Questions: Piano and Forte: Dynamics
5 questions to test your understanding
Score: 0 / 5
Question 1 Multiple Choice
What does the musical term 'piano' mean?
In music, piano (p) means soft. It is an Italian word used as a dynamic marking, not to be confused with the piano instrument.
Question 2 True / False
Forte means as loud as you can possibly play.
Answer: False
Forte means loud, but it is controlled loudness. Fortissimo (ff) is even louder than forte, so forte is not the maximum.
Question 3 True / False
The piano instrument was named pianoforte because it could play both soft and loud.
Answer: True
The full name of the piano is pianoforte, which combines the Italian words for soft (piano) and loud (forte), because the instrument could do both.
Question 4 Short Answer
What does mezzo-forte (mf) mean?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Medium-loud
A good answer explains that mezzo means medium, so mezzo-forte means medium-loud, which is between piano (soft) and forte (loud).
Question 5 Multiple Choice
Which dynamic marking tells a musician to play medium-soft?
The marking mp stands for mezzo-piano, which means medium-soft. The 'mezzo' part means medium and 'piano' means soft.