Grade 1 Music Theory Terms Flashcards
Accelerando (accel.)
Gradually getting quicker.
Adagio
Slow
Allegretto
Fairly quick.
Allegro
Quick (literally cheerful)
Andante
At a medium (walking) speed.
Cantabile
In a singing style
Crescendo (cresc.)
Gradually getting louder.
Da capo (d.c.).
Repeat from beginning.
Dal segno (d.s.)
Repeat from the sign s./.s
Decrescendo (Decresc.). Diminuendo (dim.)
Gradually getting quieter.
Fine
The end.
f (forte)
Loud.
Ff (fortissimo)
Very loud.
Legato
Smoothly.
Lento
Slow.
Mezzo
Half.
Mf (mezzo forte)
Moderately (half) loud.
mp (mezzo piano)
Moderately (half) quiet.
Moderato.
Moderately. (Allegro moderato: moderately quick).
P (piano)
Quiet.
pp (pianissimo).
Very quiet.
Poco.
A little.
Rallentando (Rall.)
Ritardando (Ritard. Rit.)
Gradually getting slower.
Ritenuto (Riten. Rit.)
Held back.
Staccato (stacc.)
Detached.
Tempo.
Speed, time.
A tempo
In time.
A.
At, to, by, for, in, in the style of.
Al, alla
To the, in the manner of.
Allargando.
Broadening.
Getting a little slower and probably a little louder
Andantino.
Slightly faster than andante. (May mean slower.)
Assai
Very.
Con, col.
With.
Dolce.
Sweet, soft.
E, ed.
And.
Espressivo (Espress. Espr.)
Expressive.
fp. (Fortepiano)
Loud, then immediately soft.
Giocoso
Playful, merry.
Grave
Very slow, solemn.
Grazioso
Graceful.
Larghetto
Rather slow.
Largo
Slow, stately.
Ma
But.
Maestoso
Majestic.
Meno
Less
Molto.
Very, much.
Mosso, Moto.
Movement. (Meno mosso, less movement, etc.)
Non
Not.
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Più
More.
Presto.
Fast, faster than allegro.
Senza.
Without.
Sf, sfz ( sforzando, sforzato)
Forced, accented.
Simile, sim.
In the same way.
Sostenuto.
Sustained.
Tenuto.
Held.
Troppo
Too much.
Non Troppo.
Not too much.
Vivace, vivo
Lively, quick.
Adagietto
Rather slow.
Ad libitum, ad lib
At choice, passage may be played freely.
Agitato
Agitated.
Alla breve
With a minim beat, equivalent to c/ (2/2), implying a faster tempo than the notes might otherwise suggest.
Amore
Love.
Amoroso
Loving.
Anima
Soul, spirit.
Con anima
With feeling, spirited.
Animato
Animated, lively.
Animando
Becoming more lively.
Ben
Well.
Brio
Vigour.
Comodo
Convenient.
Tempo Comodo.
At a comfortable speed.
Deciso
With determination.
Delicato
Delicate
Energico
Energetic.
Forza
Force.
Largamente
Broadly.
Leggiero
Light, nimble.
Marcato, Marc.
Emphatic, accented.
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Marziale.
In a military style.
Mesto
Sad.
Pesante
Heavy.
Prima, primo
First.
Risoluto.
Bold, strong.
Ritmico
Rhythmically.
Rubato, tempo rubato
With some freedom of time.
Scherzando, scherzoso
Playful, joking.
Seconda, secondo
Second.
Semplice.
Simple, plain.
Sempre
Always.
Stringendo
Gradually getting faster.
Subito
Suddenly.
Tanto.
So much.
Tranquillo
Calm.
Triste, tristamente
Sad, sorrowful.
Volta.
Time.
Prima Volta.
First time.
Seconda Volta.
Second time.
Con sordini (con sord.)
With mutes. FOR STRINGS AND BRASS.
Senza sordini (senza sord.)
Without mutes. FOR STRINGS AND BRASS.
Arco.
