Dynamics in music are the volume increases and decreases that occur within a given piece. Each dynamic symbol below represents a certain volume setting that musicians follow when playing. The volume settings may differ for each piece and performance, but the definitions below represents volume settings for all instruments.
Fortissimo - Very Loud - ff
Fortissimo is one of the loudest dynamic volumes in music. On the rarest of occasions, a musician might see a triple "F" marking that sometimes literally vibrates a room. There is only so much volume a human ear can take and fortissimo is usually the highest volume setting in printed music.
Forte - Loud - f
Still a loud volume but not as loud as fortissimo, Forte is common with solo parts that need to be at the forefront with other parts. Depending on the style of the music played, the forte volume is played way more than fortissimo.
Mezzo Forte - Medium Loud - mf
Getting a little softer in volume but still enough to get a melody across in a full band, mezzo forte is not as loud as forte but still louder than mezzo piano (aka medium soft).
Mezzo Piano - Medium Soft - mp
Taking the volume down a little bit more, we have a mezzo piano or medium soft setting. If a melody that needs to be in the forefront typically will use either a forte or mezzo forte setting and counter patterns in other instruments typically need to be in the background with a mezzo piano volume. This volume setting with certain instruments blend the orchestra way better than every instrument being in a loud volume.
Piano - Soft - p
A little softer than mezzo piano but not as soft as pianissimo (pp). A lot of smooth and mellow music typically will be notated with a piano dynamic.
Pianissimo - Very Soft - pp
One of the quietest volume settings in music, pianissimo is way softer than piano but still gets plenty of volume for music to be played. On the rarest of occasions, one might see a triple "p" (ppp) marking in their music. If that happens, the volume is almost not even noticeable.
Crescendo - Gradually Getting Louder
There's a common saying that music is math and math is music, these kinds of dynamic markings look very similar to the greater than or less than symbols from math. It's funny how in math they mean greater than or less than, but in music they mean getting louder (crescendo) and getting softer (decrecendo).
Decrecendo - Gradually Getting Softer
The complete opposite of crescendo, decrecendo actually has another term; sometimes musicians refer to it as diminuendo. Over the years of playing, I have not heard any other musician refer to this dynamic as "diminuendo." Ninety-nine percent of all musicians that I know of typically calls it decrecendo.
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