Musical Terms

Italian term Literal translation Definition

Musical forms

A cappella in chapel style Sung with no instrumental accompaniment
Aria air A song, esp. one from an opera
Arietta little air A short or light aria
Ballabile danceable (song) to be danced to
Battaglia battle A piece suggesting a battle
Bergamasca from Bergamo A peasant dance from Bergamo
Burletta a little joke A light comic or farcical opera
Cadenza falling A florid solo at the end of a performance
Cantata sung A piece for orchestra and singers
Capriccio caprice A lively piece of music
Coda tail The end of a piece
Concerto concert A work for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra
Concertino little concert A short concerto; the solo instrument in a concerto
Concerto grosso big concert A Baroque form of concerto, with a group of solo instruments
Intermezzo interval A short connecting instrumental movement
Libretto little book A work containing the words to an opera or musical
Opera work A drama set to music for singers and instrumentalists
Opera buffa humorous opera A comic opera
Opera seria serious opera An opera with a serious, esp. classical theme
Sonata sounded A composition for one or two instruments in sonata form

Musical instruments

Piano(forte) soft-loud A keyboard instrument
viola viola, orig. Latin vitulari "be joyful" A medium-sized stringed instrument
(Violon)cello Small violone (violone means "big viola") A large stringed instrument
Viola da gamba leg viola A stringed instrument held between the legs
Viola da braccio arm viola A stringed instrument held in the arm, such as a violin or viola
Viola d'amore love viola A tenor viol with no frets
Tuba tube A large brass instrument
Piccolo little A tiny woodwind instrument
Timpani drums Large drums
Cornetto little horn An old woodwind instrument
Campana bell A bell used in an orchestra; also campane "bells"
Orchestra orchestra, orig. Greek orkesthai "dance" An ensemble of instruments
Oboe d'amore love oboe A Baroque woodwind instrument

Voices

Soprano upper The highest vocal line
Mezzo-soprano middle-upper Between soprano and alto
Alto high Second-highest vocal line
Contralto against high Alto, esp. a female alto
Basso low Or "bass;" the lowest vocal line
Basso profondo deep and low A very deep bass voice
Castrato castrated A male singer, castrated so as to be able to sing soprano (now sung by women, conventional countertenors, or sopranisti)
Falsetto false (dim.) High male voice, affecting a female voice

Tempo

Tempo time The speed of a piece of music
Largo broad Slow and dignified
Larghetto a little bit broad Not as slow as largo
Lento slow Slow
Adagio ad agio, at ease Slow, but not as slow as largo
Adagietto little adagio Faster than adagio; or a short adagio composition
Andante walking Moderately slow, flowing along
Moderato moderately At a moderate speed
Allegretto a little bit joyful Slightly slower than allegro
Allegro joyful;lively and fast Moderately fast
Fermata stopped Marks a note to be held or sustained
Presto ready Very fast
Prestissimo very ready Very very fast, as fast as possible
Accelerando accelerating accelerating
Affrettando becoming hurried accelerating
Allargando to slow and broaden slowing down and broadening, becoming more stately and majestic, possibly louder
Ritardando to slow decelerating
Rallentando becoming progressively slower decelerating
Rubato robbed free flowing and exempt from steady rhythm
Tenuto sustained holding or sustaining a single note
Accompagnato accompanied The accompaniment must follow the singer who can speed up or slow down at will
alla marcia as a march In strict tempo at a marching pace (e.g. 120 bpm)

Dynamics - volume

Calando quietening Becoming softer and slower
Crescendo growing Becoming louder
Decrescendo shrinking Becoming softer
Diminuendo dwindling Becoming softer
Forte strong Loud
Fortissimo very strong Very loud
Mezzo forte half-strong Moderately loud
Piano gentle Soft
Pianissimo very gentle Very soft
Mezzo piano half-gentle Moderately soft
Sforzando strained Sharply accented

