# Glossary of music terminology

A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings. Most of the other terms are taken from French and German, indicated by Fr. and Ger., respectively.
Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The list can never be complete: some terms are common, and others are used only occasionally, and new ones are coined from time to time. Some composers prefer terms from their own language rather than the standard terms listed here.
* 0–9
* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z
* See also
* References
* External links

## 0–9
### 1′

    "sifflet" or one foot organ stop

### I

    usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the highest-pitched, thinnest string

### 1+3⁄5′

    Tierce organ stop

### 2′

    two feet – pipe organ indication; see Organ stop § Pitch and length

### 2+2⁄3′

    pipe organ stop for the twelfth interval

### II

    usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the second highest string; also used with the Cymbal stop on a pipe organ with the II indicating two ranks of pipes combined to make this stop's sound

### III

    usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the third-highest string; also used with the Scharf or Mixtur stop on a pipe organ with the III indicating three ranks of pipes

### 4′

    four feet – pipe organ rank that speaks one octave higher than 8′

### IV

    usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the lowest-pitched, thickest string, i.e. the fourth-highest string

### IV–VI

    mixture stop on pipe organ; the Roman numeral indicates how many ranks of pipes the stop includes

### 8′

    eight-foot pipe – pipe organ indication for a stop sounding at concert pitch and where the lowest note's pipe is about 8 feet long

### 16′

    sixteen-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for one octave below 8′ where the lowest note's pipe is about 16 feet long

### 32′

    thirty-two-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for two octaves below 8′ where the lowest note's pipe is about 32 feet long; also called sub-bass

### 64′

    sixty-four-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for three octaves below 8′ where the lowest note's pipe is about 64 feet long (only a few organs in the world have this low of a pitch)

## A
### a or à (Fr.)

    at, to, by, for, in

### à la (Fr.)

    in the style of...

### a battuta

    Return to normal tempo after a deviation. Not recommended in string parts, due to possible confusion with battuto (qv.); use a tempo, which means the same thing

### a bene placito

    Up to the performer

### a cappella

    lit. "in a chapel"; vocal parts only, without instrumental accompaniment

### a capriccio

    A free and capricious approach to tempo

### a due (a 2)

    intended as a duet; for two voices or instruments; together; two instruments are to play in unison after a solo passage for one of the instruments

### a niente

    To nothing; indicating a diminuendo which fades completely away

### a piacere

    At pleasure (i.e. the performer need not follow the rhythm strictly, for example in a cadenza)

### a prima vista

    lit. "at first sight". Sight-reading (i.e. played or sung from written notation without prior review of the written material; refer to the figure)

### a tempo

    In time (i.e. the performer should return to the stable tempo, such as after an accelerando or ritardando); also may be found in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet)

### ab (Ger.)

    off, organ stops or mutes

### abafando (Port.)

    muffled, muted

### abandon or avec (Fr.)

    free, unrestrained, passionate

### abbandonatamente, con abbandono

    freely, in relaxed mode

### aber (Ger.)

    but

### accarezzevole

    Expressive and caressing

### accelerando (accel.)

    Accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo

### accelerato

    with increased tempo

### accent

    Accent, emphasis

### accentato/accentuato

    Accented; with emphasis

### acceso

    Ignited, on fire

### accessible

    Music that is easy to listen to/understand

### acciaccato

    Broken down, crushed; the sounding of the notes of a chord not quite simultaneously, but from bottom to top

### acciaccatura

    Crushing (i.e. a very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure)

### accidental

    A note that is not part of the scale indicated by the key signature.

### accompagnato

    Accompanied (i.e. with the accompaniment following the soloist, who may speed up or slow down at will)

### accuratezza

    Precision; accuracy. con accuratezza: with precision

### acoustic

    Relating to music produced by instruments, as opposed to electric or electronic means

### ad libitum (commonly ad lib; Latin)

    At liberty (i.e. the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer. It can also mean improvisation.)

### adagietto

    Fairly slowly (but faster than adagio)

### adagio

    Slowly

### adagissimo

    Very, very slowly

### affannato, affannoso

    Anguished

### affetto or con affetto

    with affect (that is, with emotion)

### affettuoso, affettuosamente, or affectueusement (Fr.)

    With affect (that is, with emotion); see also con affetto

### affrettando

    Hurrying, pressing onwards

### agile

    Agile, nimble

### agitato

    Agitated

### al or alla

    To the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine)

### alcuna licenza

    Used in con alcuna licenza, meaning (play) with some freedom in the time, see rubato

### alla breve

    In cut-time; two beats per measure or the equivalent thereof

### alla marcia

    In the style of a march

### alla polacca

    In the style of a polonaise, a $^3$ $_4$ dance

### alla Siciliana

    In the style of a graceful Sicilian rustic dance;

### allargando

    Broadening, becoming progressively slower

### allegretto

    A little lively, moderately fast

### allegretto vivace

    A moderately quick tempo

### allegrezza

    Cheerfulness, joyfulness

### allegrissimo

    Very fast, though slower than presto

### allegro

    Cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as lively, fast

### all'ottava

    "at the octave", see ottava

### alt (Eng.), alt dom, or altered dominant

    A jazz term which instructs chord-playing musicians such as a jazz pianist or jazz guitarist to perform a dominant (V7) chord with at least one (often both) altered (sharpened or flattened) 5th or 9th

### altissimo

    Very high; see also in altissimo

### alto

    High; often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano

### alzate sordini

    Lift or raise the mutes (i.e. remove mutes)

### am Steg (Ger.)

    At the bridge (i.e. playing a bowed string instrument near its bridge, which produces a heavier, stronger tone); see sul ponticello

### amabile

    Amiable, pleasant

### ambitus

    Range between highest and lowest note

### amore or amor (Sp./Port., sometimes It.)

    Love; con amore: with love, tenderly

### amoroso

    Loving

### anacrusis

    A note or notes that precede the first full bar; a pickup

### andamento

    A fugue subject of above-average length

### andante

    At a walking pace (i.e. at a moderate tempo)

### andantino

    Slightly faster than andante (but earlier it is sometimes used to mean slightly slower than andante)

### ängstlich (Ger.)

    Anxiously

### anima

    Soul; con anima: with feeling

### animandosi

    Progressively more animated

### animato

    Animated, lively

### antiphon

    A liturgical or other composition consisting of choral responses, sometimes between two choirs; a passage of this nature forming part of another composition; a repeated passage in a psalm or other liturgical piece, similar to a refrain.

### antiphonal

    A style of composition in which two sections of singers or instrumentalists exchange sections or music one after the other; typically the performers are on different sides of a hall or venue

### apaisé (Fr.)

    Calmed

### appassionato

    Passionate

### appoggiatura or leaning note

    One or more grace notes that take up some note value of the next full note.

### arco

    The bow used for playing some string instruments (i.e. played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato, in music for bowed instruments); normally used to cancel a pizzicato direction

### aria

    Self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment (which may be provided by a pianist using an orchestral reduction)

### arietta

    A short aria

### arioso

    Airy, or like an air (a melody) (i.e. in the manner of an aria); melodious

### armonioso

    Harmonious

### arpeggio, arpeggiato

    played like a harp (i.e. the notes of the chords are to be played quickly one after another instead of simultaneously); in music for piano, this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise; arpeggios are frequently used as an accompaniment; see also broken chord

### articulato

    Articulate

### assai

    Much, very much

### assez (Fr.)

    Enough, sufficiently

### attacca

    Attack or attach; go straight on (i.e. at the end of a movement, a direction to attach the next movement to the previous one, without a gap or pause). Often used as "attacca subito," meaning a "sudden" movement transition (literally, "attack suddenly").

