Daily Vocabulary Word
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 05 August 2010 10:21
Here you will find all of our daily vocabulary words. On our Friday quizzes, you will be expected to give the precise definition given here.
Quiz Procedures
Every Friday, four random students will be asked to define the words from Monday through Thursday of that week. Each word will be worth 25 points. If the student gets the term correct, the entire class gets credit. If the student gets the term incorrect, no one gets credit for that word. The total points for the given words will be the score for the class. If a student believes that he or she can do better than the class grade, he or she may opt to take a written quiz and write down the definitions for all four words. The student will then receive the grade for the written quiz, whether it is higher, lower, or the same as the class score. At the end of the quarter, all students will take a written quiz to define each term.
Temporal Terms
accelerando (accel.) – accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo
adagio – at ease, a slow tempo
alla breve – in cut time
allargando – broadening, becoming a little slower each time
allegretto – a little lively, moderately fast
allegro – lively, fast
andante – at a walking pace
animato – animated, lively
a tempo – in time; return to the original tempo
common time – 4/4 time
cut time – 2/2 time
grave – slowly and seriously
larghetto: somewhat slowly
largo: broadly, slowly
lento: slowly
maestoso: majestically, in a stately fashion
moderato – moderate
prestissimo – extremely quickly; as fast as possible
presto – very quickly
rallantando – broadening of the tempo
ritardando (rit.) – slowing down
rubato – flexible in tempo
scherzando – playfully
vivace – very lively
Stylistic Terms accent – attack hard Rhythmic Terms arpeggio – each note a chord is played one at a time instead of together Form Terms al fine – to the end homophony – one voice/melody, perhaps accompanied by chords medley – multiple pieces put together into one work modulation – the process of changing from one key to another nocturne – a piece written for the night prelude – a musical introduction to subsequent movements rondo – a form where the first section returns repeatedly: ABACA; ABACABA scherzo – a playful, joking form, usually in a fast 3 ternary – a musical form in three sections: ABA Dynamic Terms (15)
agitato – agitated
alla marcia – in the manner of a march
brillante – brilliantly, with sparkle
calore – warmth
cantabile – in a singing style
con brio – with spirit
con moto – with motion
deciso – decisively
delicato – delicately
detaché – act of playing notes separately
dolce – sweetly
energico – energetic, strong
espressivo (espr.) – expressively
facile – easily; without fuss
flebile – mournfully
furioso – furiously
gentile – gently
grandioso – grandly
grazioso – gracefully
lacrimoso – tearfully, sadly
legato – joined, smoothly, in a connected manner
leggiero – lightly, delicately
lunga – long
marcato – marked, with accentuation
misterioso – mysteriously
moto – motion
obbligato – required, indispensable
passionate – passionately
pastorale – in a pastoral style, peaceful and simple
pesante – heavy, ponderous
simile (sim.) – similarly
sostenuto – sustained, lengthened
staccato – short and separated
stringendo – tightening, narrowing
breve – a double whole note
caesura – a complete break in sound
coda – a closing section appended to a musical work
fermata – a rest or note is to be held for a duration at the discretion of the performer/conductor
glissando – a continuous sliding from one pitch to another
hemiola – imposing a rhythm from one time signature into another to give the feel of a different time signature
ostinato – a short musical pattern repeated throughout
syncopation – an emphasis on the weak part of a beat (the upbeat)
tenuto - hold a note for its full value
tremolo – a rapid repetition of one or two notes
binary – a musical form in two sections: AB
bridge – transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition
cadenza – a solo section out of time
canon – a theme that is repeated & imitated & built upon
da capo (DC) – from the beginning
del segno (DS) – from the sign
divisi (div.) – divided part; two or more notes played in the same instrument simultaneously
fugue – a composition built on a subject introduced in the beginning that imitated and repeated frequently throughout
crescendo – growing progressively louder
decrescendo – growing progressively softer
diminuendo – growing progressively softer
forte (f) – loud
fortepiano (fp) – loud then immediately soft
fortissimo (ff) – very loud
fortississimo (fff) – as loud as possible
mezzo (m) – half volume
mezzo forte (mf) – moderately loudly
mezzo piano (mp) – moderately softly
niente – nothing
pianissimo (pp) – very soft
pianississimo (ppp) – as soft as possible
piano – soft
sforzando (sfz, fz) – a sudden strong accent
Other Terms
attacca – attach – going from one movement to another without stopping
con – with
flat – lowering a pitch by a half-step
l’istesso – the same
meno – less
molto – very
natural – a symbol that cancels the effect of a sharp or flat
octave – the interval between one pitch and another with half or double its frequency
ossia – instead
poco – a little
primo – first
segno – sign
sempre – always
senza – without
sharp – raising a pitch by a half-step
sordina – mute
subito – suddenly
tacet – without
troppo – too much
tutti – together
voce - voice
