Dynamics popover

The table contains examples of what you can enter into the dynamics popover to input the different dynamics available.

You can open the dynamics popover in Write mode in any of the following ways when either an item is selected or the caret is active:

  • Press Shift-D.

  • Select an existing dynamic and press Return.

  • Choose Write > Create Dynamic.

The icon on the left-hand side of the popover matches the corresponding button in the Notations toolbox on the right of the window.

Figure: Dynamics popover with an example entry

Figure: Dynamics button in the Notations toolbox

Dynamic or expression

Popover entry

pianissimo:

pp

piano:

p

mezzo piano:

mp

mezzo forte:

mf

forte:

f

fortissimo:

ff

subito

subito, sub, or sub.

possibile

possibile, poss, or poss.

poco

poco

molto

molto

più

piu or più

meno

meno

mosso

mosso

crescendo:

<

cresc. (text)

cresc

diminuendo:

>

dim. (text)

dim

crescendo then diminuendo messa di voce:

<>

diminuendo then crescendo:

><

niente hairpins that start/end with a small circle

o< or >o

niente hairpins that start/end with the letter n

n< or >n

sforzando:

sfz

rinforzando:

rfz

This list is not comprehensive as you can enter anything as expressive text. It is intended to illustrate how you can structure your entry to input different types of dynamics.

Tip

You can input hairpins directly into the score without the popover by pressing Shift-, for a crescendo hairpin and Shift-. for a diminuendo hairpin.

You can change the appearance of gradual dynamics project-wide on the Dynamics page in Engraving Options, or individually by activating Gradual style in the Dynamics group of the Properties panel, and selecting one of the available options.

Inputting expressive text into the dynamics popover

You can enter expressive text into the dynamics popover, such as poco, molto, subito, espressivo, or dolce. It appears in the correct italic font beside the dynamic.

However, you must also enter an accompanying immediate dynamic, such as p or f, and separate the two with a space, for example, f molto or p espressivo.

You can hide immediate dynamics if you only want to show the expressive text.