Interlude: Musical Terms
The Slur
Notes of different pitches with the curvy line over or under them are
articulated as smoothly as possible. For wind players, this means no
tonguing; for piano players it means you hold the keys down for each
note down as long as possible; for guitar players it means hammer-ons
and pull-offs; for bowed instruments, the notes happen in the same
bow stroke. Whatever your instrument, the idea is to make a slur as
smooth as possible.Example 10.3 Some slurred notes.
General Musical Terms.
The terms you’ve been introduced to in the last few pages are often
paired with other Italian words, giving you more specific directions.
Below are the most common ones.For example, molto ritardando means slow down a lot; sempre staccatto
means notes are always short.
If you find a term you don’t know, you can look it up in the glossary of
terms at the back of this book. It’s a good idea to have a pocket dictionary
of terms in your instrument case. Hal Leonard Publishing makes a good
small one.TERM MEANING
al to the
con with
fine (pronounced FEE-nay) the end
molto very, much
poco little
sempre always