Dynamics — the loudness signs
The eight levels from pianississimo to fortississimo, the hairpins for crescendo and diminuendo and the accents sfz and fp — engraved and playable, every level actually softer or louder.
Dynamics are loudness and its changes. The signs are Italian: piano soft, forte loud, mezzo half. They sit below the staff (above it for voice) and hold until a new sign replaces them. There are no absolute values — an f in a string quartet is softer than one in a wind band. The levels are relative to each other.
The eight levels
From left to right every level a shade louder — the play button plays it that way.
The signs
Getting louder and softer
The opening hairpin is a crescendo (louder), the closing one a diminuendo or decrescendo (softer). It says exactly where the change begins and ends; the word cresc. with dots after it means the same over a longer stretch.
Accents
sfz (sforzato) is a single emphasis on one note, fp (fortepiano) a loud attack that continues soft at once. Both apply to that one note only; afterwards the previous level holds.
Changes and accents
| Sign | Italian | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cresc. / < | Crescendo | growing louder |
| dim. / > | Diminuendo | growing softer |
| sfz | Sforzato | a single sharp accent |
| fp | Fortepiano | attack loud, continue soft at once |
| subito p | Subito | suddenly — sub. p means: soft with no transition |
| poco a poco | Poco a poco | little by little — cresc. poco a poco stretches over many bars |
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