The Terminology of Music
Musical Short Hand: All those Italian abbreviations
In the earliest days of written music, Italy dominated the musical stage. Composers, performers, patrons and listeners flocked to Italy for music. At the time, Italy was Nashville, Los Angeles and New York all in one place. Venice and Florence were "happening places." This means, of course, that Italy launched a successful pre-emptive strike on the musical lexicon. By the time the rest of the world figured out what had happened, the language of music was set as Italian. Here's an incomplete lexicon for you. Oh, by the way, the words really are Italian. Be gentle in your pronunciation and think vowels a lot.
Words that convey how fast a piece is to be played
From slow to fast
Larghetto Slower than Largo
Largo Very slow – solemn, broad, dignified, like a funeral procession
Adagio Slow but not solemn. Make it easy and comfortable.
Lento Slow
Moderato Moderate (sometimes abbreviated “mod:”
Andantino Slightly slower than andante
Andante The word means “walking or "going" – a little faster than moderato
Allegretto Fast, but a little slower than allegro
Allegro Moderately fast, lively happy
Vivace Lively
Presto Very fast
Prestissimo As fast as it gets
Word that Change the Tempo
A Piacere - At the pleasure - Play it as fast or as slow as you like
A Poco Piu Lento - A little slower - this modifies an already established tempo
A Poco Piu Mosso - A little faster - this modifies an already established tempo
Words that convey the feeling of a piece
A Capella - To be sung without instrumental accompaniment.
A Capriccio - Do you know the English word "caprice?" It means "impulsive change of mind or an inclination to make such changes." That's what capriccio means. It tells a play to choose the style and tempo of a piece. Generally, a capriccio is reserved for happy and lighthearted music.
Ad Libitum - Abbreviated Ad Lib - the ultimate freedom. This instruction tells a player or singer to set the tempo and style of the music. It is used mostly today to tell the musician to improvise a passage of music. Ad Lib can refer to any feeling of music - sad, happy, and zany.
Affettuso - With feeling (doesn't tell you what kind of feeling).
Agitato - Agitated, a disturbed feeling
Animato - Animated, spirited, with life
Appassionata - With passion (In Italian and music there is a difference between feeling [affettuso] and passion. If you don't know what that is, go see an opera by Verdi, or Puccini or Rossini or Leoncavallo and then you'll get it.)
Ben - This is an abbreviation of Ben Marcato that means, in strict translation, "well marked." It means make the melody stand out clearly. It is also an admonition to get it right and not add personal style to the music.
Brillante - Brilliant. This is not a complement to the musician. It means play the passage brightly.
Brio - Abbreviation of vigor con brio. It means play with vigor, play strongly and energetically.
Con Anima - With movement
Con amore - With love
Con forza - or just forza. It means "with force."
Con moto - With movement
Con Sordini - With mutes. Brass instruments insert a plug into the bells of their instruments to produce a muffled sound. A word of caution. Sordini is not the Italian word for anchovy. If you travel to Italy and order a pizza, don't get cute and say, "I'd like a pizza con sordini. " They won't know what you are talking about.
Dolce - Sweetly (pronounced “dole-chay”)
Fuoco - Fire. So don't ever go into a crowded concert hall and shout "fuoco!"
Giocoso - Humorously. It's much easier to laugh and play the violin at the same time. Trumpet players find this impossible.
Glissando or gliss - Means sliding. On a guitar or violin or any string instrument just slide your finger up the string. On a trombone bring the slide in or out. On a piano drag your finger down either the black or white keys. Literally - slide. Much harder on a trumpet or clarinet.
Grandioso- Grandly.
Grazioso- Gracefully.
Grave - Solemn, dignified, slow, with gravity. It's pronounced "graa-vay."
Grazia - Gracefully.
Legato - Abbreviated Leg - To be played smoothly.
Leggiero - Lightly.
Ma - But (for example, moderato, ma con brio)
Maestoso - Majestically with grander.
Marcato, Marc - Play this distinct, accented, in a marked way.
Pomposo - Pompously.
Semplice - Simply.
Tranquillo - Play this tranquilly and calmly.
Vivace - Lively - pronounced "vee-va-che".
Words that convey how loud a piece is to be played
Crescendo or cres. - Gradually gets louder. Marked by a long sideways "V" opening right.
Descrescendo or descres. - Gradually gets softer. Marked by a long sideways "V" opening left.
Forte - f - Loud.
Fortepiano - Change suddenly from loud to soft.
Fortissimo - ff - Very loud.
Fortississimo - fff - As loud as possible.
Mezzo-forte - Moderately loud.
Mezzo-piano - Moderately soft.
Mezzo voce - Half voice. Pronounced "met-so vo-che. Means to sing softly.
