Musical Terms 2026 Vocabulary Guide

Comprehensive list of musical terms covering dynamics, tempo, texture, and structural elements based on the MUSICAL TERMS 2026 lecture notes.

accelerando

gradually getting quicker

accidental

a sharp, fiat, or natural sign.

adagio

very slow

ad libitum

at the performer's liberty

agitato

excited

al fine

to the end

allargando

gradually slower and broader

allegro

lively, rather quick

allegro assai

very quick

andante

rather slow, at a moderate pace.

anacrusis

one or several unaccented notes of a melody preceding the bar line at the beginning of a phrase.

a poco a poco

little by little

appassionato

impassioned

arpeggio

the notes of a chord played consecutively in a consistently ascending or descending direction.

assai

very, extremely

a tempo

in time

brio

vigor, spirit

cadence

the harmonic or melodic progression which concludes a phrase, section, or composition.

cadenza

an ornamental passage near the end of a solo

calando

gradually decreasing the time and tone

capo

the beginning, the top

con sordini

with mutes.

counterpoint, contrapuntal

texture consisting of two or more independent melodic lines.

crescendo

gradually getting louder

da capo

a sign at the end of a movement indicating to the beginning

D.C.da capo al fine

return to the beginning and play to the word "fine"

decrescendo

gradually getting softer

diatonic

melody or harmony confined to the tones of the scale; the opposite of chromatic.

diminuendo

gradually getting softer

dolce

sweetly

embellishment

short, fast ornaments such as trills, mordents, and turns.

etude

a study written for the purpose of practising and developing

fermata

a pause or hold

forte-piano

loud, then immediately soft

fortissimo

very loud

furioso

furiously

galante

boldly, gallantly

gentile

pleasing, elegant

giocoso

humorously

glissando

in a gliding manner, slurred

grandioso

grand, noble

grave

extremely slow and solemn

grosso

full, great

interval

the pitch distance between two tones, designated numerically as 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, etc.

jubiloso

exulting

largo

slow and broad

lento

slow

maestoso

dignified

marcato

accented

martellato

strongly marked – hammered

meter, metric

the measuring of time in music according to a specific number of beats to the measure.

meno

less

mezza/mezzo

medium, half

misterioso

in a mysterious manner

moderato

in moderate time

modulation

melodic or harmonic progressions which begin in one key and end in another.

molto

very much, a great deal

movement

the complete and independent part of large works such as sonatas, symphonies, suites.

octave

the pitch interval between a tone and the seventh tone above it in a diatonic scale

ostinato

continuous, unceasing rhythmic and/or melodic pattern.

overture

a instrumental prelude to an Opera, play or Oratorio

pavane

a slow solemn dance

phrase

a musical unit, often four measures in length, which concludes with a cadence.

pianissimo

extremely soft

pickup beat

one or several unaccented notes of a melody preceding the bar line at the beginning of a phrase.

pitch

the vibration frequency of a tone.

piu

more

poco a poco

little by little

prestissimo

as fast as possible

presto

quickly, rapidly.

quasi

in the manner of

lentando

gradually getting slower

risoluto

bold, resolved

ritardando

gradually getting slower

ritenuto

suddenly slower, held back

rubato

robbed, taking a portion of time from one note and giving it to another

scherzando

playful, lively

segno

a sign

dal segno

repeat from the sign

serioso

serious

sforzando

strongly accented, suddenly loud

sostenuto

sustained

stringendo

pressing onwards, hurrying

subito

suddenly

suspension

a nonharmonic device in which a chordal (consonant) tone is held through a change of harmony to become a nonchordal (dissonant) tone

syncopation

a rhythmic device in which the normal accents of the measure are displaced by accenting weak beats, rests on strong beats, or tying notes over from a weak to a strong beat.

tacet

be silent

tempo primo

the original time

tempo rubato

robbed or irregular time

tenuto

sustained

tonality

the sense of gravitation around a tonal center or key.

tonic

the first note of a diatonic scale, the note from which a key gets its name, and the chord built on that note.