Musical terms level 4
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Introduction
Here's a complete list of the terms, with definitions, that you should know at this level, in both Italian and French.
You will need to be familiar with all of these terms at this level. In an exam, you will need to give the exact definition or give the exact spelling, so take care to learn them accurately! Some useful learning tips are given in Learning musical terms.
Italian terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| affetuoso | affectionate, tender |
| affrettando | hurrying |
| amabile | "amiable", pleasant |
| appassionato | passionately |
| calando | getting softer, dying away (perhaps also slowing down) |
| cantando | singing (in a singing style) |
| come | as / similar to (come prima: as before / as at first; come sopra: as above) |
| facile | easy |
| fuoco | fire (con fuoco: fiery, wild and fast) |
| giusto | strict, proper, exact (tempo giusto: in strict time, the opposite of rubato) |
| l'istesso | the same (l'istesso tempo: at the same speed) |
| morendo | dying away |
| niente | nothing (diminuendo a niente: fade to nothing, to silence) |
| nobilmente | nobly |
| perdendosi | gradually dying away ("losing itself") |
| possibile | "... as possible" (lento possibile: as slow as possible, p possibile: as quiet as possible) |
| quasi | as if, resembling, like |
| sonoro | sonorous, resonant, with rich tone |
| sopra | above |
| sotto | below (sotto voce: in an undertone, whispered) |
| veloce | swift |
| voce | voice |
French terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| à | to, at (Italian: a) |
| animé | animated, lively (Italian: animato) |
| assez | enough, sufficiently, rather; assez vite: rather quick Do not confuse with Italian assai, which by contrast means "very". |
| avec | with (Italian: con) |
| cédez | yield, relax the speed |
| douce | sweet (Italian: dolce) |
| en dehors | outside, emphasised, prominent Often this is a direction to make a melody stand out from an accompaniment. |
| et | and (Italian: e / ed) |
| légèrement | light (Italian: leggiero) |
| lent | slow (Italian: lento) |
| mais | but (Italian: ma) |
| moins | less (Italian: meno) |
| modéré | at a moderate speed (Italian: moderato) |
| non | not |
| peu | little (Italian: poco) |
| plus | more (Italian: più) |
| presser pressez | hurry; en pressant: hurrying on (Italian: affretando) |
| ralentir | slow down (Italian: ralentando) |
| retenu | held back; en retenant: holding back (Italian: ritenuto) |
| sans | without (Italian: senza) |
| très | very (similar to Italian: assai) |
| un une | one |
| vif | lively (Italian: vivace, vivo) |
| vite | quick (Italian: allegro) |
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Revision
Are you sure you've understood everything in this study guide? Why not try the following practice questions, just to be sure!