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ORCHESTRA VOCABULARY SHEET #1
8va - ottava or "at the octave." This indication is most often found above specific notes on a staff and indicates that thosenotesshould be performed one octave higher than written.
8vb - ottava bassa or "at the octave below." This indication is found below specific notes on a staff and indicates that thosenotesshould be performed one octave lower than written.
A tempo - return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation.
Accelerando – to go faster
Accent – (several different notations) to give a note more emphasis
Alla breve - Cut time. A tempo marking indicating a quick duple meter with the half note rather than the quarter note getting the beat (2/2 rather than 4/4).
Accidental - A mark placed before a note which indicates that the previously understood pitch of thenoteshould be altered by one or two half steps.
Andante - A moderate tempo marking between largo and moderato. Thistempotypically has between 76 and 108 beats per minute.
Arco – to use the bow
Cantabile - Singing orperforming in a melodious and graceful style, full of expression.
Coda - The closing few measures of acomposition, usually not a partof the mainthemegroups of the standardformof acomposition, but a finishingthemeadded to the end to give thecompositionclosure.
Col legno - Italian term for’ with the wood’.
Common time - 4/4 time or C
Con gusto – with energy
Crescendo– to gradually get louder
Dal segno - means repeat from the sign
Diminuendo – gradually get softer
Divisi– divide the notes; the OUTSIDE player takes the top note, the INSIDE player takes the bottom note
Dolce - A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition sweetly, softly, or with tender emotion.
Enharmonic -two separate pitch notations stand for the same sound. For example, the enharmonic spelling of F sharp is G flat. Both represent the same pitch frequency.
Espressivo –to perform a certain passage with expression
Fermata - play until the conductor gives the cutoff and wait for the next downbeat
Forte – loud f
Key signature - The sharp, flat, or natural signs placed at the beginning of a staff indicating the tonality of the composition.
Legato – to play smoothly
Marcato - to play short
Mezzo - In dynamics, it is often used to modify other musical terms as mezzo forte (medium loud or literallyhalf as loud asforte), mezzo piano (medium soft or literallyhalf againlouder thanpiano),
Molto – much, very
Non troppo - A term meaning not, and used to qualify a directive in the performance of a certain passage of a composition. For example, the term ‘allegro non troppo’ would mean a fast tempo (allegro) but not too fast.
Piano – soft p
Piu mosso - the indicated passage should have more motion, it should move more quickly.
Pizzicato – to pluck the string with the finger
Poco a poco – little by little
Rallentando (rall) - perform passage with a gradual slowing of the tempo.
Ritardando (rit.) – to gradually slow down
Sempre–Always
Sezura– // to completely stop; wait for the conductor to give the next downbeat
Simile- perform the indicated passage of a composition in a similar manner as the previous passage; similarly.
Soli– the entire section
Solo – only one person
Staccato - to play short
Subdivision-To break up a larger metrical pattern into smaller parts so that it may be more easily understood.
Sul - meaning "at" or "over" or "on the" or "near the".
Sul Tasto–"over the fingerboard"
Sul Ponticello - "over the bridge”
Time signature –A symbol placed at the left side of the staff indicating the meter of the composition. Ex: a time signature of 3/4 would indicate that there are three quarter notes in each measure and the quarter notes receive the main pulse
Trill (tr) - alternate fingers playing the written pitch and the note above it.
Tutti – A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition with all instruments together; pposite of solo.
Volti subito (V.S.) - turn the page of music quickly