Musical Dictionary

	A	B	C	D
1	Term	Abbreviation	Meaning	Notes

2	a		at; to; by; for; in	eg: a tempo = in time (back to the previous speed).
3	a capella		unaccompanied	usually in choral music
4	a piacere		at pleasure	The performer is not bound to follow the given rhythm exactly.
5	accent/accento		accented; emphasised	An accent is an emphasis on one note. This is the accent symbol >.
6	accidental		Symbol used to raised or lower the pitch of a note by one half step. Eg: sharps, flats, and naturals.
7	ad libitum	ad lib.	at choice; freely	A passage may be performed freely. / Omit an instrument in a score.
8	affabile		friendly
9	affettuoso		tenderly
10	affrettando		hurrying
11	agitato		agitated; restless
12	al; alla		in the manner of	eg: alla marcia = in the style of a march
13	alla breve		with a minim beat
14	amabile		amiable; pleasant
15	amore		love
16	anima		soul; spirit	eg: con anima = with spirit
17	animando		becoming more lively
18	animato		animated; lively
19	appassionato		with passion
20	arco		with the bow	An instruction to string players to use the bow.
21	arioso		like an aria	Play in the style of an aria (singing)
22	arpeggiation		Playing the notes of a chord one after the other.
23	assai		very	eg: allegro assai = very fast
24	attacca		go straight on	Indicates an immediate move to the next section of music.
25	bar line		The vertical lines drawn across the staff to indicate the measures in a musical composition.
26	beam		A broad, straight line connecting two or more eighth notes.
27	beat		The steady pulse of music. Beats form the basis of sense of musical time.
28	ben		well
29	bis		twice	Indicates the repetition of a short passage.
30	blue tone		Blue tones ('worried' tones) are tones that are between the diatonic and flatted thirds and sevenths, which characterize the blues scales.
31	bravura		skill; brilliance
32	brio		vigour; spirit; fiery	eg: con brio = with vigour
33	calando		getting softer; dying away	Usually includes slowing down
34	canon		A melody that can be sung against itself in imitation. Also called a round.
35	cantabile		in a singing style
36	cantando		singing
37	capo		the beginning	literally head
38	capriccioso		in a whimsical or fanciful style
39	chord		A combination of three or more pitches sounding at the same time.
40	chordal texture		A texture in which the musical material is concentrated into chords with relatively little melodic activity.
41	circle of fifths		A clockface arrangement of the twelve pitches in the order of the number of accidentals in the key signature.
42	col; colla; colle		with the	eg: colla voce = with the voice
43	come		as; similar to	eg: come prima = as before
44	common time - c		Another name for a 4/4 meter signature, sometimes written as a large capital C in place of a meter signature.
45	comodo		convenient, comfortable	eg: tempo comodo = at a comfortable speed
46	compound division		The division of the beat into three equal parts.
47	compound meter		A meter in which the beats have a compound division.
48	con		with	eg: con moto = with movement
49	consonance		A combination of sounds producing a feeling of stability, or of little desire for resolution.
50	crescendo	cresc.	gradually getting louder
51	cut time		Another name for the 2/2 meter signature, it is written as a large capital C with a line drawn vertically through it.
52	da capo	D.C.	from the beginning	An instruction to repeat from the beginning.
53	dal segno	D.S.	from the sign	An instruction to repeat from the sign.
54	deciso		with determination
55	decrescendo	decresc.	gradually getting softer
56	degree		One of the notes in a scale. Degrees are usually numbered starting with the tonic.
57	delicato		delicate
58	diatonic		Any one of the common scales made of whole and half steps in a particular pattern. The white keys on a piano form a diatonic scale.
59	diminuendo	dim.	gradually getting softer
60	dissonance		A combination of sounds that produce harsh, discordant results, and increase the desire for resolution.
61	do		tonic
62	dolce	dol.	sweetly	eg: dolcissimo = as sweet as possible
63	dolente		sad; mournful
64	dolore		grief	eg: doloroso = sorrowful
65	doloroso		sorrowful
66	dominant		The fifth scale degree of a diatonic scale.
67	doppio movimento		twice as fast
68	double flat		A symbol written to the left of the note head, which lowers the pitch by a whole step, the symbol looks like two flats connected.
69	double sharp		Written to the left of a note, The double sharp raises the pitch of a note by a whole step, the symbol looks like an X.
70	duple meter		A meter that consists of two beats.
71	dynamic accent		Often indicated with an accent sign, This is an accent created when one note is louder than surrounding notes.
72	e; ed		and
73	energico		energetic
74	enharmonic		Two tones having the same pitch but different spelling.
75	espressivo	espr./espress.	expressive, with expression, with feeling
76	fa		subdominant
77	facile		easy
78	felice		happy
79	fermata		pause
80	feroce		fierce
81	fine		the end	Often used with "da capo" or "dal segno". eg: al fine = to the end
82	flag		The curved shaded line extending from the head of a stem used to indicate and eighth or shorter note.
83	flessibile		flexible
84	forte	f	loud; strong
85	fortepiano	fp	loud then immediately soft
86	fortissimo	ff	very loud
87	forza; forzando	fz	force; strongly accented
88	fretta		haste
89	fuoco		fire
90	furioso		furious
91	giocoso		playful; humorous
92	giojoso		joyful; merry
93	giusto		proper; exact
94	grand staff		Keyboard music is often notated using a combination of the treble and bass clefs.
95	grandioso		grandly
96	grave		very slow
97	grazioso		graceful
98	half step		The smallest interval on a standard keyboard.
99	harmonic progression		Movement from one chord to the next; a succession of chords or a chord progression.
100	harmony		The study of simultaneously sounding tones.