Glossary of Terms

This is a glossary of terms used quite commonly across the world of classical music.

Étude

A study, designed to be a display of the performer's technique

A

At, to, by

A capella

Unaccompanied vocal music

A piacere

At pleasure

A tempo

In time, i.e. resume normal speed after a deviation.

Accelerando

Gradually getting faster

Ad lib

At pleasure: speed and manner of performance left to the decision of the performer.

Adagietto

Rather slow

Adagio

Slow

Adagissimo

Very slow

Affrettando

Hurrying; pressing forwards

Agitato

Agitated

Alla breve

Usually indicates two (quickish) minim beats to a bar.

Allargando

Getting slower, with the implication of a bigger tone

Allegretto

Rather lively, but less than Allegro

Allegro

Lively, fast

Allemande

A Baroque dance and a standard movement in the eighteenth-century suite

Andante

At a walking pace

Andantino

A little faster than Andante

Anglaise

An English rustic dance, or what certain eighteenth-century continental composers thought such a dance might be. It had no definite rhythmical pattern, except that it was in simple time.

Animato

Animated

Aria

A song or song-like composition, usually in three sections

Arietta

An Aria shortened by not having a middle section

Assai

Very

Attacca

Go on at once.

Bagatelle

A short, unpretentious piece

Ballad

A song where each verse is sung to the same tune.

Ballade

A title given by some composers, such as Chopin and Brahms, to a Romantic piece of music, usually for piano but sometimes for orchestra

Baroque

The Baroque Period, 1600—1750

Baroque was a style that was characterised by a tendency to decorate and embellish. It is also seen as an expressive period, though not in an emotional sense (as with the Romantic era), but rather where, although there were still rules to follow creatively, brilliant and sparkling art was produced.

In architecture, designs went up on a grand scale, with constructions such as the Palace of Versailles near Paris and the piazza in Rome by Bernini, who was considered the leading Baroque sculptor. In music, composers such as Vivaldi, Bach and Handel were producing compositions that would serve to inspire nearly all those that followed them, though, contrary to what one might think, they themselves did not just sit around waiting to be inspired. Most of the composers of the time were in the employ of patrons, usually aristocrats or religious leaders who required works to be written for special occasions and events. Bach, for example, was contractually obliged to produce almost one new work every week, and Handel wrote pieces such as his famous 'Water Music' while composing for the King of England.

Chamber music was the popular format of the time, with a concentration on strings as a rule. Although orchestras were occasionally used, a concert was usually performed to a private (and probably very rich) audience by a few musicians. The piano as we know it today had not yet been invented, and the popular instrument was the harpsichord. This produced sounds of the same volume regardless of how hard a key was hit, and the result was music whose volume did not vary as much as Classical or Romantic, and was therefore less emotional. However it was expressive, bright and energetic with an intelligent feel that made the whole Baroque movement an influential and important period in music.

Ben, Bene

Well

Berceuse

Either (i) a cradle song or (ii) a soft instrumental work marked by a constant rocking movement

Bolero

A bright Spanish dance in triple time

Bourrée

A French dance a bit like a Gavotte, only faster

Brillante

Brilliant

Cadenza

A special section, usually found at the end of a concerto, where the soloist is given the opportunity to show off his skills and abilities.

Calando

Decreasing both tone and speed

Canon

A composition where a theme is started by one instrument, to be followed by another playing exactly the same theme, except at a fixed interval higher or lower than the original, e.g. 'London's Burning'.

Cantabile, cantando

In a singing style

Cantata

A sacred or secular work for a solo voices, chorus and orchestra

Canzona

(i) A song. (ii) A short instrumental piece from the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Canzonet

A little song for two or three voices.

Capo

The beginning (da capo: from the beginning)

Capriccio

A piece in a free, light-hearted style

Cassation

No musician has ever been able to clearly define exactly what a 'cassation' is, only that it is closely related to a 'suite' and a 'sonata' in terms of its movement structure.

Some take a definition from the French verb 'casser' meaning 'to break', as a cassation was often played over an entire evening with the movements being broken up. Others point to the Italian word 'cassa' meaning 'drum', connecting this with the opening 'march' movement.

However, the derivation may be from an old Austrian dialect expression, 'gassatim gehen', which means to roam about at night courting and serenading girls at their windows.

