Auxiliary Words And Endings
96. Being a list of articles, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and
endings, often utilized in compounding terms relating to musical
effects.
A--preposition--variously translated to, at, for, by, in, with, towards.
A cappella--in church style.
A capriccio--at the fancy of the performer.
A deux mains--for two hands.
A mezza voce--with half voice.
A la, or
march.
Assai--very, or very much. Allegro assai--very fast.
Ben--well. Ben marcato--well marked.
Coi, con, col, colla, colle, collo--with, or with the.
Con amore--with tenderness.
Colla voce--with the voice.
Come--as, like. Come primo--as at first.
Contra--against. In compound words means an octave below.
Da--from. Da Capo--from the head.
Di--by, with, of, for. Di bravura--with daring.
Di molto--exceedingly--very much. Allegro di molto--exceedingly
rapid.
Doppio--double. Doppio movimento--double movement.
E, ed, et--and. Cresc. et accel.--louder and faster.
Ensemble--together, the opposite of solo.
Il, La, l', le--the. Il basso--the bass. L'istesso tempo--the same
speed.
Il piu--the most. Il piu forte possible--as loudly as possible.
Issimo--Italian superlative ending. Forte--fortissimo.
Ino, etto--Italian diminutive endings. Andante--andantino.
Poco--pochetto.
Meno--less. Meno forte--less loud.
Mente--the ending which changes a noun or adjective to an adverb.
Largo largamente.
Mezzo or mezza--half, or medium. Mezzo forte--medium loud.
Molto--much, or very much. Molto cresc.--very much louder.
Nel, nella, etc.--in the, or at the. Nel battere--at the down beat.
Non--not. Non tanto--not too much.
Ossia--or else. Ossia piu facile--or else more easily.
Per--for. Per il violino--for the violin.
Peu--little. Un peu cresc.--a little increase in tone.
Piu--more. Piu forte--more loudly.
Poco--little. Poco a poco--little by little.
Poi--then. E poi la coda--and then the coda.
Possibile--possible. Forte possibile--as loudly as possible.
[Transcriber's Note: Corrected error possible for Italian
possibile.]
Quasi--in the manner of. Allegro quasi andante--a fairly rapid
movement, yet in the style of an andante; almost as slow as an andante.
Sans--without. Sans pedales--without pedals.
Sempre--always, or continually. Sempre forte--a long passage to be
played forte throughout its entirety.
Senza--without. Senza accompagnamento--without accompaniment.
Sino, sin--as far as. See p. 14, note.
Solo--alone. Opposite of ensemble.
Sub--under or lower. Sub-dominant--the under dominant.
Tanto--same as troppo, q.v.
Tre--three. Tre corde--three strings.
Tres--very. Tres vivement--very lively.
Troppo--too much. Non tanto allegro, or non troppo allegro--not
too fast.
Una, un, uno--one, or a. Una corda--one string. Un peu--a little.
A working knowledge of these auxiliary terms will aid the student
greatly in arriving at the meaning of hundreds of terms without stopping
to look up each individual one.
More
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Terminology Adoptions 1907-1910
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