Niente

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Niente (Italian pronunciation: [ˈnjɛnte]), also called quasi niente [ˈkwaːzi ˈnjɛnte], is a musical dynamic often used at the end of a piece to direct the performer to fade the music away to little more than a bare whisper, normally gradually with a diminuendo,[1] al niente.[2] It is often written as "n" or "ø". It is also used to direct the performer to fade into a note without any articulation at the beginning of the note, known as dal niente (from nothing): "n".

Niente is distinct from a rest "in that [during niente] the musician is engaged in making sound, but so softly that the sound can not be heard."[3]

  1. ^ Collins Encyclopedia of Music, p. 379. ISBN 0-907486-50-9
  2. ^ Bauer, Helen (2009). Young People's Guide to Classical Music, p.32. Hal Leonard. ISBN 9781574671810.
  3. ^ Zimmerman, Joyce Ann (2010). Silence: Everyday Living and Praying, p.63n8. Liturgy Training Publications. ISBN 9781568549026.