Chapter 7: Tempo and Dynamics

Chapter 7: Tempo and Dynamics+

Composers indicate tempo and dynamics as a means of expression

Timbre

  • Definition: the sonorous quality of a particular instrument, voice, or combination of instruments and/or voices

  • the idea that different acoustic instruments produce sounds in different ways (the different tone differences)

    • influenced by the size, shape and proportions of the instrument

  • How something sounds

  • Manipulating Timbre = suppress or enhance a certain tone. frequency of the different tones (can also do color change)

  • quality of the sound that distinguishes it from others (timbre or tone color)

  • accounts for the striking differences in the sound quality of musical instruments

Example: for electronic instruments, different amplifiers for electric instruments (e.g. electric guitar) have different sonic characteristics. (old tube-based amplifiers have a very different sound than transistor- based amplifiers)

Dynamics

  • Definition: used to refer to the variation in loudness between notes, or phrases, or sections in a piece of music

  • denotes the volume

  • indicated by specific musical notation indicators

  • When deciding how to play the dynamics in a composition, a performer must place them in a socio-musical context

    • Examples discuss

      • 17th century vs 18th century (volume wasn’t as important as the hall in which people sang in were smaller, didn’t have to project music as much)

      • 19th century etc (huge concert halls, means louder music needed)

Where does the term Dynamics originate from?

  • Most come from Italian language (first in Italy, the central cultural force)

  • Italy is where many of the notational and musical developments originated in the Renaissance period

  • Other languages are also used in later music , like english (19th, 20th and 21st century)

Dynamics: Musical terms indicating degrees of loudness (not absolute, as scales change with time)

Dynamics = indication as to volume or loudness (how loud or soft the music is played)

  • can also affect our emotional response

  • Fortissimo (ff) - very loud.

  • Forte (f) -loud (one of the two root words)

  • mf - moderately loud (mezzo-forte)

  • mp - moderately soft (mezzo-piano)

  • Piano (p )- soft (one of the two root words)

  • Pianissimo (pp)- very soft

  • “mezzo” = “moderately” (adjective)

  • “issimo” = “very much” (suffix)

Musical terms indicating processes

not dynamic, it is a process

  • Crescendo (cresc) = get gradually louder

  • Diminuendo (dim) = get gradually softer

  • Sempre = always (stable, the same)

Musical symbols are sometimes used for localized dynamic gestures in music

Tempo Indications and Terms

  • the speed of the underlying beat of a piece of music (the pace of the music)

  • (Phrase, rhythm and meter patterns) and tempo words are used to further differentiate which archetype is wanted

  • also carry emotional implications

  • recent music (20th century) might use “mood words” (especially in languages other than Italian) to give the performer and idea “how” to perform

Tempo Markings

  • Most tempo terms come from Italian language (French and German words but Italian is majority)

    • Italian music domination in Europe from 1600 to 1750

      • this was when performance directions were established

  • Tempo means “time” in Italian

  • tempo markings indicate the character of the music and pace of it

  • Alot of tempos come from culture

  • Common tempo markings

    • Grave: solemn (very very slow)

    • Largo - very slow (large, slow)

    • Adagio - slow

    • Andante - slow, but not too slow

    • Moderato - moderate tempo

    • Allegretto - fast, but not too fast

    • Allegro - fast

    • Presto - very fast

The tempo of a piece can be indicated by:

1. Metronome marking (M.M. =120/ quarter note) (M.M. = Maelzel's Metronome)

2. Terms that indicate a general tempo

Tempo Modification Words

molto = very much

meno = less

poco = a little bit

non troppo = not too much

Terms indicating a change of tempo

Accelerando = getting faster

Ritardando = holding back, getting slower

a tempo = in time, returning to original pace

if tempo and dynamics are the domain of the composer, what is the role of performers and conductors in interpreting a musical work?

  • performance directions can be somewhat imprecise as what is loud for one person might not be the same for another (even when composers give precise tempo markings in their scores)

  • performers have the final say in choosing a tempo that best delivers the message of the music

  • composers indicate tempo an dynamics as a means of expression