- Adagio : Slow and leisurely.
- Allegro : Quick, lively.
- Andante : Moving gently, flowing.
- Arpeggio : Notes of a chord played in quick succession
- Cadenza : Unaccompanied virtuoso display by a soloist before the final cadence of an aria, or at any stated place in a concerto.
- Chord : Three or more notes played together.
- Coda : In sonata form, a new theme introduced at the end of a movement to emphasise the sense of finality.
- Concerto : Composition for solo instrument and orchestra.
- Crescendo : Building up to maximum volume.
- Enharmonic : One of two different ways of describing sounds of the same pitch. Thus D flat is the enharmonic equivalent of C sharp, both of which are the same note on the piano.
- Figured bass : A simple bass line with numerals underneath the notes indicating the harmonies to be built onthe notes.
- Forte : Loudly.
- Fortissimo : Very loudly.
- Ground bass : Short bass phrase repeated many times while the music above it varies and grows to a climax.
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- Interval : Different in pitch between two notes.
- Largo : Slow, stately.
- Lento : Slow.
- Libretto : Text of an opera or oratorio.
- Obbligato : Accompaniment by a single instrument.
- Piano : Soft in tone.
- Pianissimo : Very soft.
- Pizzicato : The playing by plucking with the fingers on instruments, such as the violin, which are normally played with the bow.
- Scherzo : Lively movement, often the third in a symphony.
- Sonata : Composition for one or two instruments, usually in three or four movements.
- Symphony: Large-scale composition for full orchestra in several movements.
- Syncopation : Accentuation of a beat on each bar that is normally unaccentuated.
- Tempo : Pace at which a work is performed.
- Tutti : Passage for whole orchestra.
- Vibrato : Slight wavering of pitch, used in singing and string-playing to give a sense of vibrancy.
- Vivace : Lively.
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