Pianissimo (pp)

What it means

Pianissimo means very quiet. It is written pp and sits below piano on the dynamic scale. Use the free scale visualizer to check yourself on this. More of this kind of thing is in the notation section.

The Italian is the superlative of piano, soft. Two p's means very soft; three or more push further still.

The standard dynamic range runs, from quietest to loudest: ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff.

Dynamics are relative, not absolute

The most important thing a student can understand about any dynamic marking.

There is no decibel level that means pianissimo. It means quiet relative to the rest of this piece, in this context, with these forces.

A pianissimo in a solo sonata is quieter than a pianissimo in a passage doubled by the whole orchestra, because the orchestral pianissimo still has to be audible in a hall.

A pianissimo in a Baroque work is a different thing from a pianissimo in a late Romantic symphony, where the dynamic range is much wider.

Students who treat dynamics as fixed levels play everything at two or three volumes. Players who treat them as relationships shape music.

How to produce it on violin

Not by pressing less, which is what beginners do and which produces a weak, unfocused sound rather than a quiet one.

Three variables move together.

Bow speed slows. Less energy per unit time means less volume.

Bow weight reduces, but proportionally rather than to nothing. Some weight is required or the string does not speak cleanly.

Contact point moves toward the fingerboard, where the string is more flexible and responds to a lighter touch.

That third element is what most students miss. A quiet passage played at the normal contact point with reduced pressure sounds thin and scratchy. Move toward the fingerboard and the same reduced pressure produces a soft, focused, genuinely quiet sound.

Why quiet is harder than loud

Counterintuitive to students and true.

A forte tolerates imperfection. Volume masks small inconsistencies in bow speed, contact point and intonation.

A pianissimo exposes everything. Any wobble in the bow is audible. Any hesitation shows. Intonation is more exposed because the ear has less to distract it.

It also requires more control, not less. Sustaining a quiet note evenly across a whole bow, without the sound breaking up or fading, is among the harder things a bow arm does.

Orchestras rehearse pianissimo passages more than fortissimo ones for exactly this reason.

The projection problem

A pianissimo in a concert hall must still reach the back row.

This is not a contradiction. Quiet and inaudible are different things. A well-produced pianissimo has a focused core that carries; a poorly produced one dies three rows out.

The technique is the same as for projection generally: a sound with clear upper overtones travels further than a diffuse one. A contact point slightly closer to the bridge than instinct suggests, with very light weight and slow bow, produces a quiet sound that carries.

Players preparing for performance in a hall should have someone listen from the back during quiet passages. What sounds beautiful under the ear may vanish.

Vibrato at pianissimo

Usually narrower and slower, matching the reduced intensity.

A wide fast vibrato at pianissimo sounds incongruous, and the oscillation can dominate a quiet note entirely.

Finger vibrato, the narrowest of the three types, is often the right choice at very quiet dynamics.

Some contexts want no vibrato at all, and contemporary scores frequently specify senza vibrato at quiet dynamics for a pure, still sound.

In an ensemble

Section pianissimo is harder than individual pianissimo.

Sixteen violins each playing quietly still produce a substantial sound, so a section pianissimo requires each player to go quieter than they would alone.

It also requires unity. One player slightly louder than the rest is clearly audible at pianissimo in a way they would not be at forte.

Conductors spend disproportionate rehearsal time here, and the difference between a good orchestra and a great one is often most audible in the quiet passages.

Related markings

ppp and beyond, pushing quieter still. Some composers write four or five p's for extreme effect.

pp subito, a sudden drop to pianissimo without a diminuendo.

pp dolce, quiet and sweet, indicating character as well as level.

sotto voce, literally under the voice, meaning hushed and restrained, which is a character marking rather than a strict dynamic.

How it is taught

Usually later than it should be. Beginners are taught to produce a full sound first, reasonably, and dynamics arrive as a refinement.

The most useful early exercise is a long open string bow starting at forte and diminishing to pianissimo without the sound breaking, then reversing. It develops the coordination of speed, weight and contact point that dynamics actually require.

Reading about reading and notation is a start, and playing it with someone watching your hands is faster. We teach private and group violin lessons in Johns Creek, Suwanee and Berkeley Lake. Call 470-789-2422 or book a no-commitment evaluation lesson.