In music, there are many ways to indicate dynamics and articulation. Over time, however, some terms have become established and are used over and over again. Discover here 39 different dynamic and articulation terms in the four musical languages: Italian, English, German and French.
| Italiano | English | Deutsch | Français |
|---|---|---|---|
| accentuato | accentuated | betont | accentué/ponctué |
| appoggiando | leaning | stützend/betonend | en appuyant |
| appoggiato/poggiato | leaned | gestützt | appuyé |
| articolando | articulating | artikulierend | en articulant |
| articolato | articulated | artikuliert | articulé |
| ben ritmato | well rhythmed | sehr rhythmisch | bien rythmé |
| con tutta la forza | with full force | mit voller Kraft/mit größter Kraft | de toutes ses forces |
| estinto/spento | extinguished | erlöscht/ausgelöscht | éteint |
| forte | strong/loud | kräftig/stark/laut | fort |
| fortissimo | very loud | sehr laut | très fort |
| forzando | forcing | forcierend/stark betonend | en contraignant |
| forzato | forced | forciert/stark betont | contraint |
| glissando | sliding | gleitend | en glissant/glisser |
| legato/ligado | bound/tied | gebunden | lié |
| lontano | far away | fern/weit/entfernt | lointain |
| marcando | marking | markierend | en marquant |
| marcato | marked | markiert | marqué |
| martellando | hammering | hämmernd | en martelant |
| mezzoforte | half loud | halblaut/mittelstark | mi-fort |
| mezzopiano | half soft | halbleise/mittelleise | mi-doux |
| molto accentuato | very accentuated | sehr betont | très accentué |
| percosso | struck | geschlagen | percuté |
| pianissimo | extremely soft | sehr leise | très doucement |
| piano | soft/low | leise | doucement |
| più forte possibile | as loud as possible | so laut wie möglich | le plus fort possible |
| più piano possibile | as soft as possible | so leise wie möglich | le plus doucement possible |
| portando | carrying over | tragend | en portant |
| portato | carried over | getragen | porté |
| quasi niente | almost nothing | fast nichts | presque rien |
| risaltato | emphasized | hervorgehoben | mis en relief |
| ritmico/ritmato | rhythmical/rhythmic | rhythmisch | rythmique/rythmé |
| sferzando | whipping | peitschend | en cinglant |
| sforzato/sforzando | forced/forcing | stark hervorgehoben | forcé/en forçant |
| slegato/non legato | not slurred | ungebunden | non lié |
| smorzato | subdued | gedämpft | amorti |
| sottovoce | "under the voice"/in an undertone | "unter der Stimme"/mit leiser Stimme | à voix basse |
| staccato | detached | abgestoßen | détaché/piqué |
| tremolando | trembling/tremolo | tremolierend/bebend | trembloté/trémolo |
| vibrato | vibrato/"vibrated" | vibriert/Bebung | vibré |
Jonathan Stark – Conductor
Hello! I'm Jonathan Stark. As a conductor, it is important to me that visits to concerts and operas leave a lasting impression on the audience. Background knowledge helps to achieve this. That's why I blog here about key works of classical music, about composers, about opera and much more that happens in the exciting world of music.
