| Term | Description |
|---|
| a, à (Fr) | at, to, by, for, in, in the style of |
| a 2 | see a due in this list |
| aber (Ger) | but |
| a bene placido | up to the performer |
| a cappella | in the manner of singing in a chapel; i.e., without instrumental accompaniment |
| A capriccio | A capriccio (Italian: "following one's fancy") is a tempo marking indicating a free and capricious approach to the tempo (and possibly the style) of the piece. |
| accelerando | accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo |
| accentato | accented; with emphasis |
| acciaccatura | crushing; i.e., a very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure |
| accidental | An accidental is a musical notation symbol used to raise or lower the pitch of a note from that indicated by the key signature. Accidental is also used to refer to the black keys on the musical keyboard. |
| accompagnato | accompanied; i.e., with the accompaniment following the soloist, who may speed up or slow down at will |
| adagietto | rather slow |
| adagio | at ease; i.e., slow |
| adagissimo | very slow |
| ad libitum | at liberty; i.e., the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer |
| a due | Intended as a duet; for two voices or instruments; together; two instruments are to play in unison, after divisi or a solo passage for one of the instruments |
| affectueusement (Fr) | with affect (that is, with emotion); see also con affetto |
| affrettando | hurrying, pressing onwards |
| agile | swiftly |
| agitato | agitated |
| al, alla | to the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine) |
| alla breve | two minim (half-note) beats to a bar, rather than four crotchet (quarter-note) beats |
| alla marcia | in the style of a march |
| allargando | broadening, becoming a little slower |
| allegretto | a little lively, moderately fast |
| allegro | cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as lively, fast |
| als (Ger) | than |
| altissimo | very high |
| alto | high; often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano |
| am Steg (Ger) | at the bridge; i.e., playing a bowed string instrument near its bridge (see sul ponticello in this list) |
| amabile | amiable, pleasant |
| amoroso | loving |
| andante | at a walking pace; i.e., at a moderate tempo |
| andantino | slightly faster than andante (but earlier it sometimes used to mean slightly slower than andante) |
| a niente | to nothing |
| animato | animated, lively |
| antiphon | a liturgical or other composition consisting of choral responses, sometimes between two choirs; a passage of this nature forming part of another composition |
| apaisé (Fr) | calmed |
| a piacere | at pleasure; i.e., the performer need not follow the rhythm strictly |
| appassionato | passionately |
| appoggiatura | a grace note that "leans" on the following note, taking up some of its value in the measure |
| a prima vista | at first sight; i.e., playing or singing something at first sight of the music sheet |
| arco | the bow used for playing some string instrument; i.e., played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato (plucked), in music for bowed instruments; normally used to cancel a pizzicato direction |
| arietta | a short aria |
| arioso | airy, or like an air (a melody); i.e., in the manner of an aria; melodious |
| arpeggio | like a harp; i.e., the notes of the chords are to be played quickly one after another (usually ascending) instead of simultaneously. In music for piano, this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise. Music generated by the limited hardware of video game computers uses a similar technique to create a chord from one tone generator. Arpeggios (or arpeggi) are also accompaniment patterns. See also broken chord in this list. |
| assai | very |
| assez (Fr) | enough, sufficiently; sometimes used in the same sense as assai |
| a tempo | in time; i.e., the performer should return to the main tempo of the piece (after an accelerando or ritardando, etc.); also may be found in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet) |
| attacca | attack, or go on; i.e., at the end of a movement, a direction to begin (attack) the next movement immediately, without a gap or pause |
| Ausdruck (Ger) | expression |
| ausdrucksvoll (Ger) | expressively |
| avec (Fr) | with or with another |
