The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

82 Par t 2:Rhythms

To abruptly change the volume level at a specific point, insert a new dynamic

marking. It’s okay to indicate dramatic changes in volume; you can go from pp

in one measure to ff in the next, if you want.

To gradually change the volume of a song, you have to use what we call crescendo

and decrescendomarks. The crescendo mark (which looks like a giant hairpin,

closed at the left and widening to the right) indicates that you gradually increase

the volume from your current level to the new level indicated at the end of the

crescendo. The decrescendo mark (which looks like a hairpin open at the left

and closed at the right) indicates that you gradually decrease the volume from

your current level to the new level indicated at the end of the decrescendo.

Crescendos and decrescendos indicate gradual increases or decreases in volume.

Crescendos and decrescendos can be relatively short (just a beat or two) or

extend over multiple measures. Obviously, the longer the crescendo or

decrescendo, the more gradual is the change in volume.

Play It Harder

If you want a specific note to be played louder than the other notes around it,

you’ll want to place an accent mark (>) over that note. When a note is accented,

you simply play it louder than a normal note.

To indicate that a note is to be played very loud (or hit very hard, if you’re writ-

ing a percussion part), you place a marcato ( ˆ ) over the note. This means you

play or hit that extra hard—with a good solid punch!

You can use three other markings to indicate a sudden accent. These markings,

like all Italian notation, are placed under the note in question, as detailed in the

following table.

Italian Accent Markings

Marking Means ...

fz Sudden accent (forzando)

sf Forced (sforzando)

sfz Even more forced (sforzando)

The way you can

remember whether

the marking means

to get louder or

softer is that the wider the

“mouth” of the hairpin, the

louder the music. When

the mouth is at the left and

then narrows, that means

you start loud and get

softer. When the mouth is

at the right, that means you

start soft and get louder.

Tip

Technically, the marcato is

not an accent. The formal

definition means to play

the note “well marked,” or

distinct from the surround-

ing notes. In practice,

however, this translates

into a loud, long accent.

Note