A score rarely spells a direction out twice. The first time it may say mezzo forte; after that it is mf, and the player is expected to know. These are the abbreviations that actually appear in printed music, each one traced to a published score or a standard reference before it was included here.
15 of them are ambiguous — the same letters stand for more than one direction, and only the passage tells you which. Those are marked below and have a page of their own.
A
- a t. a tempo — A tempo returns to the pulse in force before the most recent local deviation; a t. is an attested short form.
- a.s.p. alto sul ponticello or a.s.p — 2 meanings
- accel. accelerando — Accelerando means gradually getting faster; accel. is its standard abbreviation.
- adgo. adagio — Adagio is a slow, very calm and unhurried tempo whose literal “at ease” origin also carries expressive character; it is relative to metre, period and context, not one universal BPM.
- affrett. affrettando — Affrettando means hurrying or hastening: become faster with an urgent, potentially anxious character; affrett. is an attested abbreviation.
- allarg. allargando — Allargando means gradually broadening and slowing, often toward a weightier or more stately arrival; allarg. is its standard abbreviation.
- allgtto. allegretto — Allegretto is the diminutive of Allegro: lively and moderately quick, normally lighter, gentler and less driven than full Allegro.
- allo. allegro — Allegro is a fast, lively tempo whose older Italian sense of cheerfulness and animation still shapes the character; it is not merely a BPM label.
- andno. andantino — Andantino is a diminutive of Andante whose direction is historically ambiguous: depending on source, composer and period it can mean slightly slower or slightly faster than Andante.
- andte. andante — Andante means “going” or “walking”: a moderate, flowing and unhurried tempo with steady forward motion rather than a fixed walking-speed BPM.
- arm. armonici or armonico — 2 meanings
- ASP alto sul ponticello or a.s.p — 2 meanings
B
C
- c.l. col legno — Col legno means using the wood of the bow rather than ordinary hair-only contact; c.l. is an attested short form.
- c.l.b. col legno battuto — Col legno battuto means striking the string with the wood of the bow; c.l.b. is a well-attested short form.
- c.l.t. col legno tratto — Col legno tratto means drawing the wood of the bow across the string; c.l.t. is a well-attested short form.
- c.v. con vibrato — Con vibrato directs the player to add or restore vibrato; c.v. is an attested short form.
- cal. calando — Calando means “falling away”: diminish the sound and, in many traditions, let the tempo subside as well; the score decides whether both parameters are intended.
- con sord. con sordino or con sordino — 2 meanings
- cresc. crescendo — Crescendo (cresc.) directs a gradual increase in loudness or dynamic intensity; it may be written as text or shown by a separate opening hairpin.
D
- decresc. decrescendo — Decrescendo (decresc.) directs a gradual decrease in loudness; in modern notation it usually overlaps functionally with diminuendo without erasing the two distinct words.
- dietro il pont. dietro il ponticello — behind the bridge
- dim. diminuendo — Diminuendo (dim.) means gradually diminishing in loudness—the dynamic opposite of crescendo and a close modern counterpart of decrescendo.
- div. divisi — Divisi (div.) tells one instrumental section, most often strings, to split a simultaneous line into two or more separate parts.
- Doppelgr. Doppelgriff — Doppelgriff, abbreviated Doppelgr., is a double stop: sound two strings together on one bowed string instrument.
F
- f forte — Forte, written f, means loud or strong: a relative dynamic level, not a fixed decibel value.
- ff fortissimo — Fortissimo, written ff, means very loud—a relative level above forte rather than a measured volume.
- fff fortississimo — Fortississimo, written fff, marks an extreme loud level above fortissimo within the score’s relative dynamic range.
- flaut. flautando — Flautando (also flautato; attested score form flaut.) asks bowed strings for a light, flute-like colour, commonly with a fast, low-pressure bow near or over the fingerboard.
- Flt. Flatterzunge — Flatterzunge is German for flutter tonguing: a continuous rolled-tongue or uvular flutter that rapidly modulates a wind sound; the attested abbreviations are Flz. and Flt.
