Notating Dynamics

The use of dynamic markings in your score is a lot like using spices when cooking: not enough and the food can be bland and uninteresting; use too much and it will likely ruin the dish!

You want to give the performing musician enough information to communicate your intent, but not so much specific information that there is no room for musical interpretation. Finding the right balance in your use of dynamics is a critical ingredient to a successful musical performance of your arrangement or composition.

Keep these three principles in mind when adding dynamic markings to your score:

1. Communicate intent

Should this quartet start playing soft? Loud? Somewhere in the middle? They have no idea! This arranger needs to communicate their intent.

It’s the arranger’s job to be intentional about how the piece should be played, and giving musicians a place to start dynamically is a big part of communicating your intent.

When you give a musician a piece of music with no dynamic markings, you are telling them to play the notes however they wish. The result will be the uninspiring sound of players playing notes instead of musicians playing music.

2. More is not more

This arranger’s intent is very clear: begin quietly and gradually crescendo to the final two notes. However, introducing a new dynamic marking in each measure is overkill. This intent may be communicated much more efficiently by using a “grad. cresc.” marking halfway through the first measure culminating with the “forte” marking at the end. Everything else is unnecessary.

This approach also leaves zero room for musical choices beyond what is written, which has a similar affect to giving no dynamic markings at all. The result will often be a sound that feels more robotic than musical.

Additionally, all those dynamics clutter up the page visually making the music more difficult to read, which should always be avoided.

3. Find dynamic balance

Here we have a great example of a thoughtful, intentional arranger who uses only the most necessary dynamic markings to communicate their intent.

Each player has a beginning dynamic marking and there is a clear shape to the dynamic phrasing to the end. There is also plenty of room for the players to be musical with their performance and the dynamic markings are only present when absolutely necessary.

If the same string quartet played each of these three charts in succession, this third one would sound the best to even the most casual listener because the dynamic choices are intentional, not overdone, and balanced.

Be sure to find the right dynamic balance whenever you are cooking up a new arrangement!