Sempre più piano

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff as words, or as sempre più followed by the letter p, and often joined to a tempo word (sempre più piano, rallentando). It describes a continuous fading over the following bars and ends at the next dynamic, often the pp or ppp where the fading lands.

Abbreviations: sempre più p

Also spelled: sempre piu piano

How Composers Use It

Unlike dim., which can be brief, sempre più piano implies a long, stepwise recession — each phrase or repetition softer than the last. It suits endings, echoes and music that should seem to move away. Say where it arrives (pp, ppp) so the player can pace the descent, and avoid stacking hairpins under it: the words already carry the shape.

Example

Chopin, Nocturne in C-sharp minor, No. 20 (“Lento con gran espressione”), m. 59: “sempre più piano” after a p in the bar before, followed by “delicato” and then “delicatissimo” near the close.

Related Terms