- Flz. Flatterzunge — Flatterzunge is German for flutter tonguing: a continuous rolled-tongue or uvular flutter that rapidly modulates a wind sound; the attested abbreviations are Flz. and Flt.
- fp forte-piano — loud, then immediately soft; the standard compound dynamic form is fp
- Fr. am Frosch — at the frog of the bow
- frull. frullato — Frullato is Italian for flutter-tonguing: sustain a wind tone while a rapid tongue-tip or uvular flutter repeatedly interrupts the air stream. The standard short form is frull.
G
- ged. gedämpft — Gedämpft (ged.) means damped, muted or muffled; the required action is instrument-specific.
- gest. gestopft — Gestopft means fully stopped, chiefly for horn: seal the bell with the right hand or use a locally authorized stopping solution; the attested text abbreviation is gest.
- gliss. glissando — Glissando, abbreviated gliss., directs an audible glide or sweep between pitches; the intervening sound is continuous on some instruments and stepped on others.
H
- Harm. harmonique — Harmonique means harmonic in French: produce the marked note or passage as a harmonic rather than an ordinary fully stopped tone.
- hervortr. hervortretend — Hervortretend means 'emerging' or 'brought forward': let the indicated voice or figure stand out in the texture; the attested abbreviation is hervortr.
I
L
M
- m. D. mit Dämpfer — with the string mute on (German); attested abbreviation: m. D.
- m.s.p. molto sul ponticello — very close to the bridge, often abbreviated m.s.p.
- m.v. molto vibrato — Molto vibrato asks for conspicuously more vibrato than the local norm; the score may define greater width, faster rate, stronger continuity, or a combination.
- marc. marcato — marked, stressed or strongly accented; the attested text abbreviation is marc.
- mart. martellato — hammered or strongly accented; mart. is attested in instrument-specific contexts
- mf mezzo forte — Mezzo forte, written mf, means moderately loud—literally “half strong,” but not a mathematical half-volume.
- mit Ped. mit Pedal — Mit Pedal, commonly shortened to mit Ped., means with the piano’s damper pedal: use sustain pedalling through the marked passage.
- mod. moderato — Moderato means moderate or restrained and can stand alone or qualify another tempo word.
- mor. morendo — Morendo means 'dying': the music fades in dynamics and often also in tempo, as if expiring. The short form mor. is attested but not universal.
- mp mezzo piano — Mezzo piano, written mp, means moderately soft—literally “half soft,” but not a mathematical half-volume.
N
- nat. naturale — Naturale means natural or normal: restore the locally altered playing parameter to its ordinary state.
- non div. non divisi — Non divisi means not divided: where a chord could be shared across a string section, every player is to perform the written multiple stop instead.
- non leg. non legato — not legato, with audible separation but context-dependent length; the attested form is non leg.
O
P
- p piano — Piano, written p, means soft: a relative dynamic level below mezzo piano and above pianissimo in the familiar hierarchy.
- perd. perdendosi — Perdendosi means “losing itself” or fading away: the sound and energy gradually recede, with a slight slowing possible but not automatic.
- pizz. pizzicato — Pizzicato (pizz.) means that a bowed string is plucked with a finger instead of sounded with the bow.
- port. portato or portamento — 2 meanings
- pp pianissimo — Pianissimo, written pp, means very soft—a relative level below piano rather than a fixed loudness.
- ppp pianississimo — Pianississimo, written ppp, marks an extremely soft dynamic below pianissimo in the score’s relative hierarchy.
- prest.mo. prestissimo — Prestissimo is the Italian superlative of Presto: faster than Presto and at the extreme fast end of the conventional tempo vocabulary.
R
- rall. rallentando — Rallentando (rall.) directs a gradual slowing of the tempo and is commonly treated as a synonym of ritardando.
- rf rinforzando — Rinforzando means 'reinforcing': a sudden local increase of force on a note, chord or short span; standard forms are rf, rfz and rinf.
