ELHS Orchestra/Strings Exam Terms

grave

grave

slow, solemn, heavy (slow tempo)

largo

very slow (slow tempo)

larghetto

somewhat faster than largo, but still slow (slow tempo)

lento

slow (slow tempo)

adagio

moderately slow (slow tempo)

andante

"walking" pace (moderate tempo)

andantino

somewhat faster than andante; moderate (moderate tempo)

moderato

moderate speed (moderate tempo)

allegretto

moderately fast, somewhat slower than allegro (fast tempo)

allegro

fast (fast tempo)

vivace

lively, quick (fast tempo)

presto

very fast (fast tempo)

prestissimo

extremely fast (fast tempo)

accelerando (accel.)

accelerating, gradually becoming faster

stringendo (string.)

tightening, gradually becoming faster

ritardando (rit.)/rallentando (rall.)

gradually becoming slower

allargando (allarg.)

broadening, becoming slower

calando/morendo/perdendosi

dying away; becoming slower/softer

a tempo

"at tempo" - returning to speed obtained before a ritardando or accelerando

tempo primo (tempo I)

returning to the original tempo of a piece; often seen in a piece's recapitulation

meno mosso

less motion; slower

più mosso

more motion; faster

(alla) marcia

march (tempo); music that suggests marching

waltz/valse

dance in triple meter at moderate speed; emphasis placed on first beat

molto

very; a lot

ma non troppo

(but) not too much

rubato

"robbed time"; playing a passage freely, speeding up or slowing down as the performer sees fit

l'istesso tempo

same tempo; beat remains constant through metrical changes

common time (4/4)

4 quarter-note beats per measure; names for note lengths (whole, half, quarter, eighth, ...) come from what fraction of a common-time measure they take up

cut time (2/2)

2 half-note beats per measure

tremolo

"trembling" effect typically produced on strings by rapidly repeating a note

attacca

proceed without pause (usually between movements of a larger work)

piano (p)

soft

forte (f)

loud

mezzo piano (mp)

moderately soft

mezzo forte (mf)

moderately loud

pianissimo (pp)

very soft

fortissimo (ff)

very loud

pianississimo (ppp)

extremely soft

fortississimo (fff)

extremely loud

subito (s)

sudden

forzando (fz)

forced, accented

subito forzando/sforzando (sfz)

sudden, forced accent

subito piano (sp)

suddenly soft

subito forte (sf)

suddenly loud

fortepiano (fp)

forte immediately followed by piano

pianoforte (pf)

piano immediately followed by forte; could also refer to the full name for a piano

subito fortepiano (sfp)

sudden forte followed immediately by a piano

subito pianoforte (spf)

sudden piano followed immediately by a forte

crescendo (cresc.)

gradually getting louder

decrescendo/diminuendo (decresc./dim.)

gradually getting softer

crescendo molto (cresc. molto)

(gradually) getting a lot louder

diminuendo molto (dim. molto)

(gradually) getting a lot softer

crescendo poco a poco (cresc. poco a poco)

getting louder, little by little

diminuendo poco a poco (dim. poco a poco)

getting softer, little by little

animato

animated

agitato

agitated

appassionato

passionately

brillante

brilliant

cantabile

in a singing manner

con grazia

with grace

con brio

with brilliance

con amore

with love

con anima

with feeling/soul

con fuoco

with fire, energy

con forza

with force

con spirito/spiritoso

with spirit

col legno

"with the wood"; striking the string with the wood of the bow

delicato

delicate

dolce

sweetly

dolcissimo

very sweetly

doloroso

grieving, sorrowful

energico

energetically

furioso

furiously, wildly

giocoso

comical, playful

grandioso

grand

legato

smooth, connected

leggiero

lightly, delicately

maestoso

majestic

pesante

heavy

pomposo

pompous, with dignity

scherzando

playfully

sostenuto

sustained, held

serioso

seriously

tranquillo

tranquil

vigoroso

vigorously, strong

staccato

short and detached

accent

louder or with harder attack

marcato

much louder, with much stronger attack, marked, or with emphasis

tenuto (ten.)

held, sustained for full value; "leaning in" to note

fermata

indefinitely sustained note; usually appears over all parts at same metrical location in a piece to show a halt in tempo; pause over a note or rest, holding it longer than its indicated value

breath mark

taking a breath; pause usually does not affect overall tempo

caesura

"railroad tracks"; indicates brief, silent pause during which time is not counted; time resumes when conductor begins counting again

tie

connects two or more notes of the same pitch, forming one longer note

slur

smoothly connects two or more notes of different pitches (no breath for vocalists)

spiccato

very short staccato accent; bouncing the bow (not always notated as shown in picture)

repeat sign

encloses a passage that is to be repeated; if no left repeat is present, return to beginning of piece or last double bar line

1st and 2nd endings (volta brackets; occasionally 3rd endings are written)

indicates different endings for a repeat

da capo (D.C.)

from the beginning

dal segno (D.S.)

from the sign