| a poco |
a little; gradually |
leggiero |
lightly |
| a tempo |
in time; generally implies a return to the original rate of speed |
lento |
very slow |
| accelerando |
gradually faster |
maestoso |
majestically |
| adagietto |
slow, but not as slow as adagio |
marcato |
marked; with emphasis |
| adagio |
very slow |
marcia |
march style |
| agitato |
agitated; rapid |
marziale |
martial |
| al fine |
to the finish |
meno |
Less |
| alla |
in the style of |
mezzo |
medium; half |
| allargando |
gradually slower and broader |
moderato |
moderately |
| allegretto |
light and moderately quick, but not as fast as allegro |
molto |
very |
| allegro |
rapid; lively |
morendo |
dying away |
| andante |
moderately slow, but moving |
mosso |
motion; movement |
| andantino |
generally a little quicker than andante |
moto |
motion; movement |
| animato |
animated; spirited |
non troppo |
not too much |
| appassionato |
intensely; passionately; with deep feeling |
opus |
a musical work or composition |
| arioso |
in a vocal style |
ottava |
an octave |
| assai |
very |
pesante |
heavily; with emphasis |
| ben |
well |
pianissimo |
very softly |
| brilliante |
brilliantly |
piano |
softly |
| calando |
gradually slower and softer |
piu |
more |
| cantabile |
in a singing style |
poco |
a little |
| chromatic |
by semi-tones |
poco a poco |
little by little |
| coda |
the final added measures of a musical composition |
prestissimo |
very fast; more so than presto |
| con |
with |
presto |
very fast |
| con amore |
with tenderness |
primo |
first |
| con anima |
with animation; spirit |
rallentando |
gradually slower |
| con brio |
with spirit; brilliantly |
religioso |
in solemn style |
| con forza |
with force |
ritardando |
gradually slower |
| con fuoco |
with fire, energy |
ritenuto |
a steady pace, but slower than the preceding tempo |
| con grazia |
with grace |
rubato |
temporary irregularity of time, lengthening some notes at the expense of others |
| con spirito |
with spirit; brilliance |
scherzando |
in light, playful style |
| crescendo |
gradually louder |
scherzo |
playfully, usually in rapid tempo with rhythmic and dynamic contrasts |
| da capo |
from the beginning |
segno |
the sign |
| dal segno |
from the sign |
sempre |
always; continually |
| decrescendo |
gradually softer |
senza |
without |
| diminuendo |
gradually softer |
sforzando |
forced; with emphasis |
| dolce |
sweetly |
simile |
the same |
| energico |
energetically |
smorzando |
dying away |
| etude |
a study |
soli |
more than one performer in unison |
| fermata |
a hold or pause |
solo |
a composition or passage for one performer |
| forte |
loud |
sordino |
mute |
| fortissimo |
very loud |
sostenuto |
sustained |
| forzando |
forcefully accented |
staccato |
separated, detached style |
| furioso |
furiously |
stringendo |
gradually faster |
| giocoso |
joyfully |
subito |
suddenly |
| grandioso |
grand or noble style |
tacet |
silent |
| grave |
very slow or solemn |
tempo |
time; speed |
| grazioso |
gracefully |
tempo di valse |
waltz time |
| l’istesso |
the same |
tenuto |
sustain full value |
| larghetto |
slow, but not as slow as largo |
valse |
waltz |
| larghissimo |
very slow, more so than largo |
veloce |
very fast |
| largo |
very slow |
vivace |
vivacious; lively |
| legato |
smooth and connected |
vivo |
lively; brisk |