List of Italian musical terms used in English

Many musical terms are in Italian, because many of the most important early composers from the Renaissance to the Baroque period were Italian, and that period is when numerous musical indications were used extensively for the first time. (See also sheet music.)

Here are some of these expressions:

Musical forms

Italian term	Literal translation	Definition
A cappella	in chapel style	Sung with no (instrumental) accompaniment
Aria	air	sang with mouth as instruments
Aria di sorbetto	sorbet air	A lesser aria within an opera
Arietta	little air	A short or light aria
Arioso	airy	A type of solo vocal piece during an opera or operetta
Ballabile	danceable	(song) to be danced to
Battaglia	battle	An instrumental or vocal piece suggesting a battle
Bergamasca	from Bergamo	A peasant dance from Bergamo
Burletta	a little joke	A light comic or farcical opera
Cabaletta	from copola (couplet)	A two-part musical form
Cadenza	falling	A florid solo at the end of a performance
Cantata	sung	A piece for orchestra and singers
Capriccio	caprice	A lively piece of music
Cavatina	small instrumental tone	A simple melody or song
Coda	tail	The end of a piece
Concerto	concert	A work for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra
Concertino	little concert	A short concerto; the solo instrument in a concerto
Concerto grosso	big concert	A Baroque form of concerto, with a group of solo instruments
Da capo aria	from the head aria	A three-section musical form
Dramma giocoso	jocular drama	A form of opera
Dramma per musica	drama for music	Libretto
Fantasia	fantasy	A musical composition or “idea” typified by improvisation
Farsa	farce	A one-act comical opera
festa teatrale	theatrical party	A genre of opera
Fioritura	flowery	A highly embellised vocal line
Intermedio	intermediate	A short connecting instrumental movement – an intermezzo
Intermezzo	interval	A short connecting instrumental movement
Libretto	little book	A work containing the words to an opera, musical, or ballet
Melodramma	melodrama	A style of opera
Opera	work	A drama set to music for singers and instrumentalists
Opera buffa	humorous opera	A comic opera
Opera semiseria	semi-serious opera	A variety of opera
Opera seria	serious opera	An opera with a serious, esp. classical theme
Operetta	little opera	A variety of light opera
Oratorio	oratory	Large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists
Pasticcio	pastiche	A musical piece containing works by different composers
Ripieno concerto	padding concert	A form of Baroque concerto with no solo parts
Serenata	Serenade	A song or composition in someone’s honour. Originally, a musical greeting performed for a lover
Soggetto cavato	carved subject	A musical cryptogram, using coded syllables as a basis for the composition
Sonata	sounded	A composition for one or two instruments in sonata form
Verismo	realism	A genre of operas with scenarios based on contemporary everyday life

Musical instruments

Piano(forte)	soft-loud	A keyboard instrument
viola	viola, orig. Latin vitulari "be joyful"	A medium-sized stringed instrument
(Violon)cello	Small violone (violone means "big viola")	A large stringed instrument
Viola da gamba	leg viola	A stringed instrument held between the legs
Viola da braccio	arm viola	A stringed instrument held in the arm, such as a violin or viola
Viola d'amore	love viola	A tenor viol with no frets
Tuba	tube	A large brass instrument
Piccolo	little	A tiny woodwind instrument
Sordun	deaf, dull in sound	An archaic double-reed wind instrument
Timpani	drums	Large drums
Cornetto	little horn	An old woodwind instrument
Campana	bell	A bell used in an orchestra; also campane "bells"
Orchestra	orchestra, orig. Greek orkesthai "dance"	An ensemble of instruments

Voices

Soprano	upper	The highest vocal line
Mezzo-soprano	middle-upper	Between soprano and alto
Alto	high	Second-highest vocal line
Contralto	against high	Alto, esp. a female alto
Basso	low	Or "bass;" the lowest vocal line
Basso profondo	deep and low	A very deep bass voice
Coloratura soprano	colouring soprano	A soprano specialised in complex, ornamented melody
Soprano sfogato	unlimited soprano	A soprano who has extended her upper range beyond the usual range of a soprano
Spinto soprano	pushed soprano	A soprano whose voice, while normally of lyric weight and fluidity, can be pushed to a more forceful weight
Squillo	ringing	The resonant clarity of an operatic singer’s voice
Tenore contraltino	'	A tenor voice capable of a slightly higher range of sustainable notes than usual
Tenore di grazia or ‘’’Leggiero tenor’’’	'	A lightweight, flexible tenor voice
Tessitura	texture	A singer’s comfortable range
Falsetto	little false	A vocal register immediately above the modal voice range
Falsettone	'	Falsetto, sung using the usual techniques of modal voice register
Castrato	castrated	A male singer, castrated so as to be able to sing soprano (now sung by women, conventional countertenors, or sopranisti)
Musico	musician	Originally, a trained musician; later, a castrato or female singer
Spinto	pushed	A forceful voice, between the lyric and dramatic in weight
Passaggio	crossing	A vocal range

