Musical terms for piano
Here you find information that helps you understand musical terms.
Subjects covered: Dynamics | Tempi | Moods | Scales | Intervals
Dynamics in music
On piano sheets you will often find abbreviations like “pp”, “mf” and so on. These abbreviations stand for Italian terms which are directions for the dynamics, which tell how soft or loud you should play.
The abbreviations for dynamics and their meanings are:
p (piano) – soft
pp (pianissimo) – very soft
mp (mezzo piano) – moderately soft
mf (mezzo forte) – moderately loud
f (forte) – loud
ff (fortissimo) – very loud
Tempo in music
It is also a common use to indicate the tempo with Italian terms. As well as many of the other terms in this overview, these are often written out on the piano sheet and some of the most common are listed below:
Largo – very slow
Larghetto – a little faster than Largo
Lento – slow
Adagio – slow (but faster than Lento)
Andante – walking pace
Andantino – a little slower than Andande
Moderato – at a moderate pace
Allegretto – fairly fast
Allegro – fast
Vivace – very fast
For your reference, a moderate tempo is around 100 beats per minute.
In addition, there are directions for gradual changes:
Crescendo (cresc.) – gradually louder
Decrescendo (decresc.) – gradually softer
Accelerando (accel.) – gradually increase the tempo
Ritardando (rit.) – gradually decrease the tempo
Some other markings are:
A tempo – return to the original speed.
Sforzando (s fz) – forcing the tone suddenly loud.
Da Capo (D.C.) – return to the beginning.
Dal Segno (D.S.) – return to the Segno-sign.
Moods in music
Another thing that can turn up on piano sheets are indications of moods. These are instructions that lead you to the right expression when you play. There is of course room for a personal approach in the manner of expressions, and these mood indications can be seen as guidelines.
Animato – lively
Cantabile – in a singing style
Con amore – with love
Con brio – with spirit
Dolce – sweetly
Furioso – with passion
Maestoso – majestetic
Scherzando – playfully
Terms connected with scales
Even scales have its own terminology, mostly used to tell how many notes that are included per octave in a scale or the interval structure.
Tetratonic scale – a scale with four notes, which are unusual and no examples can be found on this site.
Pentatonic scale – a scale with five notes, for example the Pentatonic Scale.
Hexatonic scale – a scale with six notes, for example the Whole Tone Scale.
Hemitonic scale – a scale with one or more semi-note steps, in contrast to an anhemitonic scale.
Heptatonic scale – a scale with seven notes, for example the Major Scale.
Octatonic scale – a scale with eight notes, for example the Diminished Scale.
Diatonic scale – see an article about this term.
Symmetrical scale – a scale with the same interval throughout the scale.
Terms connected with intervals
Intervals are often referred to in music and the most common ones are explained here.
Prime – this is really not an interval in the true sense being the same as the reference note. A prime interval can for example be C-C.
Second – indicate the interval of one step, for example C-D.
Third – indicate the interval of two steps, for example C-E. A third is also the interval from the first to the second tone in a major chord.
Minor third – indicate the interval of three half steps, for example C-Eb. A third is also the interval from the first to the second tone in a minor chord.
Perfect fourth – indicate the interval of five half steps, for example C-F.
Perfect fifth – indicate the interval of seven half steps, for example C-G. A fifth is also the interval from the first to the third tone in a major or a minor chord.
Sixth – indicate the interval of nine half steps, for example C-A.
Minor seventh – indicate the interval of ten half steps, for example C-Bb. A minor seventh is also the interval from the first to the fourth tone in a minor or dominant seventh chord.
Major seventh – indicate the interval of eleventh half steps, for example C-B. A major seventh is also the interval from the first to the fourth tone in a major seventh chord.
Octave – indicate the interval from one tone to the same, but with the double frequency (if going up), for example C(1)-C(2).
There are even more intervals, such as ninth, eleventh and thirteenth, which are following the same rules as implied above.