Music Terms, A-D

2. when a specific note or phrase is emphasized with an increase in intensity above other non-accented notes.
3. refers to the intensity and volume with which a note should be played. The most basic are piano (soft), forte (hard), and mezzo (medium).
6. means slowly in Italian. In music, it signifies that a piece should be played a slower tempo or speed.
7. stands for “Beats per Minute” and refers to the number of beats that will occur within sixty seconds.
8. means cheerful in Italian. In music, it means the music should be played at an upbeat and bright tempo.
9. a symbol used at the beginning of a piece of sheet music to denote the note values on the staff.
10. a moment in a musical piece where an instrumentalist or singer is given the opportunity to play a solo freely and with artistic license to go outside of a rigid tempo or rhythm.
12. a sequence of chords used to signify the end of a phrase.
13. opposite of a crescendo, aka "decrescendo."

1. refers to a note that is not within a specific key signature and therefore exists outside of the key.
4. a range of pitches normally assigned to a singer in a choir, between Soprano and Tenor ranges.
5. a subsection of time that’s defined by a time signature. A synonym for this word is "measure."
6. when a chord of notes is broken and played in sequence. For example, a C major sequence of this would be played C-E-G-C.
9. a symbol used in sheet music to denote where the final passage of a piece begins. A piece will include a “da coda” instruction to tell the orchestra when to proceed to the beginning of the final passage.
10. a gradual increase in dynamic volume during a section of music.
11. used to describe a moderately slow tempo. It’s Italian meaning “to-go about” suggests a walking pace to be used in a piece of music.