Italian Musical Terms Flashcards

Italian Musical Terms Study Notes

• Largo: Indicates a very slow tempo, often used to create a calm atmosphere.
• Adagio: Represents a slow tempo, allowing for expressive playing.
• Andante: Denotes a medium slow tempo, akin to a walking pace, creating a relaxed feel.
• Moderato: Signifies a moderate tempo, serving as a balanced pace in compositions.
• Allegro: Indicates a fast tempo, lively and bright, often raising energy.
• Presto: Represents a very fast tempo, quickens the piece, creating excitement.
• Pianissimo: Indicates a very soft dynamic level, conveying tenderness and subtlety.
• Piano: Signifies a soft dynamic, allowing for gentle expression in music.
• Mezzo Piano: Denotes a medium soft dynamic, balancing softness with presence.
• Mezzo Forte: Represents a medium loud dynamic, providing a stronger yet balanced sound.
• Forte: Indicates a loud dynamic, striking attention and intensity in performance.
• Fortissimo: Signifies a very loud dynamic, often used for dramatic emphasis.
• Crescendo: Describes a gradual increase in loudness, building intensity in a musical phrase.
• Decrescendo: Indicates a gradual decrease in loudness, softening the musical expression.
• Accelerando: Suggests a gradual increase in tempo, speeding up the music.
• Ritardando: Signifies a gradual decrease in tempo, slowing down for expressive effect.
• Ritenuto: Indicates a sudden slowdown in tempo, often for dramatic impact.
• Con Moto: Means "with motion," encouraging energetic playing.
• Meno Mosso: Indicates "less motion," suggesting a slower pace than before.
• Doppio Movimento: Means "twice as fast," calling for a double speed in tempo.
• A Tempo: Refers to returning to the original tempo after a deviation.
• L'istesso Tempo: Means to keep the same tempo, maintaining consistency throughout.
• Rubato: Describes a flexible treatment of tempo, allowing for expressive phrasing.
• Fermata: Instruction to sustain a note longer than its original value, creating a pause.
• Caesura: A short pause in the music, providing dramatic effect before continuation.
• Legato: Indicates notes should be played smoothly and connected without breaks.
• Tenuto: Suggests that a note should be played at full value, held for its complete duration.
• Portato: Means slightly separating notes within a slur, creating a gentle lift.
• Staccato: Indicates that notes should be played detached and separated.
• Staccatissimo: A very short staccato, emphasizing rapid detachment.
• Marcato: Denotes a marked, emphasized playing style, accentuating certain notes.
• Sforzando: Signifies a sudden strong accent on a note or chord.
• Cantabile: Indicates a singing style of playing, focusing on lyrical expression.
• Dolce: Suggests playing sweetly, conveying tenderness and warmth.
• Espressivo: Calls for expressive playing, emphasizing emotional content in the music.
• Scherzando: Indicates a playful manner, lighthearted in approach.
• Leggiero: Suggests a light and agile playing style.
• Sostenuto: Means to sustain notes over their full length, creating a lingering sound.
• Maestoso: Indicates a majestic style, exuding grandeur and dignity.
• Pesante: Suggests a heavy, weighted performance, often slow and serious.
• Simile: Indicates to continue in the same manner, maintaining the previous style.
• Poco a Poco: Means little by little, suggesting gradual progression in dynamics or tempo.
• Subito: Indicates sudden changes, often in dynamics or tempo.
• Molto: Signifies much or very, used to intensify instructions.
• Non: Means not, often used to negate a dynamic or instruction.
• Sempre: Indicates always, suggesting consistency throughout the piece.
• Senza: Means without, used in various contexts within music.
• Divisi: Indicates to divide the parts, often within an ensemble setting.
• Tutti: Means all, instructing everyone to play together.
• Tacet: Instructs to be silent or not play during a passage.