Glossary
Glossary of Musical Terms
The Italian words that tell a performer how to play what's written.
Since the Baroque era, composers across Europe have mostly written performance instructions in Italian, regardless of their own nationality — a convention that's stuck ever since. These are the terms you'll run into most often, grouped by what they describe.
Tempo (speed)
- Largo
- Very slow and broad.
- Adagio
- Slow, at ease.
- Andante
- At a walking pace.
- Moderato
- A moderate, middle-of-the-road tempo.
- Allegro
- Fast and lively - one of the most common tempo markings in the entire repertoire.
- Vivace
- Lively and brisk, typically a shade faster than allegro.
- Presto
- Very fast.
- Accelerando
- Gradually speeding up.
- Ritardando (rit.)
- Gradually slowing down.
- A tempo
- Return to the previous, original tempo after a deviation.
Dynamics (volume)
- Pianissimo (pp)
- Very soft.
- Piano (p)
- Soft.
- Mezzo piano (mp)
- Moderately soft.
- Mezzo forte (mf)
- Moderately loud.
- Forte (f)
- Loud.
- Fortissimo (ff)
- Very loud.
- Crescendo (cresc.)
- Gradually getting louder.
- Diminuendo / Decrescendo (dim. / decresc.)
- Gradually getting softer.
Our dynamics and tempo markings guide goes deeper on how these two categories actually work in practice.
Articulation & expression
- Legato
- Smoothly connected, with no gap between notes.
- Staccato
- Short and detached, each note clearly separated.
- Fermata
- Hold the note or rest longer than its written value, at the performer's discretion.
- Da capo (D.C.)
- Return to the beginning of the piece.
- Dal segno (D.S.)
- Return to an earlier marked "sign" in the score, rather than the very beginning.
- Cadenza
- A soloist plays alone, often improvisatory in feel - most familiar from the concerto.
- Con brio
- With vigor and spirit.
- Dolce
- Sweetly, gently.
- Espressivo
- Expressively, with emotional emphasis.