Moods

Affettuoso with feeling Tenderly
Agitato agitated Excited and fast
Animato animated Animated
Brillante brilliant Brilliant, bright
Bruscamente brusquely Brusquely - abruptly
Cantabile singable In a singing style
Comodo easily Unrestrainedly
Con amore with love with love
Con fuoco with fire with fiery manner
Con brio (Con Spirito) with spirit With spirit
Con moto with movement With movement
Dolce sweetly Sweet
Grazioso graciously or gracefully With charm
Maestoso majestic Stately
Misterioso mysterious Mysteriously, secretively, enigmatic
Scherzando playfully Playfully
Sotto subdued Subdued
Semplicemente simply Simply
Vivace vivacious up-tempo

Musical expression (general)

Molto very Used with other terms, such as molto allegro
Assai very Used with other terms, such as allegro assai
Più more Used with other terms, such as più mosso
Poco little "a little". Used with other terms, such as poco diminuendo
Poco a poco little by little "little by little", "slowly but steadily". Used with other terms, such as poco a poco crescendo
ma non troppo but not too much But not too much, such as allegro ma non troppo
Meno less Used with other terms, such as meno mosso

Directions

Attacca attach Proceed to the next section without pause
Cambiare change Any change, such as to a new instrument
Da Capo (al fine) from the beginning (to the end) Abbreviated as D.C., informs the performer to go back to the beginning (capo) (finishing where the part is marked "fine")
Dal Segno to the sign Abbreviated as D.S., informs the performer to repeat a specific section marked by a sign (segno)
Divisi divided Instructs one section to divide into two or more separate sections, each playing a separate part. Often these separate parts are written on the same staff.

Techniques

Altissimo very high Very high
Arpeggio harp-like A chord with the notes spread out in time
Acciaccatura crushing An extra, very fast grace note
Appoggiatura leaning A type of ornament
Basso continuo continuous bass Continuous bass accompaniment (see figured bass.)
Bocca chiusa mouth closed Wordless humming in a choral piece
Chiuso closed Calls for a horn to be muted by hand
Col arco with the bow Cancels "col legno" and "pizzicato" (in a string passage, arco is usually expected and is not written.)
Colla voce with the voice A note to accompanists to play with (in time with) the singer, especially when slowing for textual effect
Col legno with the wood Calls for a bowed instrument to be struck with the wood rather than the hair of the bow
Coloratura coloration Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line
Con sordino with mute Calls for mute to be applied, esp. to string instruments.
Senza sordino without mute Calls for mute to be removed, esp. from string instruments.
Pizzicato plucked Calls for a bowed instrument to be plucked with the fingers
Coperti covered Of a drum, muted with a cloth
Una corda one string With the soft pedal, on a piano
Due corde two strings With the soft pedal, on a piano. For why both terms exist, see piano.
Tre corde or tutte le corde Three strings or all the strings Cancels an una corda
Scordatura mistuning Alternate tuning (of strings)

Roles

Prima donna first lady Leading female role
Primo uomo first man Leading male role
Comprimario/a con primario, with the first A supporting role
Concertino little concert The smaller, more virtuosic, group of musicians in a concerto grosso
Ripieno filling or stuffing The larger group of musicians in a concerto grosso

Criticism

Bel canto beautiful voice Any fine singing, esp. that popular in 18th and 19th c. Italian opera
Bravura skill A performance of extraordinary virtuosity
Bravo! skillful a cry of congratulation to a male singer or performer. Fem. brava, pl. bravi, fem.pl. brave

Musical direction

Maestro Master, teacher Conductor, music director, music teacher, also composer and other eminent musicians and singers
Maestro sostituto Deputy master Assistant conductor
Maestro collaboratore Collaborating master Assistant conductor
Maestro suggeritore Master prompter Prompter


 

