piano
- adverb
- /piˈæn.oʊ/
- Specialized
- The composer marked this section piano to create a gentle mood.
Examples
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The violinist performed the passage piano, allowing the melody to sound delicate and soft.
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The music was played piano to create a calm atmosphere.
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Please play the opening bars piano before building to a crescendo.
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Please play the song piano.
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The composer marked this section piano to create a gentle mood.
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Please play the opening bars piano before building to a crescendo.
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The violinist performed the passage piano, allowing the melody to sound delicate and soft.
Synonyms
Not making much noise
In a quiet, low voice or at low volume
In a gentle way using little force
In music, played very quietly so the sound is almost not heard
To play or sing very softly
Played or sung very softly in music
Antonyms
Compounds
A piece of music for one piano, usually in several parts with different speeds and moods
- Specialized
An early piano from the 18th and early 19th centuries with a lighter, more delicate sound
- Archaic
A piano that plays by itself using a paper roll with holes to move the keys
A musical instrument with a piano-style keyboard for the right hand and buttons for the left hand
- Specialized
The levers and parts inside a piano that make hammers hit strings when you press a key
- Specialized
A small soft pad that rests on a piano string to stop it from vibrating
A group of four musicians, piano, violin, viola and cello, or a piece written for them
- Specialized
A version of music for many instruments arranged for piano that keeps the main tune
- Specialized
Music written for piano that comes from a piece for other instruments like an orchestra
How Loud
Surface Forms
Etymology
As an adverb, piano is the same Italian word for 'soft', so when a score says piano it asks musicians to play softly. That is why piano as an instruction means to perform in a quiet way.