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All St.Terms & Symb
Memorize for All State Competition
meno mosso | “Less moved”; indicates a change to a slower tempo |
marcato | “Marked”, stressed; i.e. emphasizing each note; it often indicates a melody that should be given prominence |
subito | “Suddenly”, “immediately”; a word found in scores in such contexts as subito piano (suddenly quiet), etc. |
sFp | Abbreviation for sforzando followed immediately by piano, i.e. strongly accented note followed by a quiet note or passage |
rall. | Rallentando; slowing down, gradually |
rubato | “Robbed”; the practice in performance of disregarding strict time, ‘robbing’ some note-values for expressive effect and creating an atmosphere of spontaneity |
a tempo | Denotes reversion to speed at beginning of piece or movement after a deviation |
div. | Divisi (“divided”); an instruction for one section of the ensemble to divide itself into two or more, taking separate parts that are often notated on the same staff |
poco rit. | Poco ritardando; becoming a little slower |
maestoso | “Majestic”, “dignified”; a term used alone as an indication of mood or as a tempo designation; it also appears as a modification of some other tempo mark |
allargando | “Broadening”, i.e. becoming slower, often with an accompanying crescendo |
tutti | “All”; a word used in musical contexts primarly as a contrast to soli or solo |
legato | Bound”, i.e. played smoothly with no noticeable breaks between the notes |
con gusto | “With style”, “with zest”, i.e. with appropriate speed, phrasing, etc. |
PP | Pianissimo (very quiet) |
sim. | Simile (“the same”); composer’s direction in score to indicate that phrase, etc., is to be performed in the same manner as parallel preceding phrase, thus avoiding copying expression marks at each repetition |
5 8 | Time signature denoting quintuple time, where there are five beats in a measure; typically the eighth note beats are subdivided into either 2+3 or 3+2, placing the principle accents on 1st, and 3rd or 4th beats of the measure |