Meaning & use
cantabile music
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalmusic
A smooth, singing style of music that is played or sung in a flowing, songlike way.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: play cantabile music, not a cantabile music.
Patterns
- play something in a cantabile style
- a cantabile passage
The slow movement is full of cantabile music that seems to float above the accompaniment.
Her teacher asked her to make the melody sound like cantabile music rather than a series of separate notes.
The choir performed the cantabile music with great warmth and control.
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalmusic
Describing a piece or passage that should be performed in a smooth, singing manner.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes, as in a cantabile melody.
Patterns
- a cantabile melody
- a cantabile line
- a cantabile passage
The composer wrote a cantabile melody for the solo violin.
In this cantabile passage, the pianist should let the notes sing.
The conductor asked for a more cantabile line in the strings.
Common combinations
- cantabile melody
- The second theme is a cantabile melody that stays in the listener's mind.
- cantabile style
- She played the whole sonata in a cantabile style.
- cantabile passage
- The cantabile passage in the middle of the aria requires very smooth breathing.
- cantabile line
- The cellist shaped the cantabile line with a rich, warm tone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- singing
- A general adjective for a sound that resembles singing; cantabile is a specific musical direction for performance style.
- lyrical
- Lyrical describes music with a songlike, expressive quality, but it is a broader critical term, not a performance instruction.
- melodious
- Melodious means pleasant and tuneful; cantabile focuses on the smooth, singing way the music should be played.
Opposites
Word family
- cantabile adverb
- In a singing style (used as a musical direction in scores).
- cantilena noun
- A smooth, flowing melody, especially in vocal music.
Commonly confused: cantabile music or cantata? cantabile music or cantabile?
cantabile music vs cantata
A cantata is a medium-length vocal composition with instruments; cantabile describes a style of performance, not a type of piece.
cantabile music vs cantabile
Sometimes learners confuse cantabile with cantabile music: the adjective cantabile can stand alone when the context is clear, as in 'Play this cantabile.'
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cantabile' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Cantabile means smooth and singing, so option 0 fits. Option 1 suggests a loud march, option 2 suggests detached playing, and option 3 suggests a solo, none of which match the meaning of cantabile.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cantabile music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.