A battuta (It)
with the beat
A capriccio (It)
following one?s fancy; at the whim of the performer
A deux (Fr), A due (It)
a duet ? or, two performers play part in unison
A piacere (It)
tempo at the discretion of the performer (rubato)
A tempo (It)
return to original tempo
Accelerando (It), presses (Fr)
quickening; gradual speeding up
Affabilita (It)
with ease, elegance; pleasing; agreeable
Affannoso (It)
with anxious expression
Affetuoso (It)
with tender expression
Affrettando (It)
rushed, hurried, nervous
Agilita (It)
with lightness, agility
Agitato (It)
agitated, hurried, restless
Allant-(Fr)
bustling, lively, brisk
Alla Breve (It)
cut time, duple time
Allargando (It)
slower and broader
Allentando (It)
slowing down
Ancora (It), encore (Fr)
still, again, once more
Am Frosch (Gr), a la hausse (Fr)
play at the frog of the bow
Amabile (It)
charming, amiable, gracious
Amoroso (It)
lovingly
Animato (It), anime (Fr)
animated, spirited
Appassionato (It)
passionately, with intense emotion
Assai (It) , molto (It), tres (Fr), sehr (Gr) , ganz (Gr)
much, very much, rather much, etc.
Ausdrucksvoll (Gr)
with expression
Calando (It)
decrease in volume and tempo
Calcando (It)
hurrying, pressing forward
Calmando (It), Calmato (It)
become calm, quiet, tranquil
Caminando (It) ? with ease; gentle;
with ease; gentle;flowing
Cantabile (It), cantando (It)
in a singing style
Cedez (Fr) , poco ritardando (It)
slight holding back
Col arco (It)
with the bow
Col destra (It)
with the right hand
Col legno (It)
play with the wood of the bow, not the hair
Col sinistra (It)
with the left hand
Colla voce (It), colla parte (It)
following the soloist in a free manner
Come prima (It)
as at first
Come e scritto (It)
perform as written
Come sopra (It)
as above
Comodo (It)
perform in a comfortable manner (usually a comfortably fast tempo)
Con (It), avec (Fr), mit (Gr)
with
Con amore (It)
lovingly, tenderly
Con brio (It)
with spirit, vigor
Con fuoco (It)
with fire (fast tempo)
Con forza (It)
with force, vigor
Con sordini (It)
with mutes
Con tenerezza (It)
with tenderness
Doloroso, dolent (It)
in a sorrowful, mournful manner
Dopo (It)
after
Doppio (It)
play in octaves
Doppio movimento (It)
twice as fast
Droit (Fr.)
right; m.d. ? right hand
Eingang (Gr)
small improvisatory section; mini cadenza, elaboration
Einschlafen (Gr)
to slacken the time and volume; dying away
Etwas (Gr)
somewhat; a little bit
Facile (It)
Play with ease, lightness
Fertig (Gr)
quick, nimble
Fierament (It) fiero, fiere
proud, haughtly, bold manner
Fioriture (It)
ornament, embellishment
Fp,forte piano (It)
attack the written note and immediately decrease in volume
Forzando (It), forzato, fz, sf, ffz
play a specific note or chord with great
Fuoco (It)
with energy, passion
Furioso (It)
in a wild, furious manner
Ganz (It)
whole, all, entire
Gauche (Fr.)
left; m.g. = left hand
Gaudioso (It)
merry, joyful manner
Gehend (Gr)
moderately slow tempo (like andante)
Giocoso (It)
happy, comic, merry
Gioioso (It)
blithe, gay, joyful
Grazioso (It)
graceful, smooth, elegant
Grosso (It)
full, great, grand, magnificent
Heftig (Gr), impetuoso (It)
vehement, boisterous, impetuous
Incalzando (It)
pressing, chasing
Inconsolato (It)
mournful
Innocentemente (It)
innocently
Inquieto (It)
restless, agitated, uneasy
Irato (It)
angry, irate, passionate
Istesso (It) l?istesso tempo, lo stesso tempo
keep the beat the same throughout, even if time signature changes
Jubiloso (It)
jubilant, exultant
Lascia vibrare (It) l.v.
let it vibrate, let the sound die away without dampening
Languendo (It)
languishing, feeble
Largamente (It)
perform with a broad, full sound
Leggiero (It)
light, swift, delicate
Libero (It)
freely, unrestrained
Licenza
with some freedom
Lusingando (It)
coaxing, flattering, caressing, alluring
Lustig (It)
merry, cheerful
Luttuoso (It)
mournful, sorrowful
Manus dexter, m.d. (Latin)
right hand
M.M
metronome marking
Manus sinister, m.s. (Latin)
left hand
Ma non troppo (It.)
but not too much
Maestoso (It)
stately, majestic, dignified
Mancando (It)
decreasing in volume; die away
Marcato (It)
marked, accented, emphatic, stressed
Martellato (It)
hammered; forceful, detached touch on the piano
Meno (It), moins (Fr.)
less
Meno mosso (It) or piu lento
less motion; slower tempo
Mesto (It)
sad, mournful, melancholy
Mezza voce (It)
?half-voice?, i.e. perform in a quiet, restrained manner
Mezzo (It)
medium, half
Moll (Gr)
minor
Morendo (It)
dying away; diminish in tone and tempo
Moto (It) con moto
motion; con moto = with motion, or quickly
Moto perpetuo (It)
perpetual motion; a term used to describe rapidly executed and persistently maintained figuration
Non troppo (It), pas trop (fr)
not too much
Ossia (It)
otherwise, i.e., to perform a passage in an alternate manner (usually simplified)
Parlando
declamatory, speaking style
Passagio (It)
written or improvised passage, – or ? a transition or modulation in a composition
Passionato (It)
passionate
Patetico (It)
pathetic
Ped.
