Diminuendo hairpin

A long horizontal wedge closing to the right, meaning gradually quieter.

Also known as: Diminuendo, Decrescendo, Greater than sign music

MusicalEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

A closing wedge means get quieter. It is the crescendo reversed, and which way the point faces is the entire instruction.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Instructs a gradual decrease in volume over the passage it spans.
Contexts: Music
Common modern usageVerified fact
Is written as dim. or decresc. where the passage is long; the words and the wedge are interchangeable.
Contexts: Music

Two long straight lines beginning apart at the left and converging to meet at a point on the right, drawn below the staff.

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Dynamics (music)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a mark instructs a performer to do and for uncontested history, never for a claim that any body defines staff notation.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

Meanings

A closing wedge means get quieter. It is the crescendo reversed, and which way the point faces is the entire instruction.

Common modern usageVerified fact

Instructs a gradual decrease in volume over the passage it spans.

Contexts: Music

Common modern usageVerified fact

Is written as dim. or decresc. where the passage is long; the words and the wedge are interchangeable.

Contexts: Music

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.