Glossary of Musical Terminology - L

L

• lacrimoso or lagrimoso: tearfully; i.e., sadly
• laissez vibrer, l.v. (Fr): allow the sound to continue, do not damp; used frequently in harp music, occasionally in piano or percussion. For percussion & electric guitar, "let ring" is more common.
• lamentando: lamenting, mournfully
• lamentoso: lamenting, mournfully
• langsam (Ger): slowly
• largamente: broadly; i.e., slowly (same as largo)
• larghetto: somewhat slowly; not as slow as largo
• larghissimo: very slowly; slower than largo
• largo: broadly; i.e., slowly
• leap (skip): a melodic interval greater than a major 2nd, as opposed to a step. Melodies which move by a leap are called "disjunct". Octave leaps are not uncommon in florid vocal music.
• lebhaft (Ger): briskly, lively
• legato: joined; i.e., smoothly, in a connected manner (see also articulation)
• leggiero, leggiermente or leggiadro: lightly, delicately (The different forms of this word, including leggierezza, "lightness", are properly spelled in Italian as legger- without the i.)
• leggierissimo: very lightly and delicately
• lent (Fr): slowly
• lentando: gradual slowing and softer
• lentissimo: very slowly
• lento: slowly
• liberamente: freely
• libero: free, freely
• lilt: a jaunty rhythm
• l'istesso: see lo stesso, below
• loco: place; i.e., perform the notes at the pitch written, generally used to cancel an 8va or 8vb direction. In string music, also used to indicate return to normal playing position (see Playing the violin).
• long accent Hit hard and keep full value of note (>)
• lontano: from a distance; distantly
• lo stesso (or commonly, but ungrammatically, l'istesso): the same; applied to the manner of articulation, tempo, etc.
• lo stesso tempo (or l'istesso tempo): the same tempo, despite changes of time signature, see metric modulation
• lugubre: lugubrious, mournful
• luminoso: luminously
• lunga: long (often applied to a fermata)
• lusingando: coaxingly