fermatas

Notes held longer

Fermatas are pauses in musical notation, indicated by a dot beneath an arc.

The symbol tells performers to hold a note or rest beyond its written duration, with the length left to interpretation.

A fermata creates a moment of suspension—time stretches before the music resumes: The conductor held the fermata for what felt like forever.

notation

hold

Maintain in grasp

pauseTemporary cessation of activity
caesuraPause within a line
restCessation of activity

tenuto · notation · score · symbol · marking · duration · prolongation · suspension · cutoff · release

duration

sustain

Keep something going continuously

prolongExtend in duration
extendMake longer or larger
lengthenIncrease in extent

hold · stretch · elongate · drawn-out · linger · suspension · indefinite · unmeasured · prolongation · continuation

expression

interpretation

Assigned meaning

phrasingManner of expressing something
nuanceSlight shade of difference
rubatoElastic musical timing

dynamics · emphasis · tension · anticipation · resolution · breath · silence · suspense · cadential · rhetorical

conducting

cutoff

Point of termination

releaseTo let go
batonSlender rod for leading
cueTrigger for action

gesture · downbeat · resumption · ensemble · coordination · interpretation · tempo · timing · orchestra · rehearsal

Categories

notationsmusical notation, mathematical notation, decimal notation, scientific notation, dance notation
sheet musicsheet music, treble clef, score, notes, scores
music practicewarm-up, warm-up exercises, music theory, warm-ups, practice routines

Opposites

temporal duration in music

fermatasstaccatos

Sharply separated tones

a tempo · in tempo · truncations · cut-offs · caesuras

musical flow and continuity

fermatascontinuations

Things that proceed onward

forward motion · momentum · rushing · continuous flow · attacca

Family

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