Term Definition
A cappella - One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.
Accelerando - A symbol used in musical notation indicating to gradually quicken tempo.
Accessible - Music that is easy to listen to and understand.
Adagio - A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.
Allegro - A direction to play lively and fast.
Atonal - Music that is written and performed without regard to any specific key.
Baroque - Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional, flowery music; written in strict form.
Beat - The unit of musical rhythm.
Cadence - A sequence of chords that brings an end to a phrase, either in the middle or the end of a composition.
Cadenza - Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto, featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.
Cadenza - Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist. Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer.
Canon - A musical form where the melody or tune is imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at different speeds, backwards, or inverted.
Cantabile - A style of singing which is characterized by the easy and flowing tone of the composition.
Cantata - Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.
Capriccio - A quick, improvisational, spirited piece of music.
Carol - A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.
Castrato - Male singers who were castrated to preserve their alto and soprano vocal range.
Cavatina - A short and simple melody performed by a soloist that is part of a larger piece.
Chamber music - Written for 2 to 10 solo parts featuring one instrument to a part. Each part bears the same importance.
Chant - Singing in unison, texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.
Choir - Group of singers in a chorus.
Chorale - A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.
Chord - 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.
Chord progression - A string of chords played in succession.
Chorus - A group singing in unison.
Chromatic scale - Includes all twelve notes of an octave.
Classical - The period of music history which dates from the mid 1700’s to mid 1800’s. The music was spare and emotionally reserved, especially when compared to Romantic and Boroque music.
Classicism - The period of music history which dates from the mid 1800’s and lasted about sixty years. There was a strong regard for order and balance.
Clavier - The keyboard of a stringed instrument.
Clef - In sheet music, a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.
Coda - Closing section of a movement.
Concert master - The first violin in an orchestra.
Concerto - A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.
Conductor - One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo, phrasing, dynamics, and style by gestures and facial expressions.
Consonance - Groups of tones that are harmonious when sounded together as in a chord.
Contralto - Lowest female singing voice.
Counterpoint - Two or three melodic lines played at the same time.
Courante - A piece of music written in triple time. Also an old French dance.
Da Capo - In sheet music, an instruction to repeat the beginning of the piece before stopping on the final chord.
Deceptive cadence - A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.
Development - Where the musical themes and melodies are developed, written in sonata form.
Dissonance - Harsh, discordant, and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.
Drone - Dull, monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.
Duet - A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.
Dynamics - Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.
Elegy - An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.
Encore - A piece of music played at the end of a recital responding to the audiences enthusiastic reaction to the performance, shown by continuous applause.
Energico - A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.
Enharmonic Interval - Two notes that differ in name only. The notes occupy the same position. For example: C sharp and D flat.
Ensemble - The performance of either all instruments of an orchestra or voices in a chorus.
Espressivo - A direction to play expressively.
Etude - A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.
Exposition - The first section of a movement written in sonata form, introducing the melodies and themes.
Expressionism - Atonal and violent style used as a means of evoking heightened emotions and states of mind.
Falsetto - A style of male singing where by partial use of the vocal chords, the voice is able to reach the pitch of a female.
Fermata - To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.
Fifth - The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Finale - Movement or passage that concludes the musical composition.
Flat - A symbol indicating that the note is to be diminished by one semitone.
Form - The structure of a piece of music.
Forte - A symbol indicating to play loud.
Fourth - The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Fugue - A composition written for three to six voices. Beginning with the exposition, each voice enters at different times, creating counterpoint with one another.
Galliard - Music written for a lively French dance for two performers written in triple time.
Gavotte - A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time, always beginning on the third beat of the measure.
Glee - Vocal composition written for three or more solo parts, usually without instrumental accompaniment.
Glissando - Sliding between two notes.
Grandioso - Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played grandly.
Grave - Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.
Grazioso - Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played gracefully.
Gregorian Chant - Singing or chanting in unison without strict rhythm. Collected during the Reign of Pope Gregory VIII for psalms and other other parts of the church service.
