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Translation Dictionary - Lyrics glossary Category: Music and Sound Date & country: 24/10/2013, UK Words: 469

colossale
tremendously

come prima
like the first (time); i.e., as before, typically referring to an earlier tempo

come sopra
as above; i.e., like the previous tempo (usually)

common time
the time signature 4/4

con
with; used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con amore (with tenderness); (see also col, colla, above)

con (gran, molto) espressione
with (great, much) expression

con affetto
with affect (that is, with emotion)

con anima
with feeling

con brio
with spirit, with vigour

con dolore
with sadness

con forza
with force

con fuoco
with fire, in a fiery manner

con larghezza
with broadness; broadly

con moto
with motion

con slancio
with enthusiasm

con variazioni
with variations/changes

conjunct
an adjective applied to a melodic line that moves by step (intervals of a 2nd) rather in disjunct motion (by leap).

crescendo
growing; i.e., progressively louder (contrast diminuendo)

cuivr
brassy. Used almost exclusively as a French Horn technique to indicate a forced, rough tone. A note marked both stopped and loud will be cuivr

cut time
Same as the meter 2/2

D.S.
Dal Segno, from the sign (Segno)

D.S. al fine or dal segno al fine
from the sign to the end; i.e., return to a place in the music designated by the sign Segno and continue to the end of the piece

D.S.S. al coda or dal segno al coda
same as D.S. al coda, but with a double segno

D.S.S. al fine or dal segno al fine
from the double sign to the end; i.e., return to place in the music designated by the double sign (see D.S. al coda) and continue to the end of the piece

da capo
from the head; i.e., from the beginning (see capo in this list)

deciso
decisively

decrescendo or decresc.
same as diminuendo or dim. (see below)

deest
from the Latin deesse meaning absent; placed after a catalogue abbreviation to indicate that this particular work does not appear in it. The plural is desunt and used when referring to several works.

delicatamente or delicato
delicately

detach
act of playing notes separately

devoto
religiously

diminuendo, dim.
dwindling; i.e., with gradually decreasing volume (same as decrescendo)

disjunct
an adjective applied to a melodic line which moves by leap (intervals of more than a 2nd) as opposed to conjunct motion (by step)

dissonante
dissonant

divisi or div.
divided; i.e., in a part in which several musicians normally play exactly the same notes they are instead to split the playing of the written simultaneous notes among themselves. It is most often used for string instruments, since with them another means of execution is often possible. (The return from divisi is marked unisono

doit
jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically upwards.

dolce
sweetly

dolcissimo
very sweetly

dolente
sorrowfully, plaintively

doloroso
sorrowfully, plaintively

doppio movimento
twice as fast

double stop
the act of playing two notes simultaneously on a melodic percussion instrument or string instrument

downtempo
a slow, moody, or decreased tempo or played or done in such a tempo. It also refers to a genre of electronic music based on this (downtempo).

drammatico
dramatically

drop
jazz term referring to a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards.

duolo
(Ital) grief

Dur (Ger)
major; used in key signatures as, for example, A-Dur (A major), B-Dur (B♭ major), or H-Dur ([B major]]). (See also Moll (minor) in this list.)

dynamics
the relative volume in the execution of a piece of music

e (Ital)
and

ein wenig (Ger)
a little

Empfindung (Ger)
feeling

en dehors (Fr)
prominently

en pressant (Fr)
hurrying forward

en retenant (Fr)
slowing

encore (Fr)
again; i.e., perform the relevant passage once more

energico
energetic, strong

enfatico
emphatically

eroico
heroically

espirando
expiring; i.e., dying away

espressivo or espr.
expressively

estinto
extinct, extinguished; i.e., as soft as possible, lifeless, barely audible

etwas (Ger)
somewhat

facile
easily, without fuss

fall
jazz term describing a note of definite pitch sliding downwards to another note of definite pitch.

falsetto
vocal register above the normal voice

fermata
finished, closed; i.e., a rest or note is to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor (sometimes called bird's eye); a fermata at the end of a first or intermediate movement or section is usually moderately prolonged, but the final fermata of a symphony may be prolonged for twice its printed length or more for dramatic effect.

feroce
ferociously

festivamente
cheerfully, celebratory

feurig (Ger)
fiery

fieramente
proudly

fine
the end, often in phrases like al fine (to the end)

flat
a symbol (♭) that lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone. The term may also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too low.

flebile
mournfully

focoso or fuocoso
fiery; i.e., passionately

forte or f (usually)
strong; i.e., to be played or sung loudly

fortepiano or fp (usually)
strong-gentle; i.e., 1. loud, then immediately soft (see dynamics), or 2. an early pianoforte

fortissimo or ff
very loud (see note at pianissimo in this list)

fortississimo or fff
as loud as possible

forza
musical force

forzando or fz
see sforzando in this list

fr
lively, joyfully

freddo
cold(ly); hence depressive, unemotional

fresco
freshly

funebre
funeral; often seen as marcia funebre (funeral march), indicating a stately and plodding tempo.

fuoco
fire; con fuoco means with fire

furia
fury

furioso
furiously

G.P.
Grand Pause, General Pause; indicates to the performers that the entire ensemble has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic effect during a loud section

gaudioso
with joy

gemendo
groaningly

gentile
gently

geschwind (Ger)
quickly

geteilt (Ger)
See divisi

getragen (Ger)
sustained

giocoso or gioioso
gaily

giusto
strictly, exactly, e.g. tempo giusto in strict time

glissando (simulated Italian)
a continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale executed while moving from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando for further information; and compare portamento in this list.

grandioso
grandly

grave
slowly and seriously

grazioso
gracefully