A

Italian

a – at, to, by, for, in, in the style of

a cappella – unaccompanied (referring to choral music – lit. ' in a church
style' )
accelerando (or accel.) - gradually getting quicker
adagietto – rather slow (but faster than adagio)
adagio – slow
ad libitum, ad lib. - at choice, meaning that a passage may be played freely
a due, a 2 – for two performers or instruments ( in orchestral or band
music, it means that a part is to be played in unison by two instruments )
affettuoso – tenderly
affrettando, affret. - hurrying
agitato - agitated
al, alla – to the, in the manner of
alla breve – with a minim beat, equivelent to (2/2) implying a faster tempo
than the note values might otherwise suggest
alla marcia – in the style of a march
allargando – broadening ( getting a little slower and probably a little
louder)
allegretto – fairly quick (but not as quick as allegro)
allegro – quick (litterally cheerful)
alt – high ( in alt is used in vocal music to reffer to notes in the octave
above the trebel stave, starting with the G, in altissimo, in the octave above
that)
al tallone – use the bow (of a string instrument) at the heel, i.e. the end
held by the player
amabile – amiable , pleasant
amore – love
amoroso - loving
andante – at a medium (walking) speed
andantino – slightly faster than andante (but may also mean slightly
slower)
anima – soul, spirit ( con anima can mean 'with feeling' or 'spirited')
animando – becoming more lively
animato – animated, lively
a piacere – at pleasure, meaning that the performer is not bound to follow
the given rhythm exactly
appassionato – with passion
a punto d'arco – use the bow ( of a string instrument) at the point, i.e. the
end opposite to that held by the player
arco – bow of a string intrument, a direction after pizzicato
assai – very (allegro assai: very quick)
a tempo – in time, indicating a return to the orginal speed after e.g. rit. ,
rall.
attacca – go straight on to the next section of music

French

à – to, at
à deux, à 2 - for two performers or instruments ( in orchestral or band
music, it means that a part is to be played in unison by two instruments )
à la pointe - use the bow ( of a string instrument) at the point, i.e. the end
opposite to that held by the player
amour - love
animé – animated, lively
apaisé - calmed
assez – enough, sufficiently
au talon - use the bow (of a string instrument) at the heel, i.e. the end held
by the player
avec - with

German
aber – but
als – than
am frosch - use the bow (of a string instrument) at the heel, i.e. the end
held by the player
an der Spitze - use the bow ( of a string instrument) at the point, i.e. the
end opposite to that held by the player
Ausdruck – expression
 latin

ad libitum, ad lib. - At choice, meaning either that the passage may be

performed freely or that an instrument in a score may be omitted

Italian
ben – well
bene - very
bis – twice, indicating the repetition of short passages
bravura – skill, brilliance ( con bravura: in a brilliant style)
brillante – brilliant
brio – vigour (con brio: with vigour, lively)
French

German
bestimmt – with decision, definate
bewegt – with movement, agitated
breit – broad, expansive
latin

Italian
calando – getting softer, dying away (and usually slowing down)
calmato – calm, tranquil
cantabile – in a singing style
cantando – singing
capriccioso – in a whimsical, fanciful style
col, coll' , colla, colle – with, with the
colla parte – keep with the soloist, a direction to an accompanist
colla voce – keep with the singer, a direction to an accompanist
col legno – with the wood, a direction to a string player to play with the
wood of the bow rather than the hair
coll' octtava – with the octave, a direction to a keyboard player to double
notes an octave higher, or lower if bassa is added
come – as, similar to (come prima: as before; come sopra: as above)
come prima – as before (not necessarily as at the beginning)
come sopra – as above (=come prima)
comodo – convenient (con brio: with vigour, lively)
con, col – with
corda, corde – string, strings
crescendo (cresc.) - gradually getting louder
French
calme – calm, tranquil
capricieux – in a whimsical, fanciful style
cédez – yield, relax the speed
comme – as, similar to
German

latin

Italian
da - from
da capo (D.C.) - repeat from the beginning
dal segno (D.S.) repeat from the sign
deciso – with determination
decrescendo (or decresc.) - gradually getting quieter
delicato - delicate
diminuendo (or dim.) - gradually getting quieter
divisi, dis. - divided, a direction to orchestal players (usually strings) to
divide into two or more groups
dolce – sweet, soft
dolente – sad, mornful
dolore – grief
dolorodo – sorrowful
doppio movimento – twice as fast
duolo - grief
French
détaché – detached, usually applying to dowing on string instruments
douce, doux – soft, sweet
doucement – softly, sweetly
German
Dämpfer – mute
dosh – however, yet
latin

