Loud and Soft: The Power of Dynamics

Imagine you are watching a film. The hero is sneaking through a dark castle. The music is very quiet and creepy. Then — BANG! A monster jumps out and the music explodes with noise. Did you notice how the volume changed? That change is one of the most powerful tools in all of music. Today you are going to discover what musicians call it.

In music, dynamics means how loud or soft the sound is. Musicians all over the world use Italian words for dynamics because, hundreds of years ago, Italy was the centre of the music world and these words stuck. The two most important dynamic words are: • forte (say: FOR-tay) — this means loud. • piano (say: pee-AH-no) — this means soft. Yes, the instrument called a piano got its name from this word because it could play both soft and loud! There are also in-between levels: • mezzo-forte (say: MET-so FOR-tay) — this means moderately loud, so medium-loud. • mezzo-piano (say: MET-so pee-AH-no) — this means moderately soft, so medium-soft. Dynamics can also change gradually. When music slowly gets louder, it is called a crescendo (say: creh-SHEN-doe). When music slowly gets softer, it is called a decrescendo (say: dee-creh-SHEN-doe). Composers choose dynamics carefully. Soft dynamics can make music feel calm, mysterious, or sad. Loud dynamics can make music feel exciting, powerful, or joyful. By changing the dynamics, a composer can tell a story without using any words at all.