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What are dynamics?
What are dynamics?
Dynamics refers to the volume of sound. Dynamics are characterised by the amplitude of sound waves, as well as the specific tone colour that a sound has at different dynamic levels. For example, a French horn playing at a forte dynamic produces sound waves with both a higher amplitude and brighter tone colour compared to a French horn playing at a piano dynamic (which has a lower amplitude and duller tone colour).
Dynamics can include descriptions of the relative softness and loudness of sound (e.g., piano, fortissimo, etc.), the change of loudness over time (e.g., crescendo, morendo, subito piano, etc.), and placing emphasis on individual sounds (e.g., accents and other articulation).
What are expressive techniques?
What are expressive techniques?
Expressive techniques refers to the musical details that articulate a style or interpretation of a style. This may include general style markings (e.g., "con spirito", "leggiero"), ornaments, general pitch and duration techniques (e.g., "fermata"), instrument-specific techniques, and electronic effects.
Word cloud derived from the sample answers of dyanmics and expressive techniques questions from past HSC examinations
Answering a dynamics and expressive techniques question
Answering a dynamics and expressive techniques question
A basic HSC response may discuss superficial elements of dynamics and fail to make connections with other concepts or metaconcepts (e.g., "The excerpt starts soft and then gets loud."). Basic responses may simply copy terms written on the score without demonstrating understanding of their meaning (e.g., "The excerpt is marked leggiero.").
To showcase a deeper understanding of dynamics and expressive techniques, you can:
Use both the Italian/non-English term and English term when describing a feature of the composition
Describe how dynamics and expressive techniques impacts other concepts, including tone colour, pitch, and texture
Describe how dynamics and expressive techniques achieve interest, contrast, a point of musical climax, or contribute to a particular style in the excerpt
Identify less-common and noteworthy expressive techniques, particularly those that are characteristic of a particular musical style. For example, in a composition representing Music of the last 25 years (Australian focus) extended techniques such as multiphonics or col legno may be more noteworthy than the occasional use of staccatos
Dynamics and dynamic changes
Dynamics and dynamic changes
Forte fortissimo (fff) - Extremely loud
Fortissimo (ff) - Very loud
Forte (f) - Loud
Mezzo forte (mf) - Moderately loud
Mezzo piano (mp) - Moderately soft
Piano (p) - Soft
Pianissimo (pp) - Very soft
Piano pianissimo (ppp) - Extremely soft
Forte-piano (fp) - Loud, then suddenly soft
Più - More
Meno - Less
Subito - Suddenly
Crescendo - Gradually getting louder
Decrescendo (or diminuendo) - Gradually getting softer
Niente - To nothing
Smorzando - Dying away
Morendo - Dying away
Molto - Much, a lot
Poco - A little bit
Poco a poco - Little by little
Sotto voce – Soft voice
Accents and articulation
Accents and articulation
Accent
Marcato
Tenuto
Sforzando (sfz) - Forced, strongly accented
Sforzato (sf) - Forced, strongly accented
Forzato (fz) - Forced, strongly accented
Mezzo staccato - Slightly detached
Staccato - Short and detached
Staccatissimo - Very detached
Slur
Phrase mark (or phrase)
Breath mark
Simile - The same. Apply the same expression markings as the previous phrase
General style markings
General style markings
Affettuoso – With feeling, emotion
Agitato – Agitated
Animato – Animated
Apassionata – Full of emotion
Brilliante – Brilliantly
Bruscamente – Harsh and rough
Cantabile – In a singing style
Con amore – With love
Con anima – With feeling
Con spirito – With spirit
Con fuoco – With fire
Con moto – With movement
Decisio – With love
Delicato – Delicately
Dolce – Sweetly
Dolente – Sadly
Expressione – Expressively
Feroce – Fiercely
Giocoso – Merry
Grave –
Grazioso – Gracefully
Lamentoso – Mournfully
Larghetto – Rather broadly
Legato – Smooth and well connected
Leggiero – Lightly
Maestoso – Majestically
Mancando – Dying away
Misterioso – Mysteriously
Passionato – Passionately
Pesate – Heavily
Risoluto – With resolution
Rubato – Freedom of time
Scherzando – Playfully
Semplice – Simple
Teneramente – Tenderly
Tranquillo – Calmly
Vivace – Lively and spirited
Vivo – Lively and spirited
Additional information about Italian terms can be found on this Musicca website: https://www.musicca.com/musical-terms
Ornaments and general pitch techniques
Ornaments and general pitch techniques
Trill - An oscillation between the written note and the note above
Mordent (upper and lower) - A single oscillation between the written note and the note above or below
Turn
Acciaccatura (or grace note)
Appoggiatura
Glissando - A pitch slide between two notes
Vibrato
Harmonics
General duration techniques
General duration techniques
Fermata (or pause) - Hold the note or rest until the player or conductor chooses to proceed
Caesura
Vocal techniques
Vocal techniques
Vocal register
Whistle register
Falsetto
Head voice
Mixed voice
Chest voice
Vocal fry
Belting
Tremolo
Melisma
Vocal compression (or glottal compression)
Overtone singing
Throat singing
Humming
Whistling
Speaking
Recitative
Sprechgesang
Sprechstimme
Scat singing
Rapping
Beatboxing
Screaming
Shouting
Growling
Yodelling
Ululation
False chords
Wind techniques
Wind techniques
Embouchure
Tonguing
Flutter tonguing
Con sordino (con sord.)
Shake
Scoop
Fall
Doit
Overblowing
Growling
Multiphonics
Singing into instrument
Beatboxing into instrument
Breathing through instrument
Key clicks
String techniques
String techniques
Arco
Pizzicato (pizz.)
Down bow
Up bow
Double stopping
Triple stopping
Tremolo
Con sordino (con sord.)
Spiccato
Col legno battuto
Sul ponticello (sul pont.)
Sul tasto
A punta d'arco
Ordinario (ord.)
Bariolage
Harmonics
Strumming
Fingerstyle
Picking
Palm muting
Raking
Hammer on
Pull off
Bending
Slapping
Popping
Ghost notes
Sustain pedal (or damper pedal)
Soft pedal
Una corda
Tre corde
Sostenuto pedal
Prepared- (e.g., prepared piano)
Electronic effects
Electronic effects
Delay – Creates a copy (or copies) of a signal and plays it back after a short time
Reverb – Creates reverberation (the persistence and decay of sound after it’s produced)
Distortion – Makes a signal sound rougher and harsher
Compression
Wah-wah – Applies a filter to the signal which, when manipulated, loosely mimics a human voice saying “wah”
Filter – Removes specific frequencies from a signal
Vocoder – Creates a robotic, synthetic vocal effect
Talk box – Sends sound from an instrument into a musician's mouth through a plastic tube which they can then modulate by changing the shape of their mouth
Autotune – Automatically corrects the pitch of vocal recordings and performances, sometimes producing a distinctive glitchy and robotic vocal effect
Pitch shifting – Raises or lowers the original pitch of a sound
Chorus
Flanger
Phaser
Tremolo
Vibrato
Scientific terms
Scientific terms
Amplitude
Decibels (dB)
Perceived loudness
Dynamic range
Compression
Velocity
Printable version
Printable version
A printable version of this vocabulary list is available to download. It does not include descriptions and definitions in the interest of both space and formatting, and as a means to promote academic inquiry. Students may use this as a word bank to test their understanding of dynamics and expressive techniques vocabulary and/or to pique interest in words that they do not yet know.
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