Activities Hobbies Italian Music Glossary for Piano Share PINTEREST Email Print Hobbies Playing Music Contests Couponing Freebies Frugal Living Fine Arts & Crafts Astrology Card Games & Gambling Cars & Motorcycles Learn More By Brandy Kraemer Updated on 05/24/19 Italian Music Glossary for Piano Many musical terms appear frequently in piano music; some are even meant exclusively for the piano. Learn the definitions of the commands you'll need as a pianist. ● View terms: A – D E – L M – R S – Z Music Terms A ▪ a piacere: “to your pleasure/at your will”; indicates that liberties may be taken with certain aspects of the music, usually tempo. See ad libitum. ▪ : “in time; back in tempo”; indication to return to the original tempo after an alteration such as tempo rubato. ▪ a tempo di menuetto: to play “in the tempo of a minuet”; slowly and gracefully in triple meter. ▪ al coda: “to the coda [sign]”; used with the repeat commands D.C. / D.S. al coda. ▪ al fine: “to the end [of the music, or until the word fine]”; used with the repeat commands D.C. / D.S. al fine. ▪ al niente: “to nothing”; to make the volume fade very gradually into silence. See morendo. ▪ (accel.) accelerando: to “accelerate”; gradually speed up the tempo. ▪ accentato: accentuate the musical passage until otherwise specified. ▪ : indicates that the accompaniment will follow the tempo (or overall playing style) of the soloist. See concerto. ▪ : indicating a tempo near that of adagio, adagietto remains somewhat ambiguous; may be interpreted as slightly slower or faster than adagio. Traditionally, its tempo is between adagio and andante. ▪ adagio: to play slowly and calmly; at ease. Adagio is slower than adagietto, but faster than largo. ▪ : to play very slowly and calmly; slower than adagio. ▪ : “affectionately”; encourages a performer to express warm emotions; to play affectionately with love. See con amore. ▪ affrettando: a rushed, nervous accelerando; to hastily increase the tempo in an impatient manner. Also referred to as stringendo (It), enpressant or en serrant (Fr), and eilend or rascher (Ger). Pronounced: ah'-fret-TAHN-doh. Commonly misspelled as affretando or affrettado ▪ agile: to play swiftly and confidently; sometimes signifies a switch to double speed. ▪ agitato: to play quickly with agitation and excitement; often paired with other musical commands to add a rushed, vibrant element, as in presto agitato: “very quick and with excitement.” ▪ alla breve: “to the breve” (where breve refers to the half-note); to play in cut time. Alla breve has the 2/2 time signature, in which one beat = one half-note. ▪ alla marcia: to play “in the style of a march”; to accentuate the downbeat in 2/4 or 2/2 time. ▪ (allarg.) allargando: to “widen” or “broaden” the tempo; a slow rallentando that retains a full, prominent volume. ▪ allegretto: to play somewhat quickly; slower and slightly less lively than allegro, but faster than andante. ▪ allegrissimo: faster than allegro, but slower than presto. ▪ allegro: to play in a quick, lively tempo; faster than allegretto, but slower than allegrissim; to play in a loving manner; similar to con amore. ▪ andante: a moderate tempo; to play in a light, flowing manner; faster than adagio, but slower than allegretto. See moderato. ▪ andantino: to play with a slow, moderate tempo; slightly faster than andante, but slower than moderato. (Andantino is a diminutive of andante.) ▪ animato: “animated”; to play in an animated manner, with excitement and spirit. ▪ : a chord whose notes are played quickly in order as opposed to simultaneously; to give a chord a harp-like effect (arpa is Italian for “harp”). ▪ arpeggiato is an arpeggio in which the notes are struck progressively faster. ▪ assai: “very”; used with another musical command to augment its effect, as in lento assai: “very slow”, or vivace assai: “very lively and quick.”▪ attacca: to move immediately to the next movement without a pause; a seamless transition into a movement or passage. Music Terms B ▪ brillante: to play in a lustrous manner; to make a song or passage stand out with brilliance.▪ : “lively”; to play with vigor and spirit; to make a composition full of life. See con brio, below.▪ : to play in a blunt, abrupt manner; to play with impatient accentuation. Music Terms C ▪ calando: indicates a gradual decrease in the tempo and volume of a song; the effect of a ritardando with a diminuendo.▪ capo: refers to the beginning of a musical composition or movement.Note: The guitar fret-holding device is pronounced kay'-poh.▪ coda: a musical symbol used to organize complex musical repetitions. The Italian phrase al coda instructs a musician to move immediately to the next coda, and can be seen in commands such as dal segno al coda.▪ : “like at first”; indicates a return to a previous musical state (usually referring to tempo). See tempo primo.▪ comodo: “comfortably”; used with other musical terms to moderate their effects; for example, tempo comodo: “at a reasonable speed” / adagio comodo: “comfortable and slow.” See moderato.▪ : to be played affectionately with warm emotion and loving conviction.▪ : “with love”; to play in a loving manner.▪ : to play with vigor and spirit; often seen with other musical commands, as in allegro con brio: “quick and lively.”▪ : “with expression”; often written with other musical commands, as in tranquillo con espressione: “slowly, with peace and expression.”▪ con fuoco: “with fire”; to play eagerly and passionately; also fuocoso.▪ con moto: “with motion”; to play in an animated manner. See animato.▪ con spirito: “with spirit”; to play with spirit and conviction. See spiritoso.▪ concerto: an arrangement written for solo instruments (such as a piano) with orchestral accompaniment.▪ (cresc.) crescendo: to gradually increase the volume of a song until otherwise noted; marked by a horizontal, opening angle. Music Terms D ▪ D.C. al coda: “da capo al coda”; indication to repeat from the beginning of the music, play until you encounter a coda, then skip to the next coda sign to continue.▪ D.C. al fine: “da capo al fine”; indication to repeat from the beginning of the music, and continue until you reach a final barline or double-barline marked with the word fine.▪ D.S. al coda: “dal segno al coda”; indication to start back at the segno, play until you encounter a coda, then skip to the next coda.▪ D.S. al fine: “dal segno al fine”; indication to start back at the segno, and continue playing until you reach a final or double-barline marked with the word fine.▪ da capo: “from the beginning”; to play from the start of the song or movement.▪ : “from nothing”; to gradually bring notes out of complete silence; a crescendo that rises slowly from nowhere.▪ decrescendo: to gradually decrease the volume of the music; marked in sheet music with a narrowing angle.▪ delicato: “delicately”; to play with a light touch and an airy feel.▪ (dim.) diminuendo: indication to gradually decrease the volume of the music.▪ dolce: to play in a tender, adoring manner; to play sweetly with a light touch.▪ : very sweetly; to play in a particularly delicate manner.▪ doloroso: “painfully; in a painful manner.”; to play with a forlorn, melancholy tone. Also con dolore: “with pain.”