Harmony - Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.
Homophony - Music written to be sung or played in unison.
Hymn - A song of praise and glorification. Most often to honor God.
Impromptu - A short piano piece, often improvisational and intimate in character.
Instrumentation - Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.
Interlude - Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.
Intermezzo - Short movement or interlude connecting the main parts of the composition.
Interpretation - The expression the performer brings when playing his instrument.
Interval - The distance in pitch between two notes.
Intonation - The manner in which tones are produced with regard to pitch.
Introduction - The opening section of a piece of music or movement.
Key - System of notes or tones based on and named after the key note.
Key signature - The flats and sharps at the beginning of each staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.
Klangfarbenmelodie - The technique of altering the tone color of a single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the middle of a note or line.
Leading note - The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.
Legato - Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.
Leitmotif - A musical theme given to a particular idea or main character of an opera.
Libretto - A book of text containing the words of an opera.
Ligature - Curved line connecting notes to be sung or played as a phrase.
Madrigal - A contrapuntal song written for at least three voices, usually without accompaniment.
Maestro - Refers to any great composer, conductor, or teacher of music.
Major - One of the two modes of the tonal system. Music written in major keys have a positive affirming character.
March - A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.
Measure - The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two, three, four beats to a measure.
Medley - Often used in overtures, a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.
Mezzo - The voice between soprano and alto. Also, in sheet music, a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.
Minor - One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark, melancholic mood.
Minuet - Slow and stately dance music written in triple time.
Modes - Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.
Modulation - To shift to another key.
Monotone - Repetition of a single tone.
Motif - Primary theme or subject that is developed.
Movement - A separate section of a larger composition.
Musette - A Boroque dance with a drone-bass.
Musicology - The study of forms, history, science, and methods of music.
Natural - A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.
Neoclassical - Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.
Nocturne - A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.
Nonet - A composition written for nine instruments.
Notation - First developed in the 8th century, methods of writing music.
Obbligato - An extended solo, often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.
Octave - Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.
Octet - A composition written for eight instruments.
Opera - A drama where the words are sung instead of spoken.
Operetta - A short light musical drama.
Opus - Convenient method of numbering a composer’s works where a number follows the word “opus”. For example, Opus 28, No. 4.
Oratorio - An extended cantata on a sacred subject.
Orchestra - A large group of instrumentalists playing together.
Orchestration - Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra. Also, the study of music.
Ornaments - Tones used to embellish the principal melodic tone.
Ostinato - A repeated phrase.
Overture - Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.
Parody - A composition based on previous work. A common technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.
Part - A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.
Partial - A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.
Partita - Suite of Baroque dances.
Pastoral - A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.
Pentatonic Scale - A musical scale having five notes. For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.
Phrase - A single line of music played or sung. A musical sentence.
Piano - An instruction in sheet music to play softly. Abbreviated by a “p”.
Pitch - The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.
Pizzicato - String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.
Polyphony - Combining a number of individual but harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.
Polytonality - Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.
Portamento - A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.
Prelude - A short piece originally preceded by a more substantial work, also an orchestral introduction to opera, however not lengthy enough to be considered an overture.
Presto - A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo is to be very fast.
Progression - The movement of chords in succession.
Quadrille - A 19th century square dance written for 4 couples.
Quartet - A set of four musicians who perform a composition written for four parts.
Quintet - A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.
Recapitulation - A reprise.
Recital - A solo concert with or without accompaniment.
Recitative - A form of writing for vocals that is close to the manner of speech and is rhythmically free.
Reed - The piece of cane in wind instruments. The players cause vibrations by blowing through it in order to produce sound.
Refrain - A repeating phrase that is played at the end of each verse in the song.
Register - A portion of the range of the instrument or voice.
Relative major and minor - The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key. For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.