### Ausdruck (Ger.)

    Expression

### ausdrucksvoll or mit Ausdruck (Ger.)

    Expressively, with expression

### avec (Fr.)

    With

## B
### B

    German for B flat (also in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish, Croatian, Estonian and Hungarian); H in German is B natural

### ballabile

    (from the Italian Ballabile meaning "danceable") In ballet, a dance performed by the corps de ballet. The term Grand ballabile is used if nearly all participants (including principal characters) of a particular scene in a full-length work perform a large-scale dance.

### bar, or measure

    unit of music containing a number of beats as indicated by a time signature; also the vertical bar enclosing it

### barbaro

    Barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók)

### baritone

    A male vocal range that lies between the ranges of bass and tenor

### Bartók pizzicato

    An instruction to string performers to play a pizzicato note to pull the string away from the fingerboard so that it snaps back percussively on the fingerboard.

### bass

    The lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony; in an orchestral context, the term usually refers to the double bass.

### basso continuo

    Continuous bass, i.e. a bass accompaniment part played continuously throughout a piece by a chordal instrument (pipe organ, harpischord, lute, etc.), often with a bass instrument, to give harmonic structure; used especially in the Baroque period

### battement (Fr.)

    Used in the 17th century to refer to ornaments consisting of two adjacent notes, such as trills or mordents

### battuto (Ital.)

    To strike the strings with the bow (on a bowed stringed instrument)

### beam

    Horizontal or diagonal line used to connect multiple consecutive notes

### beat

* The pronounced rhythm of music
* One single stroke of a rhythmic accent

### belebt or belebter (Ger.)

    Spirited, vivacious, lively

### bellicoso

    Warlike, aggressive (English cognate is "bellicose")

### ben or bene

    Well; in ben marcato ("well marked") for example

### bend

    In jazz, either establishing a pitch, sliding down half a step and returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note

### beschleunigt (Ger.)

    Accelerated, as in mit beschleunigter Geschwindigkeit, at an accelerated tempo

### bewegt (Ger.)

    Moved, with speed

### binary

    A musical form in two sections: AB

### bird's eye

    Slang for fermata, which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord as long as they wish or following cues from a conductor

### bis (Fr., It.)

    Twice (i.e. repeat the relevant action or passage)

### bisbigliando

    Whispering (i.e. a special tremolo effect on the harp where a chord or note is rapidly repeated at a low volume)

### bocca chiusa

    with closed mouth (sometimes abbreviated B.C.)

### bravura

    Boldness; as in con bravura, boldly, flaunting technical skill

### breit (Ger.)

    Broad

### bridge

* Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, or between two A sections (e.g., in an A/B/A form).
* Part of a violin family or guitar/lute stringed instrument that holds the strings in place and transmits their vibrations to the resonant body of the instrument.

### brillante

    Brilliantly, with sparkle. Play in a showy and spirited style.

### brio or brioso

    Vigour; usually in con brio: with spirit or vigour

### broken chord

    A chord in which the notes are not all played at once, but in some more or less consistent sequence. They may follow singly one after the other, or two notes may be immediately followed by another two, for example. See also arpeggio, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken chord; see Alberti bass.

### bruscamente

    Brusquely, suddenly

## C
### cabaletta

    The concluding, rapid, audience-rousing section of an aria

### cadence

    A melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution

### cadenza

    A solo section, usually in a concerto or similar work, that is used to display the performer's technique, sometimes at considerable length

### calando

    Falling away, or lowering (i.e. getting slower and quieter; ritardando along with diminuendo)

### calma

    Calm; so con calma, calmly. Also calmato meaning calmed, relaxed

### calore

    Warmth; so con calore, warmly

### cambiare

    To change (i.e. any change, such as to a new instrument)

### cambiata

    An ornamental tone following a principal tone by a skip up or down, usually of a third, and proceeding in the opposite direction by a step, not to be confused with changing tone.

### canon or kanon (Ger.)

    A theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon by other instruments with a time delay, creating a layered effect; see Pachelbel's Canon.

### cantabile or cantando

    In a singing style. In instrumental music, a style of playing that imitates the way the human voice might express the music, with a measured tempo and flexible legato.

### cantilena

    a vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth, lyrical style

### canto

    Chorus; choral; chant

### cantus mensuratus or cantus figuratus (Lat.)

    Meaning respectively "measured song" or "figured song". Originally used by medieval music theorists, it refers to polyphonic song with exactly measured notes and is used in contrast to cantus planus.

### capo

    1. capo (short for capotasto: "nut") : A key-changing device for stringed instruments (e.g. guitars and banjos)
    2. head (i.e. the beginning, as in da capo)

### capriccio

    "A humorous, fanciful, or bizarre, composition, often characterized by an idiosyncratic departure from current stylistic norms." See also: Capriccio (disambiguation)

### capriccioso

    Capricious, unpredictable, volatile

### cassa

    Drum, usually an orchestral bass drum. Sometimes written as Gran Cassa where Gran specifically means Bass

### cavalleresco

    Chivalrous (used in Carl Nielsen's violin concerto)

### cédez (Fr.)

    Yield, give way

### cesura or caesura (Lat.)

    Break, stop; (i.e. a complete break in sound) (sometimes nicknamed "railroad tracks" in reference to their appearance)

### chiuso

    Closed (i.e. muted by hand) (for a horn, or similar instrument; but see also bocca chiusa, which uses the feminine form)

### coda

    A tail (i.e. a closing section appended to a movement)

### codetta

    A small coda, but usually applied to a passage appended to a section of a movement, not to a whole movement

### col or colla

    with the (col before a masculine noun, colla before a feminine noun); (see next for example)

### col canto

    with the singer, see also colla voce

### col legno

    with the wood: for bowed strings, strike the strings with the stick of the bow (col legno battuto) or draw the stick across the strings (col legno tratto)

### col pugno

    With the fist (e.g., bang the piano with the fist)

### coll'ottava

    With the addition of the octave note above or below the written note; abbreviated as col 8, coll' 8, and c. 8va

### colla parte

    literally "with the part". An indication that another (written-out) part should be followed, i.e. accommodate the tempo, expression, phrasing, and possible rubato of the leading part. In vocal music, also expressed by colla voce

### colla voce

    literally "with the voice". An instruction, in a choral or orchestral part, that a vocal part should be followed, e.g., play the same notes as the vocal part and accommodate the tempo, expression, etc. of the vocalist

### coloratura

    Coloration (i.e. elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line, or a soprano voice that is well-suited to such elaboration)

### colossale

    Enormous, immense (notably used in the first movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto)

### come prima

    As before, typically referring to an earlier tempo

### come sopra

    As above (i.e. like the previous tempo)

### common time

    The time signature $^4$ $_4$: four beats per measure, each beat a quarter note (a crotchet) in length. $^4$ $_4$ is often written on the musical staff as . The symbol is not a C as an abbreviation for common time, but a broken circle; the full circle at one time stood for triple time, $^3$ $_4$.

