Meaning & use
scherzando music
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalmusic
Music played in a light, playful, joking manner, often marked scherzando in the score.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it takes a singular verb and no article: scherzando music is lively.
Patterns
- play scherzando music
- a passage of scherzando music
- mark something as scherzando music
The finale opens with scherzando music that makes the audience smile.
Her teacher asked for scherzando music in the trio, light and full of jokes.
Critics praised the scherzando music in the second movement for its wit.
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalmusic
Played or written in a joking, playful style, as shown by the direction scherzando.
Grammar: Used before a noun; for the direction itself, scherzando usually stands alone as an adverb in the score.
Patterns
- a scherzando passage
- a scherzando theme
- in a scherzando style
The scherzando passage needs a very light touch from the strings.
He wrote a scherzando theme that contrasts with the solemn opening.
The scherzando section should never sound heavy or slow.
Common combinations
- play something scherzando
- The conductor told the woodwinds to play the theme scherzando.
- a scherzando passage
- She practiced the scherzando passage until it sounded effortless.
- mark something scherzando
- The composer marked the final bars scherzando.
- in a scherzando style
- The pianist performed the variation in a scherzando style.
- light and scherzando
- Keep the accompaniment light and scherzando throughout.
Synonyms and how they differ
- playful
- A general word for a fun-loving quality; scherzando is the precise musical term for this manner in performance.
- joking
- Describes a humorous attitude in everyday speech, while scherzando belongs to written musical directions.
- jocose
- A formal literary word meaning humorous; scherzando is used only in music.
Opposites
Word family
- scherzo noun
- A lively, playful piece or movement, often the third movement of a symphony.
Commonly confused: scherzando music or scherzo? scherzando music or sforzando?
scherzando music vs scherzo
A scherzo is a whole movement or piece, while scherzando describes the playful way a passage is played.
scherzando music vs sforzando
Sforzando means a sudden strong accent on a note; scherzando means a joking, playful manner.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'scherzando' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Scherzando describes a playful, joking manner of playing, so option 0 fits. Option 1 contradicts the meaning, option 2 treats it as a thing you buy, and option 3 invents a verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scherzando music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.