| Tempo | |||
| adagio | slowly | allegro | cheerful and fast |
| andante | at an easy walking pace | presto | very fast |
| moderato | at a moderate speed | ||
| Modifications of Tempo | |||
| accelerando (accel.) | gradually becoming faster | ritenuto (riten.) (rit.) | held back |
| rallentando (rall.) | gradually becoming slower | a tempo | return to former speed |
| ritardando (rit.) | gradually becoming slower | ||
| Dynamics | |||
| crescendo (cres.) (cresc.) | gradually becoming louder | forte (f) | loud |
| decrescendo (decres.) (decresc.) | gradually becoming softer | piano (p) | soft |
| diminuendo (dim.) | gradually becoming softer | ||
| Other Terms | |||
| legato | smoothly, well connected | ||
| staccato | detached, short |