|
Grade One Music Theory Lesson 18: Foreign Musical Terms
Italian Terms
In Grade One Music Theory, you need to know what a handful of Italian terms mean in music.
People often wonder why most musical terms are in Italian and not another language, but actually lots of other languages have been used by composers, in particular German and French.
Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance Era (from about 1350 onwards), and was the place where classical music really took off. Composers from many countries used Italian terms because they were associated with musical excellence, and were understood around the world. Today people think of Italian terms as the normal language in music.
From the Grade 4 music theory exam onwards you'll need to know foreign terms not only in Italian, but also in French and German!
List of Terms
Here is a complete list of all the Italian terms for Grade One Music Theory.
It's easier to learn foreign terms if you learn them in groups, and only try to learn a few each day.
The strongest syllable is in italics.
| Italian Term |
Pronunciation |
Abbreviation |
English Meaning |
| TEMPO |
| A tempo |
a tempoh |
|
At the original speed /time |
| Accelerando |
a-che-le-ran-doh |
Accel. |
Gradually getting faster |
| Adagio |
a-dah-jioh |
|
Slowly |
| Allegretto |
a-le-gre-toh |
|
Fairly quick |
| Allegro moderato |
a-le-groh mo-de-ra-toh |
|
Moderately quick |
| Andante |
an-dan-te |
|
At a walking pace |
| Lento |
len-toh |
|
Slow |
| Rallentando |
ra-len-tan-doh |
Rall. |
Gradually getting slower |
| Ritardando |
ri-tar-dan-doh |
Rit. |
Gradually getting slower |
| Ritenuto |
ri-ten-oo-toh |
Rit., Riten. |
Held back |
| DYNAMICS |
| Crescendo |
cre-shen-doh |
Cresc. |
Gradually getting louder |
| Decrescendo |
dee-cre-shen-doh |
Decresc. |
Gradually getting quieter |
| Diminuendo |
di-mi-nyu-en-doh |
Dim. |
Gradually getting quieter |
| Forte |
for-tay |
F |
Loud |
| Fortissimo |
for-tis-i-moh |
FF |
Very loud |
| Mezzo forte |
met-zoh for-tay |
MF |
Moderately loud |
| Mezzo piano |
met-zoh pya-noh |
MP |
Moderately quiet |
| Pianissimo |
pya-ni-si-moh |
PP |
Very quiet |
| Piano |
pyah-noh |
P |
Quiet |
| PHRASING |
| Cantabile |
kan-tar-bi-lay |
|
In a singing style |
| Legato |
li-ga-toh |
|
Smoothly |
| Staccato |
sta-kar-toh |
|
Short and detached |
| OTHER TERMS |
| Da capo |
da ka-poh |
DC |
From the beginning |
| Dal segno |
dal sen-yoh |
DS |
 From the sign |
| Fine |
fee-nay |
|
The end |
| Mezzo |
met-zo |
M |
Half |
| Moderato |
mo-dur-ar-toh |
|
Moderately |
| Poco |
poh-koh |
Poc. |
A little |
|
