The piano's full name, the pianoforte, comes from the Italian for "soft-loud". Unlike the harpsichord, it lets you change the volume simply by how you press the keys, and that control is one of its great pleasures. You already know the two basic dynamic marks, p (piano, soft) and f (forte, loud). This lesson fills in the space between them and shows you how to move gradually from one level to another.
Two levels in the middle
Between soft and loud, composers use two in-between marks. Both begin with the Italian word mezzo, meaning "medium" or "half".
- mp stands for mezzo piano: medium soft. A little louder than p.
- mf stands for mezzo forte: medium loud. A little softer than f.
So, from softest to loudest, the four levels you now know are p, mp, mf, f. A dynamic mark is written beside the note where the new level begins (in piano music, usually just below the treble staff), and it stays in force until another mark appears.
How loud each level should be is not measured exactly. What matters is that the four levels are clearly different from one another and always in the right order. A useful starting point: mf is how you play when nothing special is happening, and mp is the gentle, everyday soft.
Here is a short exercise. Play the first two bars at mp, then lift the level to mf for the last two.
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Getting gradually louder or softer
Sometimes the music should not jump from one level to the next but grow or fade smoothly.
- Crescendo, written cresc., means get gradually louder.
- Diminuendo, written dim., means get gradually softer. (You may also see decrescendo, which means the same thing.)
Instead of words, these are often drawn as long thin wedges called hairpins. A hairpin that opens out towards the right is a crescendo; one that closes towards the right is a diminuendo. The change lasts as long as the hairpin or the dotted line after the word.
The F major scale is a perfect place to practise both. Start soft at the bottom, grow louder as you climb, and fade as you come back down.
Leave room to change
The secret of a good crescendo is where it starts. If you begin already quite loud, there is nowhere to go. Start a crescendo softer than you think, and start a diminuendo louder than you think. Then spread the change evenly, so that each note is just a little louder (or softer) than the one before, rather than staying flat and making one sudden jump at the end.
Physically, louder comes from more arm weight and a slightly quicker key stroke, not from hitting harder with stiff fingers. Softer comes from a slower, lighter touch, with the fingertips staying close to the keys.
Dynamics in a piece
The Academy's Evening Song in F starts at mp. In its second half it grows through bars 5 and 6, reaches mf, then fades back to a quiet ending.
How to practise dynamics
- One key, four levels. Play G four times: p, mp, mf, f. Then go back down: f, mf, mp, p. Can a listener hear four separate levels?
- Five-note crescendo. Play C D E F G, getting louder on each note, then G F E D C, getting softer.
- The scale. Play the F major scale with the crescendo and diminuendo shown above. Keep the rhythm perfectly steady; changing volume must not change speed.
- Mark the music. Before playing a piece, find every dynamic mark and hairpin. Say them aloud in order.
- Exaggerate first. In practice, make the differences larger than you think they need to be. You can always tone them down later.
- Record yourself. Dynamics that feel big while playing often sound small on a recording.
Common mistakes
- All four levels sounding the same. Many players have only "normal" and "loud". Practise the in-between levels on one key until they are distinct.
- Making the change all at once. A crescendo is gradual. If the first notes stay the same and the last one jumps, it is not a crescendo.
- Starting the crescendo too loud, leaving no room to grow.
- Tensing up for loud notes. A stiff hand makes a hard, unpleasant sound. Use the weight of a relaxed arm.
Try it in Pianuvo
In the Academy lesson you hear the F major scale grow and fade, then shape Evening Song in F yourself. The exercises listen as you play, and with a MIDI keyboard they also check how loud each note is. You can follow along on the on-screen keys or with a real piano through the microphone too. Find it in Unit 7: F major, flats and changing dynamics.