Italian
e, ed – and
eguale - equal
energico – energetic
espressione - expression
espressivo (espress. Or espr.) - expressive
estinto – as soft as possible , lifeless

French
égal – equal
emporté – fiery, impetuous
en animant – becoming more lively
en cédant – yielding
en dehors – prominent (lit. outside), a direction to make a melody stand
out
enlevez – take out, take off, a direction for a pedal or a mute
en mesure – in time
en pressant – hurry on
en retenant – holding back (slowing a little)
en serrant – becoming quicker
expressif – expressive
et – and

German
ein – a, one
einfach – simple
empfindung – emotion, feeling
empfindungsvoll – with feeling
etwas – somewhat, rather

latin

Italian
facile – easy
fecile – happy
feroce - fierce
fine – the end
flautato, flautando – flute-like, a direction for natural harmonics on string
instruments
flessibile – flexible, i.e. not in strict tempo
forte (f) – loud
fortepiano (fp) – loud, then immediately quiet
fortissimo (ff) – very loud
forza – force
fretta - haste
fuoco – fire
furioso – furious , frenzied

French
facile - easy
fin – end
flottant - floating
German
feroce – fierce
flatterzunge, flzg. - flutter-tounguing, a direction for wind instruments
fliessend – flowing
frei – free
frisch - vigorously
fröhlich – cheerful, joyful

latin

Italian
giocoso – playful, merry
giojoso – joyful, merry
giusto – proper, exact ( tempo guisto: in strict time)
glissando, gliss. (pseudo-italian) – slide (a rapid scale passage produced by
e.g. drawing a thumg or finger-tip along white keys on a piano, or
sweeping the fingers across the strings of a harp or by sliding along a
string of string instruments
grandioso - grandly
grave – very slow, solemn
grazioso - graceful

French
gracieux – graceful
grave – slow, solemn

German
gebunden – joined
gehend – at a steady speed (lit. going), equavilent to andante
gesangvoll – in a singing style, equivalent to cantibile
geschwind – quick
G.P. ( generalpause) – an indication to individual performers that all are
silent

latin

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latin

Italian

impetuoso – impetuous
incalzando – getting quicker ( lit. pressing forward)
inquieto – restless
in revlievo – prominent (lit. in relief), a direction to make a melody stand
out
French

German

immer – always
innig – heartfelt, sincere
 latin

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French

joyeux - joyful
German

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kräftig - strong
latin

Italian
lacrimoso, lagrimando, lagrimoso – sad (lit. tearful)
lamentoso – lamenting
largamente – broadly
larghetto – rather slow, but slightly faster than largo
legatissimo – as smooth as possible
largo – slow, stately
legato – smooth (lit. bound, tied), indicating no break between notes
leggiero – light, nimble
lentement - slowly
lento – slow
liberamente – freely
licenza – licence, freedom (con alcuna licenza: with some freedom,
particularly with regard to tempo and rhythm)
l'istesso – the same (l'istesso tempo: at the same speed)
loco – at the normal pitch (used to cancel out an 8ve direction , or to
confirm that one is not intended)
lontano – distant
lugubre – mournful
lango – long (lunga pausa: long pause)
lusingando – coaxing; in a sweet , persuasive style

French

légèrement – light , nimble

lent – slow
librement – freely
lointain – distant
lourd – heavy, equivalent to pesante

German

langsam – slow, equivalent to adagio and lento

lebhaft – lively, equivalent to vivace
leicht – light, nimble
leid – grief, pain
leidenschaftlich – passionate
lieblich – lovely
lustig - cheerful
 latin

Italian

ma – but ( e.g. allegro ma non troppo: quick but not too quick)
maestoso – majestic
mano – hand ( mano sinistra, m.s. : left hand ; mano destra, m.d. : right
hand)
mancando – fading away
marcato, marc. - emphatic, accented
martellato – strongly accented (lit. hammered), generally used in string
music to denote a particular type of bowing, but can also be applied to
music for piano or other instruments
marziale – in a military style
meno – less
mesto – sad
mezza, mezzo – half ( mezzo forte, mf : monderately loud ; mezzo piano,
mp : moderately soft ; mezza voce : in an undertone)
misterioso – mysterious
misura - measure

French

German

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