Which Is The Best Way To Describe What Happens When Music Increases In Volume?

Book of a sound or note

In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings all the same require estimation by the performer depending on the musical context: for example, the forte mark f (meaning loud) in 1 part of a piece might have quite dissimilar objective loudness in another slice or even a dissimilar section of the same piece. The execution of dynamics also extends beyond loudness to include changes in timbre and sometimes tempo rubato.

Purpose and interpretation [edit]

Dynamics are 1 of the expressive elements of music. Used effectively, dynamics help musicians sustain variety and interest in a musical functioning, and communicate a item emotional country or feeling.

Dynamic markings are always relative.^[1] p never indicates a precise level of loudness; it merely indicates that music in a passage so marked should exist considerably quieter than f . There are many factors affecting the estimation of a dynamic marking. For instance, the eye of a musical phrase will normally exist played louder than the kickoff or end, to ensure the phrase is properly shaped, even where a passage is marked p throughout. Similarly, in multi-office music, some voices will naturally be played louder than others, for instance, to emphasize the melody and the bass line, fifty-fifty if a whole passage is marked at ane dynamic level. Some instruments are naturally louder than others – for instance, a tuba playing piano will likely exist louder than a guitar playing fortissimo, while a high-pitched instrument like the piccolo playing in its upper register can usually audio loud even when its actual decibel level is lower than that of other instruments.

Dynamic markings [edit]

Scale of dynamic markings^[2]
Name	Letters	Level
fortississimo	fff	very very loud
fortissimo	ff	very loud
forte	f	loud
mezzo-forte	mf	average
mezzo-piano	mp	average
piano	p	serenity
pianissimo	pp	very quiet
pianississimo	ppp	very very quiet

The two basic dynamic indications in music are:

p or pianoforte, meaning "quiet".^[three] ^[4]
f or forte, pregnant "loud or strong".^[three] ^[5]

More than subtle degrees of loudness or softness are indicated by:

mp , standing for mezzo-piano, meaning "moderately quiet".
mf , continuing for mezzo-forte, significant "moderately loud".^[6]
più p , standing for più pianoforte and meaning "more than placidity".^{[ citation needed ]}
più f , standing for più forte and pregnant "more loud".^{[ citation needed ]}

Utilize of up to three consecutive f s or p s is also common:

pp , continuing for pianissimo and significant "very quiet".
ff , standing for fortissimo and meaning "very loud".
ppp ("triple pianoforte"), standing for pianississimo and significant "very very quiet".
fff ("triple forte"), standing for fortississimo and meaning "very very loud".^[6]

Changes [edit]

Three Italian words are used to show gradual changes in volume:

crescendo (abbreviated cresc. ) translates as "increasing" (literally "growing")
decrescendo (abbreviated to decresc. ) translates as "decreasing".
diminuendo (abbreviated dim. ) translates as "diminishing".

Signs sometimes referred to as "hairpins"^[7] are as well used to stand for these words (Meet paradigm). If the angle lines open (), so the indication is to get louder; if they close gradually (), the indication is to get softer. The following annotation indicates music starting moderately strong, then becoming gradually stronger and so gradually quieter:

$\relative c'' { \time 4/4 \override DynamicLineSpanner.staff-padding = #2.v a4._\mf\< gis16 a\! c4.\> b8\! a4 }$

Hairpins are usually written below the staff (or between the two staves in a grand staff), but are sometimes constitute in a higher place, especially in music for singers or in music with multiple melody lines beingness played by a single performer. They tend to exist used for dynamic changes over a relatively short space of time (at most a few bars), while cresc. , decresc. and dim. are generally used for changes over a longer catamenia. Word directions can be extended with dashes to indicate over what time the event should occur, which may be every bit long equally multiple pages. The discussion morendo ("dying") is too sometimes used for a gradual reduction in dynamics (and tempo).

For greater changes in dynamics, cresc. molto and dim. molto are often used, where the molto ways "much". Similarly, for more gradual changes poco cresc. and poco dim. are used, where "poco" translates as a little, or alternatively with poco a poco significant "little by little".