Relative pitch - Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it relates to the notes that precede and follow it.
Renaissance -
 A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music, art, and literature.
Reprise - To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.
Requiem - A dirge, hymn, or musical service for the repose of the dead.
Resonance - When several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches, all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.
Rhythm - The element of music pertaining to time, played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.
Ricercar - Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.
Rigaudon - A quick 20th century dance written in double time.
Rococo - A musical style characterized as excessive, ornamental, and trivial.
Romantic - A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional, expressive, and imaginative style.
Rondo - A musical form where the principal theme is repeated several times. The rondo was often used for the final movements of classical sonata form works.
Root - The principal note of a triad.
Round - A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins, the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.
Rubato - An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.
Scale - Successive notes of a key or mode either ascending or descending.
Scherzo - Pertaining to the sonata form, a fast movement in triple time.
Scordatura - The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.
Septet - A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.
Sequence - A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.
Serenade - A lighthearted piece, written in several movements, usually as background music for a social function.
Sextet - A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.
Sharp - A symbol indicating the note is to be raised by one semitone.
Slide - A glissando or portamento. Also refers to the moving part of a trombone.
Slur - A curve over notes to indicate that a phrase is to be played legato.
Sonata - Music of a particular form consisting of four movements. Each of the movements differ in tempo, rhythm, and melody; but are held together by subject and style.
Sonata form - A complex piece of music. Usually the first movement of the piece serving as the exposition, a development, or recapitulation.
Sonatina - A short or brief sonata.
Song cycle - A sequence of songs, perhaps on a single theme, or with texts by one poet, or having continuos narrative.
Soprano - The highest female voice.
Staccato - Short detached notes, as opposed to legato.
Staff - Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.
Stretto - Pertaining to the fugue, the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.
String Quartet - A group of 4 instruments, two violins, a viola, and cello.
Suite - A loose collection of instrumental compositions.
Symphony - Three to four movement orchestral piece, generally in sonata form.
System - A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.
Tablature - A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.
Temperament - Refers to the tuning of an instrument.
Tempo - Indicating speed.
Tessitura -
 The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.
Theme - A melodic or, sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.
Timbre - Tone color, quality of sound that distinguishes one verse or instrument to another. It is determined by the harmonies of sound.
Time Signature - A numeric symbol in sheet music determining the number of beats to a measure.
Tonal - Pertains to tone or tones.
Tonality - The tonal characteristics determined by the relationship of the notes to the tone.
Tone - The intonation, pitch, and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning, feeling, or attitude of the music.
Tone less - Unmusical, without tone.
Tonic - The first tone of a scale also known as a keynote.
Treble - The playing or singing the upper half of the vocal range. Also the highest voice in choral singing.
Tremolo - Quick repetition of the same note or the rapid alternation between two notes.
Triad - Three note chords consisting of a root, third, and fifth.
Trill - Rapid alternation between notes that are a half tone or whole tone apart.
Trio - A composition written for three voices and instruments performed by three
persons.
Triple time - Time signature with three beats to the measure.
Triplet - Three notes played in the same amount of time as one or two beats.
Tritone - A chord comprised of three whole tones resulting in an augmented fourth or diminished fifth.
Tune - A rhythmic succession of musical tones, a melody for instruments and voices.
Tuning - The raising and lowering a pitch of an instrument to produce the correct tone of a note.
Tutti - Passage for the entire ensemble or orchestra without a soloist.
Twelve-tone music - Music composed such that each note is used the same number of times.
Unison - Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.
Verismo - A form of Italian opera beginning at the end of the 19th century. The setting is contemporary to the composer’s own time, and the characters are modeled after every day life.
Vibrato - Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.
Virtuoso - A person with notable technical skill in the performance of music.
Vivace - Direction to performer to play a composition in a brisk, lively, and spirited manner.
Voice - One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.
Waltz - A dance written in triple time, where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.
Whole note - A whole note is equal to 2 half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, etc.
Whole-tone scale - A scale consisting of only whole-tone notes. Such a scale consists of only 6 notes.

 

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