Common Music Terms

Most words seen in music are Italian because Italian music dominated
Europe from 1600 to 1750. Italian words are still used by composers all
over the world today, but French and German (even English
occasionally!) became more common from the 19th century onwards.

Term Symbol, example or Meaning

abbreviation
8va Play the notes one octave higher

8vb Play the notes one octave lower

A tempo Back to the previous speed

Accelerando accel. Gradually getting faster
Accent Play the note(s) louder to make it
stand out

Adagio Slowly
Allegretto Fairly fast.
Allegro Fast and lively
Andante At a moderate walking speed
Arpeggio Play the notes of a chord
(arp.) consecutively, like a harp or guitar

Cantabile In a singing style

Coda Final section of a musical piece

Crescendo Gradually getting louder

(cresc.)

Da Capo 1) D.C 1) To the beginning

2) DC al Coda 2) From the beginning to the coda
Dal segno 1) D.S 1) To the sign
2) D.S al Coda 2) From the sign to the Coda
Decrescendo Gradually getting softer
(decresc.)
Diminuendo Gradually getting softer
(dim.)

Dolce Sweetly
Dynamics Varying intensities of loudness and
softness throughout a piece of
music (e.g. piano, mezzo forte,
fortissimo, etc.)
Espressivo espress. Expressively
Fermata or The note (or rest) is to be held
Pause (paused) at the player’s discretion

Fine The end

Forte f Loud
Fortissimo ff Very loud
Glissando Rapid scale passage produced by
(gliss.) sliding finger over keys

Grave Heavy, slow, ponderous

Grazioso Gracefully.
Gusto In good taste, tasteful
L’istesso l’istesso The same. i.e. the tempo remains
tempo the same as before, after a change
was made
Largo Slow and stately
Legato Play the notes smoothly
Lento Slowly
Marcato Heavily accented
(marc.)

Maestoso Majestic, dignified

Meno Less
Metronome Shows how many beats to be
mark played per minute. Sometimes
shown as MM Q = 60, where MM
means Maelzel’s Metronome
Mezzo forte mf Moderately loud
Mezzo piano mp Moderately soft
Moderato At a medium (moderate) pace.
Molto Much
Piano p Soft, softly
Pianissimo pp Very soft
Più More
Poco A little or slightly
Poco a poco . Little by little, i.e. gradually
Prestissimo . As fast as possible
Presto Very fast
Rallentando rall. Gradually getting slower
Ritardando rit. Gradually getting slower
Ritenuto riten. Held back. Slower at once
Rubato . From the Italian "robbed".
Indicates a relaxation of the strict
rhythmic flow
Scherzo Joke, jest. A sprightly movement,
light and humorous in nature
Segno Sign

.
Segue . Following immediately
Sforzando sf or sfz Explosively; the note or chord
should be heavily accented
Simile sim. like, the same
Slur Curved lines drawn over or under
different notes means play the
notes smoothly i.e. legato
Sostenuto sost. Sustained
Staccato stacc. Play in a short, detached manner
Subito Suddenly
Syncopation Moving the accent from the strong
beat to a beat that is usually weak

Tacet Be silent.
Tempo The speed at which the music is
performed
Tenuto The note is to be played for it’s full
(ten.) value, possibly with a very slight
accent

Tie Ties connect notes of the same

pitch to create a sustained note
equal to the sum of the tied notes
Tremolo Rapidly repeated note or chord
(trem.)

Vivace Fast and lively