### comodo

    Comfortable (i.e. at moderate speed); also, allegro comodo, tempo comodo, etc.

### comp

    1. abbreviation of accompanying, accompanying music, accompaniment
    2. describes the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that instrumental players used to support a musician's melody and improvised solos.
    3. Ostinato

### comping (jazz)

    1. to comp; action of accompanying.

### con

    With; used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con calma (calmly lit. 'with calm'); (see also col and colla)

### con dolcezza

    See dolce

### con sordina or con sordine (plural)

    With a mute, or with mutes. Frequently seen in music as (incorrect Italian) con sordino, or con sordini (plural).

### concerto

    Composition for solo instrument(s) and orchestra

### concerto grosso

    Composition for a group of solo instruments (concertino or soli) and orchestra (ripieno or tutti)

### conjunct

    An adjective applied to a melodic line that moves by step (intervals of a 2nd) rather than in disjunct motion (by leap).

### contralto

    Lowest female singing voice type

### contrapuntalism

    See counterpoint

### coperti

    (plural of coperto) covered (i.e. on a drum, muted with a cloth)

### corda

    String. On the piano it refers to use of the soft pedal, which controls whether the hammer strikes one or three strings; see una corda, tre corde below.

### count

    Series of regularly occurring sounds to assist with ready identification of beat

### crescendo (cresc.)

    Growing; (i.e. progressively louder) (contrast diminuendo)

### cuivré

    Brassy. Used almost exclusively as a French horn technique to indicate a forced, rough tone. A note marked both stopped and loud will be cuivré automatically

### custos

    Symbol at the very end of a staff of music which indicates the pitch for the first note of the next line as a warning of what is to come. The custos was commonly used in handwritten Renaissance and typeset Baroque music.

### cut time

    Same as the meter $^2$ $_2$: two half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and executed like common time ($^4$ $_4$), except with the beat lengths doubled. Indicated by . This comes from a literal cut of the symbol of common time. Thus, a quarter note in cut time is only half a beat long, and a measure has only two beats. See also alla breve.

## D
### da capo

    From the head (i.e. from the beginning) (see also capo)

### dal segno (D.S.)

    From the sign

### dal segno alla coda (D.S. alla coda)

    Repeat to the sign and continue to the coda sign, then play coda

### dal segno al fine (D.S. al fine)

    From the sign to the end (i.e. return to a place in the music designated by the sign and continue to the end of the piece)

### dal segno segno alla coda (D.S.S. alla coda)

    Same as D.S. alla coda, but with a double segno

### dal segno segno al fine (D.S.S. al fine)

    From the double sign to the end (i.e. return to place in the music designated by the double sign (see D.S. alla coda) and continue to the end of the piece)

### decelerando

    Slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando (same as ritardando or rallentando)

### deciso

    Firm

### declamando

    Solemn, expressive, impassioned

### decrescendo (decresc.)

    Gradually decreasing volume (same as diminuendo)

### deest

    From the Latin deesse meaning to be missing; placed after a catalogue abbreviation to indicate that this particular work does not appear in it; the plural, desunt, refers to several works

### delicatamente

    Delicately

### delicato

    Delicate

### détaché (Fr.)

    Act of playing notes separately

### devoto

    Pious, religious

### diminuendo, dim.

    Dwindling (i.e. with gradually decreasing volume) (same as decrescendo)

### disjunct

    An adjective applied to a melodic line which moves by leap (intervals of more than a 2nd) as opposed to conjunct motion (by step)

### di

    Of

### dissonante

    Dissonant

### divisi (div.)

    Divided (i.e. in a part in which several musicians normally play exactly the same notes they are instead to split the playing of the written simultaneous notes among themselves); it is most often used for string instruments, since with them another means of execution is often possible (the return from divisi is marked unisono)

### doit

    In jazz, a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically upwards

### dolce

    Sweet; con dolcezza: with sweetness, sweetly

### dolcemente

    Sweetly

### dolcissimo

    Very sweet

### dolente

    Sorrowful, plaintive

### dolore

    Pain, distress, sorrow, grief; con dolore: with sadness

### doloroso

    Sorrowful, plaintive

### doppio movimento

    lit. Double movement, i.e. the note values are halved

### double dot

    Two dots placed side by side after a note to indicate that it is to be lengthened by three quarters of its value

### double stop

    The technique of playing two notes simultaneously on a bowed string instrument

### downtempo

    A slow, moody, or decreased tempo or played or done in such a tempo. Also a genre of electronic music based on this (downtempo)

### drammatico

    Dramatic

### drone

    Bass note or chord performed continuously throughout a composition

### drop

    In jazz, a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards

### duolo

    (Ital.) grief

### dumpf (Ger.)

    Dull

### Dur (Ger.)

    major; used in key signatures as, for example, A-Dur (A major), B-Dur (B♭ major), or H-Dur (B major) (see also Moll (minor))

### dynamics

    The relative volume in the execution of a piece of music

## E
### e (Ital.) or ed (Ital., used before vowels)

    And

### eco

    The Italian word for "echo"; an effect in which a group of notes is repeated, usually more softly, and perhaps at a different octave, to create an echo effect

### égal (Fr.)

    Equal

### eilend (Ger.)

    Hurrying

### ein wenig (Ger.)

    A little

### einfach (Ger.)

    Simple

### emporté (Fr.)

    Fiery, impetuous

### en animant (Fr.)

    Becoming very lively

### en cédant (Fr.)

    Yielding

### en dehors (Fr.)

    Prominently, a directive to make the melody stand out

### en mesure (Fr.)

    In time

### en pressant (Fr.)

    Hurrying forward

### en retenant (Fr.)

    Slowing, holding back

### en serrant (Fr.)

    Becoming quicker

### encore (Fr.)

    Again (i.e. a request to perform once more a passage or a piece); a performer returning to the stage to perform an unlisted piece

### energico

    Energetic, strong

### enfatico

    Emphatic

### eroico

    Heroic

### espansivo

    Effusive; excessive in emotional expression; gushy

### espirando

    Expiring (i.e. dying away)

### espressione

    Expression; e.g. con (gran, molta) espressione: with (great, much) expression

### espressivo, espress. or espr.

    (Italian) Expressive

### estinto

    Extinct, extinguished (i.e. as soft as possible, lifeless, barely audible)

### esultazione

    Exultation

### et (Fr.)

    And

### Étude (Fr.)

    A composition intended for practice

### etwas (Ger.)

    As an adverb, little, somewhat, slightly

### etwas bewegter (Ger.)

    Moving forward a little

## F
### facile

    Easy

### fall

    In jazz, a note of definite pitch sliding downwards to another note of definite pitch

### falsetto

    vocal register above the normal voice

### fantasia

    A piece not adhering to any strict musical form; can also be used in con fantasia: with imagination

### feierlich (Ger.)

    Solemn, solemnly

### fermata

    Stop (i.e. a rest or note to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor) (sometimes called pause or bird's eye); a fermata at the end of a first or intermediate movement or section is usually moderately prolonged, but the final fermata of a symphony may be prolonged for much longer than the note's value, often twice its printed length or more for dramatic effect

### feroce

    Ferocious

### festivamente

    Cheerfully, in a celebratory mode

### feurig (Ger.)

    Fiery

### fieramente

    Proudly

### fil di voce

    "thread of voice", very quiet, pianissimo

### fill (Eng.)

    A jazz or rock term which instructs performers to improvise a scalar passage or riff to "fill in" the brief time between lyrical phrases, the lines of melody, or between two sections

### fine

    The end, often in phrases like al fine (to the end)

### fioritura

    the florid embellishment of melodic lines, either notated by a composer or improvised during a performance.

