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A great many musical terms are in Italian. It shouldn't be surprising that so many musical terms are Italian, since many of the most important early composers in the renaissance 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:
| Italian term
| Literal translation
| Definition
|
Musical forms
| A cappella*
| in chapel style
| Sung with no instrumental accompaniment
|
| Aria
| air
| A song, esp. one from an opera
|
| Arietta
| little air
| A short or light aria
|
| Ballabile
| danceable
| (song) to be danced to
|
| Battaglia
| battle
| A piece suggesting a battle
|
| Bergamasca
| from Bergamo
| A peasant dance from Bergamo
|
| Burletta
| a little joke
| A light comic or farcical opera
|
| Cadenza
| falling
| A florid solo at the end of a performance
|
| Capriccio
| caprice
| A lively piece of music
|
| Coda
| tail
| The end of a piece
|
| Concerto
| concert
| A work for a solo instrument 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
|
| Libretto
| little book
| A work containing the words to an opera or musical
|
| Opera
| work
| A drama set to music for singers and instrumentalists
|
| Opera buffa
| humorous opera
| A comic opera
|
| Opera seria
| serious opera
| An opera with a serious, esp. classical theme
|
| Sonata
| sounded
| A composition for one or two instruments in sonata form
|
| Intermezzo
| interval
| A short connecting instrumental movement
|
| 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
|
| Timpani
| drums
| A large drum
|
| 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
| Tempo
| time
| The speed of a piece of music
|
| Largo
| broad
| Slow and dignified
|
| Larghetto
| a little bit broad
| Not as slow as largo
|
| Lento
| 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
| walking
| Moderately slow, flowing along
|
| Comodo
| comfortable
| At moderate speed
|
| Allegretto
| a little bit joyful
| Slightly slower than allegro
|
| Allegro
| joyful
| Moderately fast
|
| Presto
| ready
| Very fast
|
| Prestissimo
| very ready
| Very very fast
|
| Accelerando
| accelerating
| accelerating
|
| Affrettando
| becoming hurried
| accelerating
|
| Accompagnato
| accompanied
| The accompaniment must follow the singer who can speed up or slow down at will
|
Dynamics - volume
Moods
Musical expression (general)
| Molto
| very
| Used with other terms, as "molto allegro"
|
| Assai
| very
| Used with other terms, as "allegro assai"
|
| Poco
| little
| "a little". Used with other terms, as "poco diminuendo"
|
| ma non troppo
| but not too much
| But not too much (allegro ma non troppo)
|
Directions
| Attacca
| attack
| Proceed to the next section without pause
|
| Cambiare
| change
| Any change, such as to a new instrument
|
Techniques
| Coloratura
| coloration
| Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line
|
| 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
|
| Bocca chiusa
| mouth closed
| Wordless humming in a choral piece
|
| Chiuso
| closed
| Calls for a horn to be muted by hand
|
| Col legno
| with the wood
| Calls for a bowed instrument to be struck with the wood rather than the hair of the bow
|
| Pizzicato
| plucked(?)
| Calls for a bowed instrument to be plucked with the fingers
|
| Col arco
| with the bow
| Cancels "col legno" and "pizzicato"
|
| Basso continuo
| continuous bass
| Continuous bass accompaniment
|
| 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
|
| Scordatura
| (...)
| Alternate tuning (of strings)
|
Roles
Criticism
| Bel canto
| beautiful voice
| Any fine singing, esp. that popular in 18th and 19th c. 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
|
See also
External links
fr:Termes italiens en musique
nl:Italiaanse muziektermen
vi:Thuật ngữ tiếng Ý trong âm nhạc
