Lesson Sixteen: Musical Terms and Signs

Vocabulary flashcards covering speed, intensity, performance directions, and general musical terms from Lesson Sixteen.

largamente

broadly

larghetto

rather broadly

prestissimo

extremely fast, or as fast as possible

con moto

with movement

calando

getting softer and slower

morendo

dying away

forte-piano (fp)

loud then immediately soft

sforzando (sf)

a strong accent

agitato

with agitation

attacca

go on at once

animato

with animation

tranquillo

calmly

con anima

with feeling

con brio

with spirit

con grazia

with grace

con forza

with force

dolce

soft and sweet

risoluto

with resolution

ben marcato

well marked

main droite (M.D.)

right hand

main gauche (M.G.)

left hand

una corda

with the soft pedal (literally, with one string)

tre corde

release the soft pedal (literally, with three strings)

ad libitum

at pleasure, quite freely

8va

an octave higher

loco

at the normal pitch (generally after playing an octave higher)

opus

a work or group of works

M.M.

Maelzel's metronome. The metronome is an apparatus which can be adjusted to beat time at various speeds. Maelzel is usually considered the inventor, and Beethoven probably the first composer to mark his compositions with metronome speeds.

M.M. $J = 60$

means that there are to be $60$ crotchets to the minute.