a cappella
singing without accompaniment
accelerando
accelerating, growing faster
a tempo
resume the original tempo
adagio
slowly and leisurely
allegro
quick, but no as fast as presto
arpeggio
notes that outline a chord
canon
a round
capo
head or beginning
coda
a final passage closing a song
crescendo
becoming gradually louder
diction
the clarity of words
diphthong
a union of two vowels pronounced in one syllable
diminuendo
becoming gradually softer
dissonance
a combination of notes that require resolution; creates tension
dynamics
the volume of music
dolce
sweetly
falsetto
false or artificial voice
fermata
hold; a pause or interruption
fine
the end
forte
loud
harmony
the parts that support the melody
intonation
the accuracy of maintaining a pitch
legato
smooth
marcato
strongly accented
melody
the leading part in a song
meno
less
mezzo
medium
modulation
passing from one key or tonality to another
molto
very much
phrase
a musical sentence; a complete thought
piano
soft
piu
more
poco
little
poco a poco
little by little
presto
very fast
rallentando
slowly gradually
range
the highest and lowest pitches in a song
ritard
becoming gradually slower
rubato
intentionally deviating from strict rhythm
segue
continue
sempre
always
sforzando
with emphasis
sostenuto
held for the full indicated time value
sotto voce
in very soft tone; half voice
staccato
with distant breaks between successive notes
subito
suddenly
tenuto
hold for full value
tessitura
the general “lie” of a vocal part; does not take into account a few isolated high or low pitches
tutti
for all instruments or voices
vivace
lively ,spirited