In music, there are indications on the page to tell us how loud the music should be. These are called Dynamics. The words are in Italian, which is a musical tradition dating back to the 1400s.

pp is the abbreviation for pianissimo, which means to play very softly

p – piano – softly

mp – mezzo piano – medium soft

mf – mezzo forte – medium loud

f – forte – loud

ff – fortissimo – very loud

crescendo - gradually getting louder

* * * * *

Kisses are like music

Entering her practice room, he waited until she stopped playing. He held out a slim paper bag for her. "I was at the music store and I bought you some things." Puzzled, she put her violin down and took the bag from him. Peering inside, she saw a book of Sevcik violin studies, the sheet music for 'Adoration' by Felix Borowski, and a pink pencil with sparkly music notes on it.

She held up the pencil and looked up at him with a question in her eyes. He was blushing and mumbled "I thought you would like it." He looked so adorable, trying to hide his embarrassment under a fringe of blue hair. She just had to do it. She skipped over to him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Tsukimori-kun!"

He jumped back with alarm, his eyes wide. "Hino!" His hand was on his cheek where her lips had been.

His reaction embarrassed her. She pouted "That was just a little pianissimo kiss!" She huffed and turned away from him, removing her new music from the bag. As she was putting it on the music stand, she felt him standing close behind her. She heard him ask in a quiet voice "What is a piano kiss like?"

She turned to see him looking a little flushed, but his eyes were fixed intently on her and he had the beginnings of a smile. She smiled back. She couldn't resist him. Putting her hands on his chest, she softly touched her lips to his, lingering for a couple extra seconds. She drew back slowly to look at him. His hands went on her shoulders. There was a twinkle in his eye as he slowly requested "Crescendo from piano to mezzo-forte?"

Now she was blushing, but took up the challenge. She gently pressed her mouth to his and kissed him softly several times. Then she nudged his lips with more and more insistence, to persuade him to respond. His response came quickly. "Crescendo" he moaned as his hands cupped her face. He kissed her again and again, coaxing her to open up for him. "Forte" she breathed, and he lunged into her mouth.

They were much too busy to say "Fortissimo", but that's where it went. Their hands roamed and clung as they devoured each other. When they finally broke away to breathe, he was smiling. He put a hand to her cheek, saying

"I never knew that kisses were so much like music."