Common Musical Words and Symbols
If you want to learn how to read music the right way, you’ll need to know some musical terms – basically the music words and symbols to get you started in the musical realm. I hope these will help you get a better grasp when you pick up sheet music, even if you don’t read.
Tempo and volume also play an important part in music.
A song’s tempo (how fast or slow it should be played) is many times written at the beginning in English or Italian. Below are the common terms in both languages:
Common symbols which are used to show volume (how loud or soft a song should be played) are as follows in Italian and English:
Lento; Largo – Very slow
Adagio – Slow
Andante – Walking Pace
Moderato – Medium
Allegro – Fast
Vivace – Lively
Presto Molto Allegro – Very Fast
Common symbols which are used to show volume (how loud or soft a song should be played) are as follows:
ppp – Pianississimo – As soft as possible
pp – Pianissimo – Very soft
p – Piano – Soft
mp – Mezzo-piano – Moderately soft
m – Mezzo – Medium
mf – Mezzo-forte – Moderately loud
f – Forte – Loud
ff – Fortissimo – Very loud
fff – Fortississimo – As loud as possible
pf – Piu forte – Louder
fp – Fortepiano – Quickly move from loud to soft
Crescendo – Gradually louder (this symbol will appear over several notes at once)
Diminuendo – Gradually softer (this symbol will appear over several notes at once)
These music words and symbols will give you a good start in understanding more about reading. If you really want to learn how to sing, bookmark Vocal Training Online.