- rfz rinforzando — Rinforzando means 'reinforcing': a sudden local increase of force on a note, chord or short span; standard forms are rf, rfz and rinf.
- ric. ricochet — Ricochet is a thrown-bow stroke in which one impulse produces several rapid rebounds, usually within one bow direction.
- rinf. rinforzando — Rinforzando means 'reinforcing': a sudden local increase of force on a note, chord or short span; standard forms are rf, rfz and rinf.
- rit. ritardando or ritenuto — 2 meanings
- ritard. ritardando — Ritardando (rit.; also ritard.) directs a gradual slowing of the tempo. The longer abbreviation avoids the ambiguity of rit., which can also stand for ritenuto.
- riten. ritenuto — Ritenuto (most clearly riten.; also the ambiguous rit.) means 'held back': a slower tempo taken more immediately or held more uniformly than a gradual deceleration.
S
- s.p. sul ponticello — at or near the bridge, commonly abbreviated s.p. or sul pont.
- s.t. sul tasto — Sul tasto means bowing over the fingerboard; s.t. is an established specialist score abbreviation.
- s.v. senza vibrato — Senza vibrato asks for a straight, unwavering tone without deliberate pitch oscillation; common score forms include senza vib. and s.v.
- salt. saltando — Saltando indicates a jumping, springing or bouncing bow articulation; salt. is an attested score form.
- scord. scordatura — Scordatura is a deliberate non-standard tuning of a string instrument, chosen to change available chords and fingerings, resonance, range or timbre.
- sempre leg. sempre legato — Sempre legato means always legato throughout the marked span; sempre leg. is an attested compact form.
- sempre stacc. sempre staccato — Sempre staccato means always staccato throughout the marked span; sempre stacc. is the attested compact form.
- senza sord. senza sordino or senza sordino — 2 meanings
- senza vib. senza vibrato — Senza vibrato asks for a straight, unwavering tone without deliberate pitch oscillation; common score forms include senza vib. and s.v.
- sf sforzando or sforzato — 2 meanings
- sfz sforzando or sforzato — 2 meanings
- smorz. smorzando — Smorzando (smorz.) means extinguishing or fading away: reduce the sound toward disappearance; a slowing may accompany it but is not automatic.
- sord. sordino or sordino — 2 meanings
- sost. sostenuto — Sostenuto asks for sustained, weighty continuity and can imply a held-back tempo; it is distinct from the piano’s sostenuto pedal.
- Sp. an der Spitze — at the tip of the bow
- stacc. staccato — Staccato directs the performer to shorten and separate notes from what follows; stacc. is the standard text abbreviation.
- staccatiss. staccatissimo — Staccatissimo asks for an extremely detached, sharply shortened articulation; staccatiss. is the attested text abbreviation.
- string. stringendo — Stringendo means pressing or tightening forward: become gradually faster with increasing urgency; string. is its standard abbreviation.
- sub. subito — Subito means “suddenly”: it makes the attached dynamic, tempo or character change immediate rather than gradual; sub. is the standard abbreviation.
- sul pont. sul ponticello — at or near the bridge, commonly abbreviated s.p. or sul pont.
T
- T. al tallone — at the frog of the bow
- t.c. tre corde — Tre corde (t.c.) tells the pianist to release the left soft/una corda pedal and return to the normal action position.
- Tamt. Tamtam — Tamtam names the large suspended, relatively flat orchestral gong of indefinite pitch; the attested German score abbreviation accepted here is Tamt.
- Tempo I tempo primo — Tempo primo means return immediately to the movement’s first, original tempo; Tempo I is its conventional Roman-numeral score form.
- ten. tenuto — Tenuto means 'held': sustain the marked note fully and often give it contextual weight; ten. is the standard text abbreviation.
- tratt. trattenuto — Trattenuto means held back or restrained, usually with a sustained quality; tratt. is the standard abbreviation.
- trem. Tremolo or tremolo — 2 meanings