Explanation of musical terms, dynamics and indicators

Abbreviation	Term	Meaning
DYNAMICS
	Crescendo	get louder
	Diminuendo	get quieter
p	Piano	quiet
pp	Pianissimo	very quiet
ppp	Pianississamo (Jenifer Hood) See note below	very, very quiet
mp	mezzopiano	quite quiet
mf	mezzoforte	quite loud
f	forte	loud
ff	fortissimo	very loud
fff	fortississimo (Jenifer Hood) See note below	very, very loud
sf	sforzando	suddenly very loud
Jenifer also advises that the general rule is to add an "iss" for every added f or p. e.g .ff = fortissimo so fff = fortississimo and pp = Pianissimo so ppp = pianississimo. Sorry, June, but as much as I loved your page, there is one flaw. I'm a professional musician from Finland, and I wanna say, that pianississimo is not a real word at all. There right term is piano pianissimo for ppp, and fff is forte fortissimo. Elina Juuti My response - Being a professional musician yourself you are obviously far more qualified that me on this subject but, having done a little more research I find that the term "pianississimo" is, in fact, featured in many dictionaries and musical sites. I am wondering if, perhaps, it is a difference within geographical regions, although I had thought music was fairly general worldwide. I could, however, not find many references to the term "piano pianissimo" being used for ppp. I did come across a site which mentions that musicians have devised various neologisms for these designations, including fortississimo/pianississimo, forte fortissimo/piano pianissimo, and more simply triple forte/triple piano or molto fortissimo/molto pianissimo.
TEMPO INDICATORS
	Adagio	slow
	largo	slow and dignified
	andante	flowing, at walking pace
	allegro	quick and bright
	allegretto	a little slower than allegro
	vivace	fast and lively
	presto	very quick
	accelerando	getting faster
	ritenuto (rit.)	holding back
	rallentando (rall.)	slowing tempo (Jenifer Hood) flexible tempo
	rubato	flexible tempo (Jenifer Hood)
INTERPRETIVE INDICATORS
	cantabile	singing style
	dolce	soft and sweet
	espressivo	expressively
	lacrimato	tearfully/crying (song) (Stephen Moore)
	legato	smooth
	staccato	detached

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