Glossary of music terminology

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A variety of musical terms are encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings. Most of the other terms are taken from French and German, indicated by Fr. and Ger., respectively.

Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The list can never be complete: some terms are common, and others are used only occasionally, and new ones are coined from time to time. Some composers prefer terms from their own language rather than the standard terms listed here.

On these organ stops, some of the knobs have numbers indicating the length in feet of the longest (the lowest note) organ pipe of the stop 1′ "sifflet" or one foot organ stop I usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the highest-pitched, thinnest string 1+3⁄5′ Tierce organ stop 2′ two feet – pipe organ indication; see Organ stop § Pitch and length 2+2⁄3′ pipe organ stop for the twelfth interval II usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the second highest string; also used with the Cymbal stop on a pipe organ with the II indicating two ranks of pipes combined to make this stop's sound III usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the third-highest string; also used with the Scharf or Mixtur stop on a pipe organ with the III indicating three ranks of pipes 4′ four feet – pipe organ rank that speaks one octave higher than 8′ IV usually for orchestral string instruments, used to indicate that the player should play the passage on the lowest-pitched, thickest string, i.e. the fourth-highest string IV–VI mixture stop on pipe organ; the Roman numeral indicates how many ranks of pipes the stop includes 8′ eight-foot pipe – pipe organ indication for a stop sounding at concert pitch and where the lowest note's pipe is about 8 feet long 16′ sixteen-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for one octave below 8′ where the lowest note's pipe is about 16 feet long 32′ thirty-two-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for two octaves below 8′ where the lowest note's pipe is about 32 feet long; also called sub-bass 64′ sixty-four-foot pipe – pipe organ indication calling for three octaves below 8′ where the lowest note's pipe is about 64 feet long (only a few organs in the world have this low of a pitch) a or à (Fr.) at, to, by, for, in à la (Fr.) in the style of... a battuta Return to normal tempo after a deviation. Not recommended in string parts, due to possible confusion with battuto (qv.); use a tempo, which means the same thing a bene placito Up to the performer a cappella lit. "in a chapel"; vocal parts only, without instrumental accompaniment a capriccio A free and capricious approach to tempo a due (a 2) intended as a duet; for two voices or instruments; together; two instruments are to play in unison after a solo passage for one of the instruments a niente To nothing; indicating a diminuendo which fades completely away a piacere At pleasure (i.e. the performer need not follow the rhythm strictly, for example in a cadenza) a prima vista lit. "at first sight". Sight-reading (i.e. played or sung from written notation without prior review of the written material; refer to the figure) a tempo In time (i.e. the performer should return to the stable tempo, such as after an accelerando or ritardando); also may be found in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet) ab (Ger.) off, organ stops or mutes abafando (Port.) muffled, muted abandon or avec (Fr.) free, unrestrained, passionate abbandonatamente, con abbandono freely, in relaxed mode aber (Ger.) but accarezzevole Expressive and caressing accelerando (accel.) Accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo accelerato with increased tempo accent Accent, emphasis accentato/accentuato Accented; with emphasis acceso Ignited, on fire accessible Music that is easy to listen to/understand acciaccato Broken down, crushed; the sounding of the notes of a chord not quite simultaneously, but from bottom to top acciaccatura Crushing (i.e. a very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure) accidental A note that is not part of the scale indicated by the key signature. accompagnato Accompanied (i.e. with the accompaniment following the soloist, who may speed up or slow down at will) accuratezza Precision; accuracy. con accuratezza: with precision acoustic Relating to music produced by instruments, as opposed to electric or electronic means ad libitum (commonly ad lib; Latin) At liberty (i.e. the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer. It can also mean improvisation.) adagietto Fairly slowly (but faster than adagio) adagio Slowly adagissimo Very, very slowly affannato, affannoso Anguished affetto or con affetto with affect (that is, with emotion) affettuoso, affettuosamente, or affectueusement (Fr.) With affect (that is, with emotion); see also con affetto affrettando Hurrying, pressing onwards agile Agile, nimble agitato Agitated al or alla To the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine) alcuna licenza Used in con alcuna licenza, meaning (play) with some freedom in the time, see rubato alla breve In cut-time; two beats per measure or the equivalent thereof alla marcia In the style of a march alla polacca In the style of a polonaise, a 3
4 dance alla Siciliana In the style of a graceful Sicilian rustic dance; allargando Broadening, becoming progressively slower allegretto A little lively, moderately fast allegretto vivace A moderately quick tempo allegrezza Cheerfulness, joyfulness allegrissimo Very fast, though slower than presto allegro Cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as lively, fast all'ottava "at the octave", see ottava alt (Eng.), alt dom, or altered dominant A jazz term which instructs chord-playing musicians such as a jazz pianist or jazz guitarist to perform a dominant (V7) chord with at least one (often both) altered (sharpened or flattened) 5th or 9th altissimo Very high; see also in altissimo alto High; often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano alzate sordini Lift or raise the mutes (i.e. remove mutes) am Steg (Ger.) At the bridge (i.e. playing a bowed string instrument near its bridge, which produces a heavier, stronger tone); see sul ponticello amabile Amiable, pleasant ambitus (Lat.) Range between highest and lowest note amore or amor (Sp./Port., sometimes It.) Love; con amore: with love, tenderly amoroso Loving anacrusis A note or notes that precede the first full bar; a pickup andamento A fugue subject of above-average length andante At a walking pace (i.e. at a moderate tempo) andantino Slightly faster than andante (but earlier it is sometimes used to mean slightly slower than andante) ängstlich (Ger.) Anxiously anima Soul; con anima: with feeling animandosi Progressively more animated animato, animé Animated, lively antiphon A liturgical or other composition consisting of choral responses, sometimes between two choirs; a passage of this nature forming part of another composition; a repeated passage in a psalm or other liturgical piece, similar to a refrain.