Cavatina

A short vocal piece, a little like an aria

Classical

The Classical Period, 1750—1827

As a rule, when people talk about 'classical music' they are usually referring to any music that is played by orchestras and musicians wearing white tie and tails, or any other 'serious' music that doesn't automatically fall into the specific categories of pop, rock, jazz, ethnic or new age. However, this is not strictly the case. The term actually describes the music that was written between 1750 and 1827 encompassing the works of composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, although the umbrella title encompasses many different styles: Baroque, Romantic, Impressionistic and Nationalistic schools are just a few examples. The great masters of the Classical period are Mozart, Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven and there is no doubt that, without them, the music of today would be very different. Their works have formed the standard repertoire of classical musicians around the world for the last hundred and fifty years.

By 1750, the orchestra had come into its own as a medium for which it was worth writing music and, with the invention of the modern pianoforte (literally meaning 'soft-loud' ) in 1709, composers found that they could produce increasingly expressive and varied music which could then be orchestrated and performed. Music became more dramatic and emotional, with powerful instrumental displays being the norm.

By listening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, for example, one can get an idea of the basics of the Classical period and appreciate how it differs from other categories of music. Because the term definitely describes its own particular era it proves that one cannot simply sum up largely different styles with the word 'classical'.

Coda

A passage added to the end of a movement to make a satisfactory finish

Codetta

A small coda

Col legno

A direction to string players to use the wood of the bow

Col, Coll', Colla, Collo

With

Colla parte

A direction to, for example an accompanist, to play the same part as another instrument.

Colla voce

A direction to follow the solo instrument or voice

Come

As

Come prima

As at first

Come sopra

As above

Comodo

Convenient (usually linked with tempo: at a convenient pace)

Con

With

Con Anima

With deep feeling

Con bravura

With boldness and spirit

Con brio

With vigour

Con sodino/sordini

With the mute/mutes

Concertante

Term applied to music that is soloistic

Concerto

A work, usually in three movements, for one or more solo instruments and an orchestra

Concerto grosso

A work for a group of soloists (concertino) contrasted with an orchestra (ripieno). It was popular with Handel.

Contrafagotto

Double bassoon

Corda

A string

Corrente

An eighteenth-century Italian dance

Courante

The French equivalent of the corrente, though somewhat slower

Crescendo

Gradually getting louder

Da

From

Da Capo/DC

From the beginning

Decisio

Decisively, firmly

Decrescendo

Gradually getting quieter

Delicato

Delicately

Diminuendo

Becoming gradually softer

Diminution

A term used for the reproduction of a theme with shorter note values

Dolce

Tenderly, sweetly

Dolente

Sadly

Dolore

Grief, sorrow

Doppio

Double

Doppio movimento

Twice as fast

Double counterpoint

Two themes written in such a way that they sound just as good when either is used as the top or the bass part

Duo

A duet

E, Ed

And

Ecossaise

A Scottish dance in 2/4 time

Energico

With energy

Entr'acte

(i) The interval between acts at an opera. (ii) Music played in that interval

Episode

(i) In a fugue: any passage in which the subject is not heard. (ii) In ternary or rondo forms: the contrasting sections between the occurrence of the main themes

Espressivo

With expression

Exposition

The opening part of a work where the main themes are introduced — or 'exposed'

Facile

Easy

Fancy

The Old English equivalent of a fantasia

Fantasia

An instrumental piece that has no definite form and sounds like it is being improvised, often leading into another piece

Finale

The last movement

Forte (f)

Loud

Forte piano (fp)

Loud, then soft

Fortissimo (ff)

Very loud

Forza

Force

Forzando (fz)

Forcing; a sudden accent

Fuga

A fugue

Fugato

Music in a fugal style

Fughetta

A short fugue, often with no middle section

Fugue

A style of musical writing where a short theme is written for two or more voices or parts. It is divided into three sections: (i) exposition: the parts enter alternately with the theme; (ii) middle section: the theme is reproduced in other keys; (iii) final section: returning to the original key.

