Questions tagged [dynamics]
For questions related to the intensity, or loudness, of sound.
113
questions
9
votes
2answers
384 views
Dynamic markings in harpsichord music
I have come across books similar to L'Art de Toucher le Clavecin, but written by English Composers. One such book "The Art of Playing the Harpsichord" IMSLP page and similar works have ...
5
votes
5answers
3k views
Why does photography promote high dynamic range whereas music production tends to reduce it?
On my phone, for example, HDR is a feature. Whereas in music production, a good compressor is seen as essential.
Why the apparent discrepancy?
4
votes
2answers
255 views
Unattached decrescendo in a single measure/single chord in lilypond
How to code the single measure/single chord decrescendo in lilypond?
|\> <ees' aes' c''>1 \!|
the above code gives a warning in lilypond: unterminated decrescendo.
4
votes
3answers
90 views
Anacrusis in Bach BWV 816 (French suite no. 5 in Gmaj) Gavotte
I had learned piano when I was young, and now I'm learning it again. I'm interested in Bach's pieces and BWV816 is the first piece my teacher suggested to learn.
The following is the first 9 and half ...
1
vote
2answers
94 views
Does excessive humidity affect the ability to play pianissimo? (On the piano) [closed]
I have trouble playing pianissimo but ff produces a good tone. Could humidity have caused this?
1
vote
1answer
92 views
Which electric piano tone on keyboard can have good accent and can be played loud at the same time?
I have to play a song which has electric piano tone which has a good distinct accent sound and can also be played at different dynamics.
The problem is that you've to hit the key hard to make it ...
5
votes
5answers
107 views
Can an offbeat note be loudest when playing Bach?
My primitive understanding of Bach's music tells me that an offbeat note cannot be the most accented or the most important note in a phrase. But in the last gesture of the ubiquitous C major prelude, ...
2
votes
1answer
77 views
Is it possible to combine accent and tremolo in notation?
I want to have a strings part with tremolo, like used for example on the beginning of the 4th movement in Beethoven's 6th Symphony.
But I also want the beginning of every such note to be accented. In ...
1
vote
2answers
66 views
Notating Dynamics for Drum Kit
I'm currently finishing an arrangement in Sibelius. One of the last things I'm adding is dynamic markings. For context, there is a string section, an electric guitar, electric bass, piano and vocals ...
5
votes
2answers
155 views
Did Chopin use hairpins (adjacent crescendo and decrescendo) to indicate rubato rather than dynamics?
In her answer to Liszt's B minor sonata crescendo, user @Madeleine writes:
In many places in Chopin's music, he wrote hairpins ... to indicate rubato rather than a crescendo or decrescendo.
The ...
4
votes
2answers
576 views
Problems with playing dynamics on a yamaha psr e463
I recently (about 5 months ago) have taken up the hobby of playing piano. I'm following the Alfred Basic Adult Level One book. Really loving it so far but I keep messing up when it comes to one aspect ...
7
votes
4answers
992 views
How is a Compressor different from Gain/Fader riding?
Compressor reduces a signal's dynamic range but the same can also be done by riding/automating the volume fader.
Compressors add coloration but other than that is it any different from fader riding?
2
votes
2answers
301 views
What do back-to-back crescendo-decrescendo ("<>") markings mean?
Okay, So I understand the staccato and crescendo and diminuendo markings, and the accent mark...
But what does the less than and greater than mark that I highlighted mean?
This is Czerny, First ...
4
votes
1answer
84 views
Is my understanding about this dynamics correct?
Sorry if my question is too simple or obvious to the experienced piano players,
so the piece starts with the dynamics "f" and "marcato",
f - loud
marcato - stressed, pronounced
...
1
vote
1answer
197 views
Writing dynamics separately with Lilypond
I've recently been engraving more and more with Lilypond, and I stumbled upon a .ly file on Mutopia (public domain scores engraved with Lilypond) where the dynamics and articulations are written ...
4
votes
1answer
4k views
Is there a difference between 'decrescendo' and 'diminuendo'?
I'm a lifelong musician, and this is something I've always wondered about. I know that decrescendo translates to "decreasing" and diminuendo to "diminishing", but does this have any practical ...