[1] antiphonal A style of composition in which two sections of singers or instrumentalists exchange sections or music one after the other; typically the performers are on different sides of a hall or venue apaisé (Fr.) Calmed appassionato Passionate appoggiatura or leaning note One or more grace notes that take up some note value of the next full note. arco The bow used for playing some string instruments (i.e. played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato, in music for bowed instruments); normally used to cancel a pizzicato direction aria Self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment (which may be provided by a pianist using an orchestral reduction) arietta A short aria arioso Airy, or like an air (a melody) (i.e. in the manner of an aria); melodious armonioso Harmonious arpeggio, arpeggiato played like a harp (i.e. the notes of the chords are to be played quickly one after another instead of simultaneously); in music for piano, this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise; arpeggios are frequently used as an accompaniment; see also broken chord articulato Articulate assai Much, very much assez (Fr.) Enough, sufficiently attacca Attack or attach; go straight on (i.e. at the end of a movement, a direction to attach the next movement to the previous one, without a gap or pause). Often used as "attacca subito," meaning a "sudden" movement transition (literally, "attack suddenly"). Ausdruck (Ger.) Expression ausdrucksvoll or mit Ausdruck (Ger.) Expressively, with expression avec (Fr.) With B German for B flat (also in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish, Croatian, Estonian, Hungarian and Polish); H in German is B natural ballabile (from the Italian Ballabile meaning "danceable") In ballet, a dance performed by the corps de ballet. The term Grand ballabile is used if nearly all participants (including principal characters) of a particular scene in a full-length work perform a large-scale dance. bar, or measure unit of music containing a number of beats as indicated by a time signature; also the vertical bar enclosing it barbaro Barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók) baritone A male vocal range that lies between the ranges of bass and tenor Bartók pizzicato An instruction to string performers to play a pizzicato note to pull the string away from the fingerboard so that it snaps back percussively on the fingerboard. bass The lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony; in an orchestral context, the term usually refers to the double bass. basso continuo Continuous bass, i.e. a bass accompaniment part played continuously throughout a piece by a chordal instrument (pipe organ, harpischord, lute, etc.), often with a bass instrument, to give harmonic structure; used especially in the Baroque period battement (Fr.) Used in the 17th century to refer to ornaments consisting of two adjacent notes, such as trills or mordents battuto (Ital.) To strike the strings with the bow (on a bowed stringed instrument) beam Horizontal or diagonal line used to connect multiple consecutive notes beat

1. The pronounced rhythm of music
2. One single stroke of a rhythmic accent

belebt or belebter (Ger.) Spirited, vivacious, lively bellicoso Warlike, aggressive (English cognate is "bellicose") ben or bene Well; in ben marcato ("well marked") for example bend In jazz, either establishing a pitch, sliding down half a step and returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note beschleunigt (Ger.) Accelerated, as in mit beschleunigter Geschwindigkeit, at an accelerated tempo bewegt (Ger.) Moved, with speed binary A musical form in two sections: AB bird's eye Slang for fermata, which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord as long as they wish or following cues from a conductor bis (Fr., It.) Twice (i.e. repeat the relevant action or passage) bisbigliando Whispering (i.e. a special tremolo effect on the harp where a chord or note is rapidly repeated at a low volume) bocca chiusa with closed mouth (sometimes abbreviated B.C.) bravura Boldness; as in con bravura, boldly, flaunting technical skill breit (Ger.) Broad bridge

1. Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, or between two A sections (e.g., in an A/B/A form).
2. Part of a violin family or guitar/lute stringed instrument that holds the strings in place and transmits their vibrations to the resonant body of the instrument.

brillante Brilliantly, with sparkle. Play in a showy and spirited style. brio or brioso Vigour; usually in con brio: with spirit or vigour broken chord A chord in which the notes are not all played at once, but in some more or less consistent sequence. They may follow singly one after the other, or two notes may be immediately followed by another two, for example. See also arpeggio, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken chord; see Alberti bass. bruscamente Brusquely, suddenly cabaletta The concluding, rapid, audience-rousing section of an aria cadence A melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution cadenza A solo section, usually in a concerto or similar work, that is used to display the performer's technique, sometimes at considerable length calando Falling away, or lowering (i.e. getting slower and quieter; ritardando along with diminuendo) calma Calm; so con calma, calmly. Also calmato meaning calmed, relaxed calore Warmth; so con calore, warmly cambiare To change (i.e. any change, such as to a new instrument) cambiata An ornamental tone following a principal tone by a skip up or down, usually of a third, and proceeding in the opposite direction by a step, not to be confused with changing tone. canon or kanon (Ger.) A theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon by other instruments with a time delay, creating a layered effect; see Pachelbel's Canon. cantabile or cantando In a singing style. In instrumental music, a style of playing that imitates the way the human voice might express the music, with a measured tempo and flexible legato. cantilena a vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth, lyrical style canto Chorus; choral; chant cantus mensuratus or cantus figuratus (Lat.) Meaning respectively "measured song" or "figured song". Originally used by medieval music theorists, it refers to polyphonic song with exactly measured notes and is used in contrast to cantus planus.[2][3] capo 1. capo (short for capotasto: "nut") : A key-changing device for stringed instruments (e.g. guitars and banjos) 2. head (i.e. the beginning, as in da capo) capriccio "A humorous, fanciful, or bizarre, composition, often characterized by an idiosyncratic departure from current stylistic norms."[4] See also: Capriccio (disambiguation) capriccioso Capricious, unpredictable, volatile cassa Drum, usually an orchestral bass drum. Sometimes written as Gran Cassa where Gran specifically means Bass cavalleresco Chivalrous (used in Carl Nielsen's violin concerto) cedendo, ced. Yielding, giving way (getting slower) cédez (Fr.) Yield, give way cesura or caesura (Lat.) Break, stop; (i.e. a complete break in sound) (sometimes nicknamed "railroad tracks" in reference to their appearance) chiuso Closed (i.e. muted by hand) (for a horn, or similar instrument; but see also bocca chiusa, which uses the feminine form) coda A tail (i.e. a closing section appended to a movement) codetta A small coda, but usually applied to a passage appended to a section of a movement, not to a whole movement col or colla with the (col before a masculine noun, colla before a feminine noun); (see next for example) col canto with the singer, see also colla voce col legno with the wood: for bowed strings, strike the strings with the stick of the bow (col legno battuto) or draw the stick across the strings (col legno tratto) col pugno With the fist (e.g., bang the piano with the fist) coll'ottava With the addition of the octave note above or below the written note; abbreviated as col 8, coll' 8, and c. 8va colla parte literally "with the part". An indication that another (written-out) part should be followed, i.e. accommodate the tempo, expression, phrasing, and possible rubato of the leading part. In vocal music, also expressed by colla voce colla voce literally "with the voice". An instruction, in a choral or orchestral part, that a vocal part should be followed, e.g., play the same notes as the vocal part and accommodate the tempo, expression, etc. of the vocalist coloratura Coloration (i.e. elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line, or a soprano voice that is well-suited to such elaboration) colossale Enormous, immense, colossal (notably used in the first movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto) come prima As before, typically referring to an earlier tempo come sopra As above (i.e. like the previous tempo) common time The time signature 4
