Poco diminuendo

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff (above, for voices) as poco dim. or un poco dim., sometimes with dashes, and in combinations such as poco dim. e rit. It lasts until the next dynamic marking. Poco a poco dim. is different: a gradual decrease over a longer span.

Abbreviations: poco dim., poco dim, un poco dim.

Also spelled: un poco diminuendo

How Composers Use It

A slight easing of tone — a phrase end relaxing, an echo before a quieter restatement — without settling at a new level. Pair it with rit. for a soft phrase ending, and mark where it lands. Diminuendo and decrescendo mean the same thing here; pick one and keep to it through a score so that players do not look for a difference that is not there.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, fourth movement (Adagietto), first violins, m. 98: “poco dim.”, two bars after the second violins’ “poco a poco dim.”; an mf follows two bars later.

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