Fortissimo vs Niente

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Fortissimo	Niente
Definition	Very loud; much louder than forte.	Nothing; fade to complete silence.
Category	dynamics	dynamics
Pronunciation	for-TEE-see-moh	nee-EN-teh
Origin	Italian	Italian
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	very loud very strong	Nothing Silence
Antonyms	Pianissimo Piano	Fortissimo
Usage	The brass section blazes fortissimo in the triumphant finale.	Mahler's Symphony No. 9 ends with the strings fading al niente — one of the most devastating endings in orchestral music.

Definition: Nothing; fade to complete silence.
Category: dynamics
Pronunciation: nee-EN-teh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: Nothing Silence
Antonyms: Fortissimo
Usage: Mahler's Symphony No. 9 ends with the strings fading al niente — one of the most devastating endings in orchestral music.