4: four beats per measure, each beat a quarter note (a crotchet) in length. 4
4 is often written on the musical staff as . The symbol is not a C as an abbreviation for common time, but a broken circle; the full circle at one time stood for triple time, 3
4. comodo Comfortable (i.e. at moderate speed); also, allegro comodo, tempo comodo, etc. comp 1. abbreviation of accompanying, accompanying music, accompaniment 2. describes the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that instrumental players used to support a musician's melody and improvised solos. 3. Ostinato comping (jazz) 1. to comp; action of accompanying. con With; used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con calma (calmly lit. 'with calm'); (see also col and colla) con dolcezza See dolce con sordina or con sordine (plural) With a mute, or with mutes. Frequently seen in music as (incorrect Italian) con sordino, or con sordini (plural). concerto Composition for solo instrument(s) and orchestra concerto grosso Composition for a group of solo instruments (concertino or soli) and orchestra (ripieno or tutti) conjunct An adjective applied to a melodic line that moves by step (intervals of a 2nd) rather than in disjunct motion (by leap). contralto Lowest female singing voice type contrapuntalism See counterpoint coperti (plural of coperto) covered (i.e. on a drum, muted with a cloth) corda String. On the piano it refers to use of the soft pedal, which controls whether the hammer strikes one or three strings; see una corda, tre corde below. count Series of regularly occurring sounds to assist with ready identification of beat crescendo (cresc.) Growing; (i.e. progressively louder) (contrast diminuendo) cuivré Brassy. Used almost exclusively as a French horn technique to indicate a forced, rough tone. A note marked both stopped and loud will be cuivré automatically[1] custos Symbol at the very end of a staff of music which indicates the pitch for the first note of the next line as a warning of what is to come. The custos was commonly used in handwritten Renaissance and typeset Baroque music. cut time Same as the meter 2
2: two half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and executed like common time (4
4), except with the beat lengths doubled. Indicated by . This comes from a literal cut of the symbol of common time. Thus, a quarter note in cut time is only half a beat long, and a measure has only two beats. See also alla breve. da capo From the head (i.e. from the beginning) (see also capo) dal segno (D.S.) From the sign () dal segno alla coda (D.S. alla coda) Repeat to the sign and continue to the coda sign, then play coda dal segno al fine (D.S. al fine) From the sign to the end (i.e. return to a place in the music designated by the sign and continue to the end of the piece) dal segno segno alla coda (D.S.S. alla coda) Same as D.S. alla coda, but with a double segno dal segno segno al fine (D.S.S. al fine) From the double sign to the end (i.e. return to place in the music designated by the double sign (see D.S. alla coda) and continue to the end of the piece) decelerando Slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando (same as ritardando or rallentando) deciso Firm declamando Solemn, expressive, impassioned decrescendo (decresc.) Gradually decreasing volume (same as diminuendo) deest From the Latin deesse meaning to be missing; placed after a catalogue abbreviation to indicate that this particular work does not appear in it;[5] the plural, desunt, refers to several works delicatamente Delicately delicatissimo Very delicate delicato Delicate détaché (Fr.) Act of playing notes separately devoto Pious, religious diminuendo, dim. Dwindling (i.e. with gradually decreasing volume) (same as decrescendo) disjunct An adjective applied to a melodic line which moves by leap (intervals of more than a 2nd) as opposed to conjunct motion (by step) di Of dissonante Dissonant divisi (div.) Divided (i.e. in a part in which several musicians normally play exactly the same notes they are instead to split the playing of the written simultaneous notes among themselves); it is most often used for string instruments, since with them another means of execution is often possible (the return from divisi is marked unisono) doit In jazz, a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically upwards dolce Sweet; con dolcezza: with sweetness, sweetly dolcemente Sweetly dolcissimo Very sweet dolente Sorrowful, plaintive dolore Pain, distress, sorrow, grief; con dolore: with sadness doloroso Sorrowful, plaintive doppio movimento lit. Double movement, i.e. the note values are halved double dot Two dots placed side by side after a note to indicate that it is to be lengthened by three quarters of its value double stop The technique of playing two notes simultaneously on a bowed string instrument doux, douce gentle, sweet, soft downtempo A slow, moody, or decreased tempo or played or done in such a tempo. Also a genre of electronic music based on this (downtempo) drammatico Dramatic drone Bass note or chord performed continuously throughout a composition drop In jazz, a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards duolo (Ital.) grief dumpf (Ger.) Dull Dur (Ger.) major; used in key signatures as, for example, A-Dur (A major), B-Dur (B♭ major), or H-Dur (B major) (see also Moll (minor)) dynamics The relative volume in the execution of a piece of music e (Ital.) or ed (Ital., used before vowels) And eco The Italian word for "echo"; an effect in which a group of notes is repeated, usually more softly, and perhaps at a different octave, to create an echo effect égal (Fr.) Equal eilend (Ger.) Hurrying ein wenig (Ger.) A little einfach (Ger.) Simple emporté (Fr.) Fiery, impetuous en animant (Fr.) Becoming very lively en cédant (Fr.) Yielding en dehors (Fr.) Prominently, a directive to make the melody stand out en mesure (Fr.) In time en pressant (Fr.) Hurrying forward en retenant (Fr.) Slowing, holding back en serrant (Fr.) Becoming quicker encore (Fr.) Again (i.e. a request to perform once more a passage or a piece); a performer returning to the stage to perform an unlisted piece energico Energetic, strong enfatico Emphatic eroico Heroic espansivo Effusive; excessive in emotional expression; gushy espirando Expiring (i.e. dying away) espressione Expression; e.g. con (gran, molta) espressione: with (great, much) expression espressivo, espress. or espr. (Italian) Expressive estinto Extinct, extinguished (i.e. as soft as possible, lifeless, barely audible) esultazione Exultation et (Fr.) And Étude (Fr.) A composition intended for practice etwas (Ger.) As an adverb, little, somewhat, slightly etwas bewegter (Ger.) Moving forward a little facile Easy fall In jazz, a note of definite pitch sliding downwards to another note of definite pitch falsetto vocal register above the normal voice fantasia A piece not adhering to any strict musical form; can also be used in con fantasia: with imagination feierlich (Ger.) Solemn, solemnly fermata Stop (i.e. a rest or note to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor) (sometimes called pause or bird's eye); a fermata at the end of a first or intermediate movement or section is usually moderately prolonged, but the final fermata of a symphony may be prolonged for much longer than the note's value, often twice its printed length or more for dramatic effect feroce Ferocious festivamente Cheerfully, in a celebratory mode feurig (Ger.) Fiery fieramente Proudly fil di voce "thread of