Mr Goldings Brass Place

Level 3

Signs and symbols.

When the composer wants the music to get louder they use a Crescendo or (cresc).

When the composer wants the piece to get quieter they use a Diminuendo (dim) or a Decrescendo (decresc).

The symbol marked opposite is a crescendo, and it means that you gradually get louder.

The symbol marked opposite is a decrescendo (dim), and it means that you gradually get quieter.

The example opposite shows how cresc and dim marks look.

When you see a curved line over two different notes this is called a slur, this means that you play the notes smoothly with no gaps.
The slur is marked opposite.

The slur can be written over the notes or under them depending on where they are in the stave – this is just to keep the music looking neat.

If you see two notes the same as each other joined with a curved line this is called a tie.

Notes which are tied together are held for the value of both, for example 2 crotchets tied last for 2 beats.

So far in expression marks we have seen slow and fast, most of the time these are written in Italian.

Allegro	Quick (cheerful)
Vivace	Lively/quick
Andante	Medium speed (walking pace)
Moderato	Moderately
Lento	Slow
Adagio	Slow

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