Forte clip ‘n’ save Words Into Music ■ If you’re new to music making, you Don’t be daunted. Many of the words The Harvard Dictionary of Music, edited may have noticed this hobby, like any are simply shorthand for musical con- by Don Randell, is a great resource other, has its own vocabulary. If some of cepts that will soon be quite familiar. for those who want a concise music the words seem foreign, that’s because To help you know your arpeggio from reference. they are—Italian, to be exact, which your vibrato, clip and save this glossary over the years has become the lingua of common musical terms: dynamic franca of music. and performance instructions that you might see written on sheet music.
accidentals: Marks that indicate when a pitch is sharpened, fl at- legato: Play smoothly, with no separation between tened, or a previous accidental is cancelled (a “natural”). The symbols notes. For wind players, legato means to play with a soft are (sharp), (fl at), or (natural). tongue. See slur. lay adagio at a slow: P tempo. lento lay slowly,: P but not as slow as largo. lay allegro fast, lively.: P maestoso: Play majestically. arco: Indicates that string instruments should be played with their marcato: Play with emphasis or with heavy accents. bows. This instruction usually follows a pizzicato section. mezzo: Medium or moderate, usually abbreviated means moderately and prefi xing soft; bar line: A line drawn through one of more staves to mark off a another dynamic marking. For example, measure. means moderately loud. cadenzashort, ornamental: A solo, usually near the end of a move- moderato : Play with a moderate tempo. ment in a concerto. Musical embellishments such as trills or grace notes. ornaments: clef symbol: A that assigns notes to the lines and spaces on the musi- cal staff ; the most common clefs are the bass (or F) clef piano: Play softly. Abbreviated as and treble : Notes that precede the fi rst full measure of a score. (or G) clef . pickup notes common time: A time signature of . Its alternative symbol is pizzicato: An instruction for string players to sound notes by plucking 4 e strings instead of bowing, usually followed by the instruction arco, crescendo: Gradual increase in volume. 4 Its symbol is th or return to bowing. cut time: Also known as alla breve, meaning twice as fast. Cut time has a feeling of two beats per bar. Its symbol is presto: Play fast. : If seen at the end of a score, a repeat sign means to play decrescendo: Gradual decrease in volume. Its symbol is repeat sign the entire piece again from the beginning. Within a piece, repeat the divisi: Divided—a section of instruments divides into two or more sec- and music between the signs tions playing diff erent parts. Gradually slow down. ritardando: dotted note: Increases the value of the note by one half. For example, a dot next to a half note adds a quarter note to its value ( slur curved: A line over or under two or more notes indicating they are . = + ). to be played legato connected. double bar: Two lines that indicate the end of a score or section of it. staccato dot beneath: A a note that means play it short and separated. dynamic markings : Symbols and terms that indicate degrees of : A number written over a score that indicates at what loudness. tempo marking =120. metronome speed to play: espressivo: Play expressively. old or sustain: H a note for full value. Indicated by a short line drawn fermatapause or hold. Usually it is placed over a note or rest and means tenuto : A er or under the note. ho ov ld longer than its usual value. In an ensemble, the conductor will usually : Two numbers at the beginning of a measure that indicate when to cut off a fermata note. Its symbol is time signature dicate how many beats are in the measure and what note equals one fi ne: The end of a score or section in a score. in means three beats to a measure and that a quarter beat. For example, 3 forte: Play loudly. Abbreviated as note ( ) is one beat.4 4 glissando: Play with a continuous or sliding movement from one pitch to tremoloee vibrato.: S the next. Its symbol is a diagonal or jagged line connecting two notes. or trill: A musical ornament that consists of rapid alternations between two grace note: A note of very short duration played before another, longer notes that are next to each other in the music’s key. Its symbol is note. It’s written in small type, for example : Everyone in a section plays. This instruction usually appears after a tutti grazioso: Play gracefully. solo. lay largo very: P slow and broad. unisonll instruments: A in the section play together at the same pitch. : Or tremolo. An instruction that calls for a rapid reiteration of a single vibrato written over the tail of a note. note. Its symbol is
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