Piano Vocabulary Worksheet

Press Print worksheet to match twelve piano terms, from hammer to middle C, to their meanings.

A sample is on the sheet. What you type replaces it.

What you type stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Piano wordsblack keyskeyboardhammerdamperstringssoundboardpedalsustain pedalsoft pedalgrand pianoupright pianomiddle Ca piano whose strings lie flat in along casethe felt-covered part that strikesthe stringsa lever worked by the footthe stretched steel wires thatmake the soundthe C nearest the center of thekeyboardthe dark keys between the whiteones, 36 on a full pianothe left pedal, which makes thetone quietera felt pad that stops a string fromringinga piano whose strings run up anddownthe whole row of black and whitekeysthe right pedal, which lets thenotes ring onthe wooden board that makes thestrings sound louder
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Piano wordsAnswer keyblack keyskeyboardhammerdamperstringssoundboardpedalsustain pedalsoft pedalgrand pianoupright pianomiddle Ca piano whose strings lie flat in along casethe felt-covered part that strikesthe stringsa lever worked by the footthe stretched steel wires thatmake the soundthe C nearest the center of thekeyboardthe dark keys between the whiteones, 36 on a full pianothe left pedal, which makes thetone quietera felt pad that stops a string fromringinga piano whose strings run up anddownthe whole row of black and whitekeysthe right pedal, which lets thenotes ring onthe wooden board that makes thestrings sound louder
More options

Next step Next: name the notes on the staff

All 60 terms

The instrument 12

  • black keys The dark keys between the white ones, 36 on a full piano. Most modern pianos have 36 black keys and 52 white keys.
  • damper A felt pad that stops a string from ringing. The damper lifts while the key is held down.
  • grand piano A piano whose strings lie flat in a long case. The pianist sat down at the grand piano.
  • hammer The felt-covered part that strikes the strings. Pressing a key throws a hammer at the strings.
  • keyboard The whole row of black and white keys. The low notes are at the left end of the keyboard.
  • middle C The C nearest the center of the keyboard. Middle C is also named C4.
  • pedal A lever worked by the foot. Most pianos have two or three pedals.
  • soft pedal The left pedal, which makes the tone quieter. It is also called una corda.
  • soundboard The wooden board that makes the strings sound louder. The soundboard passes the sound of the strings to the air.
  • strings The stretched steel wires that make the sound. A hammer strikes the strings when a key is pressed.
  • sustain pedal The right pedal, which lets the notes ring on. It lifts all the dampers at once.
  • upright piano A piano whose strings run up and down. Our music room has an upright piano.
Show all 60 terms (48 more)

How loud 12

  • crescendo Growing louder little by little. Its sign is a long wedge that opens.
  • decrescendo Growing softer little by little. Another word for it is diminuendo.
  • dynamics The levels of loudness in a piece of music. Letters such as p and f show the dynamics.
  • forte Loud. It is written f.
  • fortissimo Very loud. It is written ff.
  • mezzo forte Medium loud. It is written mf.
  • mezzo piano Medium soft. It is written mp.
  • morendo Dying away: softer, and sometimes slower too. The Italian word means dying.
  • pianissimo Very soft. It is written pp.
  • piano Soft. It is written p.
  • sforzando One note or chord played with sudden force. It is written sfz.
  • subito Suddenly. Subito piano means soft all at once.

How fast 12

  • a tempo Return to the earlier speed. It follows a ritardando or an accelerando.
  • accelerando Getting quicker bit by bit. It is often written accel.
  • adagio Slow and at ease. Adagio is slower than andante.
  • allegretto Fairly quick, a little under allegro. Allegretto is a little slower than allegro.
  • allegro Quick and bright. The Italian word means cheerful.
  • andante At an easy walking speed. Andante is slower than moderato.
  • moderato Neither fast nor slow. Moderato is between andante and allegro.
  • poco a poco A small amount at a time. Crescendo poco a poco means louder by small steps.
  • presto Very quick. Presto is faster than allegro.
  • ritardando Getting slower bit by bit. It is often written rit.
  • rubato Stretching and squeezing the beat for feeling. The Italian word means robbed.
  • tempo The speed of the music. Tempo is the Italian word for time.

How to play it 12

  • accent A mark that makes one note stand out, played stronger. The mark looks like a small wedge on its side.
  • arpeggio A chord's notes played in order, one by one. The word comes from the Italian for playing a harp.
  • block chord A chord with all its notes played at once. C, E, G pressed together is a block chord.
  • fermata A sign to hold a note longer than its usual count. The sign is a dot under a curved line.
  • fingering Which finger plays which note. Numbers over the notes tell which finger to use.
  • grace note A tiny extra note played quickly before a main note. It is printed smaller than the other notes.
  • legato Notes joined, with no break between them. The Italian word means joined.
  • marcato Each note struck with strong emphasis. The Italian word means marked.
  • phrase A short musical thought, like a sentence in speech. A curved line over the notes can mark a phrase.
  • staccato Each note short and separate. It is shown by a dot above or below the note.
  • tenuto A note kept sounding for its whole length. It is shown by a short line above or below the note.
  • trill A quick shake between two neighboring notes. It is marked tr.

On the page 12

  • bar line An upright line that divides the staff into measures. A bar line crosses all five lines.
  • bass clef The sign for the lower notes, its two dots around the F line. It is also called the F clef.
  • brace The curved bracket that joins the two staffs. The brace shows one player reads both staffs.
  • double bar line Two upright lines that mark the end of a section. A thin and a thick line end the piece.
  • flat A sign that makes a note one half step lower. B flat is the black key just left of B.
  • grand staff A treble staff and a bass staff joined together. Piano music is written on the grand staff.
  • measure The space between one bar line and the next. In 4/4 time each measure holds four beats.
  • repeat sign A double bar line with two dots that sends you back. The dots face the music to be repeated.
  • sharp A sign that makes a note one half step higher. F sharp is the black key just right of F.
  • staff The set of five level lines that carries the notes. Notes sit on the lines and in the spaces.
  • time signature Two stacked numbers that tell how the beats are counted. 3/4 means three quarter-note beats in a measure.
  • treble clef The sign for the higher notes, curled around the G line. It is also called the G clef.

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 term's entry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, and against the articles Glossary of music terminology, Piano, Piano pedals, Dynamics (music), Staff (music), Bar (music), Block chord, Grace note, Tenuto, Fermata and Trill (music) in English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. The example after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

This piano vocabulary worksheet prints twelve terms down the left and their meanings, mixed up, down the right. Five sets cover the instrument, how loud, how fast, how to play it, and the signs on the page.

Read the full guide

Five sets of twelve

Set opens on The instrument: keyboard, hammer, damper, pedal and more. How loud runs from pianissimo to fortissimo, How fast from adagio to presto, How to play it from legato to trill, and On the page from staff to repeat sign.

A teacher's own terms

Type one pair a line in the box above the sheet, as term = meaning: octave = the eight notes from one C to the next. Your pairs print in place of ours.

  • Under the tool many terms show how they are written (pp, sfz, tr) or what the Italian word means.

Questions and answers

What are the basic piano terms?

A first list has the parts of the instrument (keyboard, hammer, damper, pedal), the dynamics piano and forte, tempo words such as adagio and allegro, touches such as legato and staccato, and the signs on the staff.

Why does piano mean soft?

In music, piano is the Italian direction for soft and forte the one for loud. The name of the instrument is a short form of pianoforte.

Does the worksheet have an answer key?

Yes. The key prints behind the sheet. To leave it out, uncheck Add an answer key as the last page under More options.

More tools

Show 7 more

Browse Handwriting