Musical terms as improvisation inspiration | J N Hummel’s Ausfürlich Anweisung zum Piano-Forte Spiel

ca 1814 / Johann Nepomuk Hummel / Goethe Museum Düsseldorf

Throughout history composers starting adding more and more intricate words and descriptions to give a general indication of the character of a piece of music.

For us improvisers this can be really inspiring. You might have forgotten you could play your next improvisation ponticello, or bruscamente. We are hoping to compile lists here of specific character words that are applicable to specific composers or periods. For now we have taken the following list from Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Ausführlich theoretisch-practische Anweisung zum Piano-Forte Spiel from 1828. This is in relation to our Beethoven series about improvising variations: in our first video we use simple starting ideas for your first step in improvising variations. For more improvisation videos subscribe on YouTube.

Would you like to give us the time to do more of this or hear us improvise or even learn along with us? Support us on Patreon and follow our progress !

Hummel's descriptive musical terms

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Italian Term	Hummel's translation	Our translation to English	Example in Hummel's music
Grave	Schwerfällig ernst	Ponderous serious	Piano Sonata in A flat, Op. 92a I. Grave
Largo	gedehnt abgemessen	broadly measured	Piano quintet op. 87 in E-flat minor, III. Largo
Larghetto	weniger langsam, doch etwas gezogen	less slow, but slightly pulled/dragged	Piano Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 89, II. Larghetto
Lento	gleichsam ermattet	quasi tired/languished	Fantasy for Piano in E flat Major op. 18 (1805) - I. Lento
Lento sostenuto	gezogen, gleichsam ermattet getragen	quasi tired/languished, supported/carried	Etude. Adagio Sostenuto
Adagio	langsam, aber seelenvoll	slow, but soulful	Adagio variationen und rondo op 78. I. Adagio
Andantino	etwas gehend	somewhat going/moving	Piano Sonata: Andantino
Andante	fortschreitend, gehend	moving forward, going	Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major: II. Andante
Andante maestoso	fortschreitend, gehend, majestätisch	moving, majestic	Ballet 'Sappho von Mitilene', Op. 68, X. Suite 9. Andante maestoso
Andante non troppo	fortschreitend, gehend, nicht zu sehr	not too much moving

Showing 1 to 10 of 37 entries

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Hummel: words applying to a section of the composition

Marcato	schärfer bezeichnet, stärker hervorgehoben	sharper designation, more emphasis	Piano Septet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 74
Decrescendo	abnehmend	decreasing
calando	beruhigend	calming, comforting	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)
diminuendo	vermindernd	diminishing
perdendosi	sich verlierend (verminderung der Stärke)	petering out, losing oneself (diminishing of loudness)	Piano Septet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 74
Smorzando	verlöschend (verminderung der Stärke)	extinguishing (diminishing of loudness)	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto, Op. Posth.1 (1833)
Ritardando	zurückhaltend (Verminderung der Stärke, zugleich immer langsamer werdende Bewegung im Zeitmass)	restrained (reduction of strength, at the same time slower and slower movement in time)	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)
Rallentando	verzögernd (Verminderung der Stärke, zugleich immer langsamer werdende Bewegung im Zeitmass)	delaying (diminishing loudness, at the same time decrease in tempo)	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)
Morendo	absterbend (Verminderung der Stärke, zugleich immer langsamer werdende Bewegung im Zeitmass)	dying (diminishing loudness, at the same time decrease in tempo)	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)

Hummel: Character words both at the beginning and in the middle of the piece

mesto, lugubre	traurig, düster	sad, gloomy	String Quartet no. 1 in C major op. 30 no. 1 Adagio e Mesto
patetico	feierlich, ernst	fiery, serious	Hungarian Dances, Op. 23: Ballo Patetico
con dolore	mit Wemuth	with woe	Rondo con Grazia: in the minor section (score)
languido	seufzend, schmachtend	sighing, yearning	score of Violin sonata op.5 no2 in the second movement
con anima	seelenvoll	soulful	24 Preludes for Piano,Op.67, no. 17
cantabile	gesangvoll	singing, vocal	Sonata Op. 5 No. 3 for Viola, II. Adagio Cantabile
espressivo oder con espressione	ausdrucksvoll oder mit Empfindung	expressive or with sentiment	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)
dolce oder con dolcezza	sanft oder mit Sanftmuth	gently or with gentleness	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)
arioso	sangbar	singable
amabile	lieblich	lovely, sweet	Sonata op. 104 no. 3 I Allegro amabile e grazioso
con tenerezza	zärtlich, schmeichelnd	affectionate, flattering
innocente	unschuldig, anspruchslos	innocent, undemanding
con grazia	anmuthig	graceful, charming	Grande sonate, Op. 92: Rondo - Con grazia
leggiero oder leggierissimo	mit Leichtigkeit oder mit gröster Leichtigkeit	with ease or with great ease	Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 (1819)
scherzando	scherzend, tändelnd	joking, trifling	Trio in G Major, Op. 35: III. Rondo. Vivace e scherzando
risoluto	entschlossen, kräftig	determined, vigorous	Violin Concerto in G major