con

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An Italian preposition meaning "with," appearing in numerous musical performance directions to indic‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ate manner or style.

In Depth

Con is perhaps the single most frequently appearing Italian word in musical scores after dynamic markings.‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ It connects to virtually any noun or adjective to create performance instructions: "con brio" (with spirit), "con fuoco" (with fire), "con moto" (with motion), "con sordino" (with mute), "con espressione" (with expression), "con anima" (with soul), and dozens more. It provides composers with an infinitely flexible vocabulary for communicating character and mood. The term's utility lies in its simplicity — it transforms any Italian word into a performance direction. This is why Italian became the universal language of music: its grammatical structure allows simple prepositions like con, senza, and poco to modify any term, creating a modular system of instructions that musicians worldwide can understand. A performer encountering an unfamiliar "con" marking can often deduce its meaning from the word that follows, making the system remarkably intuitive.

Did you know?

Italian became the universal language of music notation largely because the first printed music came from Italian presses in the early 16th century, and the terminology stuck.

Related Terms

senza con moto con sordino con brio

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a cappella

Singing without instrumental accompaniment, with voices providing all musical parts.

accompaniment

The musical background that supports a solo melody or voice.

ad libitum

At the performer's discretion — an instruction allowing freedom in tempo, ornamentation, or inclusion.

agogic accent

An accent created by slightly lengthening a note rather than playing it louder, using duration rather than volume to create emphasis.

alberti bass

A left-hand keyboard accompaniment pattern that breaks a chord into a repeated sequence of low-high-middle-high notes, creating a gentle, flowing texture.

Alberti bass

A broken-chord accompaniment pattern in which the notes of a chord are played in the order lowest-highest-middle-highest

alberti bass pattern

The ubiquitous left-hand keyboard accompaniment pattern of low-high-middle-high notes, named after Domenico Alberti, that defines the texture of Classical-era piano music.

alternate picking

A guitar picking technique that strictly alternates between downstrokes and upstrokes.

Keep Exploring

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