### flat

    A symbol (♭) that lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone. Also an adjective to describe a singer or musician performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too low.

### flautando

    Flutelike mode; used especially for string instruments to indicate a light, rapid bowing over the fingerboard

### flebile

    Feeble, low volume

### flessibile

    flexible

### focoso or fuocoso

    Fiery (i.e. passionate)

### forte (f)

    Strong (i.e. to be played or sung loudly)

### forte-piano (fp)

    Strong-gentle (i.e. loud, then immediately soft; see dynamics)

### fortepiano

    An early pianoforte

### fortissimo (ff)

    Very loud (see note at pianissimo)

### fortississimo (fff)

    As loud as possible

### forza

    Musical force; con forza: with force

### forzando (fz)

    See sforzando

### freddo

    Cold; hence depressive, unemotional

### fresco

    Fresh

### fröhlich (Ger.)

    Lively, joyfully

### fugue (Fr.), fuga (Latin and Italian)

    Literally "flight"; hence a complex and highly regimented contrapuntal form in music; a short theme (the subject) is introduced in one voice (or part) alone, then in others, with imitation and characteristic development as the piece progresses

### funebre

    Funeral; often seen as marcia funebre (funeral march), indicating a stately and plodding tempo

### fuoco

    Fire; con fuoco: with fire, in a fiery manner

### furia

    Fury

### furioso

    Furious

## G
### G.P.

    Grand Pause, General Pause; indicates to the performers that the entire ensemble has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic effect during a loud section

### gaudioso

    With joy

### gemächlich (Ger.)

    Unhurried, at a leisurely pace

### gemendo

    Groaningly

### gentile

    Gentle

### geschwind (Ger.)

    Quickly

### geteilt (Ger.)

    See divisi

### getragen (Ger.)

    Solemnly, in a stately tempo

### giocoso

    Playful

### gioioso

    With joy

### giusto

    Strict, exact, right (e.g. tempo giusto in strict time)

### glissando

    A continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale executed while moving from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando for further information; and compare portamento.

### grace note

    An extra note added as an embellishment and not essential to the harmony or melody.

### grandioso

    Grand, solemn

### grave

    Slow and serious

### grazioso (Fr. gracieusement)

    Graceful

### guerriero

    Warlike, martial

### gustoso

    (It. tasteful, agreeable) With happy emphasis and forcefulness; in an agreeable manner

## H
### H

    German for B natural; B in German means B flat

### Hauptstimme (Ger.)

    Main voice, chief part (i.e. the contrapuntal line of primary importance, in opposition to Nebenstimme)

### hemiola (English, from Greek)

    The imposition of a pattern of rhythm or articulation other than that implied by the time signature; specifically, in triple time (for example in $^3$ $_4$) the imposition of a duple pattern (as if the time signature were, for example, $^2$ $_4$). See Syncopation.

### hervortretend (Ger.)

    Prominent, pronounced

### homophony

    A musical texture with one voice (or melody line) accompanied by subordinate chords; also used as an adjective (homophonic). Compare with polyphony, in which several independent voices or melody lines are performed at the same time.

### hook

    A musical idea, often a short riff, passage or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener".

## I
### immer (Ger.)

    Always

### imperioso

    Imperious, overbearing

### impetuoso

    Impetuous

### improvvisando

    With improvisation

### improvvisato

    Improvised, or as if improvised

### improvise

    To create music at the spur of the moment, spontaneously, and without preparation (often over a given harmonic framework or chord progression)

### in alto

    octave above the treble staff, G$_5$ to G$_6$

### in altissimo

    Octave above the in alt octave, G$_6$ to G$_7$

### in modo di

    In the art of, in the style of

### in stand

    An instruction to brass players to direct the bell of their instrument into the music stand, instead of up and toward the audience, thus muting the sound but without changing the timbre as a mute would

### incalzando

    Getting faster and louder

### innig (Ger.)

    Intimate, heartfelt

### insistendo

    Insistently, deliberately

### intimo

    Intimate

### intro

    Opening section of a piece

### irato

    Angry

### -issimamente

    The adverbial form of the superlative suffix (most -ly, e.g. leggerissimamente, meaning as light as can be)

### -issimo

    A suffix for superlative (e.g. fortissimo or prestissimo)

### izq. or iz. (Spa.)

    Left (hand); abbreviation of izquierda

## J
### Jazz standard (or simply "standard")

    A well-known composition from the jazz repertoire which is widely played and recorded.

### jete (Fr. jeté)

    Jump; a bowing technique in which the player is instructed to let the bow bounce or jump off the strings.

## K
### keyboardist (Eng.)

    A musician who plays any instrument with a keyboard. In Classical music, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, pipe organ, harpsichord, and so on. In a jazz or popular music context, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Hammond organ, and so on.

### Klangfarbenmelodie (Ger.)

    "Tone-color melody", distribution of pitch or melody among instruments, varying timbre

### kräftig (Ger.)

    Strong

## L
### lacrimoso or lagrimoso

    Tearful (i.e. sad)

### laissez vibrer, l.v. (Fr.)

    French for lasciare vibrare ("let vibrate")

### lamentando

    Lamenting, mournfully

### lamentoso

    Lamenting, mournfully

### langsam (Ger.)

    Slowly

### largamente

    Broadly (i.e. slowly) (same as largo)

### larghetto

    Somewhat slow; not as slow as largo

### larghezza

    Broadness; con larghezza: with broadness; broadly

### larghissimo

    Very slow; slower than largo

### largo

    Broad (i.e. slow)

### lasciare suonare

    "Let ring", meaning allow the sound to continue, do not damp; used frequently in harp or guitar music, occasionally in piano or percussion. Abbreviated "lasc. suon."

### leap or skip

    A melodic interval greater than a major 2nd, as opposed to a step. Melodies which move by a leap are called "disjunct". Octave leaps are not uncommon in florid vocal music.

### lebhaft (Ger.)

    Briskly, lively

### legato

    Joined (i.e. smoothly, in a connected manner) (see also articulation)

### leggiadro

    Pretty, graceful

### leggierissimo

    Very light and delicate

### leggiero or leggiermente

    Light or lightly (the different forms of this word, including leggierezza, "lightness", are spelled without the i in modern Italian, i.e. leggero, leggerissimo, leggermente, leggerezza.)

### leidenschaftlich(er) (Ger.)

    (More) passionately

### lent (Fr.)

    Slow

### lentando

    Gradual slowing and softer

### lentissimo

    Very slow

### lento

    Slow

### liberamente

    Freely

### libero

    Free

### lilt

    A jaunty rhythm

### l'istesso, l'istesso tempo, or lo stesso tempo

    The same tempo, despite changes of time signature, see metric modulation

### lo stesso

    The same; applied to the manner of articulation, tempo, etc.

