Decrescendo

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff as decresc. (decres.) with dashes, or drawn as a closing hairpin. It runs until the next dynamic. Classical editions use decresc. and dim. side by side with no consistent difference, so a reader treats them alike unless a composer’s own usage suggests otherwise.

Abbreviations: decresc., decresc, decres.

Also spelled: de - cre - scen - do

How Composers Use It

Decrescendo can be achieved by reducing instruments, changing register, thinning texture, or simply asking players to reduce volume. For long orchestral decrescendos, remove instruments one by one — the reverse of the crescendo layering technique.

Example

Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 3 in B-flat major, K. 281, second movement (Andante amoroso), m. 4: “decresc.”, answering the “cresc.” of m. 2 and settling to p two bars later.

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