Chapter 7:Tempo, Dynamics, and Navigation 83
Two accent marks and a marcato.
More Dynamics
There are even more musical markings you can use to indicate how loud or soft a
piece of music is to be played, although these are less frequently used than those
already presented. These additional markings are listed in the following table.
Additional Dynamic Markings
Marking Means ...
calando Decreasing tone and speed
con sordino (sordini) Muted (for horn instruments: use a mute)
diminuendo (dim.) Gradually become less powerful; diminish in intensity
dolcissimo (dolciss.) Very gently; sweetly
incalzando Increasing tone and speed
leggiero Light, delicate
mancando Dying away
marcato (marc.) Marked or emphasized
martellato Hammered out
mezza voce In an undertone—literally, “half voice”
morendo Dying away
perdendosi Dying away
senza sordini Without mutes
smorzando Dying away
sotto voce In an undertone
strepitoso Boisterous
tacet Silent
tutta forza As loud as possible
una corda For pianists: use the soft pedalFinding Your Way
Reading a long piece of music is a little like reading a roadmap. You’ll see various
indications in a scorethat provide direction, to repeat a section or to jump to
another section within the song.