Dynamics
Dynamics are the letters under the staff telling you how loud to play: p is soft, f is loud, and mp and mf are the moderate versions of each.
They are relative, not absolute. A p after a long f passage is quieter than a p at the start of a quiet piece, because the ear judges loudness by comparison. Playing everything at one volume is the fastest way to sound mechanical.
How To Spot Dynamics
Italic letters below the staff — p, pp, mp, mf, f, ff — placed where the change begins.
Find It In Thirty Seconds
Play a line at f, then the same line at p. If the two sound the same, you have found the thing to work on this week.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
Related Topics...
How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each — clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Accent: An accent (>) above or below a note means play that note louder than the ones around it.
Crescendo: A crescendo means get gradually louder. It is written as cresc. or as a hairpin that opens to the right.
Diminuendo (Decrescendo): A diminuendo means get gradually softer. It is written as dim., decresc., or a hairpin that closes to the right.
Tempo Marking: A tempo marking is the word or metronome number at the top of a piece saying how fast to play it — Andante, Allegro, or something like ♩ = 96.
More in This Section
Eighth Note: An eighth note is a filled note head with a stem and one flag, and it lasts half a beat in common time. Two of them fill one quarter-note beat.
Eighth Rest: An eighth rest is a small slanted stroke with a single flag, meaning half a beat of silence.