Music Symbols and Musical Terms: Dynamics, Tempo Markings and Italian Terms

Music symbols and terms tell a player how to play the notes. Dynamics show volume, from pp (pianissimo, very quiet) to ff (fortissimo, very loud). Tempo markings set the speed: Largo is slow (about 40–60 beats a minute), Andante is a walking pace and Allegro is fast (about 120–156). Articulation marks such as staccato dots, accents and slurs shape each note. Most musical terms are Italian.

Updated 1 November 2026 · By the Classfern Music Department

UKUSWorks in the UK and the US. This version uses UK words and school years (bar, stave, crotchet, KS2, Year 4); the US version uses measure, staff, quarter note and grades. · US version of this page

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Key facts

• Dynamics run from ppp (as quiet as possible) to fff (as loud as possible); the six everyday ones are pp, p, mp, mf, f and ff.
• Tempo markings are mostly Italian words: Largo (about 40–60 beats a minute), Andante (76–108), Moderato (108–120), Allegro (120–156) and Presto (168–200).
• Articulation marks shape single notes: staccato (short), accent (stressed), tenuto (held) and the pause or fermata (held longer).
• cresc. or an opening hairpin means get louder; dim., decresc. or a closing hairpin means get quieter.
• Repeat signs, D.C. (da capo), D.S. (dal segno), Fine and Coda tell you where to go next.

What are dynamics in music?

Dynamics are how loud or quiet music is played. They are written as letters short for Italian words: p for piano (quiet) and f for forte (loud), with m for mezzo (moderately), so the scale from quietest to loudest is ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff.

Dynamics are relative, not fixed volumes: forte on a recorder is quieter than forte on a trumpet. Composers began writing them down around 1600 – Giovanni Gabrieli’s Sonata pian’ e forte (1597) is famous for naming soft and loud sections. Press “Hear it” below to compare them.

Dynamics chart: hear every level

The same short phrase, played at each level on the Classfern piano.

Dynamic markings, quietest to loudest

Sign	Italian and meaning	Hear it
ppp	pianississimo: as quiet as possible	Hear it
pp	pianissimo: very quiet	Hear it
p	piano: quiet	Hear it
mp	mezzo piano: moderately quiet	Hear it
mf	mezzo forte: moderately loud	Hear it
f	forte: loud	Hear it
ff	fortissimo: very loud	Hear it
fff	fortississimo: as loud as possible	Hear it

Changing the dynamics

Sign	Italian and meaning	Hear it
	crescendo (cresc.): gradually getting louder	Hear it
	diminuendo or decrescendo (dim., decresc.): gradually getting quieter	Hear it
	sforzando (sfz): a sudden strong accent on one note	Hear it
fp	fortepiano (fp): loud, then at once quiet	Hear it

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What are the tempo markings in music?

Tempo markings are words at the start of a piece that set its speed. The common ones, slowest to fastest, are Grave, Largo, Lento, Adagio, Andante, Moderato, Allegretto, Allegro, Vivace, Presto and Prestissimo. A metronome mark such as ♩ = 120 gives the exact speed in beats a minute.

The beats-a-minute ranges below are typical metronome settings; books disagree by 10–20 beats, and the words describe the character (Allegro also means “cheerful”) as much as the speed. Each “Hear it” button plays a C major scale with a click at a speed inside the range.

Tempo markings chart

Tempo markings, slowest to fastest (typical beats a minute)

Marking and meaning	Beats a minute	Hear it
Grave very slow and solemn	25–45	Hear it
Largo broadly, slowly	40–60	Hear it
Lento slowly	45–60	Hear it
Adagio slowly, at ease	66–76	Hear it
Andante at a walking pace	76–108	Hear it
Moderato at a moderate speed	108–120	Hear it
Allegretto moderately fast	112–120	Hear it
Allegro fast and bright	120–156	Hear it
Vivace lively and fast	156–176	Hear it
Presto very fast	168–200	Hear it
Prestissimo as fast as possible	over 200	Hear it

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How does tempo change in music?

