Orchestra Terms

Adagio

leisurely (a slow tempo)

Largo

large, broad (a slow tempo)

Lento

slow

Moderato

moderately

Andante

walking tempo

Allegro

lively, happy tempo (fast)

Presto

fast

Vivace

with life!  - indicating a very fast tempo

Rallentando (rall.)

to slow down gradually (to slacken)

Ritardando (rit.)

to slow down gradually (to delay)

Accelerando (accel.)

to speed up gradually  (accelerate)

a tempo

back to original tempo

animato

“animated” - faster

Arco

play with the bow (after playing pizzicato)

Col Legno

with the stick of the bow

Pizzicato

pluck the string

Staccato

a bow stroke that starts and ends with the bow stopped on the string

Spiccato

a bow stroke that starts and ends with the bow off the string

Simile

keep going in a similar manner

Cantabile

in a singing style

Con

with

Dolce

sweetly

Meno

less

Molto

much, a lot

Mosso

motion (speed)

Pesante

heavy

Piu

more

Poco a poco

little by little

Sempre

always

Senza

without

Soli

multiple players (the section) has a solo

Sordino

mute

subito (sub.)

suddenly

Tranquillo

tranquilly, calm

Tutti

everyone, all

Fermata

hold the note or rest longer than its value (watch the conductor)

Da Capo (D.C)

go back to the beginning

D. C. al Coda

go back to the beginning, then skip to the coda where indicated

divisi (div)

divide the notes (one plays top, one plays the bottom)

caesura (//)

break - the music stops for a moment

forte

strong, brave, proud

ff - fortissimo

maximum good sound

piano

quiet, soft, gentle

pp - pianissimo

maximum quietness (as quietly as you can make a good sound)

arco

with the bow (after playing pizzicato)

pizzicato

pluck the strings

unis - unison

all play

crescendo

gradually get louder (to grow)

diminuendo, decrescendo

gradually get quieter

accent (>)

play one dynamic louder

sfz - sforzando

super accent