IT rinforzando articulation common Support my free tools
Music symbols
- Abbreviation
- rf, rfz, rinf.
How is rinforzando played?
Reinforce the marked event or brief span so it emerges with added force, then follow the surrounding dynamic unless the score extends or replaces the instruction. Treccani and the historical Grove entry describe a rapid, short-lived crescendo that can cover a phrase, while Merriam-Webster and Oxford also allow a note or chord; the placement and edition therefore decide the span. The gesture can feel broader than a single accent, but that is a contextual tendency rather than a universal rule. Read rf, rfz or rinf. as reinforcement, not as a fixed decibel increase or an automatic long crescendo.
How does rinforzando sound?
A brief swell of reinforced loudness over one note or a short group, then a return to the prevailing level.
In context
Merriam-Webster, Treccani and Oxford directly document rf and rfz; Treccani, the historical Grove dictionary and Duden independently document rinf. Dorico and MusicXML also identify rfz as rinforzando. The sources disagree on a strict note-versus-phrase boundary, so the entry retains both the local stress and brief-span traditions without collapsing rinforzando into sforzando. It is a general dynamic convention, not a marking owned by one composer.