As a kid I was trained in music. Two of the first terms we learned were crescendo and diminuendo. Crescendo<\/em> meant getting gradually louder, while diminuendo<\/em> meant the opposite: the the gradual change from loud to quiet. Others I’ve talked to agree they were taught the same.<\/p>\n Since about ten years back, I don’t hear people say diminuendo<\/em>; instead, they say decrescendo<\/em>. While the term makes sense, why has it replaced diminuendo<\/em>? With the curiosity of an academic, I resolved to find out.<\/p>\n According to the website the-difference-between.com<\/a>, diminuendo<\/em> actually means the mark<\/em> that indicates gradual change from loud to quiet, or else it can point to a passage of music<\/em> over which the volume adjusts gradually from loud to quiet. The actual trend of going from loud to quiet is decrescendo.<\/p>\n The distinction between diminuendo and decrescendo is subtle enough that I can understand why, as kids, some might only have been taught diminuendo.<\/p>\n HTH:)<\/p>\n