Sudden changes in dynamics may exist notated by adding the word subito (meaning "suddenly") as a prefix or suffix to the new dynamic notation. Subito piano (abbreviated sub. p or sp ) ("of a sudden soft") indicates that the dynamics quickly, almost abruptly, lower the book to approximately the p range. Information technology is often purposefully used to subvert the listener'due south expectation and will signify an intimate expression. Although it uses the piano p dynamic symbol, the performer has slight liberty in their interpretation, causing information technology to vary based on the preceding loudness or character of the piece. Likewise, subito can be used to marking suddenly louder changes, like subito forte sf , or subito fortissimo sff , all the same in these cases it's unremarkably only used to add a particular amount of accent to 1 note or chord. If subito is used to annotation a sudden change to an entire louder passage, something like sub. f or sub. ff should exist used to leave out whatever ambiguity.

Accented notes is typically notated with the accent sign > in a higher place or below the notation, giving information technology a general emphasis relative to the electric current dynamics. A harder and shorter emphasis is ordinarily marked with the marcato mark ^ above the note instead. If a very particular emphasis is needed instead, it can exist marked with a variation of subito, forzando/forzato or fortepiano.

forzando/forzato indicates a forceful accent and is abbreviated as fz . To emphasize the effect, it is most often preceded with subito equally sfz (subito forzato/forzando, sforzando/sforzato). How these should be interpreted and played in the music is up to the judgement of the performer, but a dominion of pollex is that a forzato/forzando can exist considered as a variation on marcato while subito forzando/forzato tin be considered a variation on marcato with added tenuto.^[8]

The fortepiano annotation fp indicates a forte followed immediately by piano. By contrast, pf is an abridgement for poco forte, literally "a little loud" but (co-ordinate to Brahms) meaning with the character of forte, just the sound of piano, though rarely used because of possible defoliation with pianoforte.^[nine]

Farthermost dynamic markings [edit]

While the typical range of dynamic markings is from ppp to fff , some pieces use additional markings of further emphasis. Extreme dynamic markings imply an farthermost range of loudness, or, alternatively, imply an extremely subtle distinction betwixt very small differences of loudness inside a normal range. This kind of usage is about common in orchestral works from the late 19th century onwards. Generally, these markings are supported past the orchestration of the piece of work, with heavy forte markings brought to life by having many loud instruments like brass and percussion playing at in one case.

In Holst'due south The Planets, ffff occurs twice in "Mars" and once in "Uranus", ofttimes punctuated by organ.^[10]
Tchaikovsky marks a bassoon solo pppppp (6 p s) in his Pathétique Symphony^[eleven] and uses ffff in passages of his 1812 Overture ^[12] and his 5th Symphony.^[13]
The baritone passage "Era la notte" from Verdi's opera Otello uses pppp , though the same spot is marked ppp in the full score.^[14]
Igor Stravinsky used ffff at the end of the finale of the 1919 Firebird Suite.^[xv]
Sergei Rachmaninoff uses sffff in his Prelude in C ♯ , Op. 3 No. 2.^[16]
Gustav Mahler, in the third motility of his Seventh Symphony, gives the celli and basses a marking of fffff (5 f south), along with a footnote directing 'pluck so hard that the strings hit the wood'.^[a] ^[17]
On the other extreme, Carl Nielsen, in the 2nd motion of his 5th Symphony, marked a passage for woodwinds a diminuendo to ppppp (5 p s),^[eighteen]
The original pianoforte version of F. Westward. Meacham's American Patrol begins at pppp and ends at ppppp .
György Ligeti uses extreme dynamics in his music: the Cello Concerto begins with a passage marked pppppppp (8 p s),^[19] in his Piano Études Étude No. 9 (Vertige) ends with a diminuendo to pppppppp (8 p s),^[20] while Étude No. thirteen (L'Escalier du Diable) contains a passage marked ffffff (six f south) that progresses to a ffffffff (eight f south)^[21] and his opera Le Grand Macabre has ffffffffff (x f due south) on a percussion part.

