Lasciar vibrare

As Printed on a Score

Printed over a percussion, harp, piano or guitar part, abbreviated l.v., often with short ties leading off the notes into empty space. It applies to the marked notes, which ring until they die away or a damping sign stops them.

Abbreviations: l.v.

Also spelled: lasciare vibrare

How Composers Use It

Use it whenever the written value is shorter than the sound you want — a cymbal crash, a harp chord or a gong left ringing under what follows. Without it, players damp at the end of the note. Show where to damp if the resonance would clash with a later harmony; several l.v. notes in different harmonies blur together.

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