Piano dynamic mark

A slanted lower-case p below the staff, instructing quiet playing.

Also known as: Piano marking, Quiet marking

MusicalEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

p means quiet, from the Italian piano. It is relative, not absolute: p in a solo whisper and p in a full orchestra are entirely different volumes, and no notation makes them comparable.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Instructs the performer to play quietly, from the Italian piano.
Contexts: Music
Common modern usageVerified fact
Is repeated for greater quiet — pp, ppp and beyond — a scale with no defined limit at either end.
Contexts: Music
Common modern usageDocumented interpretation
States a relative rather than an absolute volume. The same marking in a solo and in a full orchestra are different sound levels, and nothing in the notation makes them comparable.
Contexts: Music

Visual description

A lower-case letter p in a heavy slanted serif face, with a rounded bowl and a descender below the writing line.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Opposite of: Forte dynamic mark
Quiet and loud, the two poles of the dynamic scale.

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.

Sources

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

Part of

Musical expression and technique marks

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Meanings

p means quiet, from the Italian piano. It is relative, not absolute: p in a solo whisper and p in a full orchestra are entirely different volumes, and no notation makes them comparable.

Common modern usageVerified fact

Instructs the performer to play quietly, from the Italian piano.

Contexts: Music

Common modern usageVerified fact

Is repeated for greater quiet — pp, ppp and beyond — a scale with no defined limit at either end.

Contexts: Music

Common modern usageDocumented interpretation

States a relative rather than an absolute volume. The same marking in a solo and in a full orchestra are different sound levels, and nothing in the notation makes them comparable.

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.

Meanings

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols

Meanings

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols