Dynamics in Music

Musicians can play songs at different levels. One part can be played soft, another part can be played loud, and other parts can be played somewhere in between soft and loud. There’s a whole spectrum of volume indicated by dynamic markings as either terms or symbols in the music to communicate the variety of dynamics that can be used. Those dynamic markings don’t signify an exact volume level in decibels. This would be impossible when using acoustic or digital instruments with differing “master volumes”. In other words. Everything is relative to the set volume of the instrument. So what can be done is to use different adjectives (Italian words) in the music to further communicate how soft or loud we should play our instrument on a physical manner.  For example, how hard we should strike the keys on the piano in different parts of a song. So dynamics is the force with which we play an instrument, and this is indicated in the music so the performer knows what to do in that regard.

Here´s a list of some of the most common musical terms we use to indicate different levels of dynamics:

• pianissimo, or pp, means “very soft”
• piano, or p, means “soft”
• mezzo piano, mp, means “medium-soft”
• mezzo forte, mf, means “medium-loud”
• forte, f, means “loud”
• fortissimo, ff, means “very loud!”

Here’s a little exercise playing the piano: Imagine going up or down a volume staircase (see image above) one step at a time. Start by playing the loudest you can possibly play. Now go down a step and play very loud, but not as loud as possible like you did before. Step down again to play loud, then medium-loud, then medium-soft, then soft, then very soft, and then very, very soft (although that’s out of our range). So we started on top of the volume staircase playing as loud as we could, and ended at the bottom of the volume staircase and played as soft as we could. This is how dynamics work. We can play our instrument with differing forces which will create different volume levels, or dynamic levels. This is indicated in the music using dynamic markings as either terms or symbols from the table above (and some more). Search on Google to find more dynamic markings than this.

Some composers even goes to the extremes with more than 2 p’s or 2 f´s. Though, everything is relative and you can regulate the force you’ll use when there’s only up to 2 p’s or 2 f’s in the music. There’s not an exact decibel level or force attached to the different dynamic markings. Everything is relative to other dynamic markings and to the initial volume level of your instrument. This initial volume level can then be seen as either Medium Soft or Medium Loud, which is in the middle of our dynamic range.

Two kinds of dynamic changes

There are two kinds of dynamic changes in music. One is a sudden change from one level to another. The other is a gradual change. We’ve already covered the sudden changes in level, which as we have learned are indicated by terms or symbols in the music. Obviously, gradual changes in volume are also marked in the music. This time we use symbols or abbreviations of the Italian words that describe the transition.

When you gradually move from one dynamic level to another, that’s called a crescendo or decrescendo:

Crescendo

A crescendo is a gradual increase in volume. Its sign is two lines that start together at a point and then gradually get further apart, or you could see the abbreviation “cresc.”.

Decrescendo

A decrescendo or diminuendo is a gradual decrease in volume. Its sign is two lines that start apart and gradually move together to reach a point, or you might see “dim.” or “decresc.” written in your music. Often a crescendo or decrescendo sign has dynamic markings at either end to tell you where your volume should be when you begin the change and where your volume should be when the change in dynamics is complete.

Songs without dynamic markings

Sometimes composers don’t put any dynamic markings in their music. This doesn’t mean that you can’t add dynamics to the song you’re performing. You can do whatever you like. This is creativity and one of the aspects in making your own version of songs. Just experiment and find ways (in this case, using dynamics) to spice up the song. You can bring that variety, excitement and emotion to songs by using a variety of dynamics. Even if dynamics are marked on the music you can always try it your own way. You might find another way to add dynamics to the song that you like better.

Here’s some suggestions to things you can do regarding dynamics:

Soft Verse, Loud Chorus – you’ll hear this in a lot of popular music. Just play the chorus part of a song louder than the verse to make the chorus more exciting, and then drop back to a softer level for the next verse.

Play happy parts louder than sad parts – You’ll align the dynamics with the lyrics of the song.

Play faster parts louder than slower parts – Again, you’re aligning the dynamics with other “parts” of the song. In this case, mixing dynamics with tempo indications in the music.

You can buy the Dynamics in Music poster in the shop.
In this way, you’ll always know how load to play your instrument in different songs or parts of songs.

See shop listing

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