### loco

    [in] place, i.e. perform the notes at the pitch written, generally used to cancel an 8va or 8vb direction; in string music, also used to indicate return to normal playing position (see Playing the violin)

### long accent

    Hit hard and keep full value of note (>)

### lontano

    Distant, far away

### lugubre

    Lugubrious, mournful

### luminoso

    Luminous

### lunga

    Long (often applied to a fermata)

### lusingando, lusinghiero

    Coaxingly, flatteringly, caressingly

## M
### ma

    But

### ma non tanto

    But not much

### ma non troppo

    But not too much

### maestoso

    Majestic, stately

### maggiore

    The major key

### magico

    Magical

### magnifico

    Magnificent

### main droite (Fr.)

    [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)

### main gauche (Fr.)

    [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MG or m.g.)

### malinconico

    Melancholic

### mancando

    Dying away

### mano destra

    [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)

### mano izquierda (Spa.)

    [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: m.iz.)

### mano sinistra

    [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MS or m.s.)

### marcatissimo

    With much accentuation

### marcato, marc.

    Marked (i.e. with accentuation, execute every note as if it were to be accented)

### marcia

    A march; alla marcia means in the manner of a march

### martellato

    Hammered out

### marziale

    Martial, solemn and fierce

### mäßig (Ger.)

    (sometimes given as "mässig", "maessig") Moderately

### MD

    See mano destra or main droite

### measure

    Also "bar": the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete cycle of the time signature (e.g. in $^4$ $_4$ time, a measure has four quarter note beats)

### medesimo tempo

    Same tempo, despite changes of time signature

### medley

    Piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping.

### melancolico

    Melancholic

### melisma

    The technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung

### meno

    Less; see mosso, for example, meno mosso

### messa di voce

    In singing, a controlled swell (i.e. crescendo then diminuendo, on a long held note, especially in Baroque music and in the bel canto period)

### mesto

    Mournful, sad

### meter or metre

    The pattern of a music piece's rhythm of strong and weak beats

### mezza voce

    Half voice (i.e. with subdued or moderated volume)

### mezzo

    Half; used in combinations like mezzo forte (mf), meaning moderately loud

### mezzo forte (mf)

    Half loudly (i.e. moderately loudly). See dynamics.

### mezzo piano (mp)

    Half softly (i.e. moderately soft). See dynamics.

### mezzo-soprano

    A female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of a contralto.

### MG

    See main gauche

### minore

    Minor key

### misterioso

    Mysterious

### mit Dämpfer (Ger.)

    With a mute

### M.M.

    Metronome Marking. Formerly "Mälzel Metronome."

### mobile

    Mobile, changeable

### mode

    Type and characteristic of a musical scale

### moderato

    Moderate; often combined with other terms, usually relating to tempo; for example, allegro moderato

### modéré (Fr.)

    Moderate

### modesto

    Modest

### modulation

    The act or process of changing from one key (tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature.

### Moll (Ger.)

    minor; used in key signatures as, for example, a-Moll (A minor), b-Moll (B♭ minor), or h-Moll (B minor); see also Dur (major)

### molto

    Very

### mordent

    Rapid single alternation of a note with the note immediately below or above it in the scale, sometimes further distinguished as lower mordent and upper mordent.

### morendo

    Dying (i.e. dying away in dynamics, and perhaps also in tempo)

### mosso

    Moved, moving; used with a preceding più or meno, for faster or slower respectively

### moto

    Motion; usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly

### movement

    A section of a musical composition (such as a sonata or concerto)

### MS

    See mano sinistra

### munter (Ger.)

    Lively

### Musette (Fr.)

    A dance or tune of a drone-bass character, originally played by a musette

### muta [in...]

    Change [to...]: an instruction either to change instrument (e.g. flute to piccolo, horn in F to horn in B♭) or to change tuning (e.g. guitar muta 6 in D). Note: muta comes from the Italian verb mutare (to change); therefore it does not mean "mute", for which con sordina or con sordino is used.

## N
### nach und nach (Ger.)

    Literally "more and more" with an increasing feeling. Ex. "nach und nach belebter und leidenschaftlicher" (with increasing animation and passion)

### narrante

    Narrating

### natural

    A symbol (♮) that cancels the effect of a sharp or a flat

### naturale (nat.)

    Natural (i.e. discontinue a special effect, such as col legno, sul tasto, sul ponticello, or playing in harmonics)

### N.C.

    No chord, written in the chord row of music notation to show there is no chord being played, and no implied harmony

### Nebenstimme (Ger.)

    Secondary part (i.e. a secondary contrapuntal part, always occurring simultaneously with, and subsidiary to, the Hauptstimme)

### nicht (Ger.)

    Not

### niente

    "nothing", barely audible, dying away, sometimes indicated with a dynamic n

### nobile or nobilmente (Ital.) or Noblement (Fr.)

    In a noble fashion

### noblezza

    Nobility

### nocturne (Fr.)

    A piece written for the night

### notes inégales (Fr.)

    Unequal notes; a principally Baroque performance practice of applying long-short rhythms to pairs of notes written as equal; see also swung note

### notturno

    See nocturne.

### number opera

    An opera consisting of "numbers" (e.g. arias, intermixed with recitative)

## O
### obbligato

    Bound, constrained

### octave

    Interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. Twelve semitones equal an octave, so do the first and the eighth (hence "oct"ave) note in a major or minor scale.

### ohne Dämpfer (Ger.)

    Without a mute

### omaggio

    Homage, celebration

### one-voice-per-part (OVPP)

    The practice of using solo voices on each musical line or part in choral music.

### ordinario (ord.) (Ital.) or position ordinaire (Fr.)

    In bowed string music, an indication to discontinue extended techniques such as sul ponticello, sul tasto or col legno, and return to normal playing. The same as "naturale".

### organ trio

    In jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ player and two other instruments, often an electric guitar player and a drummer.

### oppure or ossia (Ital.)

    Or (giving an alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, additional small notes, or an additional staff)

### ostinato

    Obstinate, persistent (i.e. a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition)

### ottava

    Octave (e.g. ottava bassa: an octave lower)

### ouverture (Fr.)

    see Overture

### oversinging

    Vocal styles that dominate the music they are performed in

### overture

    An orchestral composition forming the prelude or introduction to an opera, oratorio, etc.

## P
### parlando or parlante

    Lit. speaking; like speech, enunciated

### Partitur (Ger.)

    Full orchestral score

### passionato

    Passionate

### pastorale

    In a pastoral style, peaceful and simple

### patetico

    Passionate, emotional. A related term is Pathetique: a name attributed to certain works with an emotional focus such as Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony.

### pausa

    rest

### pedale or ped

    In piano scores, this instructs the player to press the damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). In organ scores, it tells the organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard with the feet.

### pensieroso

    Thoughtfully, meditatively

### perdendosi

    Dying away; decrease in dynamics, perhaps also in tempo

### pesante

    Heavy, ponderous

### peu à peu (Fr.)

    Little by little

### pezzo

    A composition

### piacevole

    Pleasant, agreeable

### piangendo

    Literally 'crying' (used in Liszt's La Lugubre Gondola no. 2).

