En dehors

As Printed on a Score

Printed beside the line to be brought out — above or below a staff, or with a hand sign in piano music (m.g. très en dehors) — and graded with un peu or très. It applies to that voice for the phrase, not to the texture as a whole, and lasts until the line ends or a new instruction appears.

How Composers Use It

En dehors tells a performer to bring their line to the foreground. Use it when a melody or countermelody might otherwise be buried in the texture. It is especially important in orchestral writing where inner voices carry important thematic material.

Example

Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloé" — en dehors markings guide which instrument should project at any given moment in the dense orchestral texture.

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