Fuoco

Fire

Furioso

Furiously

Galliard

An early dance that is fast and in triple time

Gavotte

A dignified French dance in 2/2 time

General pause/GP

A rest for the whole orchestra, usually unexpected

Gigue/Jig

A bright and lively dance, usually in 6/8 or 12/8 time

Giocoso/Gioioso

Bright and merry

Giusto

Strict, exact

Glee

Unique to England, a piece in three or more parts for unaccompanied men's voices.

Glissando

A sliding effect: the rapid playing of a scale or succession of notes

Grandioso

Grandly

Grave

Very slow, solemn

Grazioso

Gracefully

Ground bass

A piece where a bass-line is repeated a number of times but the upper parts have continuous variation

Hornpipe

A lively English dance originally in triple time but later in quadruple time

Idyll

A quiet and pastoral piece

Impetuoso

Impetuously

Impromptu

A piece of a free and casual nature

Incalzando

Increasing speed and tone

Intermezzo

(i) An interlude. (ii) A lyrical piano piece

Invention

A short piece built on a single musical idea

Jig/Gigue

A bright and lively dance, usually in 6/8 or 12/8 time

L'istesso tempo

The speed of the beat remains the same though the time signature or note value changes

Lacrimoso

Sadly, tearfully

Lamentoso

Mournfully

Largamente

Broadly

Larghetto

Less slow and dignified than largo

Largo

Slow and stately

Legatissimo

As smoothly as possible

Legato

Smoothly

Leggiero

Light, delicate

Legno

Col legno

A direction to string players to use the wood of the bow.

Leitmotif

An operatic or symphonic theme that represents an idea or character

Lento

Slow

Loco

An indication to play notes at their normal pitch (for example, after an indication to play them an octave higher or lower)

Lontano

As from a distance

Loure

An old and slow French dance

Lunga pausa

A long pause

Lusingando

In a coaxing style

Ma

But

Ma non troppo

But not too much

Madrigal

Originally an Italian style of vocal composition for three to eight unaccompanied voices. It became popular with sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English composers.

Maestoso

Majestically

Mancando

Waning, dying away

Marcato

Marked, accented

March

A strong rhythmical piece in duple or quadruple time, often used in processions

Marcia

A march

Martellato

Hammered out

Marziale

Martial

Mazurka

A Polish dance in triple time

Meno

Less

Meno mosso

Less movement, slower at once

Mesto

Sadly

Mezza voce

In an undertone

Mezzo-forte (mf)

Moderately loud

Mezzo-piano (mp)

Moderately soft

Minuet

A stately triple-time dance, usually followed by a second minuet (called a trio), after which the first is heard again.

Misterioso

Mysteriously

Misura

Measure. Senza misura: in free time

Moderato

Moderate time

Modern

Modern Music 1910—

Unlike the Baroque, Romantic and Classical periods, the Modern era is both one of the hardest and the easiest periods of musical history to define. In terms of time-scale it is easy, being simply all the music that has been written since roughly 1910; in terms of the actual music itself, explanation becomes more difficult.

The styles of the prominent composers are massively varied, ranging from the blues-influenced work of Gershwin to Berg's minimalist First Symphony, or from Bartók's nationalistic folk music to Stravinsky's wild and turbulent The Rite of Spring.

What can safely be said, however, is that it was at this time that music really began to change, with numerous composers experimenting and developing new ideas and approaches in order to throw off the restrictive chains of previous times. New instruments were introduced and and orchestration began to be transformed, with composers such as Schoenberg redefining the previously accepted 'scales' and 'tonal' patterns, influencing others, such as Berg, to progress to newer and more daring musical techniques. More importantly, attitudes began to change and people became more prepared to give time to new styles.

Currently, we live in the age of electronic music, where actual music production has become simpler than ever before with computers playing a large role. As a result, it could be said that for the first time there are no rules left in music, rendering the future delightfully unpredictable.

Molto

Much. Di molto: very much

Morendo

Dying away

Mosso

Moved, agitated

Motet

A sacred choral piece

Moto

Movement

Moto perpetuo

Instrumental music made up of a continuous flow of short, quick notes

Nobilmente

Nobly. A term popular with Elgar

Nocturne

A dreamy and atmospheric piano piece. Popular with Chopin

Non

Not

Non tanto

Not so much

Non troppo

Not too much

Novelette

A romantic piece with no particular form, first used by Schumann

Obbligato

Indispensable, cannot be omitted

Octet

A work for eight solo instruments or voices

Opera

A play set to music, usually for solo voices and accompanied by an orchestra. Grand opera has continuous music, while light opera includes a certain amount of dialogue.