voice", very quiet, pianissimo fill (Eng.) A jazz or rock term which instructs performers to improvise a scalar passage or riff to "fill in" the brief time between lyrical phrases, the lines of melody, or between two sections fine The end, often in phrases like al fine (to the end) fioritura the florid embellishment of melodic lines, either notated by a composer or improvised during a performance. flat A symbol (♭) that lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone. Also an adjective to describe a singer or musician performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too low. flautando Flutelike mode; used especially for string instruments to indicate a light, rapid bowing over the fingerboard flebile Feeble, low volume flessibile flexible[6] focoso or fuocoso Fiery (i.e. passionate) forte (f) Strong (i.e. to be played or sung loudly) forte-piano (fp) Strong-gentle (i.e. loud, then immediately soft; see dynamics) fortepiano An early pianoforte fortissimo (ff) Very loud (see note at pianissimo) fortississimo (fff) As loud as possible forza Musical force; con forza: with force forzando (fz) See sforzando freddo Cold; hence depressive, unemotional fresco Fresh fröhlich (Ger.) Lively, joyfully fugue (Fr.), fuga (Latin and Italian) Literally "flight"; hence a complex and highly regimented contrapuntal form in music; a short theme (the subject) is introduced in one voice (or part) alone, then in others, with imitation and characteristic development as the piece progresses funebre Funeral; often seen as marcia funebre (funeral march), indicating a stately and plodding tempo fuoco Fire; con fuoco: with fire, in a fiery manner furia Fury furioso Furious G.P. Grand Pause, General Pause; indicates to the performers that the entire ensemble has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic effect during a loud section gaudioso With joy gemächlich (Ger.) Unhurried, at a leisurely pace gemendo Groaningly gentile Gentle geschwind (Ger.) Quickly geteilt (Ger.) See divisi getragen (Ger.) Solemnly, in a stately tempo giocoso Playful gioioso With joy giusto Strict, exact, right (e.g. tempo giusto in strict time) glissando A continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale executed while moving from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando for further information; and compare portamento. grace note An extra note added as an embellishment and not essential to the harmony or melody. grandioso Grand, solemn grave Slow and serious grazioso (Fr. gracieusement) Graceful guerriero Warlike, martial gustoso (It. tasteful, agreeable) With happy emphasis and forcefulness; in an agreeable manner H German for B natural; B in German means B flat Hauptstimme (Ger.) Main voice, chief part (i.e. the contrapuntal line of primary importance, in opposition to Nebenstimme) hemiola (English, from Greek) The imposition of a pattern of rhythm or articulation other than that implied by the time signature; specifically, in triple time (for example in 3
4) the imposition of a duple pattern (as if the time signature were, for example, 2
4). See Syncopation. hervortretend (Ger.) Prominent, pronounced hold, see fermata homophony A musical texture with one voice (or melody line) accompanied by subordinate chords; also used as an adjective (homophonic). Compare with polyphony, in which several independent voices or melody lines are performed at the same time. hook A musical idea, often a short riff, passage or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". immer (Ger.) Always imperioso Imperious, overbearing impetuoso Impetuous improvvisando With improvisation improvvisato Improvised, or as if improvised improvise To create music at the spur of the moment, spontaneously, and without preparation (often over a given harmonic framework or chord progression) in alto octave above the treble staff, G5 to G6[7] in altissimo Octave above the in alt octave, G6 to G7 in modo di In the art of, in the style of in stand An instruction to brass players to direct the bell of their instrument into the music stand, instead of up and toward the audience, thus muting the sound but without changing the timbre as a mute would[8] incalzando Getting faster and louder innig (Ger.) Intimate, heartfelt insistendo Insistently, deliberately intimo Intimate intro Opening section of a piece irato Angry -issimamente The adverbial form of the superlative suffix (most -ly, e.g. leggerissimamente, meaning as light as can be) -issimo A suffix for superlative (e.g. fortissimo or prestissimo) izq. or iz. (Spa.) Left (hand); abbreviation of izquierda Jazz standard (or simply "standard") A well-known composition from the jazz repertoire which is widely played and recorded. jete (Fr. jeté) Jump; a bowing technique in which the player is instructed to let the bow bounce or jump off the strings. keyboardist (Eng.) A musician who plays any instrument with a keyboard. In Classical music, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, pipe organ, harpsichord, and so on. In a jazz or popular music context, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Hammond organ, and so on. Klangfarbenmelodie (Ger.) "Tone-color melody", distribution of pitch or melody among instruments, varying timbre kräftig (Ger.) Strong lacrimoso or lagrimoso Tearful (i.e. sad) laissez vibrer, l.v. (Fr.) French for lasciare vibrare ("let vibrate") lamentando Lamenting, mournfully lamentoso Lamenting, mournfully langsam (Ger.) Slowly largamente Broadly (i.e. slowly) (same as largo) larghetto Somewhat slow; not as slow as largo larghezza Broadness; con larghezza: with broadness; broadly larghissimo Very slow; slower than largo largo Broad (i.e. slow) lasciare suonare "Let ring", meaning allow the sound to continue, do not damp; used frequently in harp or guitar music, occasionally in piano or percussion. Abbreviated "lasc. suon." leap or skip A melodic interval greater than a major 2nd, as opposed to a step. Melodies which move by a leap are called "disjunct". Octave leaps are not uncommon in florid vocal music. lebhaft (Ger.) Briskly, lively legato Joined (i.e. smoothly, in a connected manner) (see also articulation) leggiadro Pretty, graceful leggierissimo Very light and delicate leggiero or leggiermente Light or lightly (the different forms of this word, including leggierezza, "lightness", are spelled without the i in modern Italian, i.e. leggero, leggerissimo, leggermente, leggerezza.) leidenschaftlich(er) (Ger.) (More) passionately lent (Fr.) Slow lentando Gradual slowing and softer lentissimo Very slow lento Slow liberamente Freely libero Free lilt A jaunty rhythm l'istesso, l'istesso tempo, or lo stesso tempo The same tempo, despite changes of time signature, see metric modulation lo stesso The same; applied to the manner of articulation, tempo, etc. loco [in] place, i.e. perform the notes at the pitch written, generally used to cancel an 8va or 8vb direction; in string music, also used to indicate return to normal playing position (see Playing the violin)[1] long accent Hit hard and keep full value of note (>) lontano Distant, far away lugubre Lugubrious, mournful luminoso Luminous lunga Long (often applied to a fermata) lusingando, lusinghiero Coaxingly, flatteringly, caressingly ma But ma non tanto But not much ma non troppo But not too much maestoso Majestic, stately maggiore The major key magico Magical magnifico Magnificent main droite (Fr.) [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.) main gauche (Fr.) [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MG or m.g.) malinconico Melancholic mancando Dying away mano destra [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.) mano izquierda (Spa.) [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: m.iz.) mano sinistra [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MS or m.s.) marcatissimo With much accentuation marcato, marc. Marked (i.e. with accentuation, execute every note as if it were to be accented) marcia A march; alla marcia means in the manner of a march martellato Hammered out marziale Martial, solemn and fierce mäßig (Ger.) (sometimes given as "mässig", "maessig") Moderately MD See mano destra or main droite measure Also "bar": the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete cycle of the time signature (e.g. in 4
