Scribd
Upload
89 views4 pages

Performance Directions

The document explains the concept of Performance Directions in music, which are instructions on how to perform pieces, often written in Italian due to historical reasons. It provides a comprehensive list of common musical terms in Italian, French, German, and Latin, along with their meanings, to aid musicians in understanding and interpreting these directions. Recognizing and translating these terms is crucial for effective music performance and theory studies.

Uploaded by

Matovu Colline
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
89 views4 pages

Performance Directions

The document explains the concept of Performance Directions in music, which are instructions on how to perform pieces, often written in Italian due to historical reasons. It provides a comprehensive list of common musical terms in Italian, French, German, and Latin, along with their meanings, to aid musicians in understanding and interpreting these directions. Recognizing and translating these terms is crucial for effective music performance and theory studies.

Uploaded by

Matovu Colline
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Performance Directions

Have you noticed there are often words written over music as well as the notes on the page?
These are called ​Performance Directions​ and they tell us how to perform the music.

Often these directions are in Italian!


Why?
Well simply, because the Italian music theorists got there first!
This is why we say f​ orte​ for loud and ​piano​ for quiet - both Italian terms.
Some musical directions are in other languages - common languages are French and German
(and sometimes English!)

It’s really important that we recognise these words and we can translate them. If we see the
word d ​ olce​ (sweetly) it would make us play very differently to if we saw ​grave ​(solemn).

So we’ve collected some of the most common words together for you so if you’re not sure
what something means on your music, you can look it up here!
This sheet is also helpful if you have a theory exam coming up.

Italian Words

a ​- at, to, by, for, in, in the style of


a cappella​ - unaccompanied (referring to choral music)
accelerando, accel. ​- gradually getting faster
adagio​ - slow
agitato ​- agitated
alla breve​ - with a minim beat
alla marcia​ - in the style of a march
allargando ​- broadening
allegretto​ - fairly quick
allegro ​- quick
amabile​ - amiable, pleasant
amore​ - love
andante​ - at a walking pace (medium speed)
animando​ - becoming more lively
animato ​- animated
appassionato​ - with passion
arco​ - bow of a string instrument
assai​ - very, extremely
a tempo​ - in time, indicating a return to the original speed
attacca​ - go straight on
brilliante​ - brilliant
brio​ - vigour, animation
calando​ - getting softer, dying away
cantabile ​- in a singing style
con​ - with
crescendo, cresc ​- gradually getting louder
da capo, d.c.​ - from the beginning
dal segno, d.s.​ - from the sign
decrescendo, decresc.​ - gradually getting softer
diminuendo , dim ​- gradually getting softer
divisi, div.​ - divided
dolce ​- sweet
energico​ - energetic
espressivo​ - expressive
forte ​- loud
fuoco​ - fire
furioso ​- furious
giocoso ​- playful, humorous
grave​ - very slow, solemn
grazioso ​- graceful
largamente ​- broadly
larghetto ​- rather slow
largo​ - slow, stately
legato ​- smooth
lento​ - slow
maestoso ​- majestic
marcato​ - emphatic, accented
meno​ - less
mezzo​ - half
misterioso​ - mysterious
moderato ​- at a moderate speed
molto ​- very, much
mosso ​- with motion
pesante​ - heavy
piano​ - quiet
pizzicato​ - plucked (strings)
poco​ - little, slightly
​ llegro)
presto​ - fast (faster than a
rallentando, rall.​ - gradually getting slower
ritenuto, rit. ​- held back
rubato​ - with some freedom of time
scherzando ​- playful, joking
segue​ - go straight on
sempre​ - always
senza​ - without
sordino, sord​ - muted
sostenuto ​- sustained
staccato​ - detached, short
subito ​- suddenly
tempo​ - speed
tenuto ​- held
tranquillo​ - calm
tremolando​ - trembling
tristamente ​- sad
troppo​ - too much
tutti​ - all, everyone
vibrato ​- vibrating
vigoroso​ - vigours, strong
vivace​ - lively, quick

French Words

à​ - at, to, by, for, in, in the style of


assez​ - enough
calme​ - calm, tranquil
cédez​ - yield, relax the speed
détaché​ - detached
en pressant ​- hurrying on
en retenant ​- holding back
fin​ - end
gracieux​ - graceful
joyeaux​ - joyful
moins​ - less
mouvement​ - movement, motion
plus​ - more
sans​ - without
seul​ - alone
vif​ - lively
vite​ - quick

German Words

aber​ - but
als​ - than
Ausdruck​ - expression
einfach​ - simple
kräftig​ - strong
langsam​ - slow
lebhaft​ - lively
mässig​ - at a moderate speed
mit​ - with
noch​ - still
ohne​ - without
schleppen​ - dragging
schwach ​- weak
sehr​ - very
stark ​- strong
traurig​- sad
wenig​ - less
wieder​ - again

Latin Words

ad libitum, ad lib.​- at choice, perform passage freely or instrument can be omitted


quasi ​- as if, resembling
tacet​ - silent

You might also like