adagio - a tempo marking; indicates the piece is to be played slowly
agitato - "agitated" or restless
allegro - a fast, lively tempo
allegretto - a little slower than allegro, but faster than largo
amplitude - volume (measured in decibels [Db]) - the difference between the high and low phases of a sound wave or sound cycle. Usually expressed in pressure as it effects the ear drum. Determines the loudness of sound
andante - moderately slow tempo
andantino - a little slower than andante
animato, animado - animated
animando - getting livelier
appassionato - passionately
attacca - continue without pause
bar - either individual barlines or the measure in between
barline - vertical lines dividing a certain number of beats into measures or bars
bass clef - the clef which places F on the fourth line - also known as the F clef
beam - used in place of flags to group together notes into metric patterns - but only notes smaller in value than a quarter note. If you beam a quarter note, it becomes an 8th note - it's like adding a flag
beat - the temporal unit of a musical composition
brio - roughly translated as "verve" or "gusto"
cantabile - "singing"; play emulating as much as possible the singing voice
chromatic scale - a scale consisting of twelve half steps to the octave
clef - signs written at the beginning of each staff which designate the pitches of the lines and spaces
con - with
con fuoco - with fire
con moto - with movement
con spirito - with spirit
concerto - composition for solo instrument and orchestra, usually in three movements with a fast - slow - fast pattern; in a concerto of classic form, both the soloist and the orchestra must state each theme in turn in each movement.
crescendo, cresc. - growing louder
diatonic - an order of tones expressed by the white keys of the piano keyboard; concerning scales with progressing degrees of different names
dim., diminuendo - getting softer
dolce,dolcemente - sweetly
dot - used after a note to indicate augmentation of its value by one-half
douloureux,doloroso - sorrowful
duration - a relative length of a tone or rest
e,et,ed - and
espressivo - expressively or with expression
etude - a study or exercise in technique, typically used by a composer for experimentation in style or sound quality or to provide a show piece for an accomplished soloist
f, forte - strong loud
fantasia - a composition type in which a more improvisational style is used, usually in a single movement
ff, fortissimo - very loud
flag - a symbol resembling a flag attached to the right side of a note stem in order to halve its value. i.e.: add a flag to an 8th note and it becomes a 16th note, etc
flat - a musical symbol which lowers a note by one half step
frequency - pitch (measured in hertz [Hz]) - the number of cycles of sound pressure waves which occur each second in producing sound
fugue - counterpoint composition in which two or more voices ("polyphony") are interwoven by the various parts at different intervals of pitch; the voices are often played by a single soloist. The name is a Germanicized form of the Latin word for "fleeing" or "running"
giocoso - merrily
grave - slowly, gravely, solemnly
grazioso - gracefully or with grace
half note - the second-largest unit in modern music notation. It receives one-half the value of a whole note
impromptu - as the name implies, a composition of an improvisational character without fixed form but linked by the use of themes
interval - the pitch relation or distance between two tones
invention - an exercise in two or three part counterpoint
langsam (Ger.) - slow
largo - broadly and slowly, but not as slow as grave
ledger lines - short lines used as extensions above and below the regular five-line staff
legato - play smoothly with no separation between the notes
lent,lento - slow
measure - the space between two barlines
meter - the basic scheme of note values and accents which remain unaltered throughout a composition or section thereof
mf - moderately loud
mp - moderately soft
m.s.,m.g.,l.h. - left hand
Ma non troppo - without rushing, not too much
Maestoso - majestic, stately
marcato, marque - marked, stressed
meno - less
Minuet - a moderate tempo dance type commonly found in works from the Baroque period; often found in Classical period works in the minuet and trio form.. Usually in 3/4 time and light in feel.
moderato,modere - moderate
Molto - very, much
Mosso - movement (or agitation)
movement - a distinct division of a composition with its own key, themes, rhythm, and character. In classical music performances one usually reserves applause until the completion of all the movements which make up the work being performed
nocturne - a romantic character piece written with an expressive melody over a broken chord accompaniment
note - a symbol used to express the pitch and duration of musical tones
octave - an interval consisting of eight diatonic tones
offbeats - any note event which isn't on the beat
p, piano - soft
pp, ppp,pianissimo - very soft
ped., con pedale - with pedal
pie, plus - more
pitch - the word used to describe the relative highness or lowness of a tone, scientifically determined by the number of vibrations per second
poco, poco a poco - little, little by little
prelude - an introductory movement complete in itself; often used to describe piano compostions written in a single movement
presto - fast
prestissimo - as fast as possible
quarter note - unit of music notation that receives one beat when the lower unit of the time signature is "4". A quarter note receives one-fourth the value of a whole note
quarter rest - a rest equal in time to a quarter note
rall., rallentando - slowing down
rest - a symbol used to indicate relative periods of silence
rhythm - the flow of musical time; the interference of sounds against an underlying pulse
rit.,ritard,ritardano,ritenuto,reteno - holding back
rondo - a composition where the first and third musical ideas are the same, with the second idea being different material. This form is often used in the last movement of sonatas or concertos.
sf,sff,sfz,fz - accent
sans - without
scale - a series of tones, comprised within an octave
scale degree - functional and numerical designation for the notes of a scale. The degrees are numbered from one to seven. If you progress up the scale degrees from any given note, by the time you reach what would have been the 8th scale degree, you are back at the same note name you started on - so you're considered to be back at "1" again
semitone or half-step - the smallest interval used in Western music. Located on the piano keyboard by progressing up and down from any black or white key to the nearest black or white key
semplice - with simplicity
sempre - always
sharp - a musical symbol which raises any note to which it is applied by one half step
simile - same
sonata - an instrumental composition usually in three movements in related keys with different forms and character; short for Sonata allegro. In a classic sonata form, the first movement is usually an allegro, followed by an adagio, then a rondo or minuet, ending with another allegro.
sonatina - a shorter version of the sonata, the movements are usually shorter and simpler, originally written as teaching pieces
sostenuto - sustained
staff - five parallel horizontal lines, upon and between which musical notes are written, thus indicating their relative pitch
subdivision - division of the beat into 2, 3, or 4 equal durations
subito - suddenly
symphony - a sonata for orchestra, usually in four movements; the movement structure usually follows Sonata allegro form although there can be fewer than four movements
tempo - the pace of musical time; the speed at which the beat progresses
tie - a curved line placed over a note and its repetition to show that the two shall be performed as one unbroken note
timbre - quality of tone, determined by the relative prominence of overtones (pronounced TAM-ber)
time signature - a numerical symbol written as a fraction which indicates the number of beats in a measure and the unit which is to receive one beat
tr - trill
tone - the basic building material of music; it has four distinct properties: pitch, duration, loudness, and timbre
tranquillo - calm, tranquil
treble clef - the clef which places G on the second line - also known as the G clef
un peu, un poco - a little
vite - Rapid
vivace - lively and fast
vivacissimo - as lively and fast as possible
volta - time (2da volta= second time through)
