Fortississimo (fff)

Fortississimo sign in music.

Stannered/Wikimedia Commons (CC0-PD)

Fortississimo is an indication to play as loudly as possible; louder than fortissimo.

Also Known As:

  • extrêmement fort, tout fort (Fr)
  • ganz laut (Ger)

Pronunciation: for'-tih-SEE-see-moe

Common Misspellings: fortisissimo, fortissisimo

Fortississimo is abbreviated by at least three f’s and can have as many as fffff. Dynamics refer to the comparable volume changes within a song, and don’t express exact decibel levels; therefore, a song already played in forte might need a few extra f’s to express a fortississimo.