Dynamics & Expression
Forte (f)
Pronounced FOR-tehWritten as f
Forte, written f, is the dynamic marking for loud. It sits between mezzo forte (mf) and fortissimo (ff). In Italian forte means 'strong', and a good forte sounds full rather than harsh.
Forte means "strong" in Italian, and in music it means loud. Its sign is a bold italic f below the staff. It sits above mf and below ff, and it is the partner of p in the most basic contrast in music: loud and soft.
Strong, not harsh
The word asks for strength, and strength is more than volume. A good forte is full, resonant and controlled. At the piano:
- Use the arm. Let relaxed arm weight drop into the keys through firm fingertips. Pushing from stiff fingers or a locked wrist makes a hard, ugly sound.
- Prepare. Loud chords sound better when the hand is shaped over the keys before it plays.
- Listen to the top. In a loud chord, let the melody note sound slightly above the others, so the forte has a shape and is not just noise.
Forte is relative
Forte for a solo violin, a choir and a brass band are very different volumes. Within a piece, f should be clearly louder than mf, and there should still be room above it for ff. In music from the Classical period, such as a Haydn or Mozart sonata, forte usually means bright and energetic rather than massive.
Related marks
Sforzando (sfz) puts a sudden accent on one note. Fortepiano (fp) is loud, then immediately soft. Più forte means louder; poco f means only moderately loud. The Italian forte also shows up in the name of the piano, the pianoforte or "soft-loud".
Forte is one of the six rungs of the Dynamic Ladder. Test it in Dynamics & Tempo Ladders and Match the terms, look it up on the Musical terms & signs chart, and find it in the Music word search.
Common questions
What does f mean in music?
f stands for forte, "loud" (literally "strong"). It is one step louder than mf and one step softer than ff.
Practice it: free worksheets
The Dynamic Laddersix volumes from pp to ff — the full family of loud and soft
Dynamics & tempo laddersLoudness and speed each climb a ladder: pp up to ff, and Largo up to Presto. Put both ladders in order, then read them in music (Handouts 63, 55 and 64).
Match the termsDraw a line from each term to its meaning. The colors tell you what kind of word it is — but each color has several meanings on the right, so read carefully.
Musical terms & signsThe words and symbols a piano score uses to tell you how loud, how fast and how to play each note. Most of the words are Italian. The colors match the term-matching exercises (Exercises 08–11, 74 and 75).
Music word searchSixteen musical words are hiding in the grid. Circle each one you find and tick it off the list — words run → across, ↓ down, and diagonally ↗↘, never backwards. Each word’s meaning is next to it, so you learn while you hunt.