Vibrato, vivace, pizzicato... If you love classical music, you must know the most important Italian music terms and their meaning. But you need to learn the correct pronunciation as well: click and listen!
| A cappella - sung without instrumental accompaniment | Adagio - slowly |
| Agitato - agitated, restless | Allegro - fast, at a brisk speed |
| Amabile - amiable, pleasant | Andante - moderately slow |
| Andantino - lighter than Andante, and usually quicker | Arco - played on a stringed instrument |
| Arioso - like an aria but less formal | Bis - twice |
| Brio - vigour, vivaciousness (eg: con brio = with vigour) | Calando - gradually decreasing in speed and volume |
| Cantabile - in a smooth singing style | Capriccioso - in a free and impulsive style |
| Crescendo - gradually increasing in loudness | Decrescendo - gradually decreasing in loudness |
| Diminuendo - same meaning of Decrescendo | Dolce - sweetly and softly |
| Energico - played with energy | Forte - loud, strong |
| Fortissimo - very loud | Giocoso - playful, humerous |
| Gioioso - joyful, merry | Grave - very slow, solemn |
| Impetuoso - impetuous, forcefully | Incalzando - getting quicker |
| Inquieto - restless | Legato - without breaks between notes |
| Leggero - lightly, delicately, gently | Lento slow |
| Maestoso - to be performed in a majestic manner | Marcato - played with emphasis |
| Mezzoforte - moderately loud | Mezzopiano - moderately soft |
| Moderato - played at a moderate pace | Mosso - fast and with animation |
| Pausa - pause | Pianissimo - very soft |
| Piano - soft | Pizzicato - plucking the strings of a stringed instrument |
Placido - calm, peaceful | Soave - gentle, smooth |
| Sonoro, resonant, loud | Sostenuto - played in a sustained or prolonged manner |
| Staccato - each note sharply detached from the others | Stretto - performed in quicker time |
| Tempo - speed, pace | Tenuto - a note held for its full time value |
| Tranquillo - calm, quiet manner | Trionfale - triumphant |
| Veloce - played at a fast tempo | Vibrato - rapid, slight variation in pitch in playing |
| Vigoroso - vigorous, strong | Vivace - lively |
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