Facile

What it means

Facile means “easy, effortless” and calls for a performance without visible effort. The music should flow as if it cost nothing — even when the passage is technically demanding.

The marking thus concerns the impression, not the degree of difficulty. It designates no relief for the player but a goal of shaping: effort should not become audible.

In addition, the word is met in titles and collections, where it actually means the difficulty — pieces “facile” are then easy to play. Which meaning applies follows from the place: above the staff, a performance instruction; in the title, an indication of the degree of difficulty.

Related is leggero, which means lightness in the sense of weightlessness.

In the notation

The word is written in italics above the staff, usually after a tempo word, and applies until a new marking. It is often found over runs, figures, and accompaniment patterns that should sound even and carefree.

Musical use

The marking is used in sections whose appeal lies in carefreeness: in variations of cheerful character, in playful middle sections, in passages that should seem light despite a high density of notes. In the piano and chamber-music literature it is widespread.

The instruction calls for a light, effortless performance in which technical difficulties should not become audible. It often stands over virtuoso passages that work precisely by seeming easy. In addition, facile in a title designates a piece that is technically simple, for instance Sonata facile, Mozart's well-known piano sonata in C major. Both meanings are connected: what is meant is music that flows naturally and lets no effort be felt. For performance, a relaxed hand and not too much weight help.

Performance practice

Keep your movements small and loose; lightness in the sound arises from looseness in the body. Take back the dynamics and avoid heavy accents. Choose the tempo so that all the notes succeed effortlessly — a passage at the limit never sounds light. And work on evenness: irregular figures betray effort at once.