Diminuendo

Gradually instead of suddenly

The building block Dynamics distinguishes fixed levels from transitions. Among the transitions belongs the decrescendo or diminuendo, the gradual getting softer that brings calming, withdrawal or fading out. In notation both transitions often appear as opening or closing hairpins under the notes.

Sudden changes are something else: a subito piano, a sudden drop into the quiet, can, according to the building block Dynamics, be more astonishing than any loud fortissimo, precisely because it breaks the expectation. The diminuendo makes the way there visible and audible.

Getting softer evenly

The symbol library notes that a decrescendo demands more control than a crescendo. The dying away must be even, without the note vanishing before the end or “standing still”. As an example it names Schubert, in whom a phrase that begins with full sound and fades into nothing conveys longing or wistfulness.

Examples from the sheet music archive

Two songs in the archive carry the marking. Both times a section fades out with it.

Voice and piano

• Der Tod und das Mädchen Franz Schubert, D. 531 · voice and piano · 2 pages

  After the girl's last words (“rühre mich nicht an”, do not touch me) the piano goes on alone. There “pp” and “dimin.” are marked, the line sinks until a fermata closes the section. After that Death begins with “Wie oben.” (as above).

• Wiegenlied Ferdinand Ries · voice and piano · 3 pages

  The piece is headed “Einfach, innig.” (simply, heartfelt). On the second page dim. is marked in the line from bar 19, shortly after “dim. e rit.”, that is, softer and slower at once. On the third page dim. is marked in the line from bar 38, and the ending is ppp.

Where the abbreviation belongs

The abbreviation dim. and the hairpin denote a movement, not a target value. How far the loudness sinks results from the marking that follows, for instance a piano. If no target is given there, the context decides. As with every dynamic, what the building block Dynamics records applies here: what matters is the relationship to one another, not the absolute level.