Hobbies Playing Music Italian Music Glossary for Piano Share PINTEREST Email Print Playing Music Playing Piano Tutorials Piano Chords Buying Advice Music Education Playing Guitar Home Recording By Brandy Kraemer Updated May 24, 2019 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.<br/>▪ 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.<br/>▪ (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.”