Pochissimo

As Printed on a Score

Printed inside a direction — pochissimo rit., pochiss. ritenuto — and often abbreviated pochiss.; it never stands alone as a tempo word, and it lasts exactly as long as the direction it qualifies.

Abbreviations: pochiss.

How Composers Use It

The superlative of poco: the smallest amount of whatever follows. It is useful for nuances you want acknowledged without exaggeration — a breath of rit., a hint of crescendo. Performers tend to overdo small changes once they are written down, so pochissimo is a way of saying “just enough to notice”. Avoid stacking it with other diminutives.

Example

Chaminade, “Aubade”, voice, m. 8: “pochissimo rit.”, printed in both voice and piano, with “a tempo” in the next bar.

Related Terms