Meaning & use
mezzo forte in music
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Meaning
phrasemusic
A musical direction meaning 'moderately loud', between mezzo piano and forte.
Grammar: Used as an instruction in a score or when talking about dynamics; often shortened to 'mf'.
Patterns
- play mezzo forte
- marked mezzo forte
The conductor asked the strings to play mezzo forte in the opening bars.
This passage is marked mezzo forte, so it should be louder than the previous section.
Common combinations
- marked mezzo forte
- The choir entry is marked mezzo forte in the score.
- play mezzo forte
- She told the brass to play mezzo forte, not fortissimo.
- a mezzo forte passage
- The slow movement begins with a mezzo forte passage for woodwinds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- moderately loud
- This is a plain English description; 'mezzo forte' is the technical Italian term used in music notation.
Opposites
Word family
- mezzo adverb
- In music, 'half' or 'moderately', as in mezzo forte.
- forte adverb
- In music, 'loud' or 'strong'.
- mezzo piano phrase
- A musical direction meaning 'moderately soft'.
Commonly confused: mezzo forte in music or forte? mezzo forte in music or mezzo-soprano?
mezzo forte in music vs forte
'Forte' means loud, while 'mezzo forte' means moderately loud — softer than forte but louder than piano.
mezzo forte in music vs mezzo-soprano
A 'mezzo-soprano' is a female singing voice; 'mezzo forte' is a dynamic marking, not a voice type.
Practice
What does 'mezzo forte' tell a musician to do?
Choose one answer.
'Mezzo forte' means moderately loud. 'Very softly' would be pianissimo, 'very fast' is about tempo, and 'with a mute' is a different instruction.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mezzo forte in music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.