#notation

• Addolcendo — A musical execution term of Italian origin, literally meaning 'sweetening' or 'softening'. It instructs the performer to transition smoothly toward a warmer, more melodious, soft, and velvety sound emission, gradually reducing any harshness or intensity to enhance the lyrical expressiveness of the passage.
• Annotation — The act of annotating and its result; a note, observation, or explanatory comment written on the margin of a text or at the footnote of a page to clarify, complete, or interpret an item of information. It represents an essential philological and didactic tool in the critical study of documents or the structural organization of study materials.
• Annotation — A note, explanatory record, gloss, or short critical comment written on the margin of a text, manuscript, or historical document to clarify a term, passage, or the work's context; the result of the act of annotating. In computational linguistics, it denotes a structural label attached to a text unit to assign a formal meaning to it.
• Archaic annotation — An obsolete, legal, and literary form of the word 'adnotație'; a note, marginal record, or short explanatory comment added to the edge of a text or official document. This variant retains the classical Latin etymological suffix, found in 19th-century manuscripts and reeditions of Romanian chroniclers or classic writers.
• Affettuoso — An Italian musical direction instructing the performer to play a piece with deep feeling, sentiment, and warmth; it demands a tender, expressive, and affectionate interpretation, often associated with slower, lyrical movements.
• Affrettando — An Italian musical direction instructing the performer to increase the tempo in a hurried, rushing, or pressing manner, carrying an implication of excitement or heightened nervous energy.
• Agitato — A musical term of Italian origin used as an execution directive, requiring the respective fragment or piece to be performed in an agitated, restless, tense, and dramatically passionate manner. In a structural compositional sense, it guides the tempo and dynamics of performance to convey a state of powerful emotional unrest.
• To the sign — A musical expression and direction originating from Italian (al segno), literally translated as 'to the sign'. It is used in musical scores to instruct performers or the conductor to repeat a previous section starting precisely from the spot marked with a specific graphic symbol (called a 'segno' or 'sign'), serving to optimize the score's graphic space and avoid rewriting the same measures.
• Broadening — A dynamic and tempo instruction originating from Italian, literally translated as 'widening' or 'broadening'. It is used in musical scores to instruct performers or the conductor to gradually slow down the performance tempo while simultaneously increasing the sound intensity (volume), thereby providing a broader, more majestic, and solemn sonority, typically toward the climax of a dramatic musical section.
• Moderately fast — A tempo and dynamic instruction originating from Italian, used in musical scores to dictate a fairly quick, lively, and light movement, but less rapid than that indicated by 'allegro'. As a noun, the term designates a musical piece or a movement of a larger composition (such as a symphony or a sonata) written in this graceful and animated pace.
• Fast — A tempo and dynamic instruction originating from Italian, used in musical scores to dictate a fast, cheerful, quick, and lively movement. As a noun, the term designates an independent musical piece or the first movement of a larger classical composition, such as a symphony, a concerto, or a sonata, performed at this brisk pace.
• Very fast — A composite tempo and dynamic instruction originating from Italian, used in musical scores to request a very fast and quick movement. The term combines the brisk 'allegro' base with the intensive modifier 'assai' (very / significantly), placing the execution pace just below 'presto' and giving the piece an impetuous, highly energetic character.
• Fast, but not too much — A composite tempo and dynamic instruction originating from Italian, used in musical scores to request a fast and lively movement but tempered, literally translated as 'fast, but not too much'. This compositional caveat instructs performers to maintain the bright, alert character of the 'allegro' pace while avoiding excessive speed that could jeopardize the clarity of melodic details, expressiveness, or technical precision of the passages.
• In the Hungarian style — A term of Italian origin (all'ungherese) used in musical scores to instruct performers to execute a passage in the Hungarian style, characterized by jerky rhythms, sudden accents, syncopations, and a passionate dynamic typical of traditional folk music or czardas dances. In international culinary arts, the phrase describes a way of preparing meat or sauces using a generous amount of paprika and sour cream.
• Althorn — A brass wind musical instrument with valves, conical in shape, having a middle (alto) register; it is primarily used in brass bands and wind orchestras to provide harmony between deep and high-pitched instruments.
• Altissimo — A musical term borrowed from Italian that indicates the highest register of a musical instrument (especially the clarinet or saxophone) or the execution of notes in the highest possible octave, exceeding the standard range of the score.
• Alto — A deep female voice or a boy's voice pitched in a register between soprano and tenor (also called contralto); a musical part or score written for this range. It also designates musical instruments with a timbre corresponding to this range (e.g., alto saxophone, alto flute) or, as an adjective, describes such an acoustic register.
• Amoroso — An execution directive written on classical musical scores, through which the composer requests the performer (solist or orchestra) to render that specific passage in a warm, tender manner, full of love, affection, and romantic sensitivity. As a borrowed adverb, it guides the tempo and expressiveness of the instrumental performance.
• Andante — A musical tempo indication requiring a composition to be executed at a moderate, slow, calm, and steady pace, corresponding to the natural rhythm of walking; a musical fragment composed or performed in this tempo. It is structurally situated in speed between adagio (slow) and moderato (moderate).
• Andantino — A musical tempo indication requiring a composition to be executed at a moderate pace, structurally situated very close to the andante tempo. Its historical meaning presents a slight ambiguity, but in modern practice it indicates a movement slightly faster and more lively than andante; a musical fragment composed or performed at this pace.