User manual

Dynamics
Dynamics indicate the loudness of the music, and can be combined with other instructions to
give the performer a detailed understanding of how to perform the music, while also leaving
room for interpretation.
Dynamics can indicate an immediate change in volume or a gradual change over a specied
duration. By default, they are placed below the staff for instruments and above the staff for
voices.
You can add modiers to dynamics that can give stylistic direction context alongside the volume
level, such as  espressivo, which indicates that a passage is played loudly but also with
expressive feeling.
While almost all expression text is written in italics, dynamics such as  and  use a bold italic
font.
RELATED LINKS
Input methods for dynamics on page 230
Positions of dynamics on page 560
Dynamics lanes on page 384
Types of dynamics
Dorico SE categorizes dynamics into different groups according to their function.
Immediate dynamics
Immediate dynamics apply to the note to which they are attached until the next
dynamic marking, and indicate an immediate change from any previous dynamic.
Immediate dynamics include dynamic symbols, such as  or , and qualifying text,
such as subito or molto.
Gradual dynamics and hairpins
Gradual dynamics are often shown as hairpins but can also be shown using text. In
Dorico SE, you can show gradual dynamic text in the following ways:
●
cresc. or dim.: abbreviated text with no continuation line
●
cresc... or dim...: abbreviated text with a dotted continuation line
●
cre-scen-do or di-mi-nuen-do: the full word spread out across the duration of the
gradual dynamic
Gradual dynamics can also have qualifying text, such as poco, molto, poco a poco, and
niente.
In Dorico SE, a hairpin can be shown as messa di voce, which shows a pair of hairpins. In
some cases, this is easier than having separate lines for each half of the pair.
Force/Intensity of attack
These dynamics, such as  and , indicate that a note has a stronger attack than is
usually expected for the dynamic, similar to an accent articulation.
Combined dynamics
Combined dynamics, such as  or –, specify a sudden change of dynamic.
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Dorico SE 3.1.10