4 time, a measure has four quarter note beats) medesimo tempo Same tempo, despite changes of time signature medley Piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. melancolico Melancholic melisma The technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung meno Less; see mosso, for example, meno mosso messa di voce In singing, a controlled swell (i.e. crescendo then diminuendo, on a long held note, especially in Baroque music and in the bel canto period)[1] mesto Mournful, sad meter or metre The pattern of a music piece's rhythm of strong and weak beats mezza voce Half voice (i.e. with subdued or moderated volume) mezzo Half; used in combinations like mezzo forte (mf), meaning moderately loud mezzo forte (mf) Half loudly (i.e. moderately loudly). See dynamics. mezzo piano (mp) Half softly (i.e. moderately soft). See dynamics. mezzo-soprano A female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of a contralto. MG See main gauche minore Minor key misterioso Mysterious mit Dämpfer (Ger.) With a mute M.M. Metronome Marking. Formerly "Mälzel Metronome."[9] mobile Mobile, changeable mode Type and characteristic of a musical scale moderato Moderate; often combined with other terms, usually relating to tempo; for example, allegro moderato modéré (Fr.) Moderate modesto Modest modulation The act or process of changing from one key (tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Moll (Ger.) minor; used in key signatures as, for example, a-Moll (A minor), b-Moll (B♭ minor), or h-Moll (B minor); see also Dur (major) molto Very mordent Rapid single alternation of a note with the note immediately below or above it in the scale, sometimes further distinguished as lower mordent and upper mordent. morendo Dying (i.e. dying away in dynamics, and perhaps also in tempo) mosso Moved, moving; used with a preceding più or meno, for faster or slower respectively moto Motion; usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly movement A section of a musical composition (such as a sonata or concerto) MS See mano sinistra munter (Ger.) Lively Musette (Fr.) A dance or tune of a drone-bass character, originally played by a musette muta [in...] Change [to...]: an instruction either to change instrument (e.g. flute to piccolo, horn in F to horn in B♭) or to change tuning (e.g. guitar muta 6 in D). Note: muta comes from the Italian verb mutare (to change); therefore it does not mean "mute", for which con sordina or con sordino is used.[1] nach und nach (Ger.) Literally "more and more" with an increasing feeling. Ex. "nach und nach belebter und leidenschaftlicher" (with increasing animation and passion) narrante Narrating natural A symbol (♮) that cancels the effect of a sharp or a flat naturale (nat.) Natural (i.e. discontinue a special effect, such as col legno, sul tasto, sul ponticello, or playing in harmonics) N.C. No chord, written in the chord row of music notation to show there is no chord being played, and no implied harmony Nebenstimme (Ger.) Secondary part (i.e. a secondary contrapuntal part, always occurring simultaneously with, and subsidiary to, the Hauptstimme) nicht (Ger.) Not niente "nothing", barely audible, dying away, sometimes indicated with a dynamic n nobile or nobilmente (Ital.) or Noblement (Fr.) In a noble fashion noblezza Nobility nocturne (Fr.) A piece written for the night notes inégales (Fr.) Unequal notes; a principally Baroque performance practice of applying long-short rhythms to pairs of notes written as equal; see also swung note notturno See nocturne. number opera An opera consisting of "numbers" (e.g. arias, intermixed with recitative) obbligato Bound, constrained octave Interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. Twelve semitones equal an octave, so do the first and the eighth (hence "oct"ave) note in a major or minor scale. ohne Dämpfer (Ger.) Without a mute omaggio Homage, celebration one-voice-per-part (OVPP) The practice of using solo voices on each musical line or part in choral music. ordinario (ord.) (Ital.) or position ordinaire (Fr.) In bowed string music, an indication to discontinue extended techniques such as sul ponticello, sul tasto or col legno, and return to normal playing. The same as "naturale". organ trio In jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ player and two other instruments, often an electric guitar player and a drummer. oppure or ossia (Ital.) Or (giving an alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, additional small notes, or an additional staff) ostinato Obstinate, persistent (i.e. a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition) ottava Octave (e.g. ottava bassa: an octave lower) ouverture (Fr.) see Overture oversinging Vocal styles that dominate the music they are performed in overture An orchestral composition forming the prelude or introduction to an opera, oratorio, etc. parlando or parlante Lit. speaking; like speech, enunciated Partitur (Ger.) Full orchestral score passionato Passionate pastorale In a pastoral style, peaceful and simple patetico Passionate, emotional. A related term is Pathetique: a name attributed to certain works with an emotional focus such as Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony. pausa rest pedale or ped In piano scores, this instructs the player to press the damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). In organ scores, it tells the organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard with the feet. pensieroso Thoughtfully, meditatively perdendosi Dying away; decrease in dynamics, perhaps also in tempo pesante Heavy, ponderous peu à peu (Fr.) Little by little pezzo A composition piacevole Pleasant, agreeable piangendo Literally 'crying' (used in Liszt's La Lugubre Gondola no. 2). piangevole Plaintive pianissimo (pp) very gently (i.e. perform very softly, even softer than piano). This convention can be extended; the more ps that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play or sing, thus ppp (pianissimissimo) would be softer than pp. Dynamics in a piece should be interpreted relative to the other dynamics in the same piece. For example, pp should be executed very softly, but if ppp is found later in the piece, pp should be markedly louder than ppp. More than three ps (ppp) or three fs (fff) are uncommon. piano (p) Gently (i.e. played or sung softly) (see dynamics) piano-vocal score The same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar Picardy third A Picardy third, Picardy cadence (ˈpɪkərdi ) or, in French, tierce picarde is a harmonic device used in Western classical music. It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key. piatti Cymbals, generally meaning a pair of orchestral clashed cymbals piena Full, as, for example, a voce piena = "in full voice" pietoso Pitiful, piteous più More; see mosso piuttosto Rather, somewhat (e.g. allegro piuttosto presto) pizzicato Pinched, plucked (i.e. in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow; compare arco, which is inserted to cancel a pizzicato instruction; in music for guitar, to mute the strings by resting the palm on the bridge, simulating the sound of pizz. of the bowed string instruments) plop In jazz, a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards pochettino or poch. Very little; diminutive of poco pochissimo or pochiss. Very little; superlative of poco poco A little, as in poco più allegro (a little