• Pitch Elements
  • Pitch
  • Melody
  • Scales
  • Harmony
  • Keys
• Time Elements
  • Beat and Meter
  • Rhythm
• Expression and Organization
  • Expression Markings
  • Basics of Form
  • Form in Popular and Art Music
• Instruments and Voices
  • Timbre
  • Instrument Families
  • Voices
  • Ensembles
• Advanced Music Theory
  • Intervals in Major and Minor Scales
  • Intervals in the Chromatic Scale
  • Time Signatures Revisited
  • Advanced Keys and Scales
  • Harmonic Series Revisited

Expression Markings

In order to help performers understand not just what to play, but how to play it, composers add expression markings. Sometimes these indications follow the tempo markings or are included in them, like allegro con brio (fast with gusto), or adagio cantabile (slow and singing). Other times composers will include these interpretive directions for a particular section, phrase, or even a single note.

Unlike notes and rhythms, which are fairly concrete and fixed, expression markings are more subjective and open to interpretation. To put it another way, it is easy to determine if a performer is playing the correct notes and rhythms, but it is much more difficult to judge whether they are interpreting and expressing the piece well. Personal preference plays a role in these judgements, but performers and critics also consider which performance practices are appropriate for a particular piece based on the time and place that it was composed. We will discuss the idea of performance practice in more detail in the music history and performance section.

General Expression Markings

General expression markings are simply adjectives or phrases that describe the overall mood or temperament of a piece. The majority of these markings are in Italian, but they may appear in any language. In the chart are several common expression markings and their definitions.

Expression markings indicate the disposition of the piece, but they do not give specific instructions for how to communicate that mood. It is up to the performers to find opportunities for expression within the notated pitches and rhythms of the piece. This is one of the most subtle and challenging aspects of music performance. Although there are many works in the canon of art music that are performed over and over again, and each performance may be technically perfect (without wrong notes or other errors), they are nonetheless unique because of the variations in these nuances brought to the piece by each ensemble and each performer.

Articulation

When a composer wants to give specific directions about how individual notes should be attacked, connected, separated, or ended, she will use articulation markings. For short, separated notes, a composer will put staccato markings, which look like small dots above or below the noteheads. The opposite of staccato is tenuto, where the notes are more connected, separated only very slightly from each other. Tenuto is indicated by small dashes above or below the noteheads. A note to be played with an accent is played louder and more aggressively than the surrounding notes. Accents are indicated in notation by small ' > ' symbols above or below the noteheads. For an even stronger accent, a composer may call for a sforzando (literally 'forcing' or 'compelling') articulation, which is indicated with its abbreviation, sfz.

staccato	tenuto	accent	sforzando

Another common type of articulation is the slur. Slurs are used when the notes should not be articulated separately, but should be connected as much as possible within the limits of an instrument (see instrument families). In notation, slurs are indicated with curved lines that connect one notehead to the next, sometimes spanning across several notes.

	≠
slur between two note of different pitches		tie between two notes of the same pitch

=
Two tied quarter notes equal a half note

Slurs should not be confused with ties, which look very similar on the page. Slurs occur between different pitches and indicate how the pitches should be articulated. Ties, on the other hand, occur between pitches that are the same, and indicate that there should be no break between the two pitches: the durations of the two tied notes should be added together and combined into one. For example, a half note tied to a half note is a whole note. Ties are often used when the desired duration of a note overlaps two measures. See the section on rhythm for more.

Dynamics

Dynamics refer to the volume at which music is played. Just as pitch is linked with the frequency of sound waves, volume is linked with their amplitude. However, just as pitch differs from frequency because it depends on perception, volume varies from amplitude in the same way. Amplitude is a physical property of sound that can be measured, but perceived volume is not directly linked with amplitude. Low pitches, for example, are perceived as being much more quiet than high pitches of the same amplitude. If you would like to learn more about the physics of sound, see the list of external links.

Like so many things in music, dynamics are usually indicated in Italian. Often abbreviations for the Italian names are used, as in the chart below.

Since the 19^th century it has become fairly common to see dynamic markings like fffff or ppppp. But, since there are natural limits to the loudness and quietness that is possible in terms of both performance and perception, these markings are the result of composers wanting nuanced control over dynamic levels more than they are a literal demand for the music to be so extremely loud or soft.

Any dynamic can be modified by additional adjectives:

• sempre piano e dolce - always quiet and sweet
• f espressivo - loud, expressive
• più forte - stronger (louder)
• p assai - very quiet (an alternative to pp, or indicating a dynamic between p and pp)

Changing Dynamics

A composer may change the dynamic of a piece at any time by simply placing a dynamic name (mezzo piano) or abbreviation (mp) in the score. However, sometimes the composer will also want to indicate how the performer should transition to that dynamic.

When a composer wants to indicate a sudden and dramatic change in dynamics, he may prefix any dynamic with the term subito (literally 'suddenly') as in subito piano or subito fortissimo. Any dynamic marking may be used with subito, but mezzo piano and mezzo forte are not frequently used in this way because they are less extreme and dramatic in nature.

For slow transitions between dynamics, a composer must use a crescendo or a decrescendo (diminuendo). A crescendo is used for gradually getting louder, and a decrescendo or diminuendo is used for gradually getting softer. These may be indicated with the terms themselves, by abbreviations (cresc., decresc., dim.), or graphically. The graphic representation of crescendos and decrescendos are < and > signs (sometimes called 'hairpins') which are placed below the staff lines and are stretched out underneath the notes that should be included in the dynamic change. Intuitively, < is used for a crescendo and > is used for a decrescendo.

Changes in dynamics can also be modified by additional adjectives:

• diminuendo poco a poco - becoming quiet, little by little
• molto crescendo - becoming louder quickly
• decrescendo al niente - becoming quiet to the point of silence, fading to nothing