Dictionary of Musical Terms, adapted by Mad Oz/Whit of the Net

"I wanted to incorporate tempo and timbre into the piece,"--Mishell

I'm a singer some. And, what's more, I like the classical stuff. It gets into my grain a little, and I describe other things with singer terms. Because other things can have singer terms applied to them, because singer terms are generally just Itallian words for just stuff.

So here are some singer terms applicable to writing.

Crescendo: a mounting stress. Increased excitement.

Decrescendo: decreasing stress.

Staccato: divided; disperate. Choppy.

Legato: smooth; flowing.

Allegro: speedy. Climax, semi-climax, car chase speed.

Forte: big and impressive.

Fortissimo: really big and impressive.

Andante: slower. Something's brewing speed. Or conflict over, time to conclude, speed.

Bebop: Jazz style developed in the 1940s. I just like the word...

Marcato: the bits with bold expressiveness that renew interest. Plot twists are marcato.

A tempo (pronounced "ah tempo"): Going back to the normal speed of the piece. Note: a tempo isn't necessarily the speed in which the piece began.

Accelerando: slow increase of speed or excitement.

Meno mosso: less speed.

Diminuendo: To gradually become subdued or quieter. Conclusions are often diminuendo.

Dissonance: conflicting ideas that cause headache.

Dynamic, dynamics: excitement eb and flow. A force providing interestingness to the plot.

Fermata: telescoping a moment out for tension building effect.

Vivace (veevahchey): Lively.

Piano: quieter and more subdued.

Pianissimo: much quieter and more subdued.

Subito: suddenly. Used with other words usually, as in subito forte to mean suddenly, and perhaps unexpectedly, exciting.

Suite: short story cycle.

Fine: the end.