From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A great many musical terms are in Italian . It shouldn't be surprising that so many musical terms are Italian , since many of the most important early composers in the renaissance period were Italian , and that period is when numerous musical indications were used extensively for the first time. (See also sheet music .)
Here are some of these expressions:
Italian term
Literal translation
Definition
A cappella
in chapel style
Sung with no instrumental accompaniment
Aria
air
A song, esp. one from an opera
Arietta
little air
A short or light aria
Ballabile
danceable
(song) to be danced to
Battaglia
battle
A piece suggesting a battle
Bergamasca
from Bergamo
A peasant dance from Bergamo
Burletta
a little joke
A light comic or farcical opera
Cadenza
falling
A florid solo at the end of a performance
Cantata
sung
A piece for orchestra and singers
Capriccio
caprice
A lively piece of music
Coda
tail
The end of a piece
Concerto
concert
A work for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra
Concertino
little concert
A short concerto; the solo instrument in a concerto
Concerto grosso
big concert
A Baroque form of concerto, with a group of solo instruments
Intermezzo
interval
A short connecting instrumental movement
Libretto
little book
A work containing the words to an opera or musical
Opera
work
A drama set to music for singers and instrumentalists
Opera buffa
humorous opera
A comic opera
Opera seria
serious opera
An opera with a serious, esp. classical theme
Sonata
sounded
A composition for one or two instruments in sonata form
Piano(forte)
soft-loud
A keyboard instrument
viola
viola , orig. Latin vitulari "be joyful"
A medium-sized stringed instrument
(Violon)cello
Small violone (violone means "big viola")
A large stringed instrument
Viola da gamba
leg viola
A stringed instrument held between the legs
Viola da braccio
arm viola
A stringed instrument held in the arm, such as a violin or viola
Viola d'amore
love viola
A tenor viol with no frets
Tuba
tube
A large brass instrument
Piccolo
little
A tiny woodwind instrument
Timpani
drums
Large drums
Cornetto
little horn
An old woodwind instrument
Campana
bell
A bell used in an orchestra; also campane "bells"
Orchestra
orchestra , orig. Greek orkesthai "dance"
An ensemble of instruments
Oboe d'amore
love oboe
A Baroque woodwind instrument
Voices
Soprano
upper
The highest vocal line
Mezzo-soprano
middle soprano
Between soprano and alto
Alto
high
Second-highest vocal line
Contralto
against high
Alto, esp. a female alto
Basso
low
Or "bass;" the lowest vocal line
Basso profondo
deep and low
A very deep bass voice
Castrato
castrated
A male singer, castrated so as to be able to sing soprano (now sung by women, conventional countertenors , or sopranisti )
Falsetto
false (dim.)
High male voice, affecting a female voice
Tempo
time
The speed of a piece of music
Largo
broad
Slow and dignified
Larghetto
a little bit broad
Not as slow as largo
Lento
slow
Slow
Adagio
ad agio, at ease
Slow, but not as slow as largo
Adagietto
little adagio
Faster than adagio; or a short adagio composition
Andante
walking
Moderately slow, flowing along
Moderato
moderately
At a moderate speed
Allegretto
a little bit joyful
Slightly slower than allegro
Allegro
joyful
Moderately fast
Fermata
stopped
Marks a note to be held or sustained
Presto
ready
Very fast
Prestissimo
very ready
Very very fast, as fast as possible
Accelerando
accelerating
accelerating
Affrettando
becoming hurried
accelerating
Ritardando
to slow
decelerating
Rallentando
becoming progressively slower
decelerating
Rubato
robbed
extending a note or phrase, compensated by shortening another one nearby
Tenuto
sustained
holding or sustaining a single note
Accompagnato
accompanied
The accompaniment must follow the singer who can speed up or slow down at will
alla marcia
as a march
In strict tempo at a marching pace (e.g. 120 bpm)
Dynamics - volume
Moods
Musical expression (general)
Molto
very
Used with other terms, such as molto allegro
Assai
very
Used with other terms, such as allegro assai
Più
more
Used with other terms, such as più mosso
Poco
little
"a little". Used with other terms, such as poco diminuendo
Poco a poco
little by little
"little by little", "slowly but steadily". Used with other terms, such as poco a poco crescendo
ma non troppo
but not too much
But not too much, such as allegro ma non troppo
Meno
less
Used with other terms, such as meno mosso
Directions
Attacca
attach
Proceed to the next section without pause
Cambiare
change
Any change, such as to a new instrument
Dal Segno
to the sign
Abbreviated as D.S., informs the performer to repeat a specific section marked by a sign (segno)
Techniques
Altissimo
very high
Very high
Arpeggio
harp-like
A chord with the notes spread out in time
Acciaccatura
crushing
An extra, very fast grace note
Appoggiatura
leaning
A type of ornament
Basso continuo
continuous bass
Continuous bass accompaniment (see figured bass.)
Bocca chiusa
mouth closed
Wordless humming in a choral piece
Chiuso
closed
Calls for a horn to be muted by hand
Col arco
with the bow
Cancels "col legno" and "pizzicato" (in a string passage, arco is usually expected and is not written.)
Colla voce
with the voice
A note to accompanists to play with (in time with) the singer, especially when slowing for textual effect
Col legno
with the wood
Calls for a bowed instrument to be struck with the wood rather than the hair of the bow
Coloratura
coloration
Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line
Con sordino
with mute
Calls for mute to be applied, esp. to string instruments .
Senza sordino
without mute
Calls for mute to be removed, esp. from string instruments .
Pizzicato
plucked
Calls for a bowed instrument to be plucked with the fingers
Coperti
covered
Of a drum, muted with a cloth
Una corda
one string
With the soft pedal, on a piano
Due corde
two strings
With the soft pedal, on a piano. For why both terms exist, see piano .
Tre corde or tutte le corde
Three strings or all the strings
Cancels an una corda
Scordatura
mistuning
Alternate tuning (of strings)
Roles
Criticism
Bel canto
beautiful voice
Any fine singing, esp. that popular in 18th and 19th c. Italian opera
Bravura
skill
A performance of extraordinary virtuosity
Bravo!
skillful
a cry of congratulation to a male singer or performer. Fem. brava , pl. bravi , fem.pl. brave
See also
External links