ITALIAN THEORY TERMS
ad libitum, ad lib at choice, ie a passage may be played freely
adagietto rather slow, but faster than Adagio
agitato agitated
alla breve with a minim beat - equivalent to 2/2. Implies faster tempo than note values might otherwise suggest
amore love
amoroso loving
anima soul, spirit (con anima - can mean “with feeling” or “spirited”)
animando becoming more lively
animato animated, lively
ben well
brio vigour (con brio - with vigour, lively)
comodo convenient (tempo comodo - at a comfortable speed)
deciso with determiniation
delicato delicate
energico energetic
forza force
largamente broadly
leggiero light, nimble
marcato, marc emphatic, accented
marziale in a military style
mesto sad
pesante heavy
prima, primo first
risoluto bold, strong
ritmico rhythmically
rubato, tempo rubato with some freedom of time
scherzando, scherzoso playful, joking
seconda, secondo second
semplice simple, plain
sempre always
stringendo gradually getting faster
subito suddenly
tanto so much
tranquillo calm
triste, tristamente sad, sorrowful
volta time (prima volta - first time; seconda volta - second time)
... for anyone taking Grade 3 as the first exam - note that in the exam, you may be questioned on theory terms from previous grades, not just those listed for the grade you are entering, so do make sure that you learn the theory terms from the previous grades as well! Here are the links to the other grades:
Grade 1 theory terms
Grade 2 theory terms
Grade 4 theory terms
Grade 5 theory terms
For the pronunciation of terms , have a look at the following sites:
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/
http://dictionary.reference.com
For further explanations, have a look at the Dolmetsch site, which contains a music dictionary and masses more information on music theory:
http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheorydefs.htm
Good luck to everyone doing the Grade 3 exam!