faster) poco rall a gradual decrease in speed poco a poco Little by little poetico Poetic discourse poi Then, indicating a subsequent instruction in a sequence; diminuendo poi subito fortissimo, for example: getting softer then suddenly very loud pomposo Pompous, ceremonious ponticello or sul ponticello (pont.) On the bridge (i.e. in string playing, an indication to bow or to pluck very near to the bridge, producing a characteristic glassy sound, which emphasizes the higher harmonics at the expense of the fundamental); the opposite of sul tasto portamento Carrying (i.e. 1. generally, sliding in pitch from one note to another, usually pausing just above or below the final pitch, then sliding quickly to that pitch. If no pause is executed, then it is a basic glissando; or 2. in piano music, an articulation between legato and staccato, like portato) portato or louré Carried (i.e. non-legato, but not as detached as staccato) (same as portamento) posato Settled potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr.) Potpourri (as used in other senses in English) (i.e. a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF... etc.; the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia) precipitato Precipitately prelude, prélude (Fr.), preludio (It), praeludium (Lat.), präludium (Ger.) A musical introduction to subsequent movements during the Baroque era (1600s/17th century). It can also be a movement in its own right, which was more common in the Romantic era (mid-1700s/18th century) prestissimo Extremely quickly, as fast as possible presto Very quickly prima or primo (the masculine form) First prima donna Leading female singer in an opera company prima volta The first time; for example prima volta senza accompagnamento (the first time without accompaniment) quartal Composed of the musical interval of the fourth; as in quartal harmony quarter tone Half of a semitone; a pitch division not used in most Western music notation, except in some contemporary art music or experimental music. Quarter tones are used in Western popular music forms such as jazz and blues and in a variety of non-Western musical cultures. quasi (Latin and Italian) Almost (e.g. quasi recitativo almost a recitative in an opera, or quasi una fantasia almost a fantasia) quintal Composed of the musical interval of the fifth; as in quintal harmony rallentando or rall. Broadening of the tempo (often not discernible from ritardando); progressively slower rapide (Fr.) Fast rapido Fast rasch (Ger.) Fast rasgueado (Spa.) (on the guitar) to play strings with the back of the fingernail; esp. to fan the strings rapidly with the nails of multiple fingers ravvivando Quickening (lit. 'reviving'), as in "ravvivando il tempo", returning to a faster tempo that occurred earlier in the piece[10] recitativo Recitative (lyrics not to be sung but to be recited, imitating the natural inflections of speech) religioso Religious repente Suddenly reprise Repetition of a phrase or verse; return to the original theme restez (Fr.) Stay in position, i.e., do not shift (string instruments) retenu (Fr.) Hold back; same as the Italian ritenuto (see below) Ridicolo Ridiculous, comical riff a repeated chord progression or refrain rilassato Relaxed rinforzando (rf, rfz or rinf.) Reinforcing (i.e. emphasizing); sometimes like a sudden crescendo, but often applied to a single note or brief phrase risoluto Resolute rit. An abbreviation for ritardando;[11] also an abbreviation for ritenuto[12] ritardando, ritard., rit. Slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando ritenuto, riten., rit. Suddenly slower, held back (usually more so but more temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note); opposite of accelerato ritmico Rhythmical ritmo Rhythm (e.g. ritmo di # battute meaning a rhythm of # measures) ritornello A recurring passage rolled chord See Arpeggio rondo A musical form in which a certain section returns repeatedly, interspersed with other sections: ABACA is a typical structure or ABACABA round A musical form in which multiple voices sing exactly the same melody, but with each voice beginning at different times roulade (Fr.) A rolling (i.e. a florid vocal phrase) rubato Stolen, robbed (i.e. flexible in tempo), applied to notes within a musical phrase for expressive effect ruhig (Ger.) Calm, peaceful run A rapid series of ascending or descending musical notes which are closely spaced in pitch forming a scale, arpeggio, or other such pattern. See: Fill (music) and Melisma. ruvido Rough saltando Lit. "jumping": bouncing the bow as in a staccato arpeggio sanft (Ger.) Gently sans nuances (Fr.) Without shades, with no subtle variations sans presser (Fr.) Without rushing sans rigueur (Fr.) Without strictness, freely scale Ascending or descending sequence of musical tones scatenato Unchained, wild scherzando, scherzoso Playfully scherzo A light, "joking" or playful musical form, originally and usually in fast triple metre, often replacing the minuet in the later Classical period and the Romantic period, in symphonies, sonatas, string quartets and the like; in the 19th century some scherzi were independent movements for piano, etc. schleppend, schleppen (Ger.) In a dragging manner, to drag; usually nicht schleppen ("don't drag"), paired with nicht eilen ("don't hurry") in Gustav Mahler's scores schlicht (Ger.) Plain, simple schnell (Ger.) Fast schneller (Ger.) Faster schmerzlich (Ger.) Sorrowful schwer (Ger.) Heavy schwungvoll (Ger.) Lively, swinging, bold, spirited scioltezza Fluency, agility (used in con scioltezza) sciolto Fluent, agile scordatura Altered or alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument scorrendo, scorrevole Gliding from note to note secco (sec) (Fr.) Dry (sparse accompaniment, staccato, without resonance); with basso continuo accompaniment for recitativo, this often means that a chordal instrument will play, along with one or more sustained bass instruments. This is in contrast to accompagnato recitativo, which involves the use of continuo and other instruments with their own obbligato parts. segno sign, usually Dal segno (see above) "from the sign", indicating a return to the point marked by segue Lit. "it follows"; to be carried on to the next section without a pause sehr (Ger.) Very sehr ausdrucksvoll (Ger.) Very expressive sehr getragen (Ger.) Very sustained semitone The smallest pitch difference between notes in most Western music (e.g. F–F♯). (Note: some contemporary music, non-Western music, blues, or jazz may use microtonal divisions smaller than a semitone.) semplice Simple sempre Always sentimento Feeling, emotion sentito lit. "felt", with expression senza Without senza misura Without measure senza replica Without repetition: "when a movement, repeated in the first instance, must, on the Da Capo, be played throughout without repetition."[13] senza sordina or senza sordine (plural) Without the mute. See sordina. serioso Seriously serrez (Fr.) Getting faster sforzando (sf or sfz) Getting louder with a sudden strong accent sfogato Vented, let loose, unburdened (notably used in Chopin's Barcarolle Op. 60) shake A jazz term describing a trill between one note and its minor third; or, with brass instruments, between a note and its next overblown harmonic sharp A symbol (♯) that raises the pitch of the note by a semitone; also an adjective to describe a singer or musician performing a note in which the intonation is somewhat too high in pitch short accent Hit the note hard and short (^) si (Fr.) Seventh note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-doh solmization; also used for the 5th note, sol, when sharpened, in solmization. siciliana A Sicilian dance in 12
8 or 6
