Musical terminology

Question	Answer
a capella	singing without musical accompaniment
accelerando	accelerating - gradually increasing the tempo
accent	a sign > used to indicate a dominant beat
accidental	a sign used to show a temporary change in the pitch of a note. This can be a sharp #, flat ♭, double sharp x, double flat ♭♭, or naturalNatural Sign - Please note that the sharps or flats in a key signature are not regarded as accidentals
adagio	at ease - play slowly
additional notes	a note not belonging to a given scale, but can be used for improvising against most chords in a progression without sounding out of key
ad lib (ad libitum)	at liberty - the speed and style of play is left up to the discetion of the performer
a due	intended to be played as a duet for 2 voices or 2 instruments
affettuoso	with effect or with emotion
agitato	agitated
alla breve	cut time - 2 beats per measure, i.e., 2/2 time which means 2 minim beats in each bar
allegro	cheerful or brisk, but commonly interpreted as lively, fast
alto	high - often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano
anacrusis	a note or series of notes that precedes the first full bar in a piece of music (pickup/pick-up note)

Resource summary

	Created by Leyla Ramazan about 8 years ago