Poi

As Printed on a Score

Printed inside a direction between two stages (“dim., poi cresc.”, “D. C. Scherzo e poi la Coda”), so that the second takes over when the first is done. In Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 110, the doubled “poi a poi” means little by little, like poco a poco, and spans the passage it governs.

How Composers Use It

Poi sequences instructions: it saves writing the second word at the exact bar and tells the player the plan in advance. It is especially clear in repeat directions, where D.C. e poi la Coda means repeat, then go on to the coda. For a change spread over a passage, poi a poi (Beethoven’s phrase in the Sonata Op. 110) or the more common poco a poco does the job; e, by contrast, asks for two things at once.

Example

Dvořák, Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”), third movement, flutes, m. 248: “D. C. Scherzo e poi la Coda”, with “CODA” marked at m. 249.

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