Help with sheet music symbols/questions...

[m1u2s3i4c]

(Hi, this is my first post on this forum  )
I'm still a beginner (I haven't even used a pedal) and I have questions about some symbols that are in sheet music.
1) sim. means same as before and similar right? Which do I apply the sim. to? the individual note it was written after or the whole measure? Do I play it like double bars or do I play it throughout the whole piece? (BTW; this is on the "Arabian Dance" from the nutcracker - https://makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_printit_free_printable_sheet_music/arabian-dance-piano.htm if you can check it out)
2) I play on a Yamaha keyboard and in the screen where it shows the notes you played what does "8va" mean? because if the note is to high or low it shows the note lower/higher on the staff and says "8va"
3) Why are some pieces (like the Arabian dance from the nutcracker) are named after Arabs? I'm just curious about the history behind that (by the way I've never watched or even KNOW what the nutcracker is about  Yeah, I don't deserve to be on this forum)
4) what does Leo mean in sheet music?
5) Are big, alligator signs (I don't know what they called) mean "play louder?"
6) What does leggiero, cresc, dim. e poco rall, and risoluto mean?

THANK YOU  , I may have gotten some terms wrong, but as you can see, I'm a beginner 

[senanserat]

1. "The same as before", usually applied to articulations like stacatto or phrasings.
2. 8va depending on how it was writted basically means an octave higher/lower, means you play the same it says on the sheet but in the next group of 8notes, one octave higher or lower depends if the 8va is typed beneath or above the notes.
3.The origin of names are not a norm, while some composer stick to some Modus Operandi, the name can come from something the music alludes, i.e an Arabic tone to it, to whatver the composer was basing it or even nothing related.
4.I have no idea about this Leo, but perhaps you mean Ped (looks very ornamented) means to use pedal until the * appears.
5. I doubt reptilians have anything to do, thus I will assume its Allegro, Andante, etc... those are indication of how the music should "feel" and they are have assumed speed values, I suggest you seek the whole of em.
6. No idea what you means, dim=diminuendo (decrease volume), cres=increase, sfz= esforzando etc. Again read about the dynamics.

You could use some ligth theory, don't worry we all start from the bottom.

Read about all that here: https://www.musictheory.net/  and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_%28music%29#Sudden_changes_and_accented_notes


Oh and welcome.

[le_poete_mourant]

Most of what you say I agree with. I suspect, though, that question No. 5 is referring to "hairpins"
like this although larger   <     ?  In that case, yes, it is a crescendo up (get louder)

3. As to the Arabian dance... It was for a while quite vogue to write in supposedly "middle Eastern" styles of music. This is why, for example, both Mozart and Beethoven have Turkish marches. In fact, it is all basically a fascination with "the exotic" -- it's why you also see supposedly "Hungarian" music dating back to Haydn and appearing in Brahms, Liszt, etc.  Time and time again you see classical composers attempting to incorporate foreign and exotic sounds. (Of course, generally speaking, they get it wrong, but that's another story.) 

In any case, the Arabian dance from the Nutcracker is from a scene in which the dancers (the Nutcracker is a ballet) appear and perform for the little girl who is the main character. There are also dancers from Spain and China (exoticism again). Don't feel bad that you haven't seen the Nutcracker. I only saw it for the first time last year (excluding some strange Nutcracker on Ice thing I saw as a child). The basic premise, though, you can easily familiarize yourself with on wikipedia. A girl gets a nutcracker for Christmas, her brother breaks it, and she has an adventure that may or may not be a dream in which the nutcracker comes to life and they have a swimmingly great time, complete with pirouettes and everything.


6.  "dim. e poco rall"  means diminuendo, so get gradually quieter   AND (e = and in Italian) slowing down a little  (poco = a little; rall. = rallentando, which means gradually slow down)
Leggiero means lightly and (usually) quickly. Risoluto is just what it sounds like: resolutely. This is more of an indication of character rather than anything specific about dynamics or tempo.

I think you will find this a very useful resource: https://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/
This is a music dictionary compiled by the department at Virginia Tech. It has basically everything you will ever come across in your study of music.

[m1u2s3i4c]

  Thank You! senanserat and le_poete_mourant! You are AWESOME!