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Terms of Musical Expression
The links below provide more terms, including Italian, French and German, all needed to pass the theory exams.
Alphabetised by 'Musical Term'
English | Symbol | Musical Term | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
tenderly | affettuoso | Italian | |
hurrying | affrettando | Italian | |
amiable, pleasant | amabile | Italian | |
animated, lively | animé | French | |
with passion | appassionato | Italian | |
enough, sufficient | assez | French | |
with | avec | French | |
getting softer, dying away | calando | Italian | |
singing | cantando | Italian | |
as, similar to (come prima – as before, come sopra – as above) | come | Italian | |
yield, relax with speed | cédez | French | |
sweet | douce | French | |
prominent (a direction to make a melody stand out) | en dehors | French | |
and | et | French | |
easy | facile | Italian | |
fire | fuoco | Italian | |
proper, exact (tempo giusto – in strict time) | giusto | Italian | |
slow | lent | French | |
light | légèrement | French | |
the same (l’istesso temo – the same speed) | l’istesso | Italian | |
but | mais | French | |
at a moderate speed | modéré | French | |
less | moins | French | |
dying away | morendo | Italian | |
nothing | niente | Italian | |
nobly | nobilmente | Italian | |
not | non | French | |
dying away | perdendosi | Italian | |
little | peu | French | |
more | plus | French | |
possible (presto possibile – as fast as possible) | possibile | Italian | |
hurry (en pressant – hurrying on) | presser | French | |
as if, resembling | quasi | Italian | |
slow down | ralentir | French | |
held back (en retenant – holding back, slowing a little) | retenu | French | |
without | sans | French | |
resonant, with rich tone | sonoro | Italian | |
above | sopra | Italian | |
below (sotto voce – in an undertone) | sotto | Italian | |
very | très | French | |
one | un / une | French | |
swift | veloce | Italian | |
lively | vif | French | |
quick | vite | French | |
voice | voce | Italian | |
to, at | à | French |