### piangevole

    Plaintive

### pianissimo (pp)

    very gently (i.e. perform very softly, even softer than piano). This convention can be extended; the more ps that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play or sing, thus ppp (pianissimissimo) would be softer than pp. Dynamics in a piece should be interpreted relative to the other dynamics in the same piece. For example, pp should be executed very softly, but if ppp is found later in the piece, pp should be markedly louder than ppp. More than three ps (ppp) or three fs (fff) are uncommon.

### piano (p)

    Gently (i.e. played or sung softly) (see dynamics)

### piano-vocal score

    The same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar

### Picardy third

    A Picardy third, Picardy cadence (ˈpɪkərdi ) or, in French, tierce picarde is a harmonic device used in Western classical music. It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key.

### piatti

    Cymbals, generally meaning a pair of orchestral clashed cymbals

### piena

    Full, as, for example, a voce piena = "in full voice"

### pietoso

    Pitiful, piteous

### più

    More; see mosso

### piuttosto

    Rather, somewhat (e.g. allegro piuttosto presto)

### pizzicato

    Pinched, plucked (i.e. in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow; compare arco, which is inserted to cancel a pizzicato instruction; in music for guitar, to mute the strings by resting the palm on the bridge, simulating the sound of pizz. of the bowed string instruments)

### plop

    In jazz, a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards

### pochettino or poch.

    Very little; diminutive of poco

### pochissimo or pochiss.

    Very little; superlative of poco

### poco

    A little, as in poco più allegro (a little faster)

### poco rall

    a gradual decrease in speed

### poco a poco

    Little by little

### poetico

    Poetic discourse

### poi

    Then, indicating a subsequent instruction in a sequence; diminuendo poi subito fortissimo, for example: getting softer then suddenly very loud

### pomposo

    Pompous, ceremonious

### ponticello or sul ponticello (pont.)

    On the bridge (i.e. in string playing, an indication to bow or to pluck very near to the bridge, producing a characteristic glassy sound, which emphasizes the higher harmonics at the expense of the fundamental); the opposite of sul tasto

### portamento

    Carrying (i.e. 1. generally, sliding in pitch from one note to another, usually pausing just above or below the final pitch, then sliding quickly to that pitch. If no pause is executed, then it is a basic glissando; or 2. in piano music, an articulation between legato and staccato, like portato)

### portato or louré

    Carried (i.e. non-legato, but not as detached as staccato) (same as portamento)

### posato

    Settled

### potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr.)

    Potpourri (as used in other senses in English) (i.e. a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF... etc.; the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia)

### precipitato

    Precipitately

### prelude, prélude (Fr.), preludio (It), praeludium (Lat.), präludium (Ger.)

    A musical introduction to subsequent movements during the Baroque era (1600s/17th century). It can also be a movement in its own right, which was more common in the Romantic era (mid-1700s/18th century)

### prestissimo

    Extremely quickly, as fast as possible

### presto

    Very quickly

### prima or primo (the masculine form)

    First

### prima donna

    Leading female singer in an opera company

### prima volta

    The first time; for example prima volta senza accompagnamento (the first time without accompaniment)

## Q
### quartal

    Composed of the musical interval of the fourth; as in quartal harmony

### quarter tone

    Half of a semitone; a pitch division not used in most Western music notation, except in some contemporary art music or experimental music. Quarter tones are used in Western popular music forms such as jazz and blues and in a variety of non-Western musical cultures.

### quasi (Latin and Italian)

    Almost (e.g. quasi recitativo almost a recitative in an opera, or quasi una fantasia almost a fantasia)

### quintal

    Composed of the musical interval of the fifth; as in quintal harmony

## R
### rallentando or rall.

    Broadening of the tempo (often not discernible from ritardando); progressively slower

### rapide (Fr.)

    Fast

### rapido

    Fast

### rasch (Ger.)

    Fast

### rasguedo (Spa.)

    (on the guitar) to play strings with the back of the fingernail; esp. to fan the strings rapidly with the nails of multiple fingers

### ravvivando

    Quickening (lit. "reviving"), as in "ravvivando il tempo", returning to a faster tempo that occurred earlier in the piece

### recitativo

    Recitative (lyrics not to be sung but to be recited, imitating the natural inflections of speech)

### religioso

    Religious

### repente

    Suddenly

### reprise

    Repetition of a phrase or verse; return to the original theme

### restez (Fr.)

    Stay in position, i.e., do not shift (string instruments)

### retenu (Fr.)

    Hold back; same as the Italian ritenuto (see below)

### Ridicolo

    Ridiculous, comical

### riff

    a repeated chord progression or refrain

### rilassato

    Relaxed

### rinforzando (rf, rfz or rinf.)

    Reinforcing (i.e. emphasizing); sometimes like a sudden crescendo, but often applied to a single note or brief phrase

### risoluto

    Resolute

### rit.

    An abbreviation for ritardando; also an abbreviation for ritenuto

### ritardando, ritard., rit.

    Slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando

### ritenuto, riten., rit.

    Suddenly slower, held back (usually more so but more temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note); opposite of accelerato

### ritmico

    Rhythmical

### ritmo

    Rhythm (e.g. ritmo di # battute meaning a rhythm of # measures)

### ritornello

    A recurring passage

### rolled chord

    See Arpeggio

### rondo

    A musical form in which a certain section returns repeatedly, interspersed with other sections: ABACA is a typical structure or ABACABA

### roulade (Fr.)

    A rolling (i.e. a florid vocal phrase)

### rubato

    Stolen, robbed (i.e. flexible in tempo), applied to notes within a musical phrase for expressive effect

### ruhig (Ger.)

    Calm, peaceful

### run

    A rapid series of ascending or descending musical notes which are closely spaced in pitch forming a scale, arpeggio, or other such pattern. See: Fill (music) and Melisma.

### ruvido

    Rough

## S
### saltando

    Lit. "jumping": bouncing the bow as in a staccato arpeggio

### sanft (Ger.)

    Gently

### sans nuances (Fr.)

    Without shades, with no subtle variations

### sans presser (Fr.)

    Without rushing

### sans rigueur (Fr.)

    Without strictness, freely

### scale

    Ascending or descending sequence of musical tones

### scatenato

    Unchained, wild

### scherzando, scherzoso

    Playfully

### scherzo

    A light, "joking" or playful musical form, originally and usually in fast triple metre, often replacing the minuet in the later Classical period and the Romantic period, in symphonies, sonatas, string quartets and the like; in the 19th century some scherzi were independent movements for piano, etc.

### schleppend, schleppen (Ger.)

    In a dragging manner, to drag; usually nicht schleppen ("don't drag"), paired with nicht eilen ("don't hurry") in Gustav Mahler's scores

### schlicht (Ger.)

    Plain, simple

### schnell (Ger.)

    Fast

### schneller (Ger.)

    Faster

### schmerzlich (Ger.)

    Sorrowful

### schwer (Ger.)

    Heavy

### schwungvoll (Ger.)

    Lively, swinging, bold, spirited

### scioltezza

    Fluency, agility (used in con scioltezza)

### sciolto

    Fluent, agile

### scordatura

    Altered or alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument

### scorrendo, scorrevole

    Gliding from note to note

### secco (sec) (Fr.)

    Dry (sparse accompaniment, staccato, without resonance); with basso continuo accompaniment for recitativo, this often means that a chordal instrument will play, along with one or more sustained bass instruments. This is in contrast to accompagnato recitativo, which involves the use of continuo and other instruments with their own obbligato parts.

