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Lesson 17: Foreign Terms & Symbols
On From Grade One
For Grade Two Music Theory, you have to know all the foreign musical terms and symbols which are listed for Grade One, and a few more.
You can find a list of the Grade One musical terms here, and Musical Symbols here.
In each grade of the ABRSM music theory exams there are more foreign terms to learn, but you always have to know all the terms from the ealier grades too.
Metronome Markings
A metronome is a gadget which makes a loud, regular clicking noise. You can set the speed of the clicks. Metronomes are used so that musicians know exactly how fast to play a piece of music, and they're also useful to practise with. They are great for all musicians; whether you're learning music privately, studying at one of the online universities or you're even working on your latest recording, a metronome can help you remain in time.
Metronome markings sometimes appear above the stave, to tell you about the tempo of the music, because the Italian tempo terms are sometimes not very exact. Metronome directions are made up of a note symbol and a number, joined together by the equals sign, like this:
 = 126
This means that the tempo of the music should be about 126 crotchets (quarter notes) per minute. Metronome indications always tell you how many notes to play per minute. (Of course, it's best if you actually have a metronome so that you can set it to click at the speed indicated.)
Metronome markings can use any note length, but the most common are the quaver, crotchet and minim (eighth, quarter and half note).
New Terms for Grade Two
| Italian Term |
Pronunciation |
Abbreviation |
English Meaning |
| TEMPO |
| Allargando |
al-lar-gan-do |
|
Broadening (getting a little slower and probably a little louder) |
| Allegro assai |
al-leg-ro as-say |
|
Very quick |
| Andantino |
an-dan-tee-no |
|
Slightly faster than andante (or slightly slower) |
| Grave |
grar-vay |
|
Very slow and solemn |
| Larghetto |
lar-get-toe |
|
Rather slow (but faster than largo) |
| Largo |
lar-go |
|
Slow and stately |
| Presto |
press-toe |
|
Very fast |
| Vivace |
vi-var-chay |
|
Lively and quickly |
| Vivo |
vee-voe |
|
Lively and quickly |
| DYNAMICS |
| Fortepiano |
for-tay pi-ya-no |
FP |
Loud then immediately soft |
| Sforzando |
sfor-zan-doe |
Sf, Sfz |
Forced, accented |
| Sforzato |
sfor-zar-toe |
Sf, Sfz |
Forced, accented |
| PHRASING |
| Dolce |
dol-chay |
|
Sweetly & softly |
| Espressivo |
es-press-ee-voe |
Espress., Espr. |
Expressive |
| Giocoso |
jo-ko-so |
|
Playfully, merry |
| Grazioso |
grat-zee-oh-so |
|
Gracefully |
| Maestoso |
my-stoe-so |
|
Majestically |
| Sostenuto |
sos-ten-oo-toe |
|
Sustained |
| Tenuto |
ten-oo-toe |
|
Held |
| OTHER TERMS |
| A |
a (as in "cat") |
|
At, To, By, For, In, In the style of |
| Al, Alla |
al, a-la |
|
To the, In the manner of |
| Assai |
as-say |
|
Very |
| Con, Col |
kon, kol |
|
With |
| E, Ed |
e (as in "bed") |
|
And |
| Ma |
ma (as in "man") |
|
But |
| Meno |
men-no |
|
Less |
| Molto |
mol-toe |
|
Very, Much |
| Mosso, Moto |
moss-o, mo-to |
|
Movement |
| Non |
nonn |
|
Not |
| Piu |
pi-yu |
|
More |
| Senza |
sen-za |
|
Without |
| Simile |
see-mi-lay |
Sim. |
In the same way |
| Troppo |
tropp-o |
|
Too much (non troppo = not too much) |
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