Expression Marks

Tempo, Dynamics, Articulation and Clarity Terms

Tempo

Dynamics

Pianissimo	Very soft
Piano	Soft
Mezzo piano	Moderately soft
Mezzo forte	Moderately loud
Forte	Loud
Fortissimo	Very loud

Crescendo	Increasing in loudness
Decrescendo	decreasing in loudness
Diminuendo	diminishing in loudness
Rinforzando	sudden increase in loudness
Sforzando	play the note with sudden emphasis

Style

Amoroso	tender and affectionate
Animato	animated; lively
Calando	gradually softer and slower
Cantabile	in a singing style
Con Anima	with life and animation
Con Brio	with vigor and spirit
Con Fuoco	with energy or passion
Deciso	decisively
Detache	detached
Dolce	sweetly
Doloroso	sorrowfully
Espressivo	expressively
Furioso	furious
Giocoso	humorous
Grandioso	with grandeur
Grazioso	gracefully
Legato	smooth and connected
Leggiero	lightly
Maestoso	majestically
Marcato	marked and stressed
Marzial	in the style of a march
Morendo	dying away
Perdendosi	dying away
Pesante	heavy
Religioso	religious, solemn
Rubato	taken out of tempo
Semplice	simple
Sempre	always, continuously
Sostenuto	sustained
Soto voce	in an undertone
Staccato	short and detached
Tenuto	sustained, held for full value
Tranquillo	tranquill

Articulation

Staccato	a dot placed above or below a note means to play it short
Slur	a curved line either above or below notes that connects two different pitches that are to be played smoothly
Tie	a curved line either above or below two of the same notes indicating not to attack the second note
Tenuto	a line above or below the note means to play the full value of the note
Accent	an accent placed above or below the note means to emphasise the not
Breath Mark	an apostrophe placed above the staff means to take a breath

Clarity Terms