave				very slow; heavy
grazioso, con grazia		graceful, with grace
gusto				taste

I

impetuoso			impetous
incalzando			pressing
in modo di			in the same mode (modus, style) as
innocenza (con)			with innocence, unpretentiously
intermezzo			interlude
istesso 			the same

L

lacrimoso, lagrimoso		tearful
lamentoso			lamenting
languendo, languido		languishing
largamente			broadly
larghetto			somewhat quicker and lighter than largo
largo				broad
legato, ligato - legatissimo	bound, tied
leggiero - leggierissimo	light
lento				slow
lesto                           rapid, quick, swift
liberamente			freely
loco (in Latin)			sounding as written (nullifies 8va)
lontano				far away
lugubre				gloomy
lungo, lunga			long
lusingando, lusingato		alluring, flattered

M

ma				but
maestoso			majestic
maggiore			major
malinconico			melancholic
mancando			lacking
mano destra/mano sinistra	right hand/left hand
ma non tanto			but not so much
ma non troppo			but not too much
marcato - marcatissimo		marked
martellato			hammered (with the tip of the bow)
marziale			martial
meno				less
meno andante!			less walking pace; faster than andante
mesto				sad
mezzo forte/mezzo piano		half loud/half soft
mezza voce			half voice
minore, menore			minor
misura				bar, measur, mensuration
misurato			measured
mobile				flexible
moderato			moderate
molto				much, very
morendo				dying away
mormorando			murmuring
mosso				moving
con moto			motion
moto perpetuo			perpetual motion
muta				change

N

niente				nothing
non				not
nuovo				new

O

opera, opus (Latin)		work
ordinario			ordinary
ossia				otherwise, alternatively
ostinato			obstinate
ovvero				or

P

parlando			speaking
perdendo, perdendosi		decreasing to nothing
pesante				heavy
pezzo				piece
piacevole			pleasant
piangendo			crying
piano - pianissimo -
  piano pianissimo		soft
più				more
più andante!			at a more walking pace, slower than andante
pizzicato			plucked (with fingers on string)
placido				placid
pochetto, pochissimo,
  un pochettino			little
poco				little, few
poco a poco			little by little
poi				then
poi a poi			gradually
ponticello			"bridge" (the bridge on a stringed instrument)
portamento (in choir music)	carrying the voice
portato				carried over
possibile			(as) possible
precedente			preceding
precipitando, precipitato	hurrying
presto - prestissimo		fast - very fast
prima volta/seconda volta	first time/second time

Q

quasi				almost, nearly, as if
questo, questa			this, this one
quieto/inquieto			quiet/restless

R

raddolcendo			softening
rallentando, rall.		getting slower, slowing down
rapido				rapid
recitando			reciting
replica				repeat performance
rigoroso			rigorous
rinforzando, rf, rfz, rinf.	strengthening
ripresa				repetition, repeat
risoluto/irresoluto		resolute/irresolute
ritartando, rit, ritard.	slowing down
ritenuto, riten.		held back, slower than main tempo
ritornare			return
rubato				(somewhat) free tempo
rustico				rustic

S

saltato 			jumped, detached staccato (bowing)
scherzando, scherzoso		jesting
sciolto				free and easy
scordatura			deviating in tuning, retuning
secco				dry, short touch
segue				it follows
semplice			simple
sempre				always
sensibilmente			sensitively
con sentimento			with feeling
senza				without
sereno				serene
serioso				seriously
sforzando, sforzato, sf, sfz	forcing, forced
simile				similar
sino, sin			until
con slancio			with verve
slentando			loosening
smorzando			subduing
soave				suave
solenne				solemn
solo				alone, one part
sonoro				sonorous
sopra				on, above
sordino 			mute (the left pedal on the piano)
sordo				deaf, muffled
sospirando, sostenuto		sighing, sustained
sotto				under
sottovoce			"under the voice", in an undertone
spiccato			detached staccato (bowing)
con spirito			with spirit
staccato - stacatissimo		detached
strepitoso			uproarious
stretto				drawn together
stringendo			drawing together, tightening
subito				at once, immediately
sul, sulla			on, on the
suonare, sonare			to play
suono				sound

T

tacet (Latin)			silent
tastiera			keyboard, fingerboard, fretboard
tasto				key, fret
tasto solo			only the bass; not the harmonies
tempestoso			stormy
tempo giusto			appropriate speed, a tempo
teneramente			tenderly
tenuto, ten.			held
tranquillo			calm
tre corde                       release the soft pedal of the piano
tremolando			trembling
tremolo				tremulant
trillo, trillato		drill, shaken
triste				sad
tutto, tutta, tutte, tutti	all, everyboday

U

un, uno, una			one, a little
una corda (due, tre corde)	one string (on the piano: to play with the
                                    left pedal)

V

veemente			vehement
veloce, con velocità		with velocity, speed
vide (Latin)			see (from-to, concerning jumps)
vigoroso			vigorous
violento			violent
vivace - vivacissimo		vivacious
vivo				alive, lively
voce				voice
volante				flying

Source for English terms: Braccini, Roberto, Praktisches Wörterbuch der Musik, B. Schott's Söhne, Mainz, 1992, 431 p. ISBN 3-7957-8279-1. The page is maintained by Juha Takkinen, juhta@ida.liu.se.