Orchestra Final Fall 2025

Simple meter subdivision

beat is subdivisible by two

Compound meter subdivision

beat is subdivisible by three

Time signature- what does top number tell you

how many beats in a measure

Time signature- what does bottom number tell you

what type of note gets one beat

Accelerando

gradually get faster

A tempo

back to the previous tempo, usually found after a ritardando

Rubato

musical flexibility in tempo, usually for musical of expression reasons

Con moto

with motion

Piu mosso

more motion

Stringendo

gradually speeding up

What does a dot to the right of a note do to the value?

adds half of the value of a note onto itself

Meno

less

Piu

more

Poco

little

Con sordino

with mute

Col legno

to play with stick of bow

Sul ponticello

to play next to the bridge

Sul tasto

to play over the fingerboard

Cantabile

in a singing style

Melody

main line of a piece of music

Harmony

supports the theme or the melody

Bass Line

foundational line in a piece of music

Dolce

sweetly

Con fuoco

with fire

Sempre

always

Solo

one player

Soli

section solo

Tutti

everyone- usually used to indicate the entire group comes back in with soloist

String instruments that can read treble clef

violin, viola, cello, bass

String instruments that can read alto clef

viola

String instruments that can read bass clef

cello, bass

String instruments that can read tenor clef

cello, bass

Transposing string instrument

double bass, transposes one octave- sounds one octave lower than it is written