8 meter[14] sign See segno silenzio Silence (i.e. without reverberations) simile Similar (i.e. continue applying the preceding directive, whatever it was, to the following passage) sipario Curtain (stage) slancio Momentum, con slancio: with momentum; with enthusiasm slargando or slentando Becoming broader or slower (that is, becoming more largo or more lento) slur A symbol in Western musical notation (generally a curved line placed over the notes) indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played without separation (that is, with legato articulation) smorzando (smorz.) Extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo as well soave Smooth, gentle sognando Dreaming solenne Solemn solo or soli (plural) Alone (i.e. executed by a single instrument or voice). The instruction soli requires more than one player or singer; in a jazz big band this refers to an entire section playing in harmony. In orchestral works, soli refers to a divided string section with only one player to a line. solo break A jazz term that instructs a lead player or rhythm section member to play an improvised solo cadenza for one or two measures (sometimes abbreviated as "break"), without any accompaniment. The solo part is often played in a rhythmically free manner, until the player performs a pickup or lead-in line, at which time the band recommences playing in the original tempo. sommo (masc.), somma (fem.) Highest, maximum; con somma passione: with the greatest passion sonata A piece played as opposed to sung sonatina A little sonata sonatine A little sonata, used in some countries instead of sonatina sonore Sonorous (Deep or ringing sound) sonoro With full sound sopra Above; directive to cross hands in a composition for piano, e.g. m.s. sopra: left hand over; opposite: sotto (below) sopra una corda or sull'istessa corda To be played on one string soprano The highest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) sordina, sordine (plural) A mute. Note: sordina, with plural sordine, is strictly correct Italian, but the forms sordino and sordini are much more commonly used in music. Instruments can have their tone muted with wood, rubber, metal, or plastic devices (for string instruments, mutes are clipped to the bridge; for brass instruments, mutes are inserted in the bell), or parts of the body (guitar; French Horn), or fabric (clarinet; timpani), among other means. In piano music (notably in Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata), senza sordini or senza sordina (or some variant) is sometimes used to mean keep the sustain pedal depressed, since the sustain pedal lifts the dampers off the strings, with the effect that all notes are sustained indefinitely. sordino See sordina. sortita A principal singer's first entrance in an opera sospirando Sighing sostendo (Galician) holding back (notably used in El Camino Real by Alfred Reed) sostenuto Sustained, lengthened sotto voce In an undertone (i.e. quietly) soutenu (Fr.) sustained Sprechgesang "spoken singing", expressionist vocal technique denoting pitched speaking. Used most notably in the compositions of Arnold Schoenberg such as Pierrot lunaire. spianato Smooth, even spiccato Distinct, separated (i.e. a way of playing the violin and other bowed instruments by bouncing the bow on the string, giving a characteristic staccato effect) spinto Lit. "pushed" spirito Spirit, con spirito: with spirit, with feeling spiritoso Spirited staccato Making each note brief and detached; the opposite of legato. In musical notation, a small dot under or over the head of the note indicates that it is to be articulated as staccato. stanza A verse of a song stem Vertical line that is directly connected to the [note] head stentando or stentato (sten. or stent.) Labored, heavy, in a dragging manner, holding back each note stornello Originally truly 'improvised' now taken as 'appearing to be improvised,' an Italian 'folk' song, the style of which used for example by Puccini in certain of his operas strascinando or strascicante Indicating a passage should be played in a heavily slurred manner; in some contexts it indicates a rhythmic motion resembling shuffling strepitoso Noisy, forceful stretto Tight, narrow (i.e. faster or hastening ahead); also, a passage in a fugue in which the contrapuntal texture is denser, with close overlapping entries of the subject in different voices; by extension, similar closely imitative passages in other compositions stringendo Gradually getting faster (literally, tightening, narrowing) (i.e. with a pressing forward or acceleration of the tempo, that is, becoming stretto) strisciando To be played with a smooth slur, a glissando suave (Sp.) Soft subito Immediately (e.g. subito pp, which instructs the player to suddenly drop to pianissimo as an effect); often abbreviated as sub. sul Lit. "on the", as in sul ponticello (on the bridge); sul tasto (on the fingerboard); sul E (on the E string), etc. sul E "on the E", indicating a passage is to be played on the E string of a violin. Also seen: sul A, sul D, sul G, sul C, indicating a passage to be played on one of the other strings of a string instrument. suono reale Actual sound; primarily used with notated harmonics where the written pitch is also the sounding pitch sur la touche (Fr.) Sul tasto syncopation A disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of downbeat rhythm with emphasis on the sub-division or up-beat (e.g. in ragtime music) tacet (Lat.) Lit. "he/she keeps silent": do not play tasto, sul tasto or tastiera (tast.) On the fingerboard (i.e. in string playing, an indication to bow or to pluck over the fingerboard); playing over the fingerboard produces a duller, less harmonically rich, gentler tone. The opposite of sul ponticello. tasto solo 'single key'; used on a basso continuo part to indicate that only the written notes should be played, without RH chords as normally played by the harpsichordist/organist tempo Time (i.e. the overall speed of a piece of music) tempo di marcia March tempo tempo di mezzo The middle section of a double aria, commonly found in bel canto era Italian operas, especially those of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and their contemporaries as well in many early operas by Verdi. When present, the tempo di mezzo generally signals a shift in the drama from the slow cantabile of the first part to the cabaletta of the second, and this can take the form of some dramatic announcement or action to which the character(s) react in the cabaletta finale.[15] tempo di valzer Waltz tempo tempo giusto In strict time tempo primo, tempo uno, or tempo I (sometimes tempo I° or tempo 1ero) Resume the original speed tempo rubato "Stolen time"; an expressive way of performing a rhythm; see rubato ten. See tenuto teneramente; tendre or tendrement (Fr.) Tenderly tenerezza Tenderness tenor The second lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) tenuto Held (i.e. touch on a note slightly longer than usual, but without generally altering the note's value) ternary Having three parts. In particular, a three-part musical form with the parts represented by letters: ABA tessitura The 'best' or most comfortable pitch range, generally used to identify the most prominent / common vocal range within a piece of music tierce de Picardie (Fr.) See Picardy third timbre The quality of a musical tone that distinguishes one tone from another time In a jazz or rock score, after a rubato or rallentendo section, the term "time" indicates that performers should return to tempo (this is equivalent to the term "a tempo") tosto Immediately tranquillo Calm, peaceful transposition moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval. trattenuto (tratt.) Held back with a sustained tone, similar to ritardando tre corde (tc) Three strings (i.e. release the soft pedal of the piano) (see una corda) tremolo Shaking. As used in 1) and 2) below, it is notated by a strong diagonal bar (or bars) across the note stem, or a detached bar (or bars) for a set of notes.

