Expressions

The expression is the way that piano players evoke feelings and emotions in audience members as well as in him/herself. It depends on the pianist's interpretation to play how he/she feels those emotions.

In the above piece, dolce is an expression for "sweetly." Throughout the piece, we must play sweetly, in whatever way we interpret "sweetly."

Below are some common terms used to show expression.

Name Definition
Animato Animated, spirited
Cantabile In a singing manner
Con brio With brilliance, vigor, spirit
Con fuoco With fire, fury
Con moto With motion
Dolce Sweetly
Doloroso Sadly, sorrowfully
Espressivo Expressively
Giocoso Humorously, merrily
Gracioso Gracefully
Legato Play smoothly and connect the notes
Leggiero Lightly, delicately
Marcato Stressed (marked)
Pesante Heavily
Robusto Robustly, boldly
Scherzando Playfully, jokingly
Sostenuto Sustained
Spiritoso Spirited
Staccato Play the notes detached from each other
Tranquillo Tranquilly, calmly, peacefully

Review

  1. Expressional terms express the emotions felt by music.
  2. The piano player performs the expression through his/her interpretation of the expression.

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