aat, to, by, for, in the style of
al, allato the, in the manner of
allargandobroadening (getting a little slow and probably
louder)
andantinoslightly faster than andante
assaivery
con, colwith
dolcesweet, soft
e, edand
espressivo / express. / espr.expressive
/ fortepianoloud, then immediately soft
giocosoplayful, merry
gravevery slow, solemn
graziosograceful
larghettorather slow (not as slow as largo)
largoslow, stately
mabut
maestosomajestic
menoless
moltovery, much
mosso, motomovement
nonnot
pimore
prestofast
senzawithout
/ / sforzando / zforzatoforced, accented
simile / sim.in the same way
sostenutosustained
tenutoheld
troppotoo much
vivace, vivolively, quick
A wedge sign above or below the notes indicates super-staccato
(staccatissimo), played as briefly as possible and possibly
accented
Dots inside a slur over or below the notes mean the notes should
be slightly separated (semi-staccato), but less so than notes with
ordinary staccato
over or under the notes means accented and slightly separated
(marcato)
over or below the note means the note is given a slight pressure
(tenuto)
accelerando / accel.gradually getting quicker
adagioslow
allegrettofairly quick (but not as quick as allegro)
allegroquick
andanteat a medium (walking) speed
cantabilein a singing style
crescendo / cresc. / gradually getting louder
da capo / D.C.repeat from the beginning
dal segno / D.S.repeat from the sign
decrescendo / decresc. gradually getting quieter
diminuendo / dim. / gradually getting quieter
finethe end
/ forteloud
/ fortissimovery loud
legatosmoothly
lentoslow
mezzohalf
/ mezzo fortemoderately loud
/ mezzo pianomoderately quiet
moderatomoderately
/ pianoquiet
/ pianissimovery quiet
pocoa little
rallentando / rall.gradually getting slower
ritardando / rit.gradually getting slower
ritenuto / rit.held back
staccato / stacc.detached
tempospeed, time (a tempo: in time)
8vaoctave
play an octave higherNB va may be omitted
play an octave lowerNB vb may be omitted or even replaced with
va
pause on the note
72 crochet beats in a minute
accent (placed over or under a note)
