What do dynamics add to music

Tempo and Dynamics. Search for:. Dynamics and Dynamic Changes Dynamics Dynamics refers to the volume of a sound or note. Audio Score. Common Accents. Licenses and Attributions.

CC licensed content, Shared previously. Dynamics in music refers to how loud or soft is the music. It is that simple! But, because musicians and composers like to make things interesting, and sometimes difficult, there are lots of different musical terms that can be used to describe what the dynamics are in a piece of music. Many, many years ago, when music in the Western European tradition started to become systematized, it was decided that all musical information written on the musical score would be in a common language — Italian.

In the chart you can see all the basic dynamics terms commonly used in music today. Essentially, dynamics fall into two main categories — loud or soft. The dynamic music definitions will go from the softest to the loudest Italian terms. This means that in the music, a section would be played at certain volume level, then the next section at another volume, without any graduations or subtle changes in between.

Over time, composers and technology developed so that changes in dynamics were used in pieces of music.

There are two main changes in dynamics terms — crescendo and decrescendo. A crescendo is when the music becomes gradually louder. Piano p — quiet. Mezzo forte mf — moderately loud. Forte f — loud. Fortissimo ff — very loud. Sforzando sfz — a sudden, forced loud. Crescendo cresc — gradually getting louder.