Section 4 Notes
7th Grade General Music
Section 4
Tempo and Dynamics
The meter tells us how many beats there are in a measure, but it does not tell us whether these beats are fast or slow. This is indicated by the tempo, which is the rate of speed or the pace of the music.
The rate at which we move reflects our emotions. We walk faster when we are happier and we drag our feet when we are sad or depressed. The same is true of musical tempo. Happiness demands a fast tempo while sorrow calls for a slow tempo.
The tempo terms are usually given in Italian. The custom is from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when Italian opera and Italian musicians were very popular throughout Europe. The most important terms are:
largo very slow and broad
adagio slow and leisurely
andante fairly slow, at a walking pace
andantino a little andante, somewhat faster
moderato moderate, not too fast not too slow
allegretto fairly fast
allegro fast, cheerful, happy
vivace vivacious, lively
allegro molto very fast
presto very very fast
Two very important terms that tell us about a change in tempo are:
accelerando to accelerate or get faster
ritardando to hold back or get slower
Dynamics are the amount of loudness or softness at which the music is played. This, just like tempo, is related to our emotions. Mystery and fear call for a whisper and joy or excitement are quite loud. A lullaby or love song will be soft and tender. A war dance or triumphal march is loud and vigorous. The main dynamic terms are:
pianissimo pp very soft
piano p soft
mezzo piano mp medium soft
mezzo forte mf medium loud
forte f loud
fortissimo ff very loud
To change dynamics we use these two very important terms:
crescendo to get louder <
decrescendo to get softer >
Listening:
1) In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite #1 by Edvard Grieg. The widely loved Norwegian composer wrote his Peer Gynt music as a set of short pieces for a play by his countryman, Henrik Ibsen. Later, Greig selected the most popular numbers and combined them into two concert suites.
Ibsen’s play center’s around a peasant lad named Peer Gynt whose restless spirit is always getting him into trouble. At one point he wanders into the dark realm of the Mountain King. Elves and gnomes surround him, and lead him in a dance that grows faster and wilder. Peer feels he will never escape alive. Fortunately the Mountain King’s daughter likes Peer and saves him.
The melody starts out in the dark lower register, pianissimo, in four-four time. It is a staccato tune that is repeated over and over again growing faster and louder as it gradually rises to the upper register. Excitement is increased, in the second half of the piece, through different rhythms. Through a steady crescendo, accelerando, and rise in pitch, Greig increases the tension until the shattering fortissimo at the end.
In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite #1
2) The Pines of the Appian Way from The Pines of Rome, by Ottorino Respighi. In four-four time. In this piece the Italian composer looks back to the ancient days of glory when the Roman Empire ruled the world. The tempo is a march tempo. The opening measures evoke a misty dawn on the Appian Way, where Caesar’s legions (army) advanced. A steady drumbeat, very soft suggests soldiers in the distance. We hear a gradual crescendo; nearer and nearer comes the sound of marching feet. The music builds to a powerful fortissimo; the trumpets call. As Respighi described his vision: “The army advances in the brilliance of the newly risen sun towards the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph to the Capitol.”
Pines of the Appian Way from The Pines of Rome
3) Slavonic Dance #10 by Antonin Dvorak. Like his countryman Smetana, Dvorak captures the spirit of the folk songs of his native Bohemia. His Slavonic Dance shows the simple beauty of Czech national melodies. It is an allegretto in triple meter. In this piece tempo and dynamics change much less than the last two pieces we have heard. The opening section presents a legato melody, very expressive, that moves by step within a narrow range. It contrasts with the second melody that is staccato and moves by skip; this tune goes into a much livelier pace. The middle section presents a new melody in which an ascending (rising) phrase is answered by one that descends (falls). The composer contrasts loud and soft parts.
4) Russian Sailors Dance from the ballet The Red Poppy, by the modern Russian composer Reinhold Gliere. In two-four time. This piece consists of a melody that is played twelve times; each time something is changed: The melody itself, the harmony, the rhythm, tempo, dynamics, instruments, register. It is as if a character in a play appeared in each scene in a different costume. He remains the same, but his appearance changes again and again.
After a brief introduction marked allegro, we hear the tune in a low register, forte. It is an active melody with syncopated accents, suitable for a sailors’ dance. Now it is played moderato, in the upper register with a few notes added to the tune; then still in a higher register. We next hear itloud and lively; after that at a slower pace in a more lyrical (songlike) mood; then very quietly with new harmonies. From here the music grows steadily faster and louder, higher in register and brighter in color, until the exciting finish.
Russan Sailors Dance from The Red Poppy
Russian Sailors Dancing to the Russian Sailors Dance (dance/traditional instruments)
5) Infernal Dance of King Kastchei from The Firebird, by Igor Stravinsky. In section one we studied the Berceuse from Stravinsky’s famous ballet. The story, you will recall is about a magic bird who helps Prince Ivan overcome the evil King Kastchei. The ogre has cast a spell over thirteen young princesses, whom he keeps captive in his castle. Prince Ivan succeeds in freeing them and marries the most beautiful among them.
Kastchei’s Infernal Dance suggest’s the evil atmosphere that surrounds the monster and his court. It is performed when the Firebird, having come to Prince Ivan, puts Kastchei and his court into a frenzy; they dance until they are exhausted. This is a feverish dance with lots of rhythms with sudden accents. Dissonant harmonies heighten the tension. Fragments of melody emerge now and again, only to be swallowed up in the angry sounds. A steady crescendo and accelerando builds to the frenzied ending. At the end the music is fortissimo.
Infernal Dance of King Kastchei and Finale from The Firebird
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