Navigation and Ensemble

English	Italian	French	German	Spanish	Usage note
From the beginning	da capo	depuis le début	von Anfang an	desde el principio	Navigation back to opening
From the sign	dal segno	depuis le signe	vom Zeichen	desde el signo	Return to segno
To the coda	alla coda	à la coda	zur Coda	a la coda	Jump to closing passage when directed
End	fine	fin	Ende	fin	Marks designated conclusion
First time	prima volta	première fois	erstes Mal	primera vez	First repeat ending
Second time	seconda volta	deuxième fois	zweites Mal	segunda vez	Second repeat ending
All together	tutti	tous	alle	todos	Full ensemble or section
Alone	solo	seul	Solo	solo	A single featured player or part
Divided	divisi	divisés	geteilt	divididos	Section divides into separate parts
Unison	unisono	à l’unisson	unisono	al unísono	Same musical line. German einstimmig means one-part, not unison.
Optional	facoltativo	facultatif	wahlweise	opcional	Performer may omit or choose part
As before	come prima	comme auparavant	wie zuvor	como antes	Return to earlier manner
Similar manner	simile	de même	ebenso	del mismo modo	Continue established pattern
Without measure	senza misura	sans mesure	ohne Takt	sin compás	Free, non-barred timing
Improvised	improvvisato	improvisé	improvisiert	improvisado	Material created in performance
In the style of	alla maniera di	à la manière de	in der Art von	a la manera de	Points to a style to imitate
With the voice	con la voce	avec la voix	mit der Stimme	con la voz	Vocal participation or imitation
With the pedal	con pedale	avec pédale	mit Pedal	con pedal	Use sustain pedal in context
Without pedal	senza pedale	sans pédale	ohne Pedal	sin pedal	Do not use sustain pedal
Soft pedal	una corda	une corde	mit Verschiebung	una corda	Grand-piano left pedal; instrument mechanism varies
Release soft pedal	tre corde	trois cordes	ohne Verschiebung	tre corde	Release the soft pedal.
Open strings	corde vuote	cordes à vide	leere Saiten	cuerdas al aire	Use unstopped strings
With the right hand	mano destra	main droite	rechte Hand	mano derecha	Keyboard or instrumental hand indication

Other chapters: Tempo and Pacing · Dynamics and Expression · Articulation and Technique · Musical Concepts and Score Vocabulary

Some entries are plain translations used in rehearsal rather than printed markings. Meaning can shift with era and instrument. These are the standard words printed in scores. Usage varies by edition, publisher and period.

Open the Musical Terms in Translation →