In music, there are a number of terms that a composer uses to describe how he or she wants the music to be played.  It is very important to know these terms.  On this page, I have listed some of these terms for you.  Most of the terms are in Italian.  I have translated them for you below.

Tempo Terms

 

 

 

 

 
  • Presto- Very, very fast
  • Allegro- Fast
  • Allegro moderato- Moderately fast
  • Allegretto- kind of fast
  • Moderato- moderately fast
  • Andantino- kind of slow
  • Andante- slow
  • Adagio- very slow
  • Lento- very slow
  • Largo- very, very slow

Bowing Terms

 

 

 

 
  • Arco- With the bow
  • Pizzicato- You pluck the string with your finger. (Can be abbreviated: pizz.
  • Near the bridge*
  • Near the fingerboard*
  • ponticello- on the bridge**
  • staccato- with a bounce
  • marcato- in the string
  • cantabile- like a solo

*The bridge is the piece of wood that holds the strings up.  The fingerboard is the black piece of wood that lies under the strings.  When you play near the fingerboard, the sound is softer.  When you play near the bridge, you get a louder sound.

**When you play ponticello, you play right next to the bridge which makes an "eerie" sound.

 

Dynamic Terms

 
  • fortissimo (ff)- very loud
  • forte (f)- loud
  • mezzo forte (mf)- medium loud
  • mezzo piano (mp)- medium soft
  • piano (p)- soft
  • pianissimo (pp)- very soft
  • sforzando (sfz)- accent the note, and then get soft
  • crescendo- get louder
  • diminuendo/decrescendo- get softer
  • poco o poco crescendo- gradually get louder
  • poco o poco dimuendo- gradually get softer

Other Terms

 
  • staff- the five lines where music is placed
  • clef- symbol at the beginning of the staff telling which notes are which

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