2
votes
1answer
85 views
Using different dynamics for different staves of the same instrument in MuseScore
I want to use different dynamics ( p and ff for treble and bass staff respectively) in Musescore 3.4.2 but always the last one I've entered has the effect and the former gets kind of discarded.
Is it ...
1
vote
3answers
73 views
Custom dynamic mark attached to a note, but not postponning the next
I am in the process of engraving a piano sheet, and I wrote a custom dynamic mark with the look of which I am very happy, but the behavior, not totally. It is the following :
mff = \tweak DynamicText....
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votes
3answers
91 views
What instrument(s) lend themselves to playing different dynamics rapidly? [closed]
I'm a composer. What instrument(s) would it be easiest to play parts like this on? Thinking along the lines of unpitched percussion, but I'm open to anything. For example:
3
votes
1answer
281 views
Mastering oboe dynamics
I have been playing the oboe for a term now, and I have come across some songs that require me to use dynamics. How do you achieve dynamics on the oboe, and what exercises can you do to master it.
5
votes
2answers
165 views
Midi Volume "Compression"?
Suppose your midi instrument, say a piano vst, has 16 "layers". When you input a note at velocity "1", you'll hear a very quiet ppp note. When you input the same note at velocity "127", you'll hear a ...
2
votes
1answer
182 views
Repeated forte dynamics in more than 10 measures, What does that mean?
As I arrange the Scherzo movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for a piano quintet(though I might expand this out to a sextet and use a double bass in place of a second cello), I notice something odd ...
1
vote
1answer
188 views
Enhancing the effect of Crescendo/Diminuendo in musescore
I just want to know how can I steep the gradient of crescendo (or diminuendo) effect in Musescore?
In normal situations it's like there are no effects at all.
I'm using Musescore 3.2.
3
votes
2answers
508 views
Correct abbreviation for “niente”?
“Niente” (“nothing”) is used to start a crescendo from silence or end a diminuendo with silence.
Some scores spell it out fully (from “Titanic Suite”, published by Hal Leonard):
Other scores ...
1
vote
3answers
196 views
Fortepiano (fp) for the piano forte: are there examples in music literature? [duplicate]
A brass player I know plays fp by applying it to a single note. For the piano this is not possible. Reading a recent question and some comments below it, I wonder: are there examples of fp in music ...
14
votes
3answers
3k views
Dynamic marking "f-p"
I know that:
The dynamic marking f means forte, or play loud. And that p means piano, or play soft.
The dynamic marking fp means fortepiano, or play this note loud, and play the following notes ...
6
votes
1answer
161 views
Is this fortissimo passage in the flute possible?
I am writing this piece for a piano flute duet to represent Spring and it has 3 main sections. Those sections are:
A - Quiet, Molto adagio, A minor, very melodic, rocking fifths in the bass, melody ...
9
votes
4answers
3k views
Dynamics using m, r, s, and z. What do they mean?
I've seen these dynamics that are notated with: 'm', 'r', 's', and 'z', but I don't know what the mean. I might have an idea to what 'm' means, which might mean 'medium' like in mp or mf, but I don't ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
Does Sforzando really mean a stronger accent?
I come across sforzando a lot as an arranger and even just as a classical music listener. I was told by my piano teacher that sforzando means a stronger accent than your typical accent mark. But I ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views
How should I notate an intermediate dynamic between mp and mf?
I know this is a question that’s been asked before, but I haven’t found an answer that suits my needs.
Consider the following example [edit: new excerpt, to include all swells and to remove other ...
2
votes
3answers
971 views
Più, meno, poco & molto: How to write incremental dynamics?
I’m a self-taught amateur composer, and whilst the standard dynamics of ppp to fff go a long way, over time I’ve wanted to use some additional instructions to indicate incremental dynamics between ...
6
votes
1answer
176 views
Is there a difference between Espirando and Mancando?
I've seen both these terms listed in online music glossaries as meaning "dying away", but neither entry ever refers to the other. Are there any real-world differences in how these are interpreted?
