musical terms for choir make sure you know how these are used!!!

Musical Terms for Choir

Make sure you know how these are used!!!

all terms for this project!• fp• Staccato• legato• tenuto• tie• Natural• Flat• Sharp• Half-Step• Allegro• Moderato• Andante• Dolce• Maestoso• divisi• Accelerando• Ritardando• Fermata• D.C. al Fine• D.S. al Fine

• “forte-piano” = loud/soft– an indication to attack a note and suddenly back

off of the volume for a strong accented note

Find an example of the symbol in the repertoire –

piece & measure number

staccato

• Staccato = separated– not to be confused with short! Used to create sound with space in

between the notes around it.

legato

• legato = smoothly– a term to play a section as connected as possible

Find an example in the literature we are presently working upon

tenuto

• tenuto = “to pull” – holding notes for their full value to stretch or pull

one note to the next

tie• a line connecting two noteheads of the SAME

pitch = this holds the first note for the value of that and the note to which it is tied.

DO NOT CONFUSE IT WITH A SLUR!!Smoothly connects two DIFFERENT notes!!!!

natural/sharp/flat

• a natural negates a sharp or flat• a sharp raises a note by a half step• a flat lowers a note by a half step

half-step

• the smallest interval in Western music – the distance between a note and its immediate neighboring tone– ex. C to C# or D to Eb or E to F (natural ½ step)

allegro

• a term for “fast”

moderato

• a term for “moderate” referring to speed

andante

• literally “walking speed”, a moderate tempo

note with =80 gives you the metronome marking of quarter note equals 80 beats per minute

dolce

• The Italian musical term dolce (“sweet; sweetly”) is an indication to play in a tender, adoring manner; to play sweetly with a light touch.

maestoso

• Definition: The Italian musical term maestoso is an indication to play “majestically”; to perform with grand, dignified expression.

divisi

• divided – “div” – indicates that more than one voice is singing the

next section

find an example in the literature we are performing now

accelerando

• Accelerate = gradually speed up!

ritardando

• to gradually slow down – usually used at the end of a section, phrase or piece.

fermata

• symbol to indicate that a note should be held longer than its value at the discretion of the conductor!

• There are more than one type!!!

d.c. al fine

• Da Capo al Fine = to the beginning and then to the final part – a symbol to repeat a section of music

d.s. al fine

• Dal Segno al Fine = to the sign and then to the final part– a symbol to go to a specific section as a repeat and

then to the end where indicated by the end symbol