Orchestra Final Review

Presto/Vivace

Very Fast

Allegro

Fast

Allegretto

Moderately Fast, lively

Moderato

Moderately

Andante

Walking Speed

Adagio

Slow, Leisurely

Largo/Lento

Very slow with broad sound

Grave

Extremely Slow

Accelerando

to speed up

Ritardando

to slow down

Allargando

gradually slower

Ritenuto

Immediately slower

Morendo

getting sower and softer, usually at the end of a piece

A tempo

to return to orginal tempo

Molto

Very, drastically

Meno

less

Fortissimo

Very Loudly

Forte

Loud, Strong

Piano

Soft

Pianissimo

Very Softly

Mezzo

medium

Crescendo

To get louder

Decrescendo

to get softer

Diminuendo

to diminish, get softer

Sforzando

with sudden accent

tenuto (_)

legato style

staccato (\*)

to play in a short style

Spiccato

to play in a short style while bouncing on the string

accent (>)

to play with sharp emphasis

marcato (^)

to play short and accented

slur

to play both notes with one bow smoothly

Hooked

to play both notes under one bow with separation

Trill (tr)

to quickly alternate between the written not and the note above it

Tremolo

to use a scrubbing motion with the bow

Detache

a broad legato stroke with spaces between the notes, detached slur

Martele

Heavy, accented strokes with much spacing in between

Col Legno

to play with the wood part of the bow

Con Sordino

To play with a mute

Sul Tasto

to play with the bow over the fingerboard

Sul Ponticello

To play with the bow on or extremely near the bridge

Bow Lift (,)

To lift the bow off of the string and reset near the frog

Pizzicato

To pluck the string with the finger

Bartok Pizzicato

pizzicato where the string is lifted and let to hit the fingerboard

Brio

vigor and spirit

cantabile

To sound like singing

Cesura

a sudden pause in the music

DC al Coda

Go to the beginning and then the coda

DS al Coda

Go to the sign and then the coda

Divisi

to divide the part; stand partners play different notes

Dolce

sweet and gentle

Expressivo

with expression or feeling

Fine

the end

Glissando

To slide the left hand fingers from one note to another

Harmonics

overtone produced when the finger touches the string lightly

Hemiola

Rhythmic effect with duples in 6/8 or 3/4

Largamente

broadly

MM

metronome marking

Maestoso

majestically

Modulation

a key change

Mosso

motion or speed

non-div

not divisi. Person plays double stops

Ostinato

a repeated rhythmic and or melodic pattern

Pesante

heavy, firm bow style

Poco a poco

little by little

Senza

without

Sostenuto

sustained

subito

suddenly

vibrato

vibration of a note caused by relaxed rocking of the left hand

Major scale

WWHWWWH

Sharp

A half step higher than a natural note; FCGDAEB

Flat

A half step lower than a natural note; BEADGCF

How to read a major key with sharps

go to the last sharp in the key, and go up a half step.

How to read a major key with flats

Go to the second to last flat

Top # of time signature

number of beats in a measure

Bottom # of time signature

type of beat

Common Time

4/4