Musical Terms
Alleregretto: When you’re 16 measures into the piece and suddenly realize you set a too-fast tempo
Angus Dei: To play with a divinely beefy tone
A Patella: Accompanied by knee-slapping
Apologgimatura: A composition that you regret playing
Approximento: A musical entrance that is somewhere in the vicinity of the correct pitch
Dill Piccolini: An exceedingly small wind instrument that plays only sour notes
Fermantra: A note held over and over and over and over and . . .
Fiddler Crabs: Grumpy string players
Flute Flies: Those tiny insects that bother musicians in outdoor gigs
Frugalhorn: A sensible and inexpensive brass instrument
Gaul Blatter: A French horn player
Gregorian Champ: The title bestowed upon the monk who can hold a note the longest
Placebo Domingo: A faux tenor
Spritzicato: An indication to string instruments to produce a bright and bubbly
Tempo Tantrum: What an elementary school orchestra is having when it’s not following the conductor
Contributed by Margaret Ann Roth