Leggiero vs Pesante

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Leggiero	Pesante
Definition	Lightly, delicately.	Heavily, with weight.
Category	expression	articulation
Pronunciation	leh-JEH-roh	peh-ZAHN-teh
Origin	Italian	Italian
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	Lightly Delicately	Heavily Weightily
Antonyms	Pesante Marcato	Leggiero Grazioso
Usage	Debussy's piano music frequently calls for leggiero passagework — shimmering, weightless textures.	The opening of Mussorgsky's "Great Gate of Kiev" from Pictures at an Exhibition is played pesante.

Definition: Lightly, delicately.
Category: expression
Pronunciation: leh-JEH-roh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: Lightly Delicately
Antonyms: Pesante Marcato
Usage: Debussy's piano music frequently calls for leggiero passagework — shimmering, weightless textures.

Definition: Heavily, with weight.
Category: articulation
Pronunciation: peh-ZAHN-teh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: Heavily Weightily
Antonyms: Leggiero Grazioso
Usage: The opening of Mussorgsky's "Great Gate of Kiev" from Pictures at an Exhibition is played pesante.