Senza diminuendo

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff as senza dim., usually at the end of a phrase or on a held note where players would naturally taper. It lasts for that phrase or note, until a new dynamic or dim. is printed.

Abbreviations: senza dim.

How Composers Use It

Use it to keep the end of a phrase at full strength — a final note held to the cutoff, a cadence that must not relax, a line that should end without a sigh. Players taper endings instinctively, so the marking is worth printing whenever the dynamic must stay level to the last moment; on sustained chords pair it with a precise cutoff.

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