Tempo

Tempo	time	The speed of music e.g. 120 BPM
Grave	solemn	Slow and solemn, slower than largo
Largo	broad	Slow and dignified
Larghetto	a little bit broad	Not as slow as largo
Lentando	slowing	Becoming slower
Lento	slow	Slow
Tardo	slow	Slow
Adagio	ad agio, at ease	Slow, but not as slow as largo
Adagietto	little adagio	Faster than adagio; or a short adagio composition
Andante	at a walking pace	Moderately slow, flowing along
andantino'"	slightly faster than andante	slightly faster than andante
Moderato	moderately	At a moderate speed
Allegretto	a little bit joyful	Slightly slower than allegro
Largamente	broadly	Slow and dignified
Mosso	moved	Agitated
Allegro	joyful; lively and fast	Moderately fast
Sostenuto	sustained	A slowing of tempo, often accompanied by legato playing
Fermata	stopped	Marks a note to be held or sustained
Presto	ready	Very fast
Prestissimo	very ready	Very very fast, as fast as possible
Accelerando	accelerating	Accelerating
Affrettando	becoming hurried	Accelerating
Allargando	slowing and broadening	Slowing down and broadening, becoming more stately and majestic, possibly louder
Ritardando	slowing down	Decelerating
Rallentando	becoming progressively slower	Decelerating
Rubato	robbed	Free flowing and exempt from steady rhythm
Tenuto	sustained	Holding or sustaining a single note
Accompagnato	accompanied	The accompaniment must follow the singer who can speed up or slow down at will
Alla marcia	as a march	In strict tempo at a marching pace (e.g. 120 bpm)
A tempo	to time	Return to previous tempo
L'istesso tempo	Same speed	At the same speed

Dynamics – volume

Calando	quietening	Becoming softer and slower
Crescendo	growing	Becoming louder
Decrescendo	shrinking	Becoming softer
Diminuendo	dwindling	Becoming softer
Forte	strong	Loud
Fortissimo	very strong	Very loud
Marcato	marked	A note played forcefully
Mezzo forte	half-strong	Moderately loud
Piano	gentle	Soft
Pianissimo	very gentle	Very soft
Mezzo piano	half-gentle	Moderately soft
Sforzando	strained	Sharply accented
Stentato	in the manner of Stentor	Loud, boisterous
Tremolo	trembling	A rapid repetitive variation in the volume (or pitch) of a tone
Messa di voce	placing the voice	A style of singing involving changing volume while holding a single note

Moods

Affettuoso	with feeling	Tenderly
Agitato	agitated	Excited and fast
Animato	animated	Animated
Brillante	brilliant	Brilliant, bright
Bruscamente	brusquely	Brusquely – abruptly
Cantabile	singable	In a singing style
Colossale	colossal	In a fashion which suggests immensity
Comodo	convenient	Comfortably, moderately
Con amore	with love	With love
Con fuoco	with fire	With fiery manner
Con brio	with bright	brightly
Con moto	with movement	With (audible) movement
Con spirito	with spirit	With spirit
Dolce	sweetly	Sweet
Espressivo	expressive	Expressively
Festoso	happy	With happiness
Furioso	furious	With passion
Grazioso	graciously or gracefully	With charm
Lacrimoso	teary	Tearfully, sadly
Maestoso	majestic	Stately
Misterioso	mysterious	Mysteriously, secretively, enigmatic
Pesante	heavy	Heavy, slowly, sadly
Risoluto	resolved	Resolved, decisive
Scherzando	playfully	Playfully
Sotto	subdued	Subdued
Semplicemente	simply	Simply
slancio	passion	Enthusiasm
Vivace	vivacious	Up-tempo

Musical expression (general)

Molto	very	Used with other terms, such as molto allegro
Assai	very	Used with other terms, such as allegro assai
Più	more	Used with other terms, such as più mosso
Poco	little	"A little". Used with other terms, such as poco diminuendo
poco a poco	little by little	"little by little", "slowly but steadily". Used with other terms, such as poco a poco crescendo
Ma non troppo	but not too much	Used with other terms, such as allegro ma non troppo
Meno	less	Used with other terms, such as meno mosso
Subito	suddenly, quickly	Used with other terms, such as subito fortissimo

