forte (mf) 6. fortissimo (ff)
7. crescendo
8. decrescendo
When you hear varied softness and loudness of sound, you are listening to one of the elements in music, the dynamics. It conveys emotions that the message of the song would want to bring. Look at the chart below and be guided.
On the first column are the dynamic symbols or abbreviations of the Italian words written on the second column. On the third column are the definitions.
ABBREVIATION
mp p pp ppp
FULL WORD (ITALIAN) mezzo piano piano pianissimo pianississimo
DEFINITION
moderately soft
soft or quiet
very soft or very quiet
very very soft or very very quiet
When you are asked to use dynamic symbols in a music performance, simply follow how it should be sung or played. The first chart tells us that singing or playing a certain part of a music piece marked with p means singing or playing it softly