Calando

What “subsiding” means

Calando is the gerund of the Italian “calare”, “to sink, to subside”. Where it appears, the sound should decrease. The word belongs to the expressions for a gradual getting softer, like diminuendo, smorzando or morendo. One peculiarity: in some reference works it also concerns the tempo.

Three readings

According to one reading, calando is a decrease of loudness and tempo at the same time. According to another it concerns loudness “and sometimes also tempo”, and according to a third it simply equals diminuendo. Anyone playing a piece should therefore pay attention to the context: if a “rit.” accompanies it, or the passage turns into a calm closing phrase, that suggests slowing down. If the word appears in the middle of a lively passage, that points rather to loudness alone.

Calando in comparison

Diminuendo is equated with calando according to one reading; according to another, calando adds the tempo to the loudness. Smorzando, by contrast, is meant to lead all the way to extinction, while calando often ends on a soft level. Rallentando means only the tempo.

Common mistakes

• Always reading calando as a tempo marking: The word concerns loudness first.
• Changing the tempo without a cue: Without an addition or context it stays the same.
• Fading too fast: Calando should subside gradually.