Minore
Marks a minor-key section within an otherwise major-key movement, for example in variations or dances.
What it means
Minore (Italian for "smaller") denotes a section in the minor within a movement that is mainly in the major. In the score the word appears as a heading above the section. It usually means a change of key to the tonic minor, for instance C major to C minor.
Musical use
The term is found above all in sets of variations, in which one variation is explicitly headed minore, and in dances and marches with a trio in the minor. Its counterpart is maggiore, which marks the return to the major. The minor section usually sounds more serious, thoughtful or wistful and is felt as a contrast to the surrounding major sound.
Minore should be distinguished from a mere passage through minor chords: it means a clearly set-off, continuous section.
Performance practice
Give the minore section a different sound from the major sections: darker, often somewhat more restrained. Prepare the change with a clear ending of the previous section and return to a brighter sound at maggiore.