Decrescendo

What it means

Decrescendo means “decreasing” and calls for a gradual reduction of volume. The abbreviation is decresc. As with the crescendo, it is a process, not a level; a target value is as a rule not named but follows from the dynamic marking that comes next.

Diminuendo (dim.) is used with the same meaning. There is no binding difference between the two words; which form an edition chooses is usually a question of the habit of the composer or publisher.

The decrescendo is to be distinguished from the words that at the same time draw back the tempo — calando, morendo, smorzando — and from a sudden change such as subito piano.

In the notation

Two ways of writing are in use: the word or the abbreviation, usually with a dashed continuation line, and the wedge-shaped hairpin, which closes from left to right. The hairpin stands below the staff, in vocal parts above the text. A hairpin that opens and then closes over a long note asks for swelling and diminishing. The end is marked by a new dynamic marking.

Musical use

The gradual drawing back closes phrases, leads out of climaxes, and prepares calm sections. It often follows directly on a crescendo and forms with it a dynamic arc that shapes the phrase — a basic pattern of musical shaping that often is not notated separately at all but follows from the course of the melody. In Baroque music with its terraced dynamics, notated gradation is by contrast rare.

Other names

Diminuendo is usually used with the same meaning and is likewise notated with a closing hairpin or with “dim.” Some performers additionally associate with diminuendo a slackening of tension or tempo; there is, however, no binding distinction.

Performance practice

Distribute the decrease evenly and keep reserve until the end, so that the last note can still be quieter than the one before it. Take care that the tempo does not slacken along with the volume. Keep the tone quality when soft: the tone should become thinner, not toneless. And check in the ensemble whether everyone draws back in the same proportion — otherwise the sound picture shifts.