Words in the music tell you to change speed: accelerando (accel.) means gradually faster, rallentando (rall.) and ritardando (rit.) mean gradually slower, and a tempo means go back to the first speed. Ritenuto means slower straight away, and rubato lets the player stretch and push the beat for expression.

Other speed words you will see: più mosso (more movement, faster), meno mosso (less movement, slower), allargando (broadening, usually near the end) and tempo primo (the first tempo). Classfern’s free metronome lets you practise any marking at its real speed.

What do articulation marks mean?

Articulation marks tell you how to start, hold and join each note. A dot above or below a note means staccato (short), a wedge (>) is an accent, a short line is tenuto (hold it full length), a curve over different notes is a slur (play them smoothly) and a curve over a dot is a pause.

What are the most common Italian music terms?

The Italian terms you will meet first are the tempo words (Largo, Adagio, Andante, Moderato, Allegro, Presto), the dynamics (piano, forte, crescendo, diminuendo) and the style words legato, staccato, dolce (sweetly) and cantabile (in a singing style). Italian became the language of music in the 1600s and 1700s, when Italian composers led European music.

Small words change big ones: molto (very), poco (a little), più (more), meno (less), sempre (always) and subito (suddenly). So poco a poco cresc. means get louder little by little, and subito p means suddenly quiet.

Italian music terms glossary (A–Z)

54 of the musical terms you meet most, from beginner pieces to Grade 5 theory. Type to search.

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a tempo

back to the original speed

accelerando (accel.)

gradually getting faster

adagio

slowly

allargando

broadening: slower and often louder

allegretto

moderately fast

allegro

fast and bright

andante

at a walking pace

arco

with the bow (after pizzicato)

cantabile

in a singing style

coda

a tail: the ending section

con brio

with spirit

con moto

with movement

crescendo (cresc.)

gradually getting louder

da capo (D.C.)

from the beginning

dal segno (D.S.)

from the sign 𝄋

decrescendo (decresc.)

gradually getting quieter

diminuendo (dim.)

gradually getting quieter

dolce

sweetly

espressivo (espress.)

with expression

fermata

a pause: hold the note longer

fine

the end

forte (f)

loud

giocoso

playfully

grave

very slow and solemn

largo

broadly and slowly

legato

smoothly, the notes joined

leggiero

lightly

lento

slowly

maestoso

majestically

marcato

marked: each note stressed

meno mosso

less movement: slower

mezzo

half, moderately (as in mezzo forte)

moderato

at a moderate speed

molto

very, much

non troppo

not too much

piano (p)

quiet

più

more (più mosso: faster)

pizzicato (pizz.)

plucked with the finger

poco

a little

poco a poco

little by little

presto

very fast

rallentando (rall.)

gradually getting slower

ritardando (rit.)

gradually getting slower

ritenuto (riten.)

held back: slower at once

rubato

with flexible, “borrowed” time

sempre

always

sforzando (sfz)

a sudden strong accent

simile

carry on in the same way

sostenuto

sustained

staccato

short and detached

subito

suddenly (subito piano: suddenly quiet)

tenuto

held for its full length

tutti

everyone plays

vivace

lively and fast

Repeat signs and directions

Repeat and direction signs save writing music out twice. Two dots before a double barline mean go back and repeat; D.C. al Fine means go back to the beginning and stop at Fine; D.S. al Coda means go back to the sign (𝄋), then jump to the Coda (𝄌) when told.

• 1st and 2nd time bars: play the first ending the first time, skip it and play the second ending after the repeat.
• D.C. al Fine: da capo al fine, from the beginning to the word Fine.
• D.S. al Coda: dal segno al coda, from the sign to “To Coda”, then jump to the Coda.
• Fine: the end (pronounced FEE-nay).

For the symbols that make up the notes themselves – note values, rests, clefs, sharps and flats – see Classfern’s music notes symbols chart.

Music symbols and terms quiz

Marked by Classfern 5 multiple-choice questions on the Classfern lesson engine. Your answers stay on this device.

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This free music symbols guide is part of the Classfern Music Department at lessonplanner.info. The signs are drawn with the same music drawing code as the Classfern reading course, and every sound is made in your browser.

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