Studying for your grade 4 music theory exam? Then, there are some performance directions you’re going to need to learn.
At grade 4, it’s not just Italian words, though. We also have to learn some French words.
Important: ABRSM updated their syllabus in 2020, so these terms are different from before.
Grade 4 Italian Musical Terms
- affettuoso – tenderly
- alla breve – with a half note (minim) beat
- amabile – amiable, pleasant
- appassionato – with passion
- assai – very
- come prima – as before
- comodo, tempo comodo – convenient, a comfortable tempo
- con brio – with vigour
- deciso – with determination
- larghetto – rather slow (not as slow as largo)
- mesto – sad
- misterioso – mysteriously
- ritmico – rhythmically
- rubato, tempo rubato – with some freedom of time
- stringendo – gradually getting faster
Grade 4 French Musical Terms
Maintenant, time for some French musical terms. Some of them are quite similar to the Italian, thankfully.
- animé – animated, lively
- douce – sweet
- lent – slow
- modéré – at a moderate speed
- retenu – held back
- vite – quick
Other Musical Terms And Symbols To Learn
For the grade 4 exam, you’ll be expected to know all the performance directions from previous grades as well.
Then, when you’re ready for Grade 5, here are those terms.
