Diploma & Media Theory

How music played?

Dynamics and Accents 

Dynamics

All sounds including musical sounds can be barely audible or so loud that they can damage your ears. Musicians often refer to dynamics. Dynamics does not just refer to how loud the sound is but how an orchestra sound is relative. For example, an orchestra will sound much louder than a single violin.
Traditionally dynamic markings are based on Italian words for example: 'Forte' means loud 'Piano' means soft.


Dynamic signs

Sign	In Italian	Definition
pp	pianissimo	very soft
p	piano	soft
mp	mezzo piano	moderately soft
mf	mezzo forte	moderately loud
f	forte	loud
ff	fortissimo	very loud
>	decrescendo	gradually softer
<	crescendo	gradually louder

Accents

A composes uses accents to show when he wants a particular note to be louder. There are different ways of writing accents and depending on the instrument being played the sound will change. Some accents may be played by making the note larger or shorter.


Common Accents