Abrsm Music Theory, Gr. 1-5

Front 1

accelerando (or accel.)

Back 1

gradually getting quicker

Front 2

adagio

Back 2

slow

Front 3

allegretto

Back 3

fairly quick (but not as quick as allegro)

Front 4

allegro

Back 4

quick (literally "cheerful")

Front 5

andante

Back 5

at a medium "walking" speed

Front 6

cantabile

Back 6

in a singing style

Front 7

crescendo (or cresc.)

Back 7

gradually getting louder

Front 8

da capo (or D.C.)

Back 8

repeat from the beginning

Front 9

dal segno (or D.S.)

Back 9

repeat from the sign

Front 10

decrescendo (or decresc.)

Back 10

gradually getting quieter

Front 11

diminuendo (or dim.)

Back 11

gradually getting quieter

Front 12

fine

Back 12

the end

Front 13

f (forte)

Back 13

loud

Front 14

ff (fortissimo)

Back 14

very loud

Front 15

legato

Back 15

smoothly

Front 16

lento

Back 16

slow

Front 17

mezzo

Back 17

half

Front 18

mf (mezzo forte)

Back 18

moderately loud (literally "half" loud)

Front 19

mp (mezzo piano)

Back 19

moderately quiet (literally "half" quiet)

Front 20

moderato

Back 20

moderately (ex: allegro moderato = moderately quick)

Front 21

p (piano)

Back 21

quiet

Front 22

pp (pianissimo)

Back 22

very quiet

Front 23

poco

Back 23

a little

Front 24

rallentando (or rall.)

Back 24

gradually getting slower

Front 25

ritardando (or ritard. or rit.)

Back 25

gradually getting slower

Front 26

ritenuto (or riten. or rit.)

Back 26

held back

Front 27

staccato (or stacc.)

Back 27

detached

Front 28

tempo

Back 28

speed, time (ex: a tempo = in time)

Front 29

fermata

Back 29

pause on note or rest

Front 30

repeat marks

Back 30

at the second sign, go back to the first sign and repeat the music from there (the first sign is left out if the music is repeated from the beginning)

Front 31

8va (ottava)

Back 31

If above notes, perform an octave higher; if below notes, perform an octave lower

Front 32

a

Back 32

at, to, by, for, in, in the style of

Front 33

al, alla

Back 33

to the, in the manner of (ex: alla marcia = in the style of a march)

Front 34

allargando

Back 34

broadening (getting a little slower and probably a little louder)

Front 35

andantino

Back 35

slightly faster than andante (but may also mean slightly slower)

Front 36

assai

Back 36

very (ex: allegro assai = very quick)

Front 37

con, col

Back 37

with

Front 38

dolce

Back 38

sweet, soft

Front 39

e, ed

Back 39

and

Front 40

espressivo (or espress. or espr.)

Back 40

expressive

Front 41

fp (fortepiano)

Back 41

loud, then immediately soft

Front 42

giocoso

Back 42

playful, merry

Front 43

grave

Back 43

very slow, solemn

Front 44

grazioso

Back 44

graceful

Front 45

larghetto

Back 45

rather slow (but not as slow as largo)

Front 46

largo

Back 46

slow, stately

Front 47

ma

Back 47

but

Front 48

maestoso

Back 48

majestic

Front 49

meno

Back 49

less

Front 50

molto

Back 50

very, much

Front 51

mosso, moto

Back 51

movement (ex: meno mosso = slower, con moto = with movement)

Front 52

non

Back 52

not

Front 53

più

Back 53

more

Front 54

presto

Back 54

fast (faster than allegro)

Front 55

senza

Back 55

without

Front 56

sf, sfz (sforzando or sforzato)

Back 56

forced, accented

Front 57

simile (or sim.)

Back 57

in the same way

Front 58

sostenuto

Back 58

sustained

Front 59

tenuto

Back 59

held

Front 60

troppo

Back 60

too much (ex: non troppo = not too much)

Front 61

vivace, vivo

Back 61

lively, quick

Front 62

Marcato (^)

Back 62

very strong accent

Front 63

Staccatissimo

Back 63

note is to be played as breifly as possible and perhaps accented as well

Front 64

Adagietto

Back 64

rather slow (but faster than adagio)

Front 65

ad libitum, ad lib.

Back 65

at choice, meaning a passage may be played freely

Front 66

agitato

Back 66

agitated

Front 67

alla breve

Back 67

with a minim (half note) beat, implying a faster tempo than the note values might otherwise suggest

Front 68

amore

Back 68

love (ex: amoroso = loving)

Front 69

anima

Back 69

soul, spirit, (ex: con anima can mean "with feeling" or "spirited")

Front 70

animato

Back 70

animated, lively (ex: animando = becoming more lively)

Front 71

ben

Back 71

well

Front 72

brio

Back 72

vigour (ex: con brio = with vigour, lively)

Front 73

comodo

Back 73

convenient (tempo comodo: at a comfortable speed)

Front 74

deciso

Back 74

with determination

Front 75

delicato

Back 75

delicate

Front 76

energico

Back 76

energetic

Front 77

forza

Back 77

force

Front 78

largamente

Back 78

broadly

Front 79

leggiero

Back 79

light, nimble

Front 80

marcato, marc.

