Meno piano

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff as words, at the point where a soft passage should gain a little presence. It is relative to the preceding level and lasts until the next dynamic marking.

How Composers Use It

Less soft, which is to say a little louder — but it keeps the hushed character of the passage around it. That double sense is its use: the music should open up without leaving the piano world, as a singer lets a phrase bloom without becoming loud. It is rare enough to catch a performer’s eye; where the gain should be gradual, poco cresc. is clearer.

Example

Butterworth, Bredon Hill and Other Songs, “Oh fair enough are sky and plain”, voice, m. 21: “meno piano”, in a song headed “Molto moderato, espressivo e senza rigore”.

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