use the damper pedal on piano (the on the right)
Perdendosi (It)
gradually diminishing in volume, rhgradually diminishing in volume, rhythm (tempo) and tone; to die awayythm
Pesante (It)
heavy and ponderous; with importance and weight
Piu (It), plus (Fr), (suffix) er [Gr]
more
Piu animato (It), piu mosso, piu allegro
faster; more motion
Un poco (It), un peu (Fr), ein wenig (Gr)
a little bit
A poco a poco (It), peu a peu (Fr), allmahlich (Gr)
little by little; gradually, a little at a time
Pochissimo (It)
very little
Portamento (It)
sliding between two pitches
Quasi (It)
in the style of
Raddolcendo (It)
gradually diminish in volume, growing gentler, sweeter, calmer
Rallentando (It)
gradual slowing down
Ritenuto (It)
sudden slowing down; held back; maintain this tempo until a tempo or other tempo change ? it doesn?t continue to slow down
Rubato (It)
to rob, or steal the time; flexibility of tempo by pushing forward or pulling back
Rapidamente (It)
rapidly
Rasch (Gr)
spirited, swift
Rattenuto (It)
restrained, held back
Ravvivando (It)
quickening the pace
Rinforzando (It), rinforzato, rfz
emphasis or accent applied in a passage or a small group of notes
Risoluto (It)
resolved, bold, resolute
Ruhig (Gr)
calm, peaceful
Rustico (It)
in a rustic, rural manner
Saltando(It)
a leaping, skipping bowing technique
Sanft (Gr)
soft, mild, smooth
Sans (Fr)
without
Scherzando (It)
playful, merry, lively, animated
Schleppend (Gr)
dragging; nicht schleppend = do not drag
Schwungvoll (Gr)
spirited; mit schwungfoll ? with spirit
Sciolto (It)
light, free manner
Secco (It), sec (Fr)
dry
Segue (It)
as follows; i.e. perform a passage in a similar manner as the one that preceded it
Sehr (Gr)
very
Semplice (It)
simple, plain, pure
Sempre (It)
always
Senza (It)
without
Severita (It)
with strictness, severity
Sforzando, sforzato, sf, sff, sfff, sffz, sfffz, sfp (It)
to perform a note or chord with emphasis, followed immediately with a decrease in loudness
Sin? al fine (It)
to the end
Singhiozzando (It)
sobbing effect
Slentando (It)
relax the tempo; become slower
Smaniato (It)
furiously, with rage
Smorzando (It)
suddenly dying away
Sopra (It)
above
Sordamente (It)
softly, gently, muffled, dampened
Sordino (It)
perform with a mute
Sospirando (It)
subdued, sighing, doleful
Sostenuto (It)
sustained
Sotto (It)
under
Sotto voce (It)
under the voice, i.e., perform in a quiet manner, almost a whisper
Spianato (It)
level, even, smooth
Spiccato (It)
separated, detached bow stroke using tip of bow
Spiritoso (It)
spirited
Sprechstimme (Gr)
melody is spoken at approximate pitches rather than sung at exact pitches
Strich (Gr)
bow stroke
Aufstrich (Gr)
up-bow
Neiderstrich (Gr)
down-bow
Stringengo (It)
pressing forward; accelerate the tempo
Subito (It)
suddenly
Sul (It)
at, on, over, on the, near the
Sul ponticello (It), sur le chavalet (Fr)
at the bridge (stringed instruments)
Sul tastiera (It), sur la touche (Fr)
at the fingerboard (stringed instruments)
Tempo giusto (It)
?just time? – in strict time; or return to regular tempo
Tempo primo (It)
return to original tempo
Trattenuto (It)
holding back (similar to ritardando), but with a sustained quality
Tacet (Latin)
silent, i.e., do not play for an entire section or movement
Talone (It)
at the frow of the bow
Tanto (It)
so much
Tasto solo (It)
indicates to the continuo performer that the bass note should be performed solo, without harmonization
Teneramente (It)
with tenderness
Tief (Gr)
low, deep, weighty, profound
Toujours (Fr)
always
Traurig (Gr)
heavy, mournful, sad
Tres (Fr)
very much
Uber (Gr)
above, over
Ubung (Gr), etude (Fr)
study, technical exercise
Veloce (It)
perform swiftly
Vivace (It), vif (Fr)
lively, brisk
Vivo (It)
lively, animated; slightly more animated than vivace
Volta (It)
time; prima volta = first time; seconda volta = second time
Volti (v.s. or subito volti)
turn the page of the music; subito volti ? turn quickly!
Wiederholung (Gr)
repeat sign
Zart (Gr)
tenderly, delicately, softly
Zusammen (Gr)
together
Arpegement (Fr), Brechung (Gr)
arpeggio
Petites notes (Fr), kurz Vorschlage (Gr)
grace notes
Tremblement (Fr)
trill
Brise (Fr), Doppelschlag (Gr), grupetto (It)
turn
Pince (Fr), Pralltriller (Gr)
mordent
Glissement (Fr)
glissando