Term | Abbreviation | Meaning |
| Accelerando | Accel. | Increasing speed gradually |
| Adagio | Ad° or Adg° | Slow |
| Ad libitum | Ad. lib. | To be played as the performer wishes |
| Allegro | Alleg. | Lively, gay |
| Andante | And. | Moderately slow |
| Animato | Anim° | Animated |
| A tempo | A tem. | In time |
| Calando | Cal. | Gradually slower but louder tone |
| Da capo | D.C. | Return to beginning (or sign) |
| Dal segno | D.S. | and finish at double bar - Finis |
| Diminuendo | Dim. | Decreasing tone |
| Forte | f. | Loud sound |
| Fortissimo | ff. , fff. | Very loud, as loud as possible |
| Forte piano | f.p. | Loud decreasing in sound |
| Sforzando | f.z. | Loud decreasing in sound |
| Largo | Larg. | Slow, broad |
| Legato | Leg. | Smoothly |
| Loco | Lo. | Return to previous pitch after playing an octave higher |
| Mezzo | m. | Half moderate |
| Mezzo forte | mf. or mff. | Moderately loud |
| Mezzo piano | mp. | Moderately soft |
| Mancando | Manc. | Decreasing in sound |
| Marcato | Marc. | Emphasised |
| Ottava | Ott, Ova, 8va | To be played an octave higher |
| Ottava bassa | 8 bas | To be played an octave lower |
| Piano | p. | Soft |
| Piano-forte | P.F. or pf. | Soft, becoming loud |
| Pianissimo | pp. , ppp. | Very soft, extremely soft |
| Pizzicato | Pizz. | To pluck the violin string instead of using the bow |
| Rallentando | Rall. | Gradually slower |
| Ritardando | Rit. | Retarding the time |
| Sempre | Sem. , Semp. | Throughout |
| Sempre legato | Semp. leg. | Smoothly throughout |
| Spirituoso | Spir. | Spirited |
| Tremolando | Trem. | A note or chord played in trembling manner |