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In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in
loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
between
notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * Notes (album), ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) sho ...
or
phrases In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...
. Dynamics are indicated by specific
musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...
, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer depending on the musical context: for instance, the ''forte'' marking (meaning loud) in one part of a piece might have quite different objective loudness in another piece or even a different section of the same piece. The execution of dynamics also extends beyond loudness to include changes in
timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...
and sometimes
tempo rubato Tempo rubato (, , ; 'free in the presentation', literally ) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rub ...
.


Purpose and interpretation

Dynamics are one of the expressive elements of music. Used effectively, dynamics help musicians sustain variety and interest in a musical performance, and communicate a particular emotional state or feeling. Dynamic markings are always relative. never indicates a precise level of
loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
; it merely indicates that music in a passage so marked should be considerably quieter than . There are many factors affecting the interpretation of a dynamic marking. For instance, the middle of a
musical phrase In music theory, a phrase ( gr, φράση) is a unit of Meter (music), musical meter that has a complete musical sense of its own, built from figure (music), figures, motif (music), motifs, and Cell (music), cells, and combining to form Melody ...
will normally be played louder than the beginning or end, to ensure the phrase is properly shaped, even where a passage is marked throughout. Similarly, in multi-part music, some
voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (19 ...
will naturally be played louder than others, for instance, to emphasize the melody and the bass line, even if a whole passage is marked at one dynamic level. Some instruments are naturally louder than others – for instance, a
tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
playing ''piano'' will likely be louder than a guitar playing ''fortissimo'', while a high-pitched instrument like the
piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
playing in its upper register can usually sound loud even when its actual decibel level is lower than that of other instruments.


Dynamic markings

The two basic dynamic indications in music are: * or ''piano'', meaning "quiet". * or ''forte'', meaning "loud or strong". More subtle degrees of loudness or softness are indicated by: * , standing for ''mezzo-piano'', meaning "moderately quiet". * , standing for ''mezzo-forte'', meaning "moderately loud". * ', standing for ''più piano'' and meaning "more quiet". * ', standing for ''più forte'' and meaning "more loud". Use of up to three consecutive s or s is also common: * , standing for ''pianissimo'' and meaning "very quiet". * , standing for ''fortissimo'' and meaning "very loud". * ("triple ''piano''"), standing for ''pianississimo'' and meaning "very very quiet". * ("triple ''forte''"), standing for ''fortississimo'' and meaning "very very loud". :


Changes

Three Italian words are used to show gradual changes in volume: * ''crescendo'' (abbreviated ') translates as "increasing" (literally "growing") * ''decrescendo'' (abbreviated to ') translates as "decreasing". * ''diminuendo'' (abbreviated ') translates as "diminishing". Signs sometimes referred to as "
hairpin A hairpin or hair pin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place. It may be used simply to secure long hair out of the way for convenience or as part of an elaborate hairstyle or coiffure. The earliest evidence for dressing the hai ...
s" 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: \relative c'' Hairpins are usually written below the staff (or between the two staves in a
grand staff In Western musical notation, the staff (US and UK)"staff" in the Collins ...
), 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 ', ' and ' 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, ' and ' are often used, where the ''molto'' means "much". Similarly, for more gradual changes ' and ' 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 ' or ) ("suddenly soft") indicates that the dynamics quickly, almost abruptly, lower the volume to approximately the range. It is often purposefully used to subvert the listener's expectation and will signify an intimate expression. Although it uses the ''piano'' 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'' , or ''subito fortissimo'' , 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 or 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 . To emphasize the effect, it is most often preceded with ''subito'' as (''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''. The
fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...
notation indicates a ''forte'' followed immediately by ''piano''. By contrast, 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 The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
''.


Extreme dynamic markings

While the typical range of dynamic markings is from to , 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 Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...
of the work, with heavy forte markings brought to life by having many loud instruments like brass and percussion playing at once. * In
Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
's ''
The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...
'', occurs twice in "Mars" and once in "Uranus", often punctuated by organ. *
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
marks a bassoon solo (6 s) in his ''Pathétique'' Symphony and uses in passages of his ''
1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon ...
'' and his Fifth Symphony. Tchaikovsky at least once uses fffff, in his early poem Tempest (1873). * The baritone passage "Era la notte" from
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's opera ''
Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...
'' uses , though the same spot is marked in the full score. *
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
used at the end of the finale of the 1919 ''Firebird Suite''. *
Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
uses in his Prelude in C, Op. 3 No. 2. *
Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
, in the third movement of his Seventh Symphony, gives the celli and basses a marking of (5 s), along with a footnote directing ' pluck so hard that the strings hit the wood'. * On the other extreme,
Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...
, in the second movement of his Fifth Symphony, marked a passage for woodwinds a diminuendo to (5 s), * The original piano version of
F. W. Meacham Frank White Meacham (May 31, 1856 – December 22, 1909) was an American composer and arranger of Tin Pan Alley. Meacham was born in Brooklyn, New York. His most famous work is ''American Patrol'' (1885), a popular march. Written originally f ...
's
American Patrol "American Patrol" is a popular march written by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham in 1885. It incorporates both original musical themes by Meacham and melodies from American patriotic songs of the era such as "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," "Dixie," ...
begins at and ends at . *
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...
uses extreme dynamics in his music: the
Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...
begins with a passage marked (8 s), in his Piano Études Étude No. 9 (''Vertige'') ends with a diminuendo to (8 s), while Étude No. 13 (''L'Escalier du Diable'') contains a passage marked (6 s) that progresses to a (8 s) and his opera
Le Grand Macabre ''Le Grand Macabre'' (1974–1977, revised version 1996) is the only opera by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. The opera has two acts, and its libretto—based on the 1934 play ''La balade du grand macabre'' by Michel de Ghelderode—was wri ...
has (10 s) with the stroke of a hammer.


