Dynamics

The dynamics of music describe its volume, or loudness and softness.

In the above example, there is 1 piano, crescendo, forte, and 2 accents symbols. These symbols indicate how hard or soft we press a key, and therefore, how loud or soft we play the note.

Below are basic dynamics symbols.

Symbol Name Definition
p piano soft
m mezzo medium
f forte loud
sfz sforzando very loud followed immediately by very soft
crescendo gradually louder (Remember the symbols for greater than and less than? As the distance between the lines gets wider, the music is played louder.)
diminuendo or decrescendo gradually softer (see above)
accent a stressed note (played louder than the other notes in the same measure)
__ tenuto/stress a slightly stressed note (played slightly louder than the other notes in the same measure)

In addition, many combinations of piano, mezzo, and forte can be used.

Symbol Name Definition
mf mezzo forte medium loud
mp mezzo piano medium soft
pp pianissimo very soft
ppp pianississmo extremely soft
ff fortissimo very loud
fff fortississimo extremely loud
fp forte-piano loud followed by soft

Although the combinations are infinite, in reality, most songs only have dynamics up to pianississimo and fortississimo. The extreme ffffffff's and ppppppp's are rarely seen and rarely used at all.

Review

  1. Dynamics describe the volume, loudness or softness, of music.

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