| MUSICAL TERM |
MEANING |
|
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| a capella |
unaccompanied |
| a piacere |
at the performers pleasure |
| a tempo |
in time! |
| accelerando (accel.) |
accelerate |
| ad libitum (ad. lib.) |
at the performers pleasure |
| adagio |
very slow |
| affetuoso |
tenderly |
| affretando |
hurrying |
| agitato |
agitated |
| al segno |
go to the sign |
| alla |
in the style (of) |
| allegretto |
rather fast |
| allegro |
moderately fast |
| amoroso |
lovingly |
| andante |
slow |
| andantino |
moderately slow |
| animato |
animated |
| appassionato |
impassioned |
| assai |
very |
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|
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| con moto |
with movement |
| come prima |
as at first |
| con anima |
animatedly |
| con brio |
lively |
| con dolore |
dolorously |
| con espressione |
with expression |
| con forza |
with force |
| con grazia |
gracefully |
| con moto |
with motion |
| con spirito |
with spirit |
| crescendo (cresc.) |
gradually becoming louder |
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|
|
| da capo (D.C.) |
from the beginning |
| da capo al segno |
from the beginning to the sign |
| dal segno |
from the sign |
| decrescendo (decresc.) |
gradually becoming softer |
| delicato |
delicate |
| diminuendo (dim.) |
gradually becoming softer |
| dolce |
sweetly, gently |
|
|
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| espressivo |
expressively |
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|
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| feroce |
fiercely |
| fine |
The End |
| forte (f) |
loud |
| fortissimo (ff) |
very loud |
| furioso |
with fury |
|
|
|
| giocoso |
humorously |
| giojoso |
joyous |
| grandioso |
grandly |
| grave |
extremely slow, solemn |
| grazioso |
gracefully |
| gustoso |
with gusto |
|
|
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| lacrimoso |
tearfully, mournfully |
| languido |
languid |
| largamente |
broadly, massively |
| larghetto |
rather broadly |
| largo |
broadly |
| legato |
smoothly |
| leggiero |
lightly |
| lento |
slow |
|
|
|
| ma non troppo |
but not too much so |
| maestoso |
majestic |
| marcato |
markedly |
| meno forte |
less loudly |
| meno mosso |
slower |
| meno piano |
less softly |
| meno |
less |
| mezzo forte (mf) |
moderately loud |
| mezzo piano (mp) |
moderately soft |
| mezzo |
half |
| moderato |
moderate speed |
| molto |
much |
| morendo |
dying away |
|
|
|
| pesante |
heavily |
| phrase |
musical sentence or clause to be sung in one breath |
| piacevole |
pleasantly |
| pianissimo (pp) |
very soft |
| piano (p) |
soft |
| piu forte |
more loudly |
| piu lento |
slower |
| piu mosso |
faster |
| piu piano |
more softly |
| poco a poco |
little by little |
| pomposo |
pompously |
| prestissimo |
as fast as possible |
| presto |
very quickly |
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|
|
| rallentando (rall.) |
gradually getting slower |
| risoluto |
resolutely |
| ritardando |
retarding the speed |
| ritenuto |
hold back |
| rubato |
flexible in time |
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|
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| scherzando |
playfully |
| sempre |
always |
| senza |
without |
| serioso |
seriously |
| sforzando (sfz) |
accented suddenly |
| sonore |
sonorously |
| sotto voce |
subdued |
| spianato |
calm |
| staccato |
play detached, separated short notes |
| strepitoso |
boisterously |
| stretto |
hurrying |
| stringendo |
hurrying |
| sustenuto |
sustained |
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|
|
| tacet |
silent |
| tempo giusto |
strict tempo |
| tempo primo |
first speed |
| teneramente |
tenderly |
| tenuto (ten.) |
sustained |
| tranquillo |
tranquil |
| troppo |
too much |
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|
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| veloce |
speedily |
| vigoroso |
vigorously |
| vivace |
lively |
| vivacissimo |
very lively |
| vivo |
lively |
| volante |
flying |
| volti subito (V.S.) |
turn quickly to next page |
