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

notturno
same as nocturne (see above)

obbligato
required, indispensable

omaggio
homage, celebration

one-voice-per-part, or OVPP
the practice of using solo voices on each musical line or part in choral music.

organ trio
in jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ player and two other instruments, often an electric guitar player and a drummer.

ossia or oppure
or instead; i.e., according to some specified alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, additional small notes, or an additional staff

ostinato
obstinate, persistent; i.e., a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition

ottava
octave; e.g. ottava bassa

parlando or parlante
like speech, enunciated

Partitur (Ger)
full orchestral score

passionato
passionately

pastorale
in a pastoral style, peaceful and simple

pausa
rest

pedale or ped
In piano scores, this instructs the player to use press damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). In organ scores, it tells the organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard with the feet.

penseroso
thoughtfully, meditatively

perdendosi
dying away; decrease in dynamics, perhaps also in tempo

pesante
heavy, ponderous

peu
little by little

pi
more; see mosso for an example

piacevole
pleasant

piangevole
plaintive

pianissimo or pp
very gently; i.e., perform very softly, even softer than piano. This convention can be extended; the more ps that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play or sing, thus ppp (pianississimo) would be softer than pp. Dynamics in a piece should be interpreted relative to the other dynamics in the same piece. For example, pp should be executed as softly as possible, but if ppp is found later in the piece, pp should be markedly louder than ppp. More than three ps (ppp) or three fs (fff) are uncommon.

piano or p (usually)
gently; i.e., played or sung softly (see dynamics)

piano-vocal score
the same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar

pizzicato
pinched, plucked; i.e., in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow; compare arco (in this list), which is inserted to cancel a pizzicato instruction

pochettino or poch.
very little

poco
a little, as in poco pi

poco a poco
little by little

poetico
poetic discourse

poi
then, indicating a subsequent instruction in a sequence; diminuendo poi subito fortissimo, for example

portamento
carrying; i.e., 1. generally, sliding in pitch from one note to another, usually pausing just above or below the final pitch, then sliding quickly to that pitch. If no pause is executed, then it is a basic glissando; or 2. in piano music, an articulation between legato and staccato, like portato, in this list

portato or loure
carried; i.e., non-legato, but not as detached as staccato (same as portamento , in this list)

posato
settled

potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr)
potpourri (as used in other senses in English); i.e., a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF... etc.; the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia

precipitato
precipitately

prelude or pr
a musical introduction to subsequent movements during the Baroque era (1600's/17th century). It can also be a movement in its own right, which was more common in the Romantic era (mid 1700's/18th century)

prestissimo
extremely quickly, as fast as possible

presto
very quickly

prima volta
the first time; for example prima volta senza accompagnamento (the first time without accompaniment)

primo or prima (the feminine form)
first

quarter tone
Half of a semitone; a pitch division not used in most Western music notation, except in some contemporary art music or experimental music. Quarter tones are used in Western popular music forms such as jazz and blues and in a variety of non-Western musical cultures.

quasi (Latin and Italian)
as if, almost, e.g. quasi recitativo like a recitative in an opera, or quasi una fantasia like a fantasia

rallentando or rall.
Broadening of the tempo (often not discernible from ritardando); progressively slower

rapido
fast

rasch (Ger)
fast

ravvivando
quicken pace

recitativo
recitatively; one voice without accompaniment

religioso
religiously

repente
suddenly

restez (Fr)
stay; i.e., remain on a note or string

retenu (Fr)
hold back; same as the Italian ritenuto (see below)

ridicolosamente
humorously, inaccurate, and loosely

rinforzando (rf, or rinf.)
reinforced; i.e., emphasized; sometimes like a sudden crescendo, but often applied to a single note

risoluto
resolutely

rit.
an abbreviation for ritardando; also an abbreviation for ritenuto

ritardando, ritard., rit.
slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando

ritenuto, riten., rit.
suddenly slower, held back (usually more so but more temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note)

ritmico
rhythmical

ritornello
a recurring passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria (also in works for chorus).

rolled chord
see arpeggiato in this list

rondo
a musical form in which a certain section returns repeatedly , interspersed with other sections

roulade (Fr)
a rolling; i.e., a florid vocal phrase

rubato
robbed; i.e., flexible in tempo, applied to notes within a musical phrase for expressive effect

run
a rapid series of ascending or descending musical notes which are closely spaced in pitch forming a scale

ruvido
roughly

sanft (Ger)
gently

scatenato
unchained, wildly

scherzando, scherzoso
playfully

schnell (Ger)
fast

schneller (Ger)
faster

schwungvoll (Ger)
lively, swinging, bold, spirited

scordatura
out of tune; i.e., an alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument

secco, or sec (Fr)
dry

segue
carry on to the next section without a pause

sehr (Ger)
very

semitone
the smallest pitch difference between notes (in most Western music) (e.g., F

semplice
simply

sempre
always

senza
without

senza misura
without measure

serioso
seriously

sforzando or sfz
made loud; i.e., a sudden strong accent

shake
a jazz term describing a trill between one note and its minor third; or, with brass instruments, between a note and its next overblown harmonic.

sharp
a symbol (♯) that raises the pitch of the 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 high in pitch.

short accent
Hit the note hard and short . (^)

si (Fr)
seventh note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-doh solmization.

siciliana
a Sicilian dance in 12/8 or 6/8 meter

sign
see segno

silenzio
silence; i.e., without reverberations

simile
similarly; i.e., continue applying the preceding directive, whatever it was, to the following passage

sipario
curtain (stage)

slargando or slentando
becoming broader or slower (that is, becoming more largo or more lento)

smorzando or smorz.
extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo as well

soave
smoothly, gently

sognando
dreamily

solenne
solemn

solo, plural soli
alone; i.e., executed by a single instrument or voice. The instruction soli requires more than one player or singer; in a jazz big band this refers to an entire section playing in harmony.

sonata
a piece played as opposed to sung.

sonatina
a little sonata

sonatine
a little sonata, used in some countries instead of sonatina