History [edit]

On Music, one of the Moralia attributed to the philosopher Plutarch in the first century Advertizement, suggests that ancient Greek musical performance included dynamic transitions – though dynamics receive far less attention in the text than does rhythm or harmony.

The Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli was 1 of the first to indicate dynamics in music notation, only dynamics were used sparingly by composers until the belatedly 18th century. J.S. Bach used some dynamic terms, including forte, piano, più piano, and pianissimo (although written out equally full words), and in some cases it may exist that ppp was considered to hateful pianissimo in this menstruum.

The fact that the harpsichord could play only "terraced" dynamics (either loud or soft, but not in between), and the fact that composers of the menstruation did not marker gradations of dynamics in their scores, has led to the "somewhat misleading proposition that baroque dynamics are 'terraced dynamics'," writes Robert Donington.^[22] In fact, baroque musicians constantly varied dynamics: in 1752, Johann Joachim Quantz wrote that "Low-cal and shade must exist constantly introduced ... by the incessant interchange of loud and soft."^[23] In add-on to this, the harpsichord in fact becomes louder or softer depending on the thickness of the musical texture (4 notes are louder than two). This allowed composers like J.S. Bach to build dynamics straight into their compositions, without the demand for notation.

In the Romantic period, composers greatly expanded the vocabulary for describing dynamic changes in their scores. Where Haydn and Mozart specified six levels ( pp to ff ), Beethoven used likewise ppp and fff (the latter less frequently), and Brahms used a range of terms to draw the dynamics he wanted. In the slow movement of Brahms'due south trio for violin, horn and pianoforte (Opus 40), he uses the expressions ppp , molto piano, and quasi niente to limited different qualities of quiet. Many Romantic and later composers added più p and più f , making for a total of 10 levels betwixt ppp and fff .

Interpretation by notation programs [edit]

In some music notation programs, at that place are default MIDI key velocity values associated with these indications, simply more sophisticated programs permit users to change these as needed. These defaults are listed in the following table for some applications, including Apple's Logic Pro nine (2009–2013), Avid's Sibelius 5 (2007–2009), musescore.org's MuseScore three.0 (2019), MakeMusic's Finale 26 (2018-2021), and Musitek's SmartScore X2 Pro (2016) and 64 Pro. (2021). MIDI specifies the range of key velocities as an integer between 0 and 127:

Symbols	ppppp	pppp	ppp	pp	p	mp	mf	f	ff	fff	ffff
Logic Pro nine dynamics ^[24]			sixteen	32	48	64	lxxx	96	112	127
Sibelius 5 dynamics ^[25]			20	39	61	71	84	98	113	127
MuseScore 3.0 dynamics ^[26]	5	10	16	33	49	64	80	96	112	126	127
MakeMusic Finale dynamics ^[27]		x	23	36	49	62	75	88	101	114	127
SmartScore X2 dynamics ^[28]		29	38	46	55	63	72	eighty	89	97	106
SmartScore 64 dynamics ^[29]		xxx	twoscore	50	60	seventy	80	90	100	110	120

The velocity effect on book depends on the item instrument. For example, a k piano has a much greater book range than a recorder.

Relation to audio dynamics [edit]

The introduction of modern recording techniques has provided alternative ways to command the dynamics of music. Dynamic range compression is used to control the dynamic range of a recording, or a single musical instrument. This tin impact loudness variations, both at the micro-^[30] and macro scale.^[31] In many contexts, the meaning of the term dynamics is therefore non immediately clear. To distinguish between the unlike aspects of dynamics, the term performed dynamics can exist used to refer to the aspects of music dynamics that is controlled exclusively by the performer.^[32]

See likewise [edit]

Accent (music)
Glossary of musical terminology

Notes [edit]

^ So stark anreißen, daß die Saiten an das Holz anschlagen.

