Using Musical Terms: Capitalization
Capitalization
and lower case terms
Use
lower case for…
Tonalities: modes, pentatonic, major and minor, except when they are part
of a title:
Mozart modulates to C major…
Sonata in C Minor (a title)
Genre names, except when they refer to a specific title:
sonata
symphony
string quartet
chanson
suite
Musical forms and sections of
forms are not capitalized:
sonata form
binary form
concerto form
overture
motet
recitatives and arias
exposition, development and
recapitulation
Liturgical words, especially those that begin a movement or section, are
capitalized:
Mass, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus,
Agnus dei
Requiem, Dies irae
Dynamics, endings and other
musical instructions use lower case and
italics. Complete words are
preferable to abbreviations, but when shortened, italics are still required.
forte f
pianissimo pp
a cappella
da capo
Tempo markings are capitalized only when they refer to the beginning of a
movement:
In the Adagio movement…
Pitches, chords and time signatures
In written text, pitches are
capitalized and chords are given in roman numerals, or their use, whichever is
more logical.
“Happy Birthday” begins on C
and on the tonic chord, but moves to a V7.
4/4, 9/8, 3/2 (do not use
fractions with one number over the other)
Musical periods are generally capitalized:
Middle Ages, but medieval music
Renaissance period
Baroque period
Classical era
Romantic composers and romanticism
Impressionist era
twentieth-century music, contemporary
music
centuries are lower case
twentieth-century music
nineteenth-century Lieder
(hyphenate the two adjectives)
sixteenth-century motets
in the seventeenth century (no
hyphen)
Instrument and voice names are lower case:
violas
timpani
flutes
french or english horns (non-literal
meaning of the nationality)
soprano, alto, tenor, bass