Download musical terms

MUSICAL TERMS
A CAPPELLA
ACCELERANDO
Choral singing without instrumental
accompaniment
Quickening or getting faster
ACCOMPAGNATO
Accompanied
ADAGIO
Quite slow
ALLEGRO
Quick and lively
*ARIA
A TEMPO
Lyric song for solo voice and orchestral
accompaniment
Return to the original tempo
RITARDANDO
(RIT.) gradually slow down
*BINARY FORM
Two part song (A-B); normally repeated
*BLUE NOTE
A slight drop of pitch on the 3rd, 5th, and
7th tone of the scale. Found in blues and
jazz.
Virtuosic improvised passage at the end
of the song
French song, set to courtly and popular
poetry
Baroque congregational hymn of the
German Lutheran church
With love
*CADENZA
*CHANSON
CHORALE
*CON AMORE
CON BRIO
With spirit
CON FUOCO
With fire
CRESCENDO
(cresc. or <) gradually get louder
DECRESCENDO
(decresc. or >) gradually get softer
DIMINUENDO
(dim. Or >) gradually get softer
FORTE
(F) Loud
PIANO
(p) soft
MEZZO FORTE
(mf) medium loud
MEZZO PIANO
(mp) medium soft
FORTISSIMO
(FF) very loud
PIANISSIMO
(pp) very soft
*DOCTRINE OF
AFFECTIONS
DOLCE
Belief in the Baroque period that the
aim of music is to excite or move the
passions
Sweetly
DOLENTE
Sad, weeping
FUGUE
MESTO
Polyphonic form in which one or more
themes are developed in imitative
texture
Distance and relationship between two
pitches
Sad
OCTAVE
Comprised of 8 notes
PENTATONIC
SCALE
A scale comprised of 5 notes, found in
African, far Eastern and American
Indian music
Stacking notes in 4ths
INTERVAL
QUARTAL
HARMONY
STACCATO
“borrowed time” in Romantic music, the
performer would hesitate or hurries
giving a flexible feeling of time
Roman Catholic musical work for the
dead
Italian jumping dance characterized by
triplets in 4/4 time
Short and separated
*TERRACED
DYNAMICS
Volume level shifts abruptly either from
soft to loud or loud to soft
VIVACE
lively
LENTO
Very slow
RUBATO
REQUIEM MASS
*SALTARELLO
LARGO
LEGATO
*FALSETTO
ANDANTE
PRESTO
*TENUTO
*CONTRALTO
Very slow tempo
Smooth and connected
Light and airy created by using the
highest vocal folds above those used in
speech and normal range in singing. Not
to be confused by head voice register.
Moderately slow, faster than Adagio.
Tempo at a walking pace.
A very fast and quick tempo.
A note receives longer duration in either
dynamics or length. Characterized by a
dash above/below the note head.
The lowest female singing voice
typically with the range of a F below
middle C to two Fs above middle C.
TEMPO MARKINGS (slowest to fastest) *BE ABLE TO LIST IN ORDER AND NAME THE BPM FOR EACH
TERM
BPM (Beats per minute)
Lento
Largo
Adagio
Andante
Allegro
Vivace
Presto