### segno

    sign, usually Dal segno (see above) "from the sign", indicating a return to the point marked by

### segue

    Lit. "it follows"; to be carried on to the next section without a pause

### sehr (Ger.)

    Very

### sehr ausdrucksvoll (Ger.)

    Very expressive

### sehr getragen (Ger.)

    Very sustained

### semitone

    The smallest pitch difference between notes (in most Western music) (e.g. F–F♯) (Note: some contemporary music, non-Western music, and blues and jazz uses microtonal divisions smaller than a semitone)

### semplice

    Simple

### sempre

    Always

### sentimento

    Feeling, emotion

### sentito

    lit. "felt", with expression

### senza

    Without

### senza misura

    Without measure

### senza replica

    Without repetition: "when a movement, repeated in the first instance, must, on the Da Capo, be played throughout without repetition."

### senza sordina or senza sordine (plural)

    Without the mute. See sordina.

### serioso

    Seriously

### serrez (Fr.)

    Getting faster

### sforzando (sf or sfz)

    Getting louder with a sudden strong accent

### shake

    A jazz term describing a trill between one note and its minor third; or, with brass instruments, between a note and its next overblown harmonic

### sharp

    A symbol (♯) that raises the pitch of the note by a semitone; also an adjective to describe a singer or musician performing a note in which the intonation is somewhat too high in pitch

### short accent

    Hit the note hard and short (^)

### si (Fr.)

    Seventh note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-doh solmization; also used for the 5th note, sol, when sharpened, in solmization.

### siciliana

    A Sicilian dance in $^{12}$ $_8$ or $^6$ $_8$ meter

### sign

    See segno

### silenzio

    Silence (i.e. without reverberations)

### simile

    Similar (i.e. continue applying the preceding directive, whatever it was, to the following passage)

### sipario

    Curtain (stage)

### slancio

    Momentum, con slancio: with momentum; with enthusiasm

### slargando or slentando

    Becoming broader or slower (that is, becoming more largo or more lento)

### slur

    A symbol in Western musical notation (generally a curved line placed over the notes) indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played without separation (that is, with legato articulation)

### smorzando (smorz.)

    Extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo as well

### soave

    Smooth, gentle

### sognando

    Dreaming

### solenne

    Solemn

### solo or soli (plural)

    Alone (i.e. executed by a single instrument or voice). The instruction soli requires more than one player or singer; in a jazz big band this refers to an entire section playing in harmony. In orchestral works, soli refers to a divided string section with only one player to a line.

### solo break

    A jazz term that instructs a lead player or rhythm section member to play an improvised solo cadenza for one or two measures (sometimes abbreviated as "break"), without any accompaniment. The solo part is often played in a rhythmically free manner, until the player performs a pickup or lead-in line, at which time the band recommences playing in the original tempo.

### sommo (masc.), somma (fem.)

    Highest, maximum; con somma passione: with the greatest passion

### sonata

    A piece played as opposed to sung

### sonatina

    A little sonata

### sonatine

    A little sonata, used in some countries instead of sonatina

### sonore

    Sonorous (Deep or ringing sound)

### sonoro

    With full sound

### sopra

    Above; directive to cross hands in a composition for piano, e.g. m.s. sopra: left hand over; opposite: sotto (below)

### sopra una corda or sull'istessa corda

    To be played on one string

### soprano

    The highest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)

### sordina, sordine (plural)

    A mute. Note: sordina, with plural sordine, is strictly correct Italian, but the forms sordino and sordini are much more commonly used in music. Instruments can have their tone muted with wood, rubber, metal, or plastic devices (for string instruments, mutes are clipped to the bridge; for brass instruments, mutes are inserted in the bell), or parts of the body (guitar; French Horn), or fabric (clarinet; timpani), among other means. In piano music (notably in Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata), senza sordini or senza sordina (or some variant) is sometimes used to mean keep the sustain pedal depressed, since the sustain pedal lifts the dampers off the strings, with the effect that all notes are sustained indefinitely.

### sordino

    See sordina.

### sortita

    A principal singer's first entrance in an opera

### sospirando

    Sighing

### sostendo (Galician)

    holding back (notably used in El Camino Real by Alfred Reed)

### sostenuto

    Sustained, lengthened

### sotto voce

    In an undertone (i.e. quietly)

### soutenu (Fr.)

    sustained

### Sprechgesang

    "spoken singing", expressionist vocal technique denoting pitched speaking. Used most notably in the compositions of Arnold Schoenberg such as Pierrot lunaire.

### spianato

    Smooth, even

### spiccato

    Distinct, separated (i.e. a way of playing the violin and other bowed instruments by bouncing the bow on the string, giving a characteristic staccato effect)

### spinto

    Lit. "pushed"

### spirito

    Spirit, con spirito: with spirit, with feeling

### spiritoso

    Spirited

### staccato

    Making each note brief and detached; the opposite of legato. In musical notation, a small dot under or over the head of the note indicates that it is to be articulated as staccato.

### stanza

    A verse of a song

### stem

    Vertical line that is directly connected to the [note] head

### stentando or stentato (sten. or stent.)

    Labored, heavy, in a dragging manner, holding back each note

### stornello

    Originally truly 'improvised' now taken as 'appearing to be improvised,' an Italian 'folk' song, the style of which used for example by Puccini in certain of his operas

### strascinando or strascicante

    Indicating a passage should be played in a heavily slurred manner; in some contexts it indicates a rhythmic motion resembling shuffling

### strepitoso

    Noisy, forceful

### stretto

    Tight, narrow (i.e. faster or hastening ahead); also, a passage in a fugue in which the contrapuntal texture is denser, with close overlapping entries of the subject in different voices; by extension, similar closely imitative passages in other compositions

### stringendo

    Gradually getting faster (literally, tightening, narrowing) (i.e. with a pressing forward or acceleration of the tempo, that is, becoming stretto)

### strisciando

    To be played with a smooth slur, a glissando

### suave (Sp.)

    Soft

### subito

    Immediately (e.g. subito pp, which instructs the player to suddenly drop to pianissimo as an effect); often abbreviated as sub.

### sul

    Lit. "on the", as in sul ponticello (on the bridge); sul tasto (on the fingerboard); sul E (on the E string), etc.

### sul E

    "on the E", indicating a passage is to be played on the E string of a violin. Also seen: sul A, sul D, sul G, sul C, indicating a passage to be played on one of the other strings of a string instrument.

### suono reale

    Actual sound; primarily used with notated harmonics where the written pitch is also the sounding pitch

### sur la touche (Fr.)

    Sul tasto

### syncopation

    A disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of downbeat rhythm with emphasis on the sub-division or up-beat (e.g. in ragtime music)

## T
### tacet (Lat.)

    Lit. "he/she keeps silent": do not play

### tasto, sul tasto or tastiera (tast.)

    On the fingerboard (i.e. in string playing, an indication to bow or to pluck over the fingerboard); playing over the fingerboard produces a duller, less harmonically rich, gentler tone. The opposite of sul ponticello.

