Italian Terms
In Grade One Music Theory (Trinity and ABRSM), you need to know what a handful of Italian terms mean in music.
People often wonder why most musical terms are in Italian and not another language, but actually lots of other languages have been used by composers, in particular German and French. Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance Era (from about 1350 onwards), and was the place where classical music really took off a few centuries later. Composers from many countries used Italian terms because they were associated with musical excellence, and were understood around the world. Today people think of Italian terms as the normal language in music.
From the Grade 4 music theory exam onwards (ABRSM) you’ll need to know foreign terms not only in Italian, but also in French and German!
List of Terms
Here is a complete list of all the Italian terms for ABRSM Grade One Music Theory.
Terms required by Trinity are marked with a star *.
It’s easier to learn foreign terms if you learn them in groups, and only try to learn a few each day.
The strongest syllable is in italics.
Grade 1 Musical Terms Exercises
What do these Italian music theory terms mean in English?
Point your mouse over the blanks in the table (tap on mobile devices) to reveal the English.
Italian | English | Italian | English |
---|---|---|---|
A tempo | At the original speed | Cantabile | In a singing style |
Lento | Slowly | Dal segno | From the sign |
Allegro Moderato | Moderately quick | Mezzo forte | Moderately loud |
Poco | Little | Rallentando | Gradually slowing down |
Forte | Loudly | Staccato | Short and detached |
Allegretto | Fairly quick | Decrescendo | Gradually getting softer/quieter |
Diminuendo | Gradually getting softer/quieter | Andante | At a walking pace |
Fortissimo | Very loudly | Ritenuto | Held back |
Mezzo piano | Moderately quiet | Piano | Softly/quietly |
Fine | End | Legato | Smoothly |
Ritardando | Gradually getting slower | Da capo | From the beginning |
Accelerando | Gradually getting faster | Crescendo | Gradually getting louder |
Mezzo | Half (or moderately) | Moderato | Moderately |
Adagio | Slowly | Pianissimo | Very softly/quietly |