Conducting 1 terms (miscellaneous)

basic musical definitions (miscellaneous)

accidentals

flats and double flats, naturals, sharps and double sharps

alla breve

“cut time” the half-note is the unit of the meter

arpeggio

a broken chord (each note of the chord played in succession)

attacca

begin the next movement immediately

cadence

the close or ending of a phrase

cadenza

an elaborate solo passage with fancy embellishments to display the proficiency of a performer

chromatic

proceeding by semitones

coda

literally “a tail”- the closing measures of a piece of music

con

with, con sordino means “with mute”

da capo

abbr. dc. from the beginning

dal segno

abbr. ds. to the sign

divisi

divided, one performer plays the upper notes, the other plays the lower notes

fermata

a pause

fine

the end

g.p.

general pause; a dramatic moment of silence for the entire ensemble

segue

to the next piece without pause

senza

without; senza sordino means without mute

sordino

a mute (used by brass and string players)

tacet

be silent

tempo primo

(sometimes tempo 1) means to return to the original tempo after a ritard or accel

v.s.

abbr. found at the lower corner of a music page, which stands for “volti-subito” and means to turn the page quickly

col legno

applies to the string instruments; bowing or tapping the string with the wood of the bow instead of the hair

glissando

to slide; pulling or drawing the finger quickly up or down a series of adjacent notes; also poss. on trombone and other instruments