Advanced Rudiments Terms Flashcards
a tempo
Return to the original speed/tempo
acciaccatura
A grace note or a crushed note, played on the beat
accelerando (accel.)
Gradually becoming faster
accent
A stressed note; play this note louder than the dynamic marking indicates
Adagio
Very slowly (slower than Andante, but not as slow as Largo)
ad libitum (ad lib.)
At the liberty of the performer
agitato
Excited, agitated
alla (all’)
In the style, manner of…
Alla Marcia
In the style of a march
Allargando (allarg.)
Gradually becoming slower, broadening
Allegretto
Fairly lively (not as fast as Allegro)
Allegro
Lively, quick, bright (fast)
Andante
At a walking pace, moderately slow
Andantino
A little faster than Andante
animato, animoso
Animated, spirited, lively
arco
Return to playing with the bow on a stringing instrument, after a pizzicato section
assai
Much, very much
attaca
Proceed without a break
Ausdrucksvoll
With expression
ben, bene
Well, much
bewegt
Moving, agitated
brillante
Brilliantly
calando
Gradually becoming slower and softer
cantabile
In a singing style
cédez
Hold back the tempo, yield
chord
Three or more pitches sounding at the same time
colla, colle (col, coll’)
With
coll’ 8va
Play these notes in octaves
comodo, commodo
At a moderate, comfortable speed
con
With
con brio
With vigour, spirit
con espressione
With expression
con fuoco
With fire
con grazia
‘with grace’; in a graceful or elegant style
con moto
With motion/movement
con pedale (con ped.) (Ped.)
With the damper pedal
con sordino (con sord.)
To be played with the mute (string instruments, bass instruments)
Crescendo (cresc.)
Gradually becoming louder
Da Capo (D.C.)
Repeat from the beginning
Da Capo al Fine
Repeat from the beginning and end at Fine
Dal Segno (D.S.)
Repeat from the sign
decrescendo (decresc.)
Gradually becoming softer
diminuendo (dim.)
Gradually becoming softer
dolce
Sweetly, gentle
dolente
sad, sorrowfully
dur
major
Ex: C dur, C major
e, ed
And
enharmonic
two notes which are spelled differently but sound the same (Ex. F# is the enharmonic of Gb)
espressivo (espress.)
Expressively
Fermata (ferrarra before correction……?)
Pause; hold this note (or rest) longer than its note-value indicates
Fine
The end
forte
Loud
fortepiano
Loud, then immediately soft
fortissimo
Very loud
giocoso
Gaily, humorously, playfully
Grave
Solemnly, slowly
Grandioso
Grandly
Grazioso
Graceful
Langsam
Slowly
Largemente
In a broad, dignified manner
Larghetto
Rather slow (not as slow as Largo)
Largo
Very slow and broad (slower than Adagio)
Lebhaft
Lively
legato
Smoothly connected
léger
Lightly
leggiero
Lightly, nimble, quick
Lentement (French)
Slowly
Lento
Slow
l’istesso tempo
In the same time
loco
As written (return to normal register - usually follows 8va)
ma
But
Maestoso
Majestically
M.D. (mano destra)
With the right hand
M.M.
Maelzel’s Metronome. This sign, with a note and number following indicates the number of beats played per minute. Example: the tempo is the value of 80 quarter notes per minute.
M.S. (mano sinistra)
With the left hand
marcato
Well marked, accented
martellato
Strongly accented, hammered
mässig
Moderately
meno
Less
meno mosso
Less movement, slower
mesto
Sadly, mournfully
mezzo forte
Moderately loud (a little softer than forte)
mezzo piano
Moderately soft (a little louder than piano)
mit
With
mit Ausdruck
With expression
Moderato
At a moderate speed
Modéré
At a moderate speed
moll
Minor. Ex: C moll, C minor
molto
Much, very
morendo
Dying away
Mouvement
Tempo; motion
non
Not
non troppo
Not too much
ottava (8va)
The interval of an octave
See pg 141 for examples
pesante
Heavily, with emphasis
pedale (ped.)
Pedal
pianissimo
Very soft
piano
Soft
più
More
più mosso
More movement, quicker
pizzicato (pizz.)
To be plucked with the fingers (string instruments)
poco
Little
poco a poco
Little by little
Prestissimo
As fast as possible
Presto
Very fast
Primo, Prima
First; the upper part of a duet
quasi
As if, like, almost
quindicesima alta (15ma)
Play the notes two octaves higher than written
rallentando (rall.)
Gradually becoming slower
repeat signs
Repeat the music between the repeat signs
ritardando (rit., ritard.)
Gradually becoming slower
ritenuto (riten.)
Suddenly slower, held back
rubato, Tempo rubato
A free, flexible tempo used to enhance musical expression, that can speed up or slow down; ‘robbed time’
ruhig
Quiet, calm
scherzando
Playfully
Schnell
Fast
Secondo, Seconda
Second part; the lower part of a duet
sehr
Very
semplice
Simply
sempre
Always
senza
Without
sforzando, sforzato
To be played with a strong accent on a single note or chord
simile
To be played in a similar or like manner
slur
A line drawn over (or under) two or more notes, indicating that they are to be played legato
sonore
Loud and full in sound, sonorous
sopra
Above
sostenuto
Sustained
sotto voce
‘under the breath’; in a subdued manner
spiritoso
Spirited
staccato
Play the notes short, separated or detached
strepitoso
Boisterously, noisily
stringendo (string.)
Increasing in speed, hurrying
subito (sub.)
Suddenly
sul ponticello
To be played near the bridge (string instruments)
tacet
Silent
tempo
The speed at which the music is to be played
Tempo Primo (Tempo I)
Return to the original speed (usually follows a ritardando or rallentando)
Tempo Rubato
A free, flexible tempo used to enhance musical expression, that can speed up or slow down; ‘robbed time’
tenuto
Sustain the note for its full value
tie
Hold for the combined value of both notes
tranquillo
Calmly, quietly, tranquilly
tre corde
“Three strings”, an indication to release the soft pedal on the piano
troppo
Too much
Tutti
All instruments playing at once, an ensemble passage
una corda
“One string”, an indication to depress the soft pedal on the piano
Vivace
Lively, spirited, brisk
Vivo
Lively, spirited
Vite
Fast
volta
Time; example: prima volta, first time
volti subito (V.S.)
Turn the page quickly
