Sometimes the English language doesn’t make sense. As it evolved over the years, it’s taken some really weird turns. Take the word “run”. If I just say it alone, what do I mean? Beats me, it needs context.

“I’m going outside to run.”

“There’s a run in my stocking.”

“Let the water run until it’s hot.”

“I’m going to run for President.”

You know how many definitions there are for the word “run”?

179!!! That’s nuts. There’s even a musical version, it means a sequence of notes.

If the language of choral music was that crazy, we’d never make it through the first page of a song. Luckily, the Italians took care of that for us (and we thank them heartily). However, if you’re new to reading music and your Italian vocabulary is like mine (pizza, vino and the names of cheeses and sausages), you need a little tiny dictionary. Your friendly Blogmeister made you one, feel free to download it and put it in your music folder. This isn’t the complete list (which is massive), just the ones you’re likely to see. The “al Coda” bits have a lot more permutations; I just put in the basics.

You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for.

Download (DOCX, 82KB)