History

''On Music'', one of the ''
Moralia The ''Moralia'' ( grc, Ἠθικά ''Ethika''; loosely translated as "Morals" or "Matters relating to customs and mores") is a group of manuscripts dating from the 10th–13th centuries, traditionally ascribed to the 1st-century Greek scholar Plu ...
'' attributed to the philosopher
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
in the first century AD, suggests that ancient Greek musical performance included dynamic transitions – though dynamics receive far less attention in the text than does
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
or
harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
. The
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
composer
Giovanni Gabrieli Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557 – 12 August 1612) was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift f ...
was one of the first to indicate dynamics in
music notation Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, but dynamics were used sparingly by composers until the late 18th century.
J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...
used some dynamic terms, including ''forte'', ''piano'', ''più piano'', and ''pianissimo'' (although written out as full words), and in some cases it may be that was considered to mean ''pianissimo'' in this period. The fact that the
harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
could play only "terraced" dynamics (either loud or soft, but not in between), and the fact that composers of the period did not mark gradations of dynamics in their scores, has led to the "somewhat misleading suggestion that
baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
dynamics are 'terraced dynamics'," writes
Robert Donington Robert Donington (4 May 1907 – 20 January 1990) was a British musicologist and instrumentalist influential in the early music movement and in Wagner studies. He was educated at St Paul's School, London, and studied at the University of Oxfor ...
. In fact, baroque musicians constantly varied dynamics: in 1752,
Johann Joachim Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great. Quantz composed hundreds of flute ...
wrote that "Light and shade must be constantly introduced ... by the incessant interchange of loud and soft." In addition to this, the
harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
in fact becomes louder or softer depending on the thickness of the musical texture (four notes are louder than two). This allowed composers like J.S. Bach to build dynamics directly into their compositions, without the need for notation. In the Romantic period, composers greatly expanded the vocabulary for describing dynamic changes in their scores. Where
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
and
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
specified six levels ( to ),
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
used also and (the latter less frequently), and
Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
used a range of terms to describe the dynamics he wanted. In the slow movement of Brahms's trio for violin, horn and piano (Opus 40), he uses the expressions , ''molto piano'', and '' quasi niente'' to express different qualities of quiet. Many Romantic and later composers added ' and ', making for a total of ten levels between and . An example of how effective contrasting dynamics can be may be found in the overture to Smetana’s opera ''
The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' ( cz, Prodaná nevěsta, links=no, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the ...
''. The fast scurrying quavers played pianissimo by the second violins form a sharply differentiated background to the incisive thematic statement played fortissimo by the firsts.


Interpretation by notation programs

In some
music notation program A scorewriter, or music notation program is software for creating, editing and printing sheet music. A scorewriter is to music notation what a word processor is to text, in that they typically provide flexible editing and automatic layout, and pr ...
s, there are default
MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
key velocity values associated with these indications, but more sophisticated programs allow users to change these as needed. These defaults are listed in the following table for some applications, including Apple's
Logic Pro Logic Pro is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI music sequencer, sequencer software application for the macOS platform. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which ...
9 (2009–2013), Avid's
Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
5 (2007–2009), musescore.org's MuseScore 3.0 (2019), MakeMusic's Finale 26 (2018-2021), and Musitek's
SmartScore SmartScore 64 is a music OCR and scorewriter program, developed, published and distributed by Musitek Corporation based in Ojai, California. History SmartScore was originally released in 1991 as MIDISCAN for Windows. The product line was later ...
X2 Pro (2016) and 64 Pro. (2021). MIDI specifies the range of key velocities as an integer between 0 and 127: The velocity effect on volume depends on the particular instrument. For instance, a grand piano has a much greater volume range than a recorder.


Relation to audio dynamics

The introduction of modern recording techniques has provided alternative ways to control the dynamics of music.
Dynamic range compression Dynamic range compression (DRC) or simply compression is an audio signal processing operation that reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds, thus reducing or ''compressing'' an audio signal's dynamic range. Compression is ...
is used to control the
dynamic range Dynamic range (abbreviated DR, DNR, or DYR) is the ratio between the largest and smallest values that a certain quantity can assume. It is often used in the context of signals, like sound and light. It is measured either as a ratio or as a base-1 ...
of a recording, or a single instrument. This can affect loudness variations, both at the micro- and macro scale. In many contexts, the meaning of the term ''dynamics'' is therefore not immediately clear. To distinguish between the different aspects of dynamics, the term ''performed dynamics'' can be used to refer to the aspects of music dynamics that is controlled exclusively by the performer.


See also

*
Accent (music) In music, an accent is an emphasis, stress, or stronger attack placed on a particular note or set of notes, or chord, either as a result of its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark. Accents contribute to the articulation and prosod ...
*
Glossary of musical terminology A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dynamics (Music) Musical notation Musical terminology Elements of music