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I've learned from someone that "decrescendo" can also said as "descendo," but it doesn't sound familiar. When I ask my theory teacher he said it was wrong, so I'm confused. Can someone say "descendo" to mean "decrescendo"?

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    'Descendo' sounds like something going down, but in direction, not volume. Never heard the term.
    – Tim
    Commented Oct 2, 2017 at 17:08
  • Since "scendo" in Italian means "I go down", logically "descendo" in Italian would mean "I go UP", except that it isn't an Italian word at all.
    – user19146
    Commented Oct 2, 2017 at 17:31
  • @alephzero :-) :-) . Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 12:46

1 Answer 1

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Your intuition is correct. I've never heard any one say "descendo" to mean "decrescendo."

"Crescendo" is Italian, and the "de-" prefix negates what follows it. So "descendo" is just a meaningless word that means "the opposite of [scendo]," and "scendo" in Italian doesn't really have a musical use that I've ever encountered.

Stick with "decrescendo"!

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