Musical words and symbols

phrase marks

show the shape of the music - usually indicates the notes that can be sung/played within one breath

tenuto

slightly lengthen and sustain a note

articulation marks

go above/below the note head (consider the direction of the stem)

slur

play the marked notes smoothly - play with no audible gap (note it is different from a tie, which ties two of the same note together)

staccato

play marked note detached, short and crisp

expression marks

go below the music

cantabile

with a singing tone

espressivo

expressively

grazioso

gracefully

molto

very ____ (e.g molto expressivo)

8va

play the music an octave higher

8vb

play the music an octave lower

tempo marks

go above the music, at the start of the piece

andante

at a walking pace

allegro

fast

moderato

at a moderate pace

vivace

fast and lively

adagio

slow

allegretto

quite fast

crescendo

gradually get louder

diminuendo

gradually get softer

pause

hold the note or rest for slightly longer

1st + 2nd time bar

indicates the 1st and 2nd endings to a repeated section

M.M

metronome markings

ritenuto

gradually getting slower

marcato

marked, accented

semi-staccato

halfway between legato and staccato

dolce

sweetly

leggiero

lightly

marziale

march-like

tranquillo

calmly

vivo

lively

up/down bow

instrument specific - for bowed string instruments

al/alla

like

a tempo

in time/at the speed the piece started

con

with

da capo al Fine

go back to the start and play until Fine

e/ed

and

ma

but

meno

less

mosso/moto

movement

non

not

poco

little

più

more

downbeat

the first beat of the bar

up-beat

the last beat of the previous bar

on-beat

the strongest accented beat(s) - in 4/4, this is the 1st then the 3rd

off-beat

the weakest accented beat(s) - in 4/4, this is the 2nd and 4th