Music Theory Terms - 1st Sem

Accent

Stress the note

Adagio

Very slowly

Allegretto

Fairly fast

Allegro

Quick and lively

Andante

Rather slow, moderate walking pace

Andantino

A little faster than Andante

A tempo

Return to the original tempo

Cantabile

In a singing style

Crescendo (cresc.)

Gradually getting louder

Da Capo (D.C.)

Repeat from the beginning

Dal Segno (D.S.)

Repeat from the S/S

Descresendo/Dimuendo (Descresc./Dim.)

Gradually getting softer

Dolce

Sweetly

Fermata

Hold the note or rest longer than written value

Forte (f)

Loud

Fortissimo (ff)

Very loud

Fine

End of the music

Grazioso

Gracefully

Larghetto

Not as slow as Largo

Largo

Slow and broad

Legato

Smoothly

Lento

Slow

Maestoso

Majestically

Marcato

Well marked, definite emphasis

Tenuto

To hold, note is played for full value

Mezzo forte (mf)

Moderately loud

Mezzo piano (mp)

Moderately soft

Moderato

Moderate pace

Pianissimo (pp)

Very soft

Piano (p)

Soft

Poco

Little

Presto

Very fast

Prestissimo

As fast as possible

Rallentando/Ritardando (rall./rit.)

Gradually getting slower

Repeat Sign

Repeat the music within the double bars

Slur

Play different notes connectedly

Staccato

Play the notes sharply, detatched

Colla Voce

Follow the solo voice, singer has freedom of phrasing

Tie

Hold the note for combined value of the notes

Tempo primo

Play the original speed

Caesura

To pause, break in phrase from the original tempo