Play with the bow (a direction after pizzicato). STRINGS.
|^|. Flat top though. Upside down |_|
“Down” bow. A BOWING MARK FOR STRINGS.
V
An “up” bow. A BOWING MARK FOR STRINGS.
( sideways. A slur.
The notes are to be played in one stroke of the bow.
Pizzicato.
Plucked. STRINGS
Sul G.
Play on the G string.
Suk ponticello
Play near the bridge. STRINGS.
Una corda
Press the left pedal. (Literally “one string”)
Tre corde.
Release the left pedal. (Literally “three strings”).
Led. (Fancy font)
A hollow circle surrounded by 8 solid circles connected by lines.
P__________I
Press/release the right pedal.
Mano.
Hand.
Mano sinistra (m.s.)
Left hand.
Mano destra (m.d.)
Right hand.
~~~~ sideways.
Spread the notes of a chord quickly, starting with lowest note.
Affettuoso.
Tenderly.
Affrettando.
Hurrying.
Amabile
Amiable, pleasant.
Appassionato
With passion.
Calando
Getting softer, dying away (and usually slowing down)
Come
As, similar to.
Come prima
As before.
Come sopra
As above.
Facile
Easy.
Fuoco
Fire.
Giusto
Proper, exact.
Tempo, Giusto.
In strict time.
L’istesso.
The same.
L’istesso tempo.
At the same speed.
Morendo
Dying away.
Niente
Nothing.
Nobilmente
Nobly.
Perdendosi
Dying away.
Possibile
Possible.
Quasi
As if, resembling.
Sonoro
Resonant, with rich tone.
Sopra
Above.
Sotto
Below.
Sotto voce
In an undertone.
Veloce
Swift.
Voce
Voice
À
To, at.
Animé
Animated, lively.
Assez
Enough, sufficiently.
Avec
With
Cédez
Yield, relax the speed.
Douce
Sweet.
En dehors
Prominent (a direction to make a melody stand out.
Et
And.
Légèrement
Light
Lent
Slow.
Mais
But.
Moins
Less.
Modéré,
At a moderate speed.
Non
Not.
Peu
Little.
Plus
More.
Plus.
More.
Presser
Hurry.
Ralentir
Slow down.
En pressant
Hurrying on.
Retenu
Held back.
En Retenant.
Holding back, slowing a little.
Sans
Without.
Très
Very.
Un, une
One.
Vif
Lively.
Vite
Quick.
Attacca
Go straight onto the next section of the music.
Dolente
Sad, mournful.
Dolore
Grief.
Doloroso
Sorrowful.
Doppio movimento
Twice as fast.
Estinto
As soft as possible, lifeless.
Incalzando
Getting quicker.
Lacrimoso
Sad.
Loco
At the normal pitch.
Used to cancel an 8va direction.
Lunga
Long.
Lusingando
Coaxing, in a sweet or persuasive style.
Misura
Measure.
Alla Misura
In strict time.
Senza Misura
In free time.
Ossia
Or, alternatively.
Piacevole
Pleasant.
Piangevole
Plaintive, in the style of a lament.
Pochettino, poch.
Rather little.
Rinforznado, rf, rfz.
Reinforcing.
Segue
Go straight on.
Smorzando, smorz.
Dying away in tone and speed.
Teneramente, tenerezza
Tenderly, tenderness.
Tosto
Swift, rapid (but often used in the same sense of Troppo)
Volante
Flying, fast.
Aber
But
Ausdruck
Expression.
Bewegt
With movement, agitated.
Breit
Broad, expansive.
Ein
A, one.
Etwas
Somewhat, rather.
Einfach
Simple.
Fröhlich
Cheerful, joyful.
Immer
Always.
Langsam
Slow.
Lebhaft
Lively.
Mässig
At a moderate speed.
Mit
With
Nicht
Not.
Ohne
Without.
Ruhig
Peaceful.
Schnell
Fast.
Sehr
Very.
Süss
Sweet.
Traurig
Sad.
Und
And.
Voll
Full.
Wenig
Little
Wieder
Again.
Zara
Tender, delicate.
Zu
To, too.
