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Dynamic

Markings

 Fluctuating Dynamics

To add further expressiveness to a musical passage, a composer will some times want to indicate that the volume of a piece should increase or decrease gradually.

Crescendo

The crescendo marking indicates that the music should grow louder over an amount of time indicated by the crescendo marking itself. Generally the composer will also indicate the dynamic level that should be reached by the end of the crescendo. The crescendo is either indicated with the abbreviation "cresc." followed by a dashed line...

or with the "" symbol:

The above two examples communicate the exact same message: the music should crescendo from pianissimo in measure 1 to forte in measure 3.