References [edit]

^ Thiemel, Matthias. "Dynamics". Grove Music Online (subscriber-only access). Oxford University Press. Retrieved seven July 2022.
^ Read, Gardner (1969/1979). Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice, p.250. second edition. Crescendo Publishing, part of Taplinger Publishing. ISBN 0-8008-5453-5.
^ ^a ^b Randel, Don Michael (2003). The Harvard Lexicon of Music (quaternary ed.). Cambridge, MA, United states: Harvard Academy Printing Reference Library.
^ "Piano". Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary. Archived from the original on 22 Oct 2022. Retrieved xix March 2022.
^ "Forte". Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved nineteen March 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Dynamics". Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary. Archived from the original on seven Apr 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
^ Kennedy, Michael and Bourne, Joyce: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music (1996), entry "Hairpins".
^ Gerou, Tom; Lusk, Linda (1996). Essential Dictionary of Music Notation: The Most Practical and Curtailed Source for Music Annotation. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Music Publishing. pp. 37–38. ISBN978-0882847306.
^ An Enigmatic Marking Explained, by Jeffrey Solow, Violoncello Club Newsletter, Jump 2000
^ Holst, Gustav (1921). The Planets (PDF). London: Goodwin & Tabb. pp. 29, 42, 159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 25 Apr 2022.
^ Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyitch (1979). 4th, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies in Full Score (PDF). New York: Dover Publications. First motion, just before Allegro vivo. ISBN048623861X. OCLC 6414366. ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
^ Nikolayev, Aleksandr (ed.). P.I. Tchaikovsky: Complete Collected Works, Vol. 25 (PDF). p. 79. Archived from the original (PDF) on ten September 2022. Retrieved 25 Apr 2022.
^ Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich (1979). Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies in Full Score (PDF). New York: Dover Publications. pp. 18, 65 [on PDF]. ISBN048623861X. OCLC 6414366. ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
^ (1965). The Musical Times, Vol. 106. Novello.
^ Strawinsky, Igor. FIrebird Suite (PDF). New York: Boosey & Hawkes. p. 80. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
^ Rachmaninoff, Sergei (1911). Thümer, Otto Gustav (ed.). Anthology Book I. Op. 3, Nos. 1–five (PDF). London: Augener. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 25 Apr 2022.
^ Mahler, Gustav (1909). Symphonie No. 7 (PDF). Leipzig: Eulenburg. p. 229. Retrieved 26 April 2022. ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
^ Nielsen, Carl. Fjeldsøe, Michael (ed.). Vaerker, Serial 2, No.5 (PDF). p. 128. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
^ Kirzinger, Robert. "György Ligeti – Cello Concerto". allmusic . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
^ "György Ligeti – Études for Piano (Book 2), No. 9 [three/9]". YouTube. Effect occurs at 3:34. Archived from the original on ii November 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
^ "György Ligeti – Études for Piano (Book 2), No. 13 [7/ix]". YouTube. Event occurs at 5:12–5:14. Archived from the original on two Nov 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
^ Donington, Robert: Baroque Music (1982) WW Norton, 1982. ISBN 0-393-30052-8. Page 32.
^ Donington, Robert: Baroque Music (1982) WW Norton, 1982. ISBN 0-393-30052-8. Page 33.
^ "Logic Pro X: Utilise step input recording techniques". Retrieved 29 July 2022.
^ Spreadbury, Daniel; Eastwood, Michael; Finn, Ben; and Finn, Jonathan (March 2008). Sibelius five Reference. Edition 5.2. Sibelius Software.
^ "Handbook 3.0, Dynamics".
^ MakeMusic, Inc. Finale (Version 26), Expression Dialog Box, Note Expression Selection. Finale (26.1.0.397) Software.
^ Musitek Corp. Smartscore X2 Software.
^ Musitek Corp. Smartscore 64 Software.
^ Katz, Robert (2002). Mastering Sound. Amsterdam: Boston. p. 109. ISBN0-240-80545-3.
^ Deruty, Emmanuel (September 2022). "'Dynamic Range' & The Loudness War". Sound on Sound . Retrieved sixteen January 2022.
^ Elowsson, Anders; Friberg, Anders (2017). "Predicting the perception of performed dynamics in music sound with ensemble learning" (PDF). The Journal of the Acoustical Gild of America. 141 (iii): 2224–2242. Bibcode:2017ASAJ..141.2224E. doi:10.1121/1.4978245. PMID 28372147.