Patterns within the musical score

Lacuna	gap	A silent pause in a piece of music
Ossia	alternatively	A secondary passage of music which may be played in place of the original
Ostinato	stubborn	A repeated motif or phrase in a piece of music
Ritornello	little return	A recurring passage in a piece of Baroque music
Segue	it follows	A smooth movement from one passage to another with no pause
Stretto	tightened	In a fugue, the repeating of a motif by a second voice before the first rendition is completed
Pensato	thought	A composed imaginary note

Directions

Attacca	attach	Proceed to the next section without pause
Cambiare	change	Any change, such as to a new instrument
Da Capo (al fine)	from the beginning (to the end)	Abbreviated as D.C., informs the performer to go back to the beginning (capo) (finishing where the part is marked fine)
Dal Segno	to the sign	Abbreviated as D.S., informs the performer to repeat a specific section marked by a sign (segno)
Divisi	divided	Instructs one section to divide into two or more separate sections, each playing a separate part. Often these separate parts are written on the same staff.
Oppure	otherwise	Informs the player of alternative ways to play a passage. See Ossia.
solo	alone	A piece or performance to be played by a single musician

Techniques

Altissimo	very high	Very high
Arpeggio	harp-like	A chord with the notes spread out in time
Acciaccatura	crushing	An extra, very fast grace note
Appoggiatura	leaning	A type of ornament
Basso continuo	continuous bass	Continuous bass accompaniment (see figured bass.)
A bocca chiusa	mouth closed	Wordless humming in a choral piece
Chiuso	closed	Calls for a horn to be muted by hand
Coll'arco	with the bow	Cancels col legno and pizzicato (in a string passage, arco is usually expected and is not written except at the end of col legno or pizzicato passages.)
Colla voce	with the voice	A note to accompanists to play with (in time with) the singer, especially when slowing for textual effect
Col legno	with the wood	Calls for a bowed instrument to be struck with the wood rather than the hair of the bow
Coloratura	coloration	Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line
Glissando	glide	A sweeping glide from one pitch to another
Legato	tied together	A series of notes played with a smooth connection between them
Martellato	hammered	Notes are strongly accented and detached
Con sordino	with mute	Calls for mute to be applied, esp. to string instruments.
Senza sordino	without mute	Calls for mute to be removed, esp. from string instruments.
Pizzicato	plucked	Calls for a bowed instrument to be plucked with the fingers
Portamento	carrying	A sliding of pitch between two notes
Portato	carried	A style of playing between staccato and legato
Sforzando	using force	Played with strong, marked emphasis
Coperti	covered	Of a drum, muted with a cloth
Una corda	one string	With the soft pedal, on a piano
Due corde	two strings	With the soft pedal, on a piano. For why both terms exist, see piano.
Tre corde or tutte le corde	Three strings or all the strings	Cancels an una corda
Spiccato	separated	Playing a stringed instrument by bouncing the bow lightly on the strings
Tutti	all	A direction for the entire ensemble to play or sing, rather than a soloist
staccatissimo	very detached	Forcefully exaggerated staccato
Staccato	detached	A form of musical articulation in which notes are distinct and separated from each other by short gaps
Scordatura	mistuning	Alternate tuning (of strings)
vibrato	vibrating	A rapid repetitive variation in the pitch of a tone

Roles

Prima donna	first lady	Leading female role
Primo uomo	first man	Leading male role
Banda	band	A small music ensemble used as a supplement to the orchestra in an opera
Comprimario/a	con primario, with the first	A supporting role
Concertino	little concert	The smaller, more virtuosic, group of musicians in a concerto grosso
Coro	choir	An ensemble of singers
Diva	female deity	A leading female singer
Ripieno	filling or stuffing	The larger group of musicians in a concerto grosso
Convenienze	conveniences	The rules relating to the ranking of singers in opera

Criticism

Bel canto	beautiful voice	Any fine singing, esp. that popular in 18th- and 19th-century Italian opera
Bravura	skill	A performance of extraordinary virtuosity
Bravo	skillful	A cry of congratulation to a male singer or performer. Fem. brava, pl. bravi, fem.pl. brave. The use of ! at the of "Bravo/a/i/e(!)" strongly emphasize the written expression.

Musical direction and staging

Maestro	Master, teacher	Conductor, music director, music teacher, also composer and other eminent musicians and singers
Maestro sostituto	Deputy master	Assistant conductor
Maestro collaboratore	Collaborating master	Assistant conductor
Maestro suggeritore	Master prompter	Prompter
Stagione	season	A variety of formal organisation of players and crew in the staging of operas

See also

• Musical terminology

External links

• 8notes glossary
• Pronounce It Right: Italian musical terms