Music Vocabulary Worksheet – Tempo, Pitch and Form Terms

All 36 terms

Tempo and expression 12

cantabile In a smooth, singing style. In Italian the word means "singable".
con brio With spirit ("brio" is Italian for vigor). A movement may be marked allegro con brio.
diminuendo A gradual drop in loudness. It is often shortened to dim.
espressivo With feeling: played expressively. It is often shortened to espr.
largo Very slow, with a wide and open feel. A largo passage takes its time.
maestoso In a grand, stately manner. The Italian word means majestic.
mezzo Half or medium: a word placed before forte or piano. Before forte it gives the marking mf, medium loud.
prestissimo Extremely fast: the quickest tempo there is. Prestissimo is quicker than presto.
rallentando Slowing down little by little. It is often shortened to rall.
ritenuto Held back: slower all at once. It is often shortened to rit. or riten.
sotto voce In an undertone, as if whispering. The Italian words mean under the voice.
vivace Lively and quick. The Italian word means lively.

Show all 36 terms (24 more)

Pitch and sound 12

accidental A sharp, flat or natural sign placed before one note. An accidental changes a note the key signature does not.
falsetto A way of singing above the usual voice, with an airy tone. A singer may switch to falsetto for the top notes.
glissando A slide from one note up or down to another. A harp glissando sweeps across the strings.
interval The gap between a lower note and a higher one. From C up to G is an interval of a fifth.
key signature The sharps or flats printed at the start of every staff. G major has a key signature of one sharp.
pitch The highness or lowness of a note. A short string gives a higher pitch than a long one.
register One section of the notes a voice or instrument can reach. A flute's low register sounds breathy.
semitone A half step: from one piano key to the very next. E to F is a semitone.
timbre The tone color that tells one instrument from another. Two instruments can play the same note with a different timbre.
tonic The keynote: the note that gives a scale its name. In C major the tonic is C.
tremolo A quick repeating of one note, like a tremble. A violinist plays tremolo with fast, short bow strokes.
vibrato A slight, quick wavering up and down on a held note. String players make vibrato by rocking a finger.

Rhythm and form 12

a cappella For voices alone, with no instrument. A barbershop quartet sings a cappella.
anacrusis One or more notes that come ahead of the first full measure. Another name for an anacrusis is a pickup.
cadenza A free, brilliant passage for the soloist alone. In a concerto the orchestra waits while the soloist plays the cadenza.
coda An added ending that rounds off a movement. Coda is Italian for tail.
da capo A marking that means: play again from the first bar. It is written D.C.
dal segno An instruction to repeat from the sign. It is written D.S.
improvisation Music made up by the player while performing. A jazz solo is often an improvisation.
motif A short idea of a few notes that a piece is built from. A motif may come back higher, lower or upside down.
ostinato A short pattern repeated again and again without a break. A bass line that never changes is an ostinato.
refrain A line or section that returns after each verse. Everyone joins in on the refrain.
syncopation Accents moved onto the weak beats. Clapping on the off-beats is a simple syncopation.
variation A theme played again in a changed form. A set of variations keeps one tune and changes how it is dressed.

How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-02. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license and against the article Glossary of music terminology in English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, in which 28 of the 36 terms have an entry of their own; the other eight (pitch, interval, tonic, key signature, register, refrain, variation, improvisation) were checked against Wiktionary only. Italian terms are given the meaning used in music, not every sense of the Italian word. The example after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

This music vocabulary worksheet prints twelve terms down the left and their meanings, mixed up, down the right. Three sets cover tempo and expression, pitch and sound, and rhythm and form.

Read the full guide

Three sets

Set opens on Tempo and expression: largo, vivace, prestissimo, rallentando, diminuendo and cantabile. Pitch and sound has interval, semitone, tonic, timbre, vibrato and falsetto. Rhythm and form has syncopation, ostinato, da capo, cadenza, refrain and coda.

A music vocabulary worksheet template

Type your own lines in the box as term = meaning, such as allegro = fast and lively, and the sheet prints them in place of ours. Under the tool each of our terms has a note: Prestissimo is quicker than presto.

The piano page has the everyday markings, from forte to staccato. This list goes one step further.

Questions and answers

What are some basic music vocabulary words?

Tempo words such as largo and vivace, sound words such as pitch, interval and timbre, and form words such as refrain, variation and coda. Each is on this page with a one-line meaning and an example.

What is the difference between vibrato and tremolo?

Vibrato is a slight, quick wavering of pitch on a held note. Tremolo is a quick repeating of one note; a violinist plays it with fast, short bow strokes.

Do these work as ESL music vocabulary worksheets?

The meanings are short and in plain English, though many of the terms themselves are Italian. Pairs cuts a sheet to 4, 5, 6, 8 or 10 terms.

Can I get the music vocabulary worksheets as a PDF?

Yes: press Print worksheet and choose Save as PDF in the print window. The page has no PDF button of its own. The answer key, a line from each term to its meaning, is saved as the last page.