Piano - p - Soft. The instrument we call the "piano" is properly called a "piano-forte."
Pianissimo - pp - Very soft.
Pianississimo - ppp - Very, very soft.
Sotto Voce - In a low voice. It is pronounced, “so-toe vo-chay. The music is to be subdued - quiet. Sometimes vocal rehearsals are done in sotto voce to keep the singers’ voices rested for the full performance.
Words that convey the composer doesn't trust you
to play things properly
Gisusto - In exact time. Play at the proper speed.
Volti Subito - Usually abbreviated V.S. It means, "turn the page quickly."
Loco - Means "in place" and tells the musician to play it as written. Usually found after the octave sign (8va or 8vb). It is considered bad form to use the word "loco" after the conductor has taken his "place" in front of the orchestra as in "the conductor is loco."
Rinfozando - rinf. or rf - Give extra emphasis.
Segue - Means keep playing - continue without a break.
Sforzando - sf or sfa - Play this note or chord with special emphasis.
Sostenuto - sost. - Play the note for its full length. Don't cheat and stop blowing or bowing too soon.
Solo - Play alone.
Tacet - "Be silent." Means don't play at this time. But is read like this "even though there are no notes on the page, this is such a cool piece of music, I know you will want to play anyway. But don't do that. Just be silent - tacet." See how much meaning the Italians get in a single word?
Tenuto - ten - Play this note for its full value - it's entire length. If you really want to start an argument, ask classically trained musicians to state the difference between ten and sost. But, be sure to bring your lunch.
Tutti - Means everyone as in everyone is to play or sing - "all together now." This is where we get "tutti fruiti" ice cream from as in "all fruits."
Words that convey how changes are made in playing a piece
Accelerando - Abbreviated accel. Means speed up gradually.
Calando - Gradually gets slower and slower and eventually dies away.
Cantabile or Cantando - Play this part as if you were singing. This is only used for instruments, although some singers would benefit from it too.
Meno - Slower.
Molto - "Very." Usually applied to tempo as in molto grave. Also a condition effecting Italian parakeets.
Rallentando - rall. - Slow down gradually.
Ritardando - ritard. Slow down gradually. Don't ask the difference between a rall. and ritard. I don't have a clue. Most musicians speak about ritards and not ralls if that's any help.
Rubato - The Italian word means, "robbed." It means play this passage with a free tempo. Do not say "I was downtown last night and got robatoed."
Stringendo - Strings speed up.
Words that convey the style or form of a piece
Air - A melody, usually slow and free. It is never more rapid than a moderate pace. Sometimes it is without definite rhythmic structure.
Aria - A melody, usually a showpiece for a vocalist. Often the best part of operas. Sopranos and tenors make entire careers on how well they perform some of the great arias.
Ballade - This French word is used in formal discussions. The English word “ballad” is perfectly fine to use. Whatever you call it, a ballad is a song that tells a story. When used in Romantic music it means an instrumental work that serves as a narrative of some story.
Bel Canto - This means "beautiful singing" in Italian. It describes an early 19th-century operatic style that valued purity of the vocal sound and agility of vocal technique.
Chamber Music - Any music written for small groups of instruments and intended to be performed in small concert halls, or large music rooms of estates, is called chamber music. Usually these works are written for trios and quartets. More often than not they are written for strings.
Concerto - A sonata for solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment. The Italian word means, "concert." More often than not concertos are written for piano or violin.
Concerto Grosso - Don’t get confused on this. The concerto grosso musical form differs from the concerto because it is not a sonata, but a fugue. The form is generally a pre-nineteenth century structure. A concerto grosso contrasts a small group of instruments against a large group of instruments. The small group is called the “concertino.” The large group is called “tutti.” Concerto grossi typically have three or more movements. Johann Sebastian Bach’s six works called the Brandenburg Concerti are some of the best examples of concerto grosso. Each of the six Brandenburg Concerti makes use of a different concertino. Aaron Copland describes good concerto grossi as exhibiting “an athletic quality” because of the strong contrapuntal texture of the composition. Bach’s Brandenburgs are widely regarded as some of the best music ever composed.
Etudé - The French word means "study." It is pronounced, “a-two-ed.” Etudes were originally short pieces composed to help students overcome specific technical hurdles in learning how to play an instrument. Ultimately, etude was applied to any short, flashy work written for a solo instrument. More often than not etudes are written for piano.
Fugue - The Italian word means, “flight.” A fugue is a composition in which one or more themes are repeated or imitated by voices that enter the work independent and successively. Fugues are noted for their strong contrapuntal development generated by the continuous interweaving of the various voice lines. All fugues are polyphonic and contrapuntal in nature. There are four forms of the fugue: the fugue, concerto grosso, chorale-prelude and motets and madrigals. Fugues are generally short because they demand so much attention by listeners. Fugues were very popular in the 18th century but few are written today. The sonata has largely replaced the fugue.
