Musical Term Abbreviation English Other information and examples of usage

a   at; to; by; for; in eg: a tempo = in time (back to the previous
speed).
a capella   unaccompanied usually in choral music
a piacere   at pleasure The performer is not bound to follow the given
rhythm exactly.
accelerando (accel.) gradually getting An increase in the speed of the music.
faster
accento   accented;  
emphasised
ad libitum (ad lib.) at choice; freely 1) A passage may be performed freely.
2) An instrument in a score may be omitted.
adagietto   rather slow Usually a little faster than adagio
adagio   slowly Often indicates a speed somewhere between
andante and largo
affabile   friendly  
affettuoso   tenderly  
affrettando   hurrying  
agitato   agitated; restless  
al; alla   in the manner of eg: alla marcia = in the style of a march
alla breve   with a minim beat  
allargando   broadening  
allegretto   fairly quick Faster than Andante and usually slower than
Allegro
allegro   fast  
alt   high "in alt" is used in volcal music to refer to notes in
the octave above the treble stave.
amabile   amiable; pleasant  
amore   love  
andante   walking speed Moderately slow
andantino   like walking speed This can mean either slightly slower or slightly
faster than andante. It is ambiguous.
anima   soul; spirit eg: con anima = with spirit
animando   becoming more  
lively
animato   animated; lively  
appassionato   with passion  
arco   with the bow An instruction to string players to use the bow.
arioso   like an aria Play in the style of an aria (singing)
assai   very eg: allegro assai = very fast
attacca   go straight on Indicates an immediate move to the next section
of music.
ben   well  
bis   twice Indicates the repetition of a short passage.
bravura   skill; brilliance  
brio   vigour eg: con brio = with vigour
calando   getting softer; dying Usually includes slowing down
away
cantabile   in a singing style  
cantando   singing  
capriccioso   in a whimsical or  
fanciful style
col; colla; colle   with eg: colla voce = with the voice
come   as; similar to eg: come prima = as before
comodo   convenient eg: tempo comodo = at a comfortable speed
con   with eg: con moto = with movement
crescendo (cresc.) gradually getting  
louder
da capo (D.C.) from the beginning An instruction to repeat the misc from the
beginning.
dal segno (D.S.) from the sign An instruction to repeat the misc from the sign.
deciso   with determination  
decrescendo (decresc.) gradually getting  
softer
delicato   delicate  
diminuendo (dim.) gradually getting  
softer
dolce   sweetly eg: dolcissimo = as sweet as possible
dolente   sad; mournful  
dolore   grief eg: doloroso = sorrowful
doloroso   sorrowful  
doppio movimento   twice as fast  
e; ed   and  
energico   energetic  
espressivo (espr.) expressive  
estinto   as soft as possible  
facile   easy  
felice   happy  
fermata   pause  
feroce   fierce  
fine   the end Often used in conjunction with "da capo" or "dal
segno" to indicate where to end the piece after
repeating.
eg: al fine = to the end
flessibile   flexible  
forte (f) loud; strong  
fortepiano (fp) loud then  
immediately soft
fortissimo (ff) very loud  
forza   force eg: forzando (fz) = strongly accented
fretta   haste  
fuoco   fire  
furioso   furious  
giocoso   playful; humerous  
giojoso   joyful; merry  
giusto   proper; exact  
grandioso   grandly  
grave   very slow; solemn  
grazioso   graceful  
impetuoso   impetuous  
incalzando   getting quicker  
inquieto   restless  
in relievo   prominent A direction to make the melody stand out.
lacrimoso   sad  
largamente   broadly  
larghetto   rather slow Slightly faster than largo.
largo   rather slow; stately  
legato   smoothly Indicates no break between notes.
leggiero   light; nimble  
lento   slow  
liberamente   freely  
l'istesso   the same eg: l'istesso tempo = at the same speed
loco   at the normal pitch Used to cancel an 8va direction. Also used to
confirm that 8va is not intended.
