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ORCHESTRA VOCABULARY SHEET #1
8va - ottava or "at the octave." This indication is most often found above specific notes on a staff and indicates
that those notes should be performed one octave higher than written.
8vb - ottava bassa or "at the octave below." This indication is found below specific notes on a staff and indicates
that those notes should be performed one octave lower than written.
A tempo - return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation.
Accelerando – to go faster
Accent –
(several different notations) to give a note more emphasis
Alla breve Cut time. A tempo marking indicating a quick duple meter with the half note rather than the
quarter note getting the beat (2/2 rather than 4/4).
Accidental - A mark placed before a note which indicates that the previously understood pitch of the note should
be altered by one or two half steps.
Andante - A moderate tempo marking between largo and moderato. This tempo typically has between 76 and 108
beats per minute.
Arco – to use the bow
Cantabile - Singing or performing in a melodious and graceful style, full of expression.
Coda The closing few measures of a composition, usually not a part of the main theme groups of the
standard form of a composition, but a finishing theme added to the end to give the composition closure.
Col legno - Italian term for’ with the wood’.
Common time - 4/4 time or C
Con gusto – with energy
Crescendo – to gradually get louder
Dal segno Diminuendo –
means repeat from the sign
gradually get softer
Divisi – divide the notes; the OUTSIDE player takes the top note, the INSIDE player takes the bottom note
Dolce - A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition sweetly, softly, or with tender emotion.
Enharmonic - two separate pitch notations stand for the same sound. For example, the enharmonic spelling of F
sharp is G flat. Both represent the same pitch frequency.
Espressivo –to perform a certain passage with expression
Fermata Forte – loud f
play until the conductor gives the cutoff and wait for the next downbeat
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Key signature - The sharp, flat, or natural signs placed at the beginning of a staff indicating the tonality of the
composition.
Legato – to play smoothly
Marcato -
to play short
Mezzo - In dynamics, it is often used to modify other musical terms as mezzo forte (medium loud or literally half
as loud as forte), mezzo piano (medium soft or literally half again louder than piano),
Molto – much, very
Non troppo - A term meaning not, and used to qualify a directive in the performance of a certain passage of a
composition. For example, the term ‘allegro non troppo’ would mean a fast tempo (allegro) but not too fast.
Piano – soft p
Piu mosso - the indicated passage should have more motion, it should move more quickly.
Pizzicato – to pluck the string with the finger
Poco a poco – little by little
Rallentando (rall) - perform passage with a gradual slowing of the tempo.
Ritardando (rit.) – to gradually slow down
Sempre – Always
Sezura – // to completely stop; wait for the conductor to give the next downbeat
Simile - perform the indicated passage of a composition in a similar manner as the previous passage; similarly.
Soli – the entire section
Solo – only one person
Staccato -
to play short
Subdivision- To break up a larger metrical pattern into smaller parts so that it may be more easily understood.
Sul - meaning "at" or "over" or "on the" or "near the".
Sul Tasto – "over the fingerboard"
Sul Ponticello - "over the bridge”
Time signature –
A symbol placed at the left side of the staff indicating the meter of the
composition. Ex: a time signature of 3/4 would indicate that there are three quarter notes in each measure and
the quarter notes receive the main pulse
Trill (tr) -
alternate fingers playing the written pitch and the note above it.
Tutti – A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition with all instruments together; pposite of solo.
Volti subito (V.S.) - turn the page of music quickly