Concert Orchestra Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards for Concert Orchestra review.

Tempo

The speed of the music, measured in beats per minute.

Allegro

Performed at a brisk tempo.

Moderato

Performed at a moderate pace.

Allegro moderato, Allegro non troppo

Perform fast, but not too fast.

Andante

Walking tempo.

Presto

Very fast.

Adagio

Slow tempo.

Rit. Ritardando

Gradually slowing down.

Accell.

Gradually speeding up.

Rall. Rallentando

Gradually slow down.

A tempo

Go back to the original tempo.

Maestoso

Majestically and slowly.

Dynamics

How loud or quiet the piece is supposed to be played at a given time.

Fortississimo (fff)

Very, very loud.

Fortissimo (ff)

Very Loud.

Forte (f)

Loud.

Mezzo Forte (mf)

Moderately loud.

Mezzo Piano (mp)

Moderately quiet.

Piano (p)

Quiet.

Pianissimo (pp)

Very Quiet.

Pianississimo (ppp)

Very Very Quiet

Forte piano (fp)

Forte briefly, then piano.

Dim. - diminuendo

To gradually get quieter (to diminish).

Marc.

Accented, stressed to play a note louder.

Crescendo

Get louder.

Sforzando (sfz)

Suddenly loud.

Decrescendo

Get quieter.

Articulation

Clear/distinct sound and tone quality while playing.

Molto rit.

Slow down a lot.

Poco rit.

Slow down a little.

Fast Rock beat

Fast.

Lyrically

Gently and nicely play notes.

Freely

Fastly.

Off String

Bounce the bow.

Accent

Emphasis on a note or portion of a note.

^ vertical accent mark (marcato)

Heavier accent.

horizontal accent mark

More subtle accent.

-- tenuto

The opposite of a staccato, emphasizes sustaining a note for its whole length.

Diminuendo

Gradually gets quieter.

Pizzicato (pizz.)

Pluck string.

Arco

Play string with the bow.

Ritardando (rit.)

Slow down.

Bow lift

Lifting the bow in between notes to go back to the frog.

Slur

More than one note played within just one bow stroke.

Tie

Two of the same note played together, like a slur but one note.

Legato

All notes are connected.

Tremolo

Rapid repetition of one note.

Arco

The return to bowing after pizzicato.

Double Stops

Playing 2 different strings at once.

Div. Divisi

Indicates that a group of musicians should temporarily split to be able to play two or more different parts separately.

Fine

End of a movement or song.

D.C. al Fine

Repeat from the beginning of the music and then jump to the coda when it says “to coda.”

Staccato

Short and separate bows.

Coda

An additional ending of the song “The Tail”.

At Frog

At the bottom of the bow.

Sforzando (sfz)

With sudden emphasis.

Subito (Sub)

Suddenly.

Con forza

With force.

Glissando

A continuous slide upward or downward between two notes.

Marcato

Performed with emphasis, heavily accented.

Tenuto

To extend the note. Play slightly longer.

Fermata

Hold until the conductor cuts off the note.

Trill

Rapid alternation in notes by moving your fingers.

Soli

Solo part with group.

Sim

Simile/in a similar way.

Time Signatures

Tells the number of beats per measure.

Top number of Time Signature

How many beats per measure.

Bottom number of Time Signature

What kind of note gets the beat.

Key Signatures

Found at the beginning of a song - any sharps or flats.

Violin Clef

Treble/G.

Viola Clef

Alto/C.

Cello Clef

Bass/F.

Bass Clef

Bass/F.

Tone Quality

The quality of your sound production (bad=scratchy, good=smooth, clear, balanced).

Interpretation

How one understands and presents a piece of music (dynamics, vibrato, expression, bowings, phrasing, breathing, tempo).

C-major

No sharps or flats.

G-major

1 sharp (F sharp).

D-major

2 sharps (F-sharp +C-sharp).

F-major

1 flat (B flat).

Intonation

The accuracy of pitch.