Music Terms

• An accent is a stressed note.
• It looks like > under or above the note. Depends on where the note is on the ledger line.

• Adagio means to playin a slow tempo.
• In between Andante and Largo.

Allegretto is a fairly fast little slower than allegro.

Fast tempo

Andante means to play in a walking pace...moderately slow.

Atempo means return to original tempo.

Play in a singing stlye.

A crescendo "cresc." is a symbol that means to gradually get louder.

It looks like < and the size depends on how long you want to stress the increase.

It means to hold a note.

It is written above or below the note and is usually half the value of the note added to the note. (Think of as a dotted pause.)

Con Pedorle means with pedal.

• Da Capo means to repeat from begining once.
• D.C.

• Dal Segro means repeat from the sign.
• D.S.

• Decrescendo means to gradually get softer.
• It looks like < and the size depends on how long you want to stress the note.

• Diminuendo means to gradually get softer.
• Same as Descrescendo.

• Fine is the end of the music.
• Pronounced "Fin aye"

It means to play loud.

Fortissimo means to play very loudly.

Grazioso means to play gracefully.

Largo means to play very loudly.

Legatto means to play smoothly; connecting the notes.

Lento means to play slow.

Maestoso means to play Majestic.

Marcato is a section of stressed notes.

When the sheet music wants you to use your right hand to play a specific portion of notes.

• Mano sinista is when the sheet music wants you to use your left hand to play a specific portion of notes.
• Remember left hand was thought to be sinister.
• Sinista<->Sinister

Mezzo (Met zo) Forte means to play moderately loud.

Moderato means to play at a moderate pace.

Mezzo Piano means to play moderately soft.

• Ottava is illustrated with a bar over the notes.
• It means to either play one octave higher or one octave lower.
• If the bar is above than higher.
• If the bar is below than lower.

Pianoissimo means to play very soft.

• Piano means soft.
• Piano was originally called Forte Piano because it could play lound and soft notes.

Presto means very fast.

Prestissimo means to play as fast as possible.

Rallentand means gradually slowing down.

Ritardano mean gradually slowing down.

• A Slur means to play notes in Leggato style.
• There can be more than two notes connected.
• The connected notes are always different notes.
• In guitar these are the slides, hammer on, pull-offs.

• Staccato means sharply detached.
• In guitar it is the plucking of the strings.

• A tie means to hold the note for the combined note value.
• The connected notes are always the same note.

• Tempo Primo means return to original speed.
• Same as Atempo