music terminology

(idea) by Ahab Sat Nov 11 2000 at 6:05:52
The terms in this node come from the western musical tradition. Any term that has a shortened musical notation is in parentheses next to said term.

General Terms

Modes of Dynamics

Two other terms related to dynamics are decrescendo (>) and crescendo (<). A decrescendo is placed to signify when the music should get gradually softer. A crescendo is the exact opposite. Usually two of the aforementioned terms appear with one of them.

For Example: p < ff

Families of Musical Instruments

Other nodes vivid pointed out to me


Note: I'll add to this later with time and try to fill in any of the hardlinks I've created that don't have nodes. /msg me or add your own, as you can tell this is far from complete.

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(thing) by size_of_a_p'nut Sat Oct 22 2005 at 14:54:39

Music Terminology

These are the terms that you will find at the beginning or during a piece of music that define how you should play the song. They cover tempo, volume and the mood in which the piece is to be played. This is the way they will appear on the sheet (which is for the majority Italian) and their definitions. This is a sort of continuation of Ahab's Modes of Dynamics but in much more depth and covering a much wider field. The grades are set by the Australian Guild of Music and Speech.

Grade One-

  • Adagio - Slowly
  • Allegro - Fast and Lively
  • Andante - At an easy walking pace
  • Crescendo(Cresc.) - Gradually becoming louder
  • Decrescendo/Diminuendo(Decresc/Dim) - Gradually becoming softer
  • Dolce - Sweetly
  • Da Capo Al Fine - From the beginning to the word fine
  • Forte(f) - Loud
  • Legato - Smoothly, Well Connected
  • Lento - Slowly
  • Mezzo Forte(mf) - Moderately Loud
  • Mezzo Piano(mp) - Moderately Soft
  • Moderato - At a Moderate Speed
  • Piano(p) - Soft
  • Rallentando(Rall) - Gradually Slower
  • Ritenuto - Held back, Immediately Slower
  • Staccato - Short, Detached

Grade Two-

  • Allegretto - Moderately fast
  • Andantino - Slower than Andante
  • Animato - Animated, Lively
  • A Tempo - Return to Former Speed
  • Cantabile - In a Singing Style
  • Dal Segno(D.S.) - From the Sign(The D.S. sign resembles an 's' with a percent sign through it)
  • Fortissimo(ff) - Very Loud
  • Giocoso - Gaily, Merrily, Joyfully
  • Largo - Very Slow and Broad
  • Marcato - Marked
  • Meno Mosso - Less Movement
  • Mezzo Stacato - Moderately Short an Detached
  • Molto - Much, Very
  • Perdendosi - Dying Away
  • Pianissimo(pp) - Very Soft
  • Poco - Little
  • Presto - Very Fast
  • Scherzando - In a Light Playful Manner
  • Semplice - Simply
  • Sempre - Always
  • Senza - Without
  • Sforzando(sfz) - Increased Accent On a Single Note Or Chord

Grade Three

  • Accelerando(Accel) - Gradually Faster
  • Ad Libitum(Ad Lib) - At Pleasure, Freely
  • Agitato - Agitated
  • Allargando - Becoming Broader
  • Calando - Getting Softer And Slower
  • Con Anima - With Animation. With Spirit
  • Con Moto - With Movement
  • Forte Piano(fp) - Loud, Then Immediately Soft
  • Grazioso - Gracefully
  • Larghetto - Slow And Broad
  • Leggiero - Lightly
  • Loco - At Normal Pitch After 8va Sign
  • Maestoso - Majestically
  • Main Droite(MD) - Right Hand
  • Main Gauche(MG) - Left Hand
  • Prestissimo - As Fast As Possible
  • Rinforzando(rfz) - Reinforcing The Tone
  • Risoluto - Resolute, Firmly
  • Staccatissimo - Ver Short And Detached
  • Tempo Commodo - At A Comfortable Speed
  • Tranquillo - Tranquil, Calmly
  • Tre Corde(T.C.) - Release The Soft Pedal
  • Una Corde(U.C.) - Soft Pedal

Grade Four-

  • Allegro Non Troppo - Fast, But Not Too Fast
  • A Piacere - At The Pleasure Of The Performer
  • Arco(Strings Only) - With The Bow
  • Attacca - Go On. At Once.
  • Cantando - In A Singing Style
  • Coda - A Passage Ending A Section Or Movement
  • Grave - Very Slow, Solemn or Serious
  • Largamente - Broadly
  • L'istesso Tempo - At The Same Speed
  • Opus - A Work Or group Of Works
  • Pesante - Heavy, Ponderous, Solid
  • Piacevole - Pleasant, Agreeable
  • Pizzicato(Strings Only) - Pluck The String With The Finger
  • Quasi - Almost, As If
  • Smorzando - Dying Away
  • Sotto Voce - In An Undertone, Quietly
  • Stretto - Drawn Together, Tempo Increase
  • Stringendo - Pressing On Faster
  • Volante - Flying

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