Musical Terms Grade 4 Flashcards
affetuoso
affectionate, tender
affrettando
hurrying
amabile
“amiable”, pleasant
appassionato
passionately
calando
getting softer, dying away (perhaps also slowing down)
cantando
singing (in a singing style)
come
as / similar to (come prima: as before / as at first; come sopra : as above)
facile
easy
fuoco
fire ( con fucco: wild and fast)
giusto
strict, proper, exact ( tempo giusto: in strict time , the opposite of rubato)
l’istesso
the same (l’istesso tempo: at the same speed)
morendo
dying away
niente
nothing (diminuendo a niente: fade to nothing, to silence)
nobilmente
nobly
perdendosi
gradually dying away (“losing itself”)
possibile
“…as possible” (lento possibile: as slow as possible, p posibile: as quiet as possible)
quasi
as if, resembling, like
sonoro
sonorous, resonant, with rich tone
sopra
above
sotto
below (sotto voce: in an undertone, whispered)
veloce
swift
voce
voice
à
to, at (Italian: a)
animé
animated, lively
Italian: animato
assez
enough, sufficiently, rather; assez vite: rather quick
Do not confuse with Italian “assai”, which by contrast means “very”.
avec
with (Italian: con)
cèdez
yield, relax the speed
douce
sweet (Italian: dolce)
en dehors
outside, emphasised, prominent
Often this is a direction to make a melody stand out from an accompaniment.
et
and (Italian: e / ed)
légèrement
light (Italian: e / ed)
lent
slow (Italian: ma)
mais
but (Italian: meno)
modéré
at a moderate speed (Italian: meno)
non
not
peu
little(Italian: poco)
plus
more (Italian: più)
presser
pressez
hurry: en pressant: hurrying on (Italian: affretando)
ralentir
slow down (Italian: ralentando)
retenu
held back; en retenant: holding back (Italian: ritenuto)
sans
without (Italian: senza)
très
very (similar to Italian: assai)
un
une
one
vif
lively (Italian: vivace / vivo)
vite
quick (Italian: allegro)
