Sempre più forte

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff as words or as sempre più f, at the start of a long build. It describes a continuing increase and lasts until the next dynamic, usually the f or ff where the growth arrives.

Abbreviations: sempre più f

Also spelled: sempre piu forte

How Composers Use It

A crescendo spoken in steps rather than a single swell: each phrase or repetition should outweigh the last. It is natural for sequences, rising repetitions and the long approach to a climax. Mark the arrival dynamic so the growth has a target, and let the orchestration grow with it — adding instruments often does more than asking those already playing for more.

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