Ersterbend

As Printed on a Score

Printed at the end of a phrase or piece, above or below the staff, often with a diminuendo hairpin or pp leading to silence. It covers the closing notes until the sound has gone.

How Composers Use It

Ersterbend — dying away — is the German morendo: soft and fading, often with a slight slowing as the music expires. It is a word for endings and for phrases that should seem to lose their breath. Use it where the fade itself is the expressive event; if you want only a quieter level, write the dynamic instead.

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