Più piano

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff, as words or as più p beside the dynamic letter, and often in combinations (sempre più piano, più piano e rallentando). It lowers the level from wherever the music stands and holds until the next dynamic.

Abbreviations: più p

Also spelled: piu piano

How Composers Use It

Use più piano for an echo or a receding repetition: it tells the player the second statement must be softer than the first without dictating how soft. That relative quality suits repeated phrases and closing bars. Where you need a definite level — for balance against other parts — write the letter instead, since two players reading più p from different starting points will arrive in different places.

Example

Prokofiev, Toccata in D minor, Op. 11, m. 200: “più piano”, in a piece headed “Allegro marcato”.

Related Terms