Loudness in Music

9 Oct

Music should have different levels of volume, depending on its feeling or mood. To help us decide , the composer of music often gives us an idea of how soft or loud a pice of music should be. A sign or word, mostly in Italian, is written below Stave at the beginning of music to tell us how loudly is should start. If the volume of music is to change in the middle of music, another sign or word is written where the change is should take place.

Name Meaning
Pianississimo As soft as possible
Pianissimo Very softly
Piano Softly
Mezzo-Piano Moderately soft
Mezzo Medium (mezzo means “half”)
Mezzo-Forte Moderately loud
Forte Loudly
Fortissimo Very loud
Fortississimo As loudly as possible
Piu Forte More loud
Fortepiano A sudden change from loud to soft
Crescendo Gradually become louder
Diminuendo Gradually become softer

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