◄Previous: 8 Scores: performance directions

# 8.1 A selected list of performance directions

## Dynamics

Direction | Interpretation
--- | ---
fff | louder than ff
ff (fortissimo) | very loud
f (forte) | loud
mf (mezzo forte) | (literally) half loud
mp (mezzo piano) | (literally) half soft
p (piano) | soft
pp (pianissimo) | very soft
ppp | softer than pp
crescendo (cresc.) | gradually becoming louder
decrescendo (decresc.) | gradually becoming softer
diminuendo (dim.) | gradually becoming softer
sf/sfz (sforzando) | (literally) forced: sudden loudness accentuating a note

## Tempo

Direction | Translation | Interpretation
--- | --- | ---
largo | large, broad | very slowly
larghetto | diminutive of largo | slow, but not as slow as largo
grave | heavy, serious | very slow, solemn
adagio | at ease, leisurely | slowly, or very slowly
lento | slow | slowly
andante | at a walking pace | at a medium walking pace
andantino | diminutive of andante | slightly faster than andante, although sometimes slightly slower
moderato | moderate, restrained | moderately
allegretto | diminutive of allegro | fairly quick, but not as quick as allegro
vivace | flourishing, full of life | lively
allegro | merry, cheerful | fast
presto | ready, prompt | very fast (although originally only fast)

##

Direction | Interpretation
--- | ---
accelerando (accel.) | gradually becoming quicker
a tempo | in time
ma non troppo | but not too much
rallentando (rall.) | gradually becoming slower
ritardando (rit. or ritard.) | gradually becoming slower
ritenuto (rit. or riten.) | (literally) held back: a more localised slowing down

## Articulation

Direction | Interpretation
--- | ---
legato | smoothly
semi-staccato | a little detached, less so than staccato
staccato (stacc.) | detached
tenuto | held

## Expression

Direction | Interpretation
--- | ---
agitato | agitated
cantabile | in a singing style
dolce | sweet
espressivo (espress. or espr.) | expressive
grazioso | graceful
leggiero | light
molto | very, much
poco | a little
semplice | simple
senza | without
sostenuto | sustained
subito | sudden

## Special signs

◄Contents►Next: 8.2 Following piano scores

OpenLearn - An introduction to music theory
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.