Dynamics in music: loud and soft

In short: Dynamics describe how loudly or softly music is played and how the volume changes. In sheet music they are indicated with Italian terms and their abbreviations.

In more detail: The markings are relative rather than fixed measurements: a forte on the flute sounds different from one on the trombone. Good dynamics bring music to life and help build tension and shape climaxes.

In detail

• Basic levels: p stands for piano (soft) and f for forte (loud); in between come mp (mezzo-piano, moderately soft) and mf (mezzo-forte, moderately loud).
• Extremes: pp (pianissimo) means very soft and ff (fortissimo) very loud; some composers also write ppp or fff.
• Crescendo: The marking cresc. or an opening hairpin means gradually getting louder.
• Decrescendo and diminuendo: decresc., dim. or a closing hairpin mean gradually getting softer.
• Sudden accents: sfz (sforzando) calls for a strongly accented single note, while fp (fortepiano) means starting loud and immediately continuing softly.
• Accent marks: Small signs above or below notes make individual notes stand out without changing the basic volume.
• The piano: The name pianoforte came about because you could play softly and loudly on it depending on your touch, which is hardly possible on a harpsichord.
• Practising: Playing a scale once very softly and once very loudly trains control over your sound.
• Listening: Strong contrasts between soft and loud passages often make a greater impression than constantly high volume (noten-lesen-grundlagen, rhythmus-und-takt, instrument-effektiv-ueben).