Opus/Op.

A work, a published composition

Oratorio

A musical setting of a sacred text for solo voices, chorus and orchestra

Ossia

Or. The word indicates that there is an alternative version of the passage.

Ostinato

Frequently repeated

Ottava

Octave

Ottava bassa

An octave lower

Overture

An orchestral introduction to an opera or oratorio

Parlando/Parlante

To be sung as if speaking to someone

Partita

Practically the same as a suite, though it sometimes implies a set of variations.

Passacaglia

A development of a ground bass in slow triple time where the bass theme is heard in the other parts

Passepied

Often found as part of a suite, this is a quick dance in 3/8 or 6/8 time.

Passionato

Passionately

Pastorale

(i) In a pastoral style. (ii) A gently moving instrumental work

Patetico

With feeling and pathos

Pavan

A solemn and stately dance in duple time which often supplied the thematic material for a galliard.

Pedal point

A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass, that supplies the foundation around which other parts can move and harmonise.

Perdendosi

Dying away

Pesante

Heavy, ponderous

Più

More

Più allegro

Quicker, more lively

Più lento

More slowly

Più mosso

More movement, quicker

Piacevole

Pleasing, agreeable

Pianissimo (pp)

Very softly

Piano (p)

Soft

Pizzicato

Plucked (in string music)

Pochettino

A very little

Pochissimo

As small as possible

Poco

A little

Poco a poco

Little by little

Poi

Then

Polonaise/Polacca

A moderately paced Polish dance that actually sounds much faster than it really is. The phrases end on the third beat of the bar.

Ponticello

The bridge of a string instrument

Portamento

A term to express the effect produced on a string instrument or the human voice when gliding with extreme smoothness from note to note.

Prelude

A small piece that serves as an introduction. Often written for piano

Prestissimo

As fast as possible

Presto

Very quickly

Prima volta

First time

Primo

First

Quasi

As if, almost

Quasi recitativo

Like a recitative

Quasi una fantasia

In the style of a fantasia

Rallentando

Becoming gradually slowe.

Reel

Originally of Scandinavian origin, a lively and popular dance of Scotland and the North of England

Requiem

A Mass for the dead set to music

Rhapsody

A free piece of music in the manner of a fantasia, usually for piano

Rigaudon

An old French dance in a lively duple or quadruple time

Rigoroso

Strictly

Rinforzando (rf)

Reinforcing

Ripetizione

Repetition

Risoluto

Resolute, bold

Risvegliato

With increased animation

Ritardando

Gradually slower

Ritenuto

Held back

Ritmico

Rhythmically

Romantic

The Romantic Period, 1800—1910

In literature, art and music, Romanticism is seen as being a style that puts an emphasis on the imagination, emotions and creativity of the individual artist, and it was most popular in the nineteenth century. It was inspired, to a large extent, by social change in Europe and the United States, resulting in a reaction to the traditional restraints of the previous Classical era.

The early Romantics wished to stress through their art the importance of how the individual feels about the world, either natural or supernatural. It was also a nostalgic movement, with artists looking back to an imagined idyllic past of breath-taking landscapes, natural beauty and sanitised historical scenes.

Musically, there was a preoccupation with nationalistic roots and folk music, with composers such as Janácek and Grieg drawing heavily on the culture of their countries for inspiration. Emotion, however, was the popular theme of the time, and it was here that we began to see the emergence of the 'sensitive artist'. It became acceptable for people, especially men, to express themselves in ways in which a restrictive society had previously prevented them from doing. Thus it was that Chopin might burst into tears while reading a particularly moving poem, or Berlioz would run through the Italian countryside laughing his head off from sheer ecstasy.

Many operas and ballets were written at this time, usually based on classic or mythological tales. It was a great period of experimentation and therefore it is difficult to define its end correctly, as the transition from Romantic to Modern was a vague one with huge overlaps. Nevertheless, the Romantic period as a whole was essential to the development of European music as it suddenly made possible a whole new range of expression to emerge, resulting in some incredibly powerful and moving works.

