Band Spring Semester Final

A TEMPO – At the original tempo

ACCELERANDO – gradually increasing the tempo

ADAGIO – slow, the tempo in between largo and andante

ANDANTE – very moderate or “walking” speed

ALLARGANDO – growing slower

ALLEGRO – fast

BRILLIANTE – brilliantly

CON BRIO – with vigor and spirit

CON MOTO – with motion

MENO MOSSO – less motion

PIU MOSSO – more motion

RALLENTANDO – a gradual slowing of tempo, same as ritardando

RITARDANDO – gradually growing slower and slower

RUBATO – “robbing,” an elastic, flexible tempo allowing slight accelerandos and ritardandos  

              according to the requirements of musical expression

DYNAMICS - volume in music

FORTE - f - loud

FORTISSIMO - ff - very loud

MEZZO FORTE - mf - medium loud

MEZZO PIANO - mp - medium soft

PIANO - p - soft

PIANISSIMO – pp - very soft

DIMINUENDO – gradually get softer, decrescendo

CRESCENDO – gradually increase in volume

DECRESCENDO – gradually decrease in volume

ACCIDENTALS – signs used to indicate chromatic alterations or to cancel them

FLAT – lowers a pitch by ½ step

SHARP – raises a pitch by ½ step

DOUBLE SHARP – X – raises a note two half steps

DOUBLE FLAT – bb – lowers a note two half steps

NATURAL – cancels out a sharp or a flat

ENHARMONIC – same pitch, different notation

SOLO – one person playing alone or with an accompaniment

SOLI – one or more sections of the band playing a soloistic type passage in music

UNISON – everyone playing the same notes and rhythms

DIVISI – divided parts within a section

ALLA MARCIA – Like a march

CANTABILE – in a singing style

CON SPIRITO – With spirit

DOLCE - Sweetly

GRANDIOSO – with grandeur

MAESTOSO – majestically

GLISSANDO – the execution of rapid scales by a sliding movement

GRAZIOSO - gracefully

POCO A POCO – little by little

SIMILE – continue in the same way as before; ex:  articulation markings that are repeated 

   throughout a section of the music

SUBITO – suddenly, as to suddenly get softer or louder

ESPRESSIVO – expressive, with expression

MOLTO – very

SEMPRE - always

ARPEGGIO – the notes of a chord played one after another instead of simultaneously

CHORD – two or more notes sounded simultaneously

CHROMATIC – the scale that includes all 12 notes in an octave

ROOT – the fundamental or generating note of a chord

TONIC NOTE – The key note of a scale.  The first note from which a scale takes its name

SCALE DEGREES – the tones of the major or minor scale, each of which is numbered in order 

          ascending from the tonic and given a name

LEADING TONE – the seventh note of a major scale, designed to create tension before the 

                          resolution to the tonic

OCTAVE - the distance between the bottom and top notes of a scale 

ACCENT – emphasis on a pitch or a chord

SLUR – a curved line over two or more notes indicating that only the first note

Is to be tongued

TIE – a curved line connecting two notes of the same pitch and uniting them into

a single sound equal to their combined durations

MARCATO – marked, stressed 

STACCATO – detached, separated

LEGATO – very connected, no interruption between notes 

TENUTO – sustained to full value, indicated by a horizontal dash over the note or chord

FERMATA – a pause on a note or on a rest

COMMON TIME – 4/4 time

ALLA BREVE – cut time

D.C. al FINE – play from beginning to end, go back to the beginning and play to ‘Fine’

D.S. al CODA – play from the beginning to ‘D.S. al Coda,’ then jump back to the sign, play to 

            the ‘To Coda’ sign, then jump to the ‘Coda’ and play to the end

FINE – the end