Dileguando

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff as a word, usually over the closing bars of a phrase or piece. It describes a fading that ends in silence or at the next dynamic.

How Composers Use It

Vanishing, melting away: the image is of sound dispersing like mist, so it suits soft endings and dissolving transitions. It is uncommon, which makes it striking; the meaning overlaps with perdendosi and morendo, so choose by the image you want. As with any fade-out, give the passage enough length to disappear gradually.

Related Terms