Rondo

A work where the main theme alternates with episodes in an A B A C A-type structure, where A is the main theme and B and C are the episodes.

Round

A canon for three or more voices, e.g. Three Blind Mice

Rubato

Stolen. It implies some distortion of the strict mathematical tempo, or a stretching, broadening or slowing down.

Sarabande

A slow dance in simple triple time. It was a standard movement of the eighteenth-century suite.

Scherzando

Playfully

Scherzo

A joke, a playful, light-hearted and fairly quick instrumental piece

Scherzoso

Playfully

Sec

Detached

Segue

Go on immediately with what follows

Semplice

Simply

Sempre

Always

Senza

Without

Senza sordini

Without mutes

Sforzando/Sforzato

Forcing, accented

Siciliano

A slow dance in 6/8 or 12/8

Simile

In a like manner

Simple time

A time-signature where the main beat is divisible by two

Sin/Sino

Until

Slargando/Slentando

Gradually slower

Smorzando

Dying away

Soave

Gentle, smooth

Solenne

Solemn

Sonata

A work, usually instrumental and in three or four movements, for a soloist or small ensemble

Sonatina

A small sonata, usually with fewer movements, and those movements being shorter than traditional sonata movements

Sonore

Sonorous, full-toned

Sopra

Above

Sordini

Mutes

Sospirando

Sighing

Sostenuto

Sustained

Sotto

Below

Sotto voce

In an undertone

Spiccato

Detached, with a springing bow

Spiritoso

Spirited

Staccatissimo

Very detached

Staccato

Detached

Strepitoso

Noisy, boisterous

Stretto

In a fugue or canon: two or more voices entering with the subject in quick succession

Stringendo

Gradually faster

Subito

Suddenly

Suite

A group of pieces nearly always made up of dances. Usually all in the same key, the basic dances comprising a classical suite were allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue; other possible movements were Gavotte, Bourrée, Minuet and Passepied.

Sul

On

Sul G

On the G string

Sul ponticello

Near the bridge: a direction to string players

Symphonic poem

A term reputedly invented by Liszt and often referred to as a 'tone poem': a piece for orchestra based on a literary or dramatic work.

Symphony

(i) An orchestral work on a large scale but with the same structure as a sonata. (ii) An instrumental prelude or interlude in a vocal work

Tanto

So much

Tarantella

A very lively Italian dance in 6/8 time

Tasto solo

A term used in connection with figured bass to indicate that the bass line is to be played alone, without harmony

Tempo

The speed

Tempo comodo

At a convenient speed

Tempo giusto

In strict time

Tempo primo/Tempo I

Resume the original speed

Tempo rubato

Rubato

Stolen. It implies some distortion of the strict mathematical tempo, or a stretching, broadening or slowing down.

Teneramente

Tenderly

Tenerezza

Tenderness

Tenuto

Held

Ternary form

A structure in three sections, the first being repeated, sometimes with alterations, after the second

Time signature

The sign at the beginning of a piece indicating what metre (not speed) it should be played in

Toccata

A piece for keyboard instruments designed to display the technical ability of the performer

Tone poem

Symphonic poem

A term reputedly invented by Liszt and often referred to as a 'tone poem': a piece for orchestra based on a literary or dramatic work.

Tosto

Swift, rapid

Tranquillo

Calm, tranquil

Tre

Three

Tremolando/Tremolo

The rapid repetition of a note or chord

Trio

(i) Three performers. (ii) Music written for three performers. (iii) The middle section of a minuet or scherzo, so called because it was originally written for three players.

Trionfale/Trionfante

Triumphant

Troppo

Too much

Tutta forza

The whole power, as loud as possible

Tutti

All

Un/Una/Uno

One

Una corda

Term for the left (or soft) pedal on a piano

Unis.

Instruction in orchestral music to show that the strings play in unison again after having been divided

Veloce

Swift, quick

Vibrato

The obtaining of a bigger and richer tone by a slight fluctuation of pitch on a single note

Vigoroso

Boldly, vigorously

Vivace, vivo

Quick, lively

Vivacissimo

Very lively, with extreme vivacity

Voce

Voice

Volante

Flying

Volti subito/VS

Turn the page quickly