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ABRSM Music Terms
Music Terms for ABRSM exams Grades 1-4
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| accelerando or accel. | gradually getting quicker |
| adagio | slow |
| allegretto | fairly quick (but not as quick as allegro) |
| allegro | quick (literally “cheerful”) |
| andante | at a medium (“walking”) speed |
| cantabile | in a singing style |
| crescendo or cresc. | gradually getting louder |
| da capo or D.C. | repeat from the beginning |
| dal segno or D.S. | repeat from the sign |
| decrescendo or decresc. | gradually getting quieter |
| diminuendo or dim. | gradually getting quieter |
| fine | the end |
| f or forte | loud |
| ff or fortissimo | very loud |
| legato | smoothly |
| lento | slow |
| mezzo | half |
| mf or mezzo forte | moderately loud (“half loud”) |
| mp or mezzo piano | moderately quiet (“half quiet”) |
| moderato | moderately (allegro moderato: moderately quick) |
| p or piano | quiet |
| pp or pianissimo | very quiet |
| poco | a little |
| rallentando or rall. | gradually getting slower |
| ritardando or ritard. or rit. | gradually getting slower |
| ritenuto or riten. or rit. | held back, slower (immediately, not gradually) |
| staccato or stacc. | detached |
| tempo | speed, time |
| a | at, to, by, for, in, in the style of |
| al, alla | to the, at the, in the manner of |
| allargando | broadening (getting a little slower and probably a little louder) |
| andantino | slightly faster than andante |
| assai | very |
| con, col | with |
| dolce | sweet, soft |
| e, ed | and |
| espressivo or espress. or espr. | expressive |
| fp or fortepiano | loud, then immediately soft |
| giocoso | playful, merry |
| grave | very slow, solemn |
| grazioso | graceful |
| larghetto | rather slow (but not as slow as largo) |
| largo | slow, stately |
| ma | but |
| maestoso | majestic |
| meno | less |
| molto | very, much |
| Mosso, moto | movement |
| non | not |
| più | more |
| presto | fast (faster than allegro) |
| senza | without |
| sf, or sfz or sforzando or sforzato | forced, accented |
| simile or sim. | in the same way |
| sostenuto | sustained |
| tenuto | held |
| troppo | too much |
| vivace, vivo | lively, quick |
| adagietto | rather slow (but faster than adagio) |
| ad libitum, ad lib. | at choice, meaning that a passage may be played freely |
| agitato | agitated |
| alla breve | with a minim beat, implying a faster tempo than the note values might otherwise suggest |
| amore | love (loving) |
| anima | soul, spirit (with feeling or spirited) |
| animato | animated, lively (becoming more lively) |
| ben | well |
| brio | vigour (with vigour) |
| comodo | convenient (at a comfortable speed) |
| deciso | with determination |
| delicato | delicate |
| energico | energetic |
| forza | force |
| largamente | broadly |
| leggiero | light, nimble |
| marcato or marc. | emphatic, accented |
| marziale | in a military style |
| mesto | sad |
| pesante | heavy |
| prima, primo | first |
| risoluto | bold, strong |
| ritmico | rhythmically |
| rubato, tempo rubato | with some freedom of time |
| scherzando, scherzoso | playful, joking |
| secondary, secondo | second |
| semplice | simple, plain |
| sempre | always |
| stringendo | gradually getting faster |
| subito | suddenly |
| tanto | so much |
| tranquillo | calm |
| triste, tristamente | sad, sorrowful |
| volta | time (prima volta: first time) |
| afferruoso | tenderly |
| affrettando | hurrying |
| amabile | amiable, pleasant |
| appassionato | with passion |
| calando | getting softer, dying away |
| cantando | singing |
| come | as, similar to (come prima: as before) |
| facile | easy |
| fuoco | fire |
| giusto | proper, exact |
| l’istesso | the same |
| morendo | dying away |
| niente | nothing |
| nobilmente | nobly |
| perdendosi | dying away |
| possibile | possible (presto possibile:as fast as possible) |
| quasi | as if, resembling |
| sonoro | resonant, with rich tone |
| sopra | above |
| sotto | below, under |
| veloce | swift |
| voce | voice |
| à | to, at (Italian: a) |
| animé | animated, lively |
| assez | enough, sufficiently, rather; assez vite: rather quick |
| avec | with (Italian: con) |
| cédez | yield, relax the speed |
| douce | sweet (Italian: dolce) |
| en dehors | outside, emphasised, prominent |
| et | and (Italian: e / ed) |
| légèrement | light (Italian: leggiero) |
| lent | slow (Italian: lento) |
| mais | but (Italian: ma) |
| moins | less (Italian: meno) |
| modéré | at a moderate speed (Italian: moderato) |
| non | not |
| peu | little (Italian: poco) |
| plus | more (Italian: più) |
| presser or pressez | hurry; en pressant: hurrying on (Italian: affretando) |
| ralentir | slow down (Italian: ralentando) |
| retenu | held back; en retenant: holding back (Italian: ritenuto) |
| sans | without (Italian: senza) |
| très | very (similar to Italian: assai) |
| un or une | one |
| vif | lively (Italian: vivace / vivo) |
| vite | quick (Italian: allegro) |
Created by:
JenBeech
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