_Con amore_--with tenderness.
_Colla voce_--with the voice.
_Come_--as, like. _Come primo_--as at first.
_Contra_--against. In compound words means "an octave below."
_Da_--from. _Da Capo_--from the head.
_Di_--by, with, of, for. _Di bravura_--with daring.
_Di molto_--exceedingly--very much. _Allegro di molto_--exceedingly rapid.
_Doppio_--double. _Doppio movimento_--double movement.
_E, ed, et_--and. _Cresc. et accel._--louder and faster.
_Ensemble_--together, the opposite of solo.
_Il, La, l", le_--the. _Il ba.s.so_--the ba.s.s. _L"istesso tempo_--the same speed.
_Il piu_--the most. _Il piu forte possible_--as loudly as possible.
_Issimo_--Italian superlative ending. _Forte_--_fortissimo_.
_Ino, etto_--Italian diminutive endings. _Andante_--_andantino_.
_Poco_--_pochetto_.
_Meno_--less. _Meno forte_--less loud.
_Mente_--the ending which changes a noun or adjective to an adverb.
_Largo largamente_.
_Mezzo_ or _mezza_--half, or medium. _Mezzo forte_--medium loud.
_Molto_--much, or very much. _Molto cresc._--very much louder.
_Nel, nella, etc._--in the, or at the. _Nel battere_--at the down beat.
_Non_--not. _Non tanto_--not too much.
_Ossia_--or else. _Ossia piu facile_--or else more easily.
_Per_--for. _Per il violino_--for the violin.
_Peu_--little. _Un peu cresc._--a little increase in tone.
_Piu_--more. _Piu forte_--more loudly.
_Poco_--little. _Poco a poco_--little by little.
_Poi_--then. _E poi la coda_--and then the coda.
_Possibile_--possible. _Forte possibile_--as loudly as possible.
[Transcriber"s Note: Corrected error "possible" for Italian "possibile".]
_Quasi_--in the manner of. _Allegro quasi andante_--a fairly rapid movement, yet in the style of an andante; almost as slow as an andante.
_Sans_--without. _Sans pedales_--without pedals.
_Sempre_--always, or continually. _Sempre forte_--a long pa.s.sage to be played forte throughout its entirety.
_Senza_--without. _Senza accompagnamento_--without accompaniment.
_Sino, sin_--as far as. See p. 14, note.
_Solo_--alone. Opposite of ensemble.
_Sub_--under or lower. _Sub-dominant_--the under dominant.
_Tanto_--same as _troppo_, q.v.
_Tre_--three. _Tre corde_--three strings.
_Tres_--very. _Tres vivement_--very lively.
_Troppo_--too much. _Non tanto allegro_, or _non troppo allegro_--not too fast.
_Una, un, uno_--one, or a. _Una corda_--one string. _Un peu_--a little.
A working knowledge of these auxiliary terms will aid the student greatly in arriving at the meaning of hundreds of terms without stopping to look up each individual one.
CHAPTER X
MEASURE
97. From the standpoint of the eye, a _measure_ is that portion of the staff found between two bars, (in certain cases this s.p.a.ce may be less than a measure, as _e.g._, at the beginning and end of a movement); but from the standpoint of the ear a single, isolated measure is not possible, and the term must therefore be defined in the plural form.
_Measures_ are similarly accented groups of evenly-s.p.a.ced beats, each group having at least one accented and one non-accented beat. The strongest accent falls normally on the first beat in the measure.
Two essential characteristics are involved in the ordinary musical measure:
(1) A group of even beats (or pulses), always felt, though not always actually sounded, one or more of these beats being stronger than the rest;
(2) Certain rhythmic figures ([Ill.u.s.tration], etc.) which form the actual musical content of these groups.