1. A rapid, measured or unmeasured repetition of the same note. String players perform this tremolo with the bow by rapidly moving the bow while the arm is tense;
2. A rapid, measured or unmeasured alternation between two or more notes, usually more than a whole step apart. In older theory texts this form is sometimes referred to as a "trill-tremolo" (see trill).
3. A rapid, repeated alteration of volume (as on an electronic instrument);
4. vibrato: an inaccurate usage, since vibrato is actually a slight undulation in a sustained pitch, rather than a repetition of the pitch, or variation in volume (see vibrato).

tresillo (Sp.) A duple-pulse rhythmic cell in Cuban and other Latin American music trill A rapid, usually unmeasured alternation between two harmonically adjacent notes (e.g. an interval of a semitone or a whole tone). A similar alternation using a wider interval is called a tremolo. triplet (shown with a horizontal bracket and a '3') Three notes in the place of two, used to subdivide a beat. triste, tristamente Sad, wistful tronco, tronca Broken off, truncated troppo Too much; usually seen as non troppo, meaning moderately or, when combined with other terms, not too much, such as allegro [ma] non troppo (fast but not too fast) turn Multi-note ornament above and below the main note; it may also be inverted. Also called gruppetto. tutti All; all together, usually used in an orchestral or choral score when the orchestra or all of the voices come in at the same time, also seen in Baroque-era music where two instruments share the same copy of music, after one instrument has broken off to play a more advanced form: they both play together again at the point marked tutti. See also ripieno. un, una, or uno One or "a" (indefinite article), as exemplified in the following entries un poco or un peu (Fr.) A little una corda One string (i.e., in piano music, depressing the soft pedal, which alters and reduces the volume of the sound). For most notes in modern pianos, this results in the hammer striking two strings rather than three. Its counterpart, tre corde (three strings), is the opposite: the soft pedal is to be released. unisono (unis) In unison (i.e., several players in a group are to play exactly the same notes within their written part, as opposed to splitting simultaneous notes among themselves); often used to mark the return from divisi uptempo A fast, lively, or increased tempo, or played or done in such a tempo;[16] it is also an umbrella term for a quick-paced electronic music style ut (Fr.) First note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-do solmization vagans (Lat.) Lit. "wandering":[17] the fifth part in a motet, named so most probably because it had no specific range vamp Improvised accompaniment, usually a repeating pattern played before next musical passage. See vamp till cue. See comp and comping (jazz). vamp till cue A jazz, fusion, and musical theatre term which instructs rhythm section members to repeat and vary a short ostinato passage, riff, or "groove" until the band leader or conductor instructs them to move on to the next section variazioni Variations, con variazioni: with variations/changes veloce Fast velocità Speed; con velocità: with speed velocissimo As fast as possible; usually applied to a cadenza-like passage or run via Away, out, off; as in via sordina or sordina via: 'mute off' vibrato Vibrating (i.e. a more or less rapidly repeated slight variation in the pitch of a note, used as a means of expression). Often confused with tremolo, which refers either to a similar variation in the volume of a note, or to rapid repetition of a single note. vif (Fr.) Lively violoncello cello virtuoso (noun or adjective) performing with exceptional ability, technique, or artistry vite (Fr.) Fast vittorioso Victorious vivace Lively, up-tempo vivacissimo Very lively vivamente With liveliness vivezza Liveliness, vivacity vivo Lively, intense vocal score or piano-vocal score A music score of an opera, musical, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra (like oratorio or cantata) where the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced to two staves and adapted for playing on piano voce Voice volante Flying volti subito (V.S.) Turn immediately (i.e. turn the page quickly). While this indication is sometimes added by printers, it is more commonly indicated by orchestral members in pencil as a reminder to quickly turn to the next page. weich (Ger.) Gentle, gently wenig (Ger.) A little, not much weniger (Ger.) Less wolno (Pol.) Loose, slowly Zählzeit (Ger.) Beat zart (Ger.) Tender Zartheit (Ger.) Tenderness zärtlich (Ger.) Tenderly Zeichen (Ger.) Sign, mark Zeitmaß or Zeitmass (Ger.) Time-measure (i.e. tempo) zelo, zeloso, zelosamente Zeal, zealous, zealously ziehen (Ger.) To draw out ziemlich (Ger.) Fairly, quite, rather zitternd (Ger.) Trembling (i.e. tremolando) zögernd (Ger.) Hesitantly, delaying (i.e. rallentando) zurückhalten (Ger.) Hold back

• Glossary of jazz and popular music
• Glossary of Schenkerian analysis
• List of musical symbols
• List of musical instruments

• Classical musical terms
• Musical Terms Dictionary Definitions
• Music Dictionary, Dolmetsch Online
• Cole, Richard; Schwartz, Ed (October 22, 2012). "Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary". Virginia Tech Department of Music. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014.
• Musical Terms – Glossary of music terms from Naxos
• Music Terms with definitions - Glossary of music terms