Orchestra terms

Adagio

leisurely (a slow tempo)

Allegro

glad/happy/lively – indicating a fast tempo

Andante

walking speed

Largo

large, broad (a slow tempo)

Lento

slow

Moderato

moderately

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)

Ritenuto (rit. or riten.)

to slow down suddenly

Allargando (allarg.)

to slow down gradually (to enlarge)

Accelerando (accel.)

to speed up gradually

a tempo

back to original tempo

animato

animated – faster

Arco

play with the bow (after playing pizzicato)

Col Legno

play with the wood of the bow

Marcato

marked or accented

Pizzicato

pluck the string

Staccato

bow stroke that starts/ends with bow stopped on string

Spiccato

bow stroke that starts/ends with bow off the string

Simile

continue in a similar manner

Sul ponticello

play over the bridge

Sul Tasto

play over the fingerboard

Brio

life

Cantabile

in a singing style

Come prima

as before / as above

Con

with

Dolce

sweetly

Meno

less

Molto

much / very

Mosso

motion (less motion = slower / more motion = faster)

Pesante

heavy

Piu

more

Poco a poco

little by little

Sempre

always

Senza

without

Soli

multiple players have a solo

Sordino

mute

Sostenuto

sustained

Subito

suddenly

Tranquillo

tranquilly

Tutti

everyone / all

Fermata

hold longer than value (watch conductor)

Da Capo (D.C.)

go back to the beginning

D.S. (del segno)

go back to the sign

D.C. al Coda

go back to the beginning, end with coda

Divisi (div.)

divide the notes (top vs bottom)

Forte

strong / proud

ff (fortissimo)

maximum good sound

Piano

quiet / soft / gentle

pp (pianissimo)

maximum quietness

Arco

with bow (after pizz.)

Pizzicato

pluck strings

Caesura (//)

break in the music (watch conductor)

Crescendo

gradually get louder

Accent (>)

play one dynamic louder

sfz (sforzando)

super accent