Leitmotive - German word means, "leading motive." It is pronounced, “light mo teef.” The term was originally used to describe motifs in Wagner's Musical Dramas that represented specific elements such as a person or a god or the weather. Think of this as a dominant and recurring musical theme.
Libretto - Italian word means, "little book." The text of an opera is a libretto.
Lied - The German word means "song." It is pronounced “lee-t.” The term is applied to art songs and is used to distinguish between composed songs and folk songs. The orchestration is written most typically for voice and piano. The plural form, lieder, is often seen.
Mazurka - Chopin (who, by the way was Polish not French as many people assume) developed this small-scaled compositional form. Melodies are derived from Polish folk dances and usually arranged for solo piano.
Opus - Op. The Latin word means, “work.” Unimaginative composers use this abbreviation as titles to their works as in John Doe's Opus 4. This assumes he composed three other works before that and couldn't think of names for them either. It's something akin to abandoning a child. But the sophisticated set seems to like it.
Rondo - A sectional form of music that repeats the principle theme after every melodic digression. A rondo might have the thematic pattern of A-B-A-C-A-D-A. The basic song form of A-B-A is the simplest form of rondo.
Scherzo - The Italian word means “joke.” It is pronounced “scare –tso.” The term originally applied to early 17th century Italian music and was confined to madrigals, ballads and other light forms of music. Beethoven redefined the scherzo to mean a trio and used it as a routine replacement to the minuet in sonatas, chamber works and his symphonies. Chopin, Brahms and Stravinsky have also used and expanded the meaning of scherzo. The form, as Beethoven defined however, remains in active use today.
Sonata - The Italian word means, "played" and was meant to contrast with the term “cantata.” The word cantata means, “sung.” A sonata is a large composition with at least three and possibly four movements that follow the tempo pattern of either fast - slow - fast, or fast - slow - moderate - fast.
Toccata - A composition for organ or harpsichord that exhibits a free style of playing and is characterized by large, rich chords, rapid scale or chordal runs, and high harmonies. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor is very well known.
Words that are wishy-washy
a poco a poco - Little by little. Used to indicate a change in tempo or volume.
Assai - Very.
Mezzo - Half. Pronounced "met-so." Note that mezzo-wit is not a proper musical term.
Non - Means not. Often seen as non troppo which means "not too much."
Quasi - Almost, as if.
Sempre - semp. - Always. Just like the Marine Corps.
Senza - Without.
Subito - Suddenly.
Tanto - Much.
Words that Convey Musical Concepts
Cadence - The Italian word means "falling." A cadence is the conclusion of a musical phrase. Cadence often refers to the progression of chords at the end of a phrase, but may also speak to melodic or rhythmic movement too. Cadence is the movement that brings closure to the music. It is the technical tool that composers use to release the musical tension they have created.
Chromatic - Music written to make use of the 12 tones of the octave is called chromatic. The word means, “color.” Chromatic music moves beyond the diatonic scale and relies upon intervals and relationships that do not occur within the diatonic scale.
Consonance - When two or more tones produce a feeling of harmonic rest or comfort they are said to be consonant.
Diatonic - Music that is crafted from the seven tones of the conventional scale defined naturally by vibrating strings is called diatonic. The seven tones of the octave defined in this way form the well-known scale of “DO RA ME FA SO LA TI DO.”
Dissonance - Two or more tones that sound bad when played together. It is a clashing of tones. Dissonance provides a state of tension or unrest in music that contrasts with consonance, the lack of such tension. Music without dissonance is so gentle and dreamy that it is boring and ineffective.
Dominant - The fifth tone of the diatonic scale is called the “dominant.” The chord formed on this scale tone “dominates” the key by driving the music back to the tonic. Dominant chords and keys are central to the resolution of musical tension.
Modulation - The process of changing from one key to another.
Nocturne - Short pieces written to evoke the feeling of the night. Most often written for piano.
Polonaise - The French word means "Polish." The melodic lines are derived from Polish dances that have a military flavor.
Prima Donna The Italian word means "first lady." The term is applied to the female lead singer in an opera production. The term has come to imply bad tempered, self-centered, egotistical people and performers.
Strophic Form - The A A A ….. form of a song. The music supporting the verses is repeated for each verse with little or no modification. Much popular music is in strophic form.
Tonic - The key in which a composition was written. Sometimes tonic refers to the I (the "one") chord of a key.
Transcription - When an arranger re-writes a composition and puts it into a different format, the new work is called a transcription. Often the arranger changes the orchestration and selects new voicings for the work.
Virtuoso - The Italian word means, "virtuous." A great instrumentalist is said to be virtuoso.