5
votes
2answers
240 views
What is the point of repeating the same dynamic mark?
See this video
The audio is the orchestral version of Shosty 7, but the video shows a two piano arrangement, which is what the question is about. If you look at 1:06:...
4
votes
1answer
71 views
Will a forte tympani overpower a quiet orchestra?
So far, I have been mainly using the tympani in my orchestration of the Pathetique Sonata for the purpose of adding an accent. It might change later on to having a more important role but right now, ...
15
votes
4answers
4k views
How do pianists reach extremely loud dynamics?
This question of mine started when I heard the piano score of Mars by Gustav Holst. Here is the piano score:
How do the pianists even reach triple f? I myself have ...
2
votes
3answers
363 views
What is the best way to play with dynamics on the violin?
I've just started playing the violin, and have come to dynamics (forte, piano, etc.). To play forte, I push the bow hard, and for piano, I push the bow lightly. Is this the right method? Are there any ...
0
votes
1answer
178 views
Polyphony vs Monophony
I am taking a basic music class as an elective and was given a chart to compare monophony and polyphony. The elements within the chart are: Melody, Accompaniment, Harmony, Rhythm of Words, Dynamics ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the difference between accent and sforzando?
In particular, on cello. I got the impression that both are strong (either by pressure or speed) at the beginning of the note, followed by quick release of pressure/speed. What is the difference ...
2
votes
2answers
487 views
Why do arpeggios tend to blend at quiet dynamics?
I notice this especially in the arpeggio passage of the Solfeggio in C minor. But when I am playing very fast arpeggios, the notes either stay separate or blend depending on the dynamic. At forte, ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Why were dynamic markings not really used in the Baroque and Classical period?
Why is it that dynamics only really began to be frequently used from the Romantic period onward? Also what was the first recorded use of dynamics because I read on Wikipedia that it was first century ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Normalize a collection of WAVS in an homogenous way without loosing a bit of dynamic range
I ripped all my CDs of a band, and would like to do a loseless flac compilation. The degree of volume and compression is different in every album.
What's the easiest way to normalize by RMS a ...
4
votes
2answers
493 views
Dynamic markings and relative sound levels of instuments
In an orchestra, various instruments have different "perceived output volume" capabilities and these change across registers. For example, flutes get louder in their higher register, bassoons are ...
2
votes
1answer
156 views
What do I do if a fp marking is in between two notes?
How can i play the section with forte piano fp where fp is between two notes
7
votes
1answer
101 views
Is there a specific term for the orchestral bursts in The Firebird?
In Stravinsky's Firebird, during the Danse Infernale section, there are several very short, jarring bursts from the orchestra. These bursts have an unusual dynamic quality in that the attack is not at ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Crescendo and accelerando throughout, how?
I hear this in most piano transcriptions and in all orchestras when I hear In the Hall of the Mountain King. It is as though Edvard Grieg wrote cresc. and accel. and pp and left it at that. I did hear ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
How to play forte-piano chord on piano?
In Beethoven's Pathetique, how do you play the fortepiano chords in the third movement (rondo)? I can easily do this on a wind instrument by changing wind speed, but on piano, I have no idea how to ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Do contemporary singers sound “wrong” without a microphone?
When I play guitar and sing, it isn’t very loud because I mix my head voice with falsetto. It’s impossible for me to know what this sounds like without recording my voice- but the only way to record ...
6
votes
4answers
571 views
How can I make sure my mix is not "bricked" before sending it to be professionally mastered?
In the instructions provided to me by the service I'm using to have my album mastered, the engineers include this advice:
Include any desired processing, such as compression and equalization, but be ...
3
votes
1answer
376 views
Sforzando but fortissimo, how to fix that?
I wished that Musescore could recognize the note velocity of other instruments when I just put in a series of sforzandos in 1 instrument followed by forte to recognize that it needs to do a crescendo. ...
5
votes
3answers
691 views
Is it necessary to put nuances indication at the start and end of a crescendo/decrescendo?
On one song I'm writing, I'd like to finish the song with a decrescendo on two measures.
My question is, is it better (or at least useful) to add a nuance at the end of the decrescendo like in the ...
