Always

As Printed on a Score

Placed before the instruction it keeps in force — always soft, always legato, always in time — and printed once, at the start of the passage. It holds until a new direction contradicts it. Most scores, English ones included, print the Italian sempre instead.

How Composers Use It

Use it to save repetition and to stop players drifting back to habit: always pp over a long accompaniment prevents a swell at every phrase. Because it stays in force until cancelled, mark the end clearly with a new dynamic or character word. In scores that otherwise use Italian, sempre will be read faster than always.

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