Signs and Terms Flashcards
a tempo
return to the original tempo
accent
play note louder than the others
accelerando
accelerate; gradually faster
adagio
slowly
allargando
broadening; gradually slower
allegro
fast or quick, cheerfully, merrily
allegretto
slightly slower than allegro; faster than andante
andante
moderate walking tempo
andantino
slightly faster than andante; some composers use it to mean slower than andante
animato
animated; with spirit
appoggiatura
used mainly in music of the Classical Period, play the first note as half the value of the second note
arpeggio
a broken chord
atonality
no specific key or tonality
bitonality
the use of two different keys at the same time
canon
a strict form of contrapuntal writing in which each voice exactly imitates the melody of the first voice
cantabile
in a singing style
coda
an extended ending
codetta
a short coda, or a short section of music that connects two other sections but is not part of either
con
with
con brio
with vigor or spirit, with brilliance
con fuoco
with fire and fury
con moto
with motion
crescendo
gradually louder
D.C. al fine
go back to the beginning and play to fine
damper pedal
press the pedal located on the right
decrescendo or dimenuendo
gradually softer
dolce
sweetly
doloroso
sadly; sorrowfully
double flat
two flats placed before a note; lower the note a whole step
double sharp
the symbol x placed before a note; raise the note a whole step
dynamics
letters or symbols which tell how loudly or softly to play the music
enharmonic
two different names for the same pitch
espressivo
expressively
fine
the end
forte
loud
fortissimo
very loud
fortississimo
very, very loud
forte-piano
loud followed immediately by soft
fermata
hold the note longer than its value
first and second ending
play the music with the first ending then repreat the music; the second time skip the first ending and play the second ending
giocoso
merrily, with humor
gracioso
gracefully
largo
very slowly
legato
play smoothly; connect the notes
leggiero
lightly, delicately
lento
slowly
m.d.
mano destra, use the right hand
m.s.
mano sinistra, use the left hand
marcato
stressed, marked
meno
less
meno mosso
less motion; slower
mezzo forte
medium loud
mezzo piano
medium soft
moderato
a moderate or medium tempo
molto
much; very
octave sign (8va)
play the notes an octave higher (or lower if below the notes) than where they are written
opus
a word used to indicate the chronological order in which a composer’s music was written
ostinato
a persistently repeated pattern
parallel Major/minor
Major and minor keys with the same letter names, such as C Major and c minor
piano
soft
pianissimo
very soft
pianississimo
very, very soft
pesante
heavily
phrase
a musical sentence, often but not always four measures long
piu
more
piu mosso
more motion; faster
poco
little
polytonality
the use of several different keys at the same time
presto
very fast
rallentando
gradually slower
relative Major/minor
Major and minor keys which have the same key signature
repeat sign
repeat the previous sections of music; go back to the nearest repeat sign, or to the beginning of the piece if there is none
ritardando
gradually slower
ritenuto
immediately slower
robusto
robustly, boldly
scherzando
playfully, jokingly
sempre
always
senza
without
sforzando
a sudden, sharp accent
simile
continue in the same style
slur
curved line that indicates legato
spiritoso
spirited, with spirit
sostenuto
sustained
staccato
play crisply or detached
subito
suddenly; at once
syncopation
a momentary contradiction of the meter or pulse, often by changing strong and weak bits within a measure
tempo
the speed at which to play the music
tenuto
hold the note for its full value; may also mean to stress the note
tie
hold the second note; do not play it
tranquillo
tranquilly, peacefully, calmly
tre corde (t.c.)
release the una corda pedal (soft pedal; left pedal)
trill
an ornament in which the written note is alternated with the note above
trill with prefix
a trill performed with an added beginning from above or below
turn
an ornament in which the written note is surrounded by its upper and lower neighbors
una corda (u.c.)
press the left or soft pedal
vivace
quick, lively
vivo
brisk, lively
…etto
a suffix meaning little or less than
…ino
a suffix meaning little or less than