Some Common Italian Terms

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The majority of musical terms are in Italian. The reason for this is many early composers were Italian. They indicate to the performer how the piece should be played. Below are some of the most commonly used ones:

adagio                slow

allegretto            quite fast

allegro                fast

andante               at a walking pace

a tempo               back to the original tempo

dolce                   sweetly

largo                    broadly, quite slow

lento                    slow

moderato             moderate tempo

meno                   less

poco a poco         little by little

presto                  very fast

vivace                  lively

giocoso                playful, humerous

Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 174 to 180.