Subito
Demands a sudden change, without transition
Related
Subito demands a change without transition: subito piano turns soft at once, subito forte loud at once, subito accelerando picks up speed immediately. It marks a switch, not a slope.
Subito often works with sforzando and forte, but sudden is not arbitrary: a good lurch has been prepared by harmony, texture or breath, so that it lands rather than merely startles. It is the exact opposite of poco a poco; play it as an early crescendo and the effect is wiped out.
Sources
- 术语的释义与用法，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians（Oxford Music Online）相关条目；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.