Term for "shyly" ?

Hey,

Okay, so I'm writing a solo piece for Clarinet at the moment which is going very well, but I lack an appropriate musical term.

The section started with this very fanfare-like statement of the theme, then there was a completely unrelated bit which was lower and legato, then a bold 4 bar development of the theme.

Then, there was a development of the second, and now:

I want the original motif/theme to sing out in a very shy manner.

Like it is scared of being heard after the legato because it is so different.

I've already indicated the dynamics a being quieter but I want to make sure any performers actually get what it is meant to be played like...

SO what is the musical term for saying "Played shyly"

Thanks!

Chris :-)

Furtive, uncertain, timid, meek, stealthy.

And if there turns out to be no official term that suits your needs, then invent it.

"In a shy manner"? The above suggestions work as well :)

STEALTHY? Oh scraggy, that's AWESOME. I want to write something that needs the indication "Stealthily."

What would that even mean? You'd hide during performance? Tactical Espionage Action? Play from inside a cardboard box?

Not to derail...TOO much, I'd use "Timidly" if I wanted to play something shyly.

I think by 'musical term' you may mean an italian term? If so then I suggest if you don't know it, then your performer won't - so you'll be causing more confusion than necessary. If I'm wrong and you want English just ignore this post :D

Google

Consult it; wise it is.

Timido would be the Italian word for "Timid" which has the same basic meaning as "shyly" while sounding quite a bit more pretentious. :D

Timido would be the Italian word for "Timid" which has the same basic meaning as "shyly" while sounding quite a bit more pretentious. :D

I agree! If you are looking for an EASY to understand Italian Musical term this is the one to use.

How about affannoso?

I've probably spelt it wrong, but I've used it before in a similar way.

How about some english?

Where I live, it's pretty much a necessity to write your musical terms in Italian. It's just the done thing.

Where I live, it's pretty much a necessity to write your musical terms in Italian. It's just the done thing.

Well do what Stravinsky did and break through the norm! Or well then again you may be destroyed by a mob, but it's always worth taking the risk. :) What I don't get is how are people supposed to know what the words mean in Italian, Do you speak Italian Daniel?

No, I don't. I also don't play the clarinet, yet I write for it.

I don't need to speak Italian to know what "amabile" means or "forte" or "allegro" - and performers spend their lives learning and reading this stuff, so there's no communication problem.

Italian is a commonly used language for music, that's why it's a good idea to use it ;).

Does it make sense to use it for words which aren't a musical standard though? Pianissimo, allegretto, grave, con fuoco, col legno tratto all the way (or a "new combination" with well-known terms such as molto/poco/subito/pi

You could just say shyly, or look it up it italian if you want to sound cool. My comp. teacher told me once, "You're the composer, you can do whatever you want."

I agree! If you are looking for an EASY to understand Italian Musical term this is the one to use.

Timido is much less likely to be understood by people than "shyly"...

You aren't Italian, judging by your post in English, so please just write it in English.

Italian is a commonly used language for music, that's why it's a good idea to use it ;).

So are French, German, English, and Russian. Basically wherever that composers happens to be from. Americans/English speakers seem to bear this immense amount of guilt for embracing anything that might be their own culture. It's okay to write English words on your music!!!!

Where I live, it's pretty much a necessity to write your musical terms in Italian. It's just the done thing.

Why, do you live in Italy?

No, I live in a country where Italian is the standard for communication on a score.

To get slightly technical: if you use english terminology for one thing, then you must use english terminology for ALL things in your score. This is one of the basic rules of engraving. Do not switch to mutiple languages for score expressions within the same score.

That makes sense, but you still have to draw a line in most cases. I.e. even if you used english terminology you'd probably use "p" for piano instead of "softly", and even "pizzicato" instead of "plucked" or "vibrato" instead of "wavering". Glancing through a couple of scores I have here I can barely find any that just use a single language for musical indications (well, Italian composers are often exceptions of this). Being too strict about just using a single language can make certain things needlessly complicated.

Esitazione = tentatively

Con cautela = with caution

Nervosamente = (you can guess!)

Furtivamente = (again, it's a cognate)

Timidamente = means 'timidly' rather than just 'timid'

Nervosamente is the best.