A Glossary of Seldom-Used Musical Terms

Dr Speedbump’s                                                     Glossary of Seldom-Used Music Terms 3.5 Page 1 of 2
al dente	with a toothy grin; (see liberace)
al Fredo	heart-breaking
al Pacino	violent, but charming
altissimo	as high as you can sing
analgesia	gradually emerge from a painfully slow tempo
anchovi	few will like this section; (see broccoli)
anesthesia	slow enough to put the audience to sleep
archipelago	extremely stretched out
aria guitaria	air guitar
aria guitaria segovia	very good air guitar
asphyxia	squirming around in your seat to get more comfortable
awolto	an alto who’s absent without notifying the director
broccoli	distasteful, but doesn’t stink as bad as anchovi
bromo salsa	a dance like the one that follows anchovi pizza molto presto
caracas	crisp; (see dorito and tostito)
cleavagio	whole notes smushed together but still distinct
clipiti clopiti	in the style of Gene Autry; (see palomino)
colorado	beautiful, except where it’s flat
con supina	sing even if you don’t want to
counter tenor	a singing waiter at a diner
da Vinci	be inventive; make something up
de Julio	campy, but in an oriental style
de Niro	forget about it; the composer’s not talking to you
disconcerto	falling apart; e.g. when the conductor loses his place
domino	finish the movement in 30 minutes or less, or admission is free
dorito	corny; one variation of caracas
dumbo	heavy, but soaring
el Greco	distorted, just like the last section and the one before that
fargo	from a distance
farina	fine but distasteful
fraudulento	sung slowly, faking the words
gambino	in control and with conviction; screw it up and you’ll regret it
gelatino	generally shaky
generalissimo	with a commanding voice
graziano	a rocky, medium-heavy rhythm; (see marciano)
innuendo	very suggestively
karo	sickeningly sweet
largo cargo	slow and heavy
largo con fuego	a slow burn
liberace	with gaiety and a toothy grin (see al dente), usually in a tuxedo
Glossary of Seldom-Used Music Terms Page 2 of 2
linguini	a very thin tone
marciano	a rocky, very heavy rhythm; (see graziano)
martini pimento	ornamentation with no real purpose
mea culpa	with lots of mistakes
mea maxima culpa	the worst mistake imaginable
nolo prima	miss the entrance
oleo	saturated with flats
omaha	flat and boring
palomino	more uniform than pinto; (preferred by Gene Autry)
pinto	with contrasting spots; (see clipiti clopiti)
paterno	with blind determination, ad infinitum
payola	you must pay to play; obviously, no union musicians
pinnochio	played stiffly with strings
pizza molto	very flat
pizza pepperoni	with zest, but still flat
pizza poco	just a little flat
pizza poco a poco	getting flatter all the time
pp	what you should have done before the concert
priapistico	performed while standing for more than 4 hours
primi	start way too soon
quasi modo	moving along at half-speed
quasi morte angelina	beautiful but fading; literally “like a dying angel”
repugnissimo	very disgusting
rico	performed by an ensemble, when it’s supposed to be a solo
riga morte	stiff and very dull; quiet but not soft
rigatoni	a more robust tone; (see linguini)
rondo bondo	a recurring theme, each time by a different instrument, but never as well as the second one; always rehearsal section 007
sara palino	with no preparation and stopping suddenly halfway through
semolina	coarse and gritty
siberia	no sorento, ever
silencio	a cappella tutti (orchestra, chorus and soloists)
soni bono	literally “a good sound”, but actually a bit irritating
sorento	go back to this place; (synonymous with DS)
stubato	stumbling painfully along
tipperari	from an even greater distance than fargo
topeka	there’s absolutely nothing for you to do in this section
toledo	very exciting (umm…compared to omaha or topeka, anyway)
tostito	another variation of caracas (see dorito)
vivace fortissimo subito	wake the audience up; (see anesthesia)
wasilla vista	see siberia
zombi	riga morte quasi modo