Dynamics (music)

Three Italian words are used to show gradual changes in volume:

• crescendo (abbreviated cresc.) translates as "increasing" (literally "growing")
• decrescendo (abbreviated to decresc.) translates as "decreasing".
• diminuendo (abbreviated dim.) translates as "diminishing".

Signs sometimes referred to as "hairpins"[7] are also used to stand for these words (See image). If the angle lines open up (), then the indication is to get louder; if they close gradually (), the indication is to get softer. The following notation indicates music starting moderately strong, then becoming gradually stronger and then gradually quieter:

Hairpins are usually written below the staff (or between the two staves in a grand staff), but are sometimes found above, especially in music for singers or in music with multiple melody lines being played by a single performer. They tend to be used for dynamic changes over a relatively short space of time (at most a few bars), while cresc., decresc. and dim. are generally used for changes over a longer period. Word directions can be extended with dashes to indicate over what time the event should occur, which may be as long as multiple pages. The word morendo ("dying") is also sometimes used for a gradual reduction in dynamics (and tempo).

For greater changes in dynamics, cresc. molto and dim. molto are often used, where the molto means "much". Similarly, for more gradual changes poco cresc. and poco dim. are used, where "poco" translates as a little, or alternatively with poco a poco meaning "little by little".

Sudden changes in dynamics may be notated by adding the word subito (meaning "suddenly") as a prefix or suffix to the new dynamic notation. Subito piano (abbreviated sub. p or sp) ("suddenly soft") indicates that the dynamics quickly, almost abruptly, lower the volume to approximately the p range. It is often purposefully used to subvert the listener's expectation and will signify an intimate expression. Although it uses the piano p dynamic symbol, the performer has slight freedom in their interpretation, causing it to vary based on the preceding loudness or character of the piece. Likewise, subito can be used to mark suddenly louder changes, like subito forte sf, or subito fortissimo sff, however in these cases it's usually only used to add a particular amount of accent to one note or chord. If subito is used to note a sudden change to an entire louder passage, something like sub. f or sub. ff should be used to leave out any ambiguity.

Accented notes are typically notated with the accent sign > above or below the note, giving it a general emphasis relative to the current dynamics. A harder and shorter emphasis is usually marked with the marcato mark ^ above the note instead. If a very particular emphasis is needed instead, it can be marked with a variation of subito, forzando/forzato or fortepiano.

forzando/forzato indicates a forceful accent and is abbreviated as fz. To emphasize the effect, it is most often preceded with subito as sfz (subito forzato/forzando, sforzando/sforzato). How these should be interpreted and played in the music is up to the judgement of the performer, but a rule of thumb is that a forzato/forzando can be considered as a variation on marcato while subito forzando/forzato can be considered a variation on marcato with added tenuto.[8]

The fortepiano notation fp indicates a forte followed immediately by piano. By contrast, pf is an abbreviation for poco forte, literally "a little loud" but (according to Brahms) meaning with the character of forte, but the sound of piano, though rarely used because of possible confusion with pianoforte.[9]

Two measures of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C♯ minor showing dynamic markings sffff. The top two staves are both played by the right hand, the bottom two by the left.

While the typical range of dynamic markings is from ppp to fff, some pieces use additional markings of further emphasis. Extreme dynamic markings imply an extreme range of loudness, or, alternatively, imply an extremely subtle distinction between very small differences of loudness within a normal range. This kind of usage is most common in orchestral works from the late 19th century onwards. Generally, these markings are supported by the orchestration of the work, with heavy forte markings brought to life by having many loud instruments like brass and percussion playing at once.

• In Holst's The Planets, ffff occurs twice in "Mars" and once in "Uranus", often punctuated by organ.[10]
• Tchaikovsky marks a bassoon solo pppppp (6 ps) in his Pathétique Symphony[11] and uses ffff in passages of his 1812 Overture[12] and his Fifth Symphony.[13]
• The baritone passage "Era la notte" from Verdi's opera Otello uses pppp, though the same spot is marked ppp in the full score.[14]
• Igor Stravinsky used ffff at the end of the finale of the 1919 Firebird Suite.[15]
• Sergei Rachmaninoff uses sffff in his Prelude in C♯, Op. 3 No. 2.[16]
• Gustav Mahler, in the third movement of his Seventh Symphony, gives the celli and basses a marking of fffff (5 fs), along with a footnote directing 'pluck so hard that the strings hit the wood'.[lower-alpha 1][17]
• On the other extreme, Carl Nielsen, in the second movement of his Fifth Symphony, marked a passage for woodwinds a diminuendo to ppppp (5 ps),[18]
• The original piano version of F. W. Meacham's American Patrol begins at pppp and ends at ppppp.
• György Ligeti uses extreme dynamics in his music: the Cello Concerto begins with a passage marked pppppppp (8 ps),[19] in his Piano Études Étude No. 9 (Vertige) ends with a diminuendo to pppppppp (8 ps),[20] while Étude No. 13 (L'Escalier du Diable) contains a passage marked ffffff (6 fs) that progresses to a ffffffff (8 fs)[21] and his opera Le Grand Macabre has ffffffffff (10 fs) with the stroke of a hammer.