Editing Music theory (section)

====Dynamics====
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2015}}
{{Main|Dynamics (music)}}
[[File:Music hairpins.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Illustration of hairpins in musical notation]]
In music, "[[dynamics (music)|dynamics]]" normally refers to variations of intensity or volume, as may be measured by physicists and audio engineers in [[decibels]] or [[phon]]s. In music notation, however, dynamics are not treated as absolute values, but as relative ones. Because they are usually measured subjectively, there are factors besides amplitude that affect the performance or perception of intensity, such as timbre, vibrato, and articulation.

The conventional indications of dynamics are abbreviations for Italian words like ''forte'' ('''''f''''') for loud and ''piano'' ('''''p''''') for soft. These two basic notations are modified by indications including ''mezzo piano'' ('''''mp''''') for moderately soft (literally "half soft") and ''mezzo forte'' ('''''mf''''') for moderately loud, ''sforzando'' or ''sforzato'' ('''''sfz''''') for a surging or "pushed" attack, or ''fortepiano'' ('''''fp''''') for a loud attack with a sudden decrease to a soft level. The full span of these markings usually range from a nearly inaudible ''pianissississimo'' ('''''pppp''''') to a loud-as-possible ''fortissississimo'' ('''''ffff''''').

Greater extremes of '''''pppppp''''' and '''''fffff''''' and nuances such as '''''p+''''' or ''più piano'' are sometimes found. Other systems of indicating volume are also used in both notation and analysis: dB (decibels), numerical scales, colored or different sized notes, words in languages other than Italian, and symbols such as those for progressively increasing volume (''crescendo'') or decreasing volume (''diminuendo'' or ''decrescendo''), often called "[[Dynamics (music)|hairpins]]" when indicated with diverging or converging lines as shown in the graphic above.