lugubre   mournful  
lunga   long eg: lunga pausa = long pause
lusigando   coaxing  
ma   but eg: allegro ma non troppo = quick but not too
quick
maestoso   majestic  
mancando   fading away  
marcato (marc.) emphatic; accented  
marziale   in a military style  
meno   less eg: meno forte = less loud
mesto   sad  
mezzoforte (mf) moderately loud  
mezzopiano (mp) moderately soft  
misterioso   mysterious  
misura   measure eg: alla misura = in strict time; senza misura = in
free time
moderato   moderate speed eg: allegro moderato = moderately fast.
molto   very; much eg: allegro molto = very fast
morendo   dying away  
mosso   movement  
moto   movement  
niente   nothing  
nobilmente   nobly  
non   not  
nuovo   new e.g. di nuovo = again
obbligato   obligatory Indicates that an instrument has a special role
and is essential.
ossia   or; alternatively Often used to indicate a simpler version of a
difficult passage.
ostinato   persistent Generally refers to a persistently repeated
rhythmic or melodic figure.
parlando   speaking A direction for a singer to sing in a conversational
style.
patetico   with deep feeling  
pausa   pause  
per   by; for; to  
perdendosi   dying away  
pesante   heavy  
piacevole   pleasant  
piangevole   plaintive  
pianissimo (pp) very soft  
piano (p) soft  
più   more e.g. più forte = louder
pizzicato   plucked An instruction to string players to pluck the
strings, rather than bow them.
placido   calm; peaceful  
pochettino (poch.) rather little  
poco   a little e.g. poco a poco = little by little
possible   possible e.g. presto possible = as fast as possible
precipitando   rushing; headlong  
presto   very fast  
prima   first (Prima; Primo) e.g. prima volta = first time;
tempo primo = revert to the speed at the
beginning of the piece of music
quasi   as if; resembling e.g. quasi recitativo = like a recitative
rallentando (rall.) gradually getting  
slower
rigoroso   strict  
rinforzando (rf; rfz) reinforcing  
risoluto   bold; strong  
ritardando (rit.) gradually getting  
slower
ritenuto (rit.) held back  
ritmico   rhythmically  
rubato   with some freedom  
of time
scherzando   playful; joking Also scherzoso.
scherzo   joke; jest A movement in a piece, generally light and
humerous in nature.
seconda   second (Seconda; secondo)
semplice   simple; plain  
sempre   always e.g. sempre staccato = always detached
senza   without e.g. senza misura = freely (not in time)
segue   go straight on  
sforzando (sf; sfz) forced; accented  
simile (sim.) in the same way  
slargando   getting slower  
slancio   enthusiasm  
smorzando (smorz.) dying away Both tone and speed
soave   gentle; smooth  
solenne   solemn; grave  
sonoro   resonant; with rich  
tone
sopra   above  
sospirando   sighing  
sostenuto   sustained  
sotto   below eg: sotto voce = in an undertone
spirito   spirited  
spiritoso   spirited  
staccato   detached  
strepitoso   noisy; boisterous  
stretto   quickening the Also means overlapping entries of a fugue
speed subject.
stringendo   gradually getting  
faster
subito   suddenly  
tacet   silent A direction that a particular part has nothing to
play in a section of music.
tanto   so much  
tempo   speed eg: a tempo = return to the previous speed, after
a slowing down or speeding up.
teneramente   tenderly  
tenuto   held  
tosto   swift; rapid  
tranquillo   calm  
trionfale   triumphant  
triste   sad; sorrowful  
troppo   too much eg: allegro ma non troppo = fast, but not too
fast.
tutti   all; everyone  
veloce   swift  
vigoroso   vigorous; strong  
vivace   lively  
vivo   lively  
voce   voice  
volante   flying; fast  
volta   time e.g. prima volta = first time
volti subito (V.S.) turn the page at  
once