I. Fundamentals
7 Other Aspects of Notation
Chelsey Hamm and Mark Gotham
Key Takeaways
- Dynamics indicate the loudness of music. Musicians use a variety of Italian words to specify dynamics in Western musical notation.
- A crescendo indicates an increase in loudness, while a decrescendo or diminuendo indicates a decrease in loudness.
- The term articulation refers to the connection or separation between notes, as well as the accent level at the beginning of a note (its attack).
- A tempo indication tells a musician how fast or slow to play or sing a composition.
- Musicians periodize music into historical eras, which are useful to memorize. Works within these historical periods tend to share similar style characteristics.
- Structural features divide up a work or movement into smaller sections.
In this chapter we will explore other elements of music besides pitch (discussed in previous chapters) and duration (discussed in following chapters). These elements include dynamics, articulations, tempi, stylistic periods, and structural markers.
Dynamics
Dynamics indicate the loudness of music. In Western musical notation, we often use italicized Italian words, which can be abbreviated, to describe dynamics. The dynamic marking forte means loud, while piano means quiet. In sheet music, these words are written either above or below the staff.
Several Italian words and suffixes can modify piano and forte to create a range of dynamics from very quiet to very loud (mezzo means “moderately.” Musicians say mezzo forte to mean moderately loud and mezzo piano to mean moderately quiet. The Italian suffix -issimo means “very” or “extremely.” Musicians say pianissimo to mean “very quiet” and fortissimo to mean “very loud.” This suffix can be stacked; for example, one can say pianississimo to mean “very, very quietly,” or fortississimo to mean “very, very loudly.”
). The Italian wordDynamics are often abbreviated in Western musical notation, as shown below.
- fff = fortississimo
- ff = fortissimo
- f = forte
- mf = mezzo forte
- mp = mezzo piano
- p = piano
- pp = pianissimo
- ppp = pianississimo
Some composers add even more “-issimo“s, but this is rare. However, you might one day spot a pppppp or an ffffff in music that you play or sing!
There are three other Italian words that are commonly used to indicate a change in dynamic level. Crescendo (cresc.) means to get louder, while decrescendo (decresc.) and diminuendo (dim.) both mean to get quieter. Crescendos and decrescendos are indicated two different ways: either by writing out the abbreviation cresc. or decresc., possibly followed by dots, or by drawing hairpins. The term “hairpin” refers to the following symbols, which roughly approximate the shape of a bobby pin (or “hairpin”), as seen in
Articulations
The term articulation refers to the connection or separation between notes and to the accent level at the beginning of a note (its attack). Several articulations are demonstrated in . Percussion instruments,