Term
|
Abbreviation
|
Meaning
|
| Accelerando |
Accel. |
Increasing speed gradually |
| Adagio |
Ad° or Adg° |
Slow |
| Ad libitum |
Ad. lib. |
To be played as the performer wishes |
| Allegro |
Alleg. |
Lively, gay |
| Andante |
And. |
Moderately slow |
| Animato |
Anim° |
Animated |
| A tempo |
A tem. |
In time |
| Calando |
Cal. |
Gradually slower but louder tone |
| Da capo |
D.C. |
Return to beginning (or sign) |
| Dal segno |
D.S. |
and finish at double bar - Finis |
| Diminuendo |
Dim. |
Decreasing tone |
| Forte |
f. |
Loud sound |
| Fortissimo |
ff. , fff. |
Very loud, as loud as possible |
| Forte piano |
f.p. |
Loud decreasing in sound |
| Sforzando |
f.z. |
Loud decreasing in sound |
| Largo |
Larg. |
Slow, broad |
| Legato |
Leg. |
Smoothly |
| Loco |
Lo. |
Return to previous pitch after playing an octave
higher |
| Mezzo |
m. |
Half moderate |
| Mezzo forte |
mf. or mff. |
Moderately loud |
| Mezzo piano |
mp. |
Moderately soft |
| Mancando |
Manc. |
Decreasing in sound |
| Marcato |
Marc. |
Emphasised |
| Ottava |
Ott, Ova, 8va |
To be played an octave higher |
| Ottava bassa |
8 bas |
To be played an octave lower |
| Piano |
p. |
Soft |
| Piano-forte |
P.F. or pf. |
Soft, becoming loud |
| Pianissimo |
pp. , ppp. |
Very soft, extremely soft |
| Pizzicato |
Pizz. |
To pluck the violin string instead of using the
bow |
| Rallentando |
Rall. |
Gradually slower |
| Ritardando |
Rit. |
Retarding the time |
| Sempre |
Sem. , Semp. |
Throughout |
| Sempre legato |
Semp. leg. |
Smoothly throughout |
| Spirituoso |
Spir. |
Spirited |
| Tremolando |
Trem. |
A note or chord played in trembling manner |