Back 80

emphatic, accented

Front 81

marziale

Back 81

in a military style

Front 82

mesto

Back 82

sad

Front 83

pesante

Back 83

heavy

Front 84

prima, primo

Back 84

first

Front 85

risoluto

Back 85

bold, strong

Front 86

ritmico

Back 86

rhythmically

Front 87

rubato, tempo rubato

Back 87

with some freedom of time

Front 88

scherzando, scherzoso

Back 88

playful, joking

Front 89

seconda, secondo

Back 89

second

Front 90

semplice

Back 90

simple, plain

Front 91

sempre

Back 91

always

Front 92

stringendo

Back 92

gradually getting faster

Front 93

subito

Back 93

suddenly

Front 94

tanto

Back 94

so much

Front 95

tranquilo

Back 95

calm

Front 96

triste, tristamente

Back 96

sad, sorrowful

Front 97

volta

Back 97

time (prima volta: first time; seconda volta: second time)

Front 98

affetuoso

Back 98

tenderly

Front 99

affrettando

Back 99

hurrying

Front 100

amabile

Back 100

amiable, pleasant

Front 101

appassionato

Back 101

with passion

Front 102

calando

Back 102

getting softer, dying away (and usually slowing down)

Front 103

cantando

Back 103

singing

Front 104

come

Back 104

as, similar to (come prima: as before; come sopra: as above)

Front 105

facile

Back 105

easy

Front 106

fuoco

Back 106

fire

Front 107

giusto

Back 107

proper, exact (tempo giusto: in strict time)

Front 108

l'istesso

Back 108

the same (l'istesso tempo: at the same speed)

Front 109

morendo

Back 109

dying away

Front 110

niente

Back 110

nothing

Front 111

nobilmente

Back 111

nobly

Front 112

perdendosi

Back 112

dying away

Front 113

possibile

Back 113

possible (presto possibile: as fast as possible)

Front 114

quasi

Back 114

as if, resembling

Front 115

sonoro

Back 115

resonant, with rich tone

Front 116

sopra

Back 116

apove

Front 117

sotto

Back 117

below (sotta voce: in an undertone)

Front 118

veloce

Back 118

swift

Front 119

voce

Back 119

voice

Front 120

à

Back 120

to, at

Front 121

animé

Back 121

animated, lively

Front 122

assez

Back 122

enough, sufficiently

Front 123

avec

Back 123

with

Front 124

cédez

Back 124

yield, relax the speed

Front 125

dolce

Back 125

sweet

Front 126

en dehors

Back 126

prominent (a direction to make a melody stand out)

Front 127

et

Back 127

and

Front 128

légèrement

Back 128

light

Front 129

lent

Back 129

slow

Front 130

mais

Back 130

but

Front 131

moins

Back 131

less

Front 132

modéré

Back 132

at a moderate speed

Front 133

non

Back 133

not

Front 134

peu

Back 134

little

Front 135

plus

Back 135

more

Front 136

presser

Back 136

hurry (en pressant: hurrying on)

Front 137

ralentir

Back 137

slow down

Front 138

retenu

Back 138

held back (en retenant: holding back, slowing a little)

Front 139

sans

Back 139

without

Front 140

très

Back 140

very

Front 141

un, une

Back 141

one

Front 142

vif

Back 142

lively

Front 143

vite

Back 143

quick

Front 144

attaca

Back 144

go straight on to the next seccion of music

Front 145

dolente

Back 145

sad, mournful

Front 146

doppio movimento

Back 146

twice as fast

Front 147

estinto

Back 147

as soft as possible, lifeless

Front 148

dolore

Back 148

grief (doloroso: sorrowful)

Front 149

incalzando

Back 149

getting quicker

Front 150

lacrimoso

Back 150

sad

Front 151

loco

Back 151

at the normal pitch (used to cancel an 8va direction)

Front 152

lunga

Back 152

long (lunga pausa: long pause)

Front 153

lusingando

Back 153

coaxing, in a sweet and persuasive style

Front 154

misura

Back 154

measure (alla misura: in strict time; senza misura: in free time)

Front 155

ossia

Back 155

or, alternatively

Front 156

piacevole

Back 156

pleasant

Front 157

piangevole

Back 157

plaintive, in the style of a lament

Front 158

pochettino, poch.

Back 158

rather little

Front 159

rinforzando, rf, rfz

Back 159

reinforcing

Front 160

segue

Back 160

go straight on

Front 161

smorzando, smorz

Back 161

dying away in tone and speed

Front 162

teneramente, tenerezza

Back 162

tenderly, tenderness

Front 163

tosto

Back 163

swift, rapid (but often used in the same sense as troppo)

Front 164

volante

Back 164

flying, fast

Front 165

aber

Back 165

but

Front 166

Ausdruck

Back 166

expression

Front 167

bewegt

Back 167

with movement, agitated

Front 168

breit

Back 168

broad, expansive

Front 169

ein

Back 169

a, one

Front 170

einfach

Back 170

simple

Front 171

etwas

Back 171

somewhat, rather

Front 172

fröhlich

Back 172

cheerful, joyful

Front 173

immer

Back 173

always

Front 174

langsam

Back 174

slow

Front 175

lebhaft

Back 175

lively

Front 176

mässig

Back 176

at a moderate speed

Front 177

mit

Back 177

with

Front 178

nicht

Back 178

not

Front 179

ohne

Back 179

without

Front 180

ruhig

Back 180

peaceful

Front 181

schnell

Back 181

fast

Front 182

sehr

Back 182

very

Front 183

süss

Back 183

sweet

Front 184

traurig

Back 184

sad

Front 185

und

Back 185

and

Front 186

voll

Back 186

full

Front 187

wenig

Back 187

little

Front 188

wieder

Back 188

again

Front 189

zart

Back 189

tender, delicate

Front 190

zu

Back 190

to, too