Poco stringendo

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as poco string. or in full where the slight pressing begins, often alongside a crescendo; it is ended by a tempo, a rit. or a new tempo word.

Abbreviations: poco string.

Also spelled: Un poco stringendo

How Composers Use It

A slight tightening of the pulse, usually brief, that adds urgency to a rising phrase. Debussy and Elgar use it in songs together with a crescendo, so tempo and dynamic grow at once. Because the word implies pressure rather than plain speed, it suits moments of rising feeling; for a neutral quickening, use poco accel.

Example

Debussy, Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire, “Harmonie du soir”, voice, m. 24: “poco string.”, printed with “poco crescendo” at p, the music reaching f two bars later.

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