SLHS Orchestra Vocab All (6th-12th)

pizzicato

to pluck strings

arco

play with the bow

solo

piece for one person, one person playing

ensemble

a piece for a group of musicians, a group of musicians playing

crescendo

gradually get louder

decrescendo/diminuendo

gradually get softer

scale

series of consecutive notes, ascends and decends, start and end on same note

half step

smallest musical interval

whole step

two half steps

slur

the curved line that connects notes of different pitches

dynamics

volume levels, range of sounds

piano

soft

forte

loud

mezzo

medium

allegro

fast, happy

andante

slow walking tempo

ritardando

gradually slow down

tempo

speed

ledger lines

lines that extend the staff

tie

curved line that connects notes of the same pitch

simile

same as previous style

cantabile

singing style

dolce

sweetly

rallentando

gradually get slower

fermata

holding note or rest until further instructions

adagio

slow tempo

fine

the end

divisi

divide

accidental

sharps, naturals, and flats that are not in the key

luftpaus

lift and pause

con

with

senza

without

sordino

mute

da capo

from the beginning

dal segno

from the sign

coda

tag

moderato

moderate tempo

al fine

through the end

syncopation

stress off or weak beats

andantino

slightly slower or faster than andante

molto

much

piu

more

a tempo

previous tempo

accelerando

becoming faster

GP (grand pause)

rest for entire ensemble

poco

little

sul

on, near

trill

fastest oscillation between two notes

enharmonic

two notes that sound identical but spelled differently

ponticello

near bridge

tasto

fingerboard

maestoso

majestic

agitato

agitated

expressivo

expressive

subito

suddenly

presto

very fast

tranquillo

tranquil

tonic

1st scale degree

dominant

5th scale degree

duet

piece for two people, two people playing

volta

turn/time

tutti

everyone plays

niente

fade to nothing

allargando

stretched passage

tenuto

stress/stretch on note

sempre

always

morendo

dying away

largo

very slow

pesante

heavy

cadenza

brilliant solo passage

glissando

slide between two notes

interval

distance between two notes

tacet

do not play

major scale

scale that follows the pattern wwhwwwh

meno

less

mosso/moto

motion

turn

embellishment that rotates around the primary tones

grace note

embellishment that comes either after or before a primary note

leading tone

seventh scale degree

non troppo

not too much

con brio

with energy

con fuoco

with fire

attacca

to go on without pausing

prima

first

leggiero

lightly

grazioso

gracefully

assai

very

stringendo

to push forward

sforzando

2nd degree of accent

scherzando

playfully

adagietto

slightly faster or slower than adagio

mediant

3rd scale degree

submediant

6th scale degree

hemiola

2 against 3

natural minor scale

scale that follows whwwhww pattern

harmonic minor scale

natural minor scale with a raised 7th scale degree

melodic minor scale

natural minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th scale degree going up and a natural minor scale going down

gusto

with relish, zest

con calore

with warmth

giocoso

joyful