Beyond playing the right notes and rhythms, the goal of many budding pianists is to be able to express themselves through music. One simple yet beautiful way to express yourself through music is by embracing dynamics.

Dynamics are the variations in volume within a piece of music. Think of the soundtrack of your favorite movie — the music might get louder in exciting adventurous scenes and quieter during intimate or mysterious moments. These changes influence the sound and mood of the scene and the music itself.

Sheet music often includes dynamic markings that tell you how loudly or softly to play a piece of music, as well as how to change from loud to soft. Does, say, the volume change gradually or suddenly? Such instructions can be subjective, and no two pianists will play a piece exactly the same way. Much of the magic of performance, including from the world's most beloved pianists, comes from how musicians interpret the music they are playing.

As you can see, learning how to play with dynamics will open the doors to the world of expression. Keep reading to learn what the most commonly-used dynamic markings mean and how to practice playing with dynamics.

About dynamic markings

Composers use dynamic markings to guide the player in their interpretations of a piece. The words used to describe dynamics are usually in Italian and, in sheet music, they are marked with a symbol or abbreviation that makes them easier to read. In piano sheet music, you may see separate dynamic markings for each hand or a shared dynamic marking in the middle of the staff.

Basic dynamic markings tell you how loud you should play, and you can keep playing around that dynamic level until a new one is marked. However, some markings indicate gradual or sudden changes in dynamic or apply to only one note.

Sometimes, a piece of music will have little-to-no dynamic markings. When you don't see a dynamic marking, feel free to experiment with your own interpretation of the section.

Below, we'll cover the different kinds of dynamic markings you'll come across in music.

Different dynamic levels

Dynamic levels are based on two Italian words: forte (loud) and piano (soft). We might add the prefix mezzo to make something less forte or less piano. Similarly, we can add the suffix -issimo to make something more forte or more piano.

The chart below contains the common dynamic markings you might see in sheet music, and illustrates how each marking relates to a volume level.

Dynamic changes

Besides markings for the overall volume of a section, a piece may have instructions for how to change the dynamic — either gradually or suddenly. Here are some common markings that show dynamic changes.

Often, markings for dynamic changes will show you the length of the change. For instance, a crescendo symbol will be drawn out from the place in the music that the crescendo should start until the place in the music where the maximum volume of the crescendo should be reached. If the abbreviation cresc. is used, there may be a dotted line to show the extent of the crescendo. The same applies to decrescendos. Crescendos and decrescendos are sometimes followed by a new dynamic marking to show how loud or soft you should get.

Dynamics on individual notes

Sometimes, a note will have an accent on it, which means you should emphasize it by playing it slightly louder than the rest of the notes in the section. Accents should be played relative to the dynamic level of the section, so you probably wouldn't play an accented note in a piano section at fortissimo.

A regular accent is marked with the symbol > over or under the notehead, but there are other accent markings that are more nuanced. Here are a few types of accents you might see.

Keep learning with the flowkey app

Improve your music reading skills with flowkey's interactive courses. By completing lessons on reading sheet music, you'll learn the names of different keys, how to recognize the treble clef, and which notes are for the left and right hands – plus much more. Advanced players can also practice sight reading with a collection of fun drills, created by professional musicians. Get started with flowkey today to continue learning.