### tasto solo

    'single key'; used on a basso continuo part to indicate that only the written notes should be played, without RH chords as normally played by the harpsichordist/organist

### tempo

    Time (i.e. the overall speed of a piece of music)

### tempo di marcia

    March tempo

### tempo di mezzo

    The middle section of a double aria, commonly found in bel canto era Italian operas, especially those of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and their contemporaries as well in many early operas by Verdi. When present, the tempo di mezzo generally signals a shift in the drama from the slow cantabile of the first part to the cabaletta of the second, and this can take the form of some dramatic announcement or action to which the character(s) react in the cabaletta finale.

### tempo di valzer

    Waltz tempo

### tempo giusto

    In strict time

### tempo primo, tempo uno, or tempo I (sometimes tempo I° or tempo 1$^{ero}$)

    Resume the original speed

### tempo rubato

    "Stolen time"; an expressive way of performing a rhythm; see rubato

### ten.

    See tenuto

### teneramente; tendre or tendrement (Fr.)

    Tenderly

### tenerezza

    Tenderness

### tenor

    The second lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)

### tenuto

    Held (i.e. touch on a note slightly longer than usual, but without generally altering the note's value)

### ternary

    Having three parts. In particular, a three-part musical form with the parts represented by letters: ABA

### tessitura

    The 'best' or most comfortable pitch range, generally used to identify the most prominent / common vocal range within a piece of music

### tierce de Picardie (Fr.)

    See Picardy third

### timbre

    The quality of a musical tone that distinguishes one tone from another

### time

    In a jazz or rock score, after a rubato or rallentendo section, the term "time" indicates that performers should return to tempo (this is equivalent to the term "a tempo")

### tosto

    Immediately

### tranquillo

    Calm, peaceful

### transposition

    moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.

### trattenuto (tratt.)

    Held back with a sustained tone, similar to ritardando

### tre corde (tc)

    Three strings (i.e. release the soft pedal of the piano) (see una corda)

### tremolo

    Shaking. As used in 1) and 2) below, it is notated by a strong diagonal bar (or bars) across the note stem, or a detached bar (or bars) for a set of notes.
   * A rapid, measured or unmeasured repetition of the same note. String players perform this tremolo with the bow by rapidly moving the bow while the arm is tense;
   * A rapid, measured or unmeasured alternation between two or more notes, usually more than a whole step apart. In older theory texts this form is sometimes referred to as a "trill-tremolo" (see trill).
   * A rapid, repeated alteration of volume (as on an electronic instrument);
   * vibrato: an inaccurate usage, since vibrato is actually a slight undulation in a sustained pitch, rather than a repetition of the pitch, or variation in volume (see vibrato).

### tresillo (Sp.)

    A duple-pulse rhythmic cell in Cuban and other Latin American music

### trill

    A rapid, usually unmeasured alternation between two harmonically adjacent notes (e.g. an interval of a semitone or a whole tone). A similar alternation using a wider interval is called a tremolo.

### triplet (shown with a horizontal bracket and a '3')

    Three notes in the place of two, used to subdivide a beat.

### triste

    Sad, wistful

### tronco, tronca

    Broken off, truncated

### troppo

    Too much; usually seen as non troppo, meaning moderately or, when combined with other terms, not too much, such as allegro [ma] non troppo (fast but not too fast)

### turn

    Multi-note ornament above and below the main note; it may also be inverted. Also called gruppetto.

### tutti

    All; all together, usually used in an orchestral or choral score when the orchestra or all of the voices come in at the same time, also seen in Baroque-era music where two instruments share the same copy of music, after one instrument has broken off to play a more advanced form: they both play together again at the point marked tutti. See also ripieno.

## U
### un, una, or uno

    One or "a" (indefinite article), as exemplified in the following entries

### un poco or un peu (Fr.)

    A little

### una corda

    One string (i.e., in piano music, depressing the soft pedal, which alters and reduces the volume of the sound). For most notes in modern pianos, this results in the hammer striking two strings rather than three. Its counterpart, tre corde (three strings), is the opposite: the soft pedal is to be released.

### unisono (unis)

    In unison (i.e., several players in a group are to play exactly the same notes within their written part, as opposed to splitting simultaneous notes among themselves); often used to mark the return from divisi

### uptempo

    A fast, lively, or increased tempo, or played or done in such a tempo; it is also an umbrella term for a quick-paced electronic music style

### ut (Fr.)

    First note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-do solmization

## V
### vagans (Lat.)

    Lit. "wandering": the fifth part in a motet, named so most probably because it had no specific range

### vamp

    Improvised accompaniment, usually a repeating pattern played before next musical passage. See vamp till cue. See comp and comping (jazz).

### vamp till cue

    A jazz, fusion, and musical theatre term which instructs rhythm section members to repeat and vary a short ostinato passage, riff, or "groove" until the band leader or conductor instructs them to move on to the next section

### variazioni

    Variations, con variazioni: with variations/changes

### veloce

    Fast

### velocità

    Speed; con velocità: with speed

### velocissimo

    As fast as possible; usually applied to a cadenza-like passage or run

### via

    Away, out, off; as in via sordina or sordina via: 'mute off'

### vibrato

    Vibrating (i.e. a more or less rapidly repeated slight variation in the pitch of a note, used as a means of expression). Often confused with tremolo, which refers either to a similar variation in the volume of a note, or to rapid repetition of a single note.

### vif (Fr.)

    Lively

### violoncello

    cello

### virtuoso

    (noun or adjective) performing with exceptional ability, technique, or artistry

### vite (Fr.)

    Fast

### vittorioso

    Victorious

### vivace

    Lively, up-tempo

### vivacissimo

    Very lively

### vivamente

    With liveliness

### vivezza

    Liveliness, vivacity

### vivo

    Lively, intense

### vocal score or piano-vocal score

    A music score of an opera, musical, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra (like oratorio or cantata) where the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced to two staves and adapted for playing on piano

### voce

    Voice

### volante

    Flying

### volti subito (V.S.)

    Turn immediately (i.e. turn the page quickly). While this indication is sometimes added by printers, it is more commonly indicated by orchestral members in pencil as a reminder to quickly turn to the next page.

## W
### weich (Ger.)

    Gentle, gently

### wenig (Ger.)

    A little, not much

### weniger (Ger.)

    Less

### wolno (Pol.)

    Loose, slowly

## Z
### Zählzeit (Ger.)

    Beat

### zart (Ger.)

    Tender

### Zartheit (Ger.)

    Tenderness

### zärtlich (Ger.)

    Tenderly

### Zeichen (Ger.)

    Sign, mark

### Zeitmaß or Zeitmass (Ger.)

    Time-measure (i.e. tempo)

### zelo, zeloso, zelosamente

    Zeal, zealous, zealously

### ziehen (Ger.)

    To draw out

### ziemlich (Ger.)

    Fairly, quite, rather

### zitternd (Ger.)

    Trembling (i.e. tremolando)

### zögernd (Ger.)

    Hesitantly, delaying (i.e. rallentando)

### zurückhalten (Ger.)

    Hold back