It's All Greek To Me... Well, Italian Actually

After having a chat with Brighton & Hove singing teacher Kate, we decided that it might be helpful to provide some definitions of some commonly used Italian words in music... after all, they're commonly used... and Italian... and used in music... so, it may be helpful to provide some definitions. Oh, I already said that... in which case, here we go:

Dolce - Sweet, Gentle
Tempo - The speed of the music
Legato - (Italian for 'tied together') notes are played or sung smoothly and connected
Staccato - (Italian for 'detached') notes are separated from the note that may follow by silence
Crescendo - to get louder
Diminuendo - to get quieter
Cantor - The Singer
Colla Voce - Follow the voice/singer

These terms are used in written music one heck of a lot and used when describing how to sing or play parts in song. As good practice, whenever you start to learn a new song, or, listen to sections of a song on the radio try to apply one of these Italian terms to what the singer is doing or what the section of the song is doing. For example, if you hear somebody start singing quietly in a verse and then build this into a larger sound before hitting the chorus (or pre-chorus)... you could say they were building to a 'crescendo.' Kelly Clarkson does this kind of thing a lot.

It's all good practice this paying attention malarkey and develops a sense of understanding not only the terms associated but also how songs and pieces of music function. Which, ultimately will improve your own standing when approaching new pieces of music.

TTFN, have a good weekend and catch you on Monday for more advice and FREE singing lessons :)