I thought I understood alla breve

[tunneller]

I'm looking at Moonlight 1st movement. I thought I understood alla breve to be 2/4 and I was playing the triplets "Strong light Medium light" for each bar.

Except now I read that alla breve is 2/2. So do the triplets still come in strong/light/medium/light ?


 

[pianist1976]

Except now I read that alla breve is 2/2. So do the triplets still come in strong/light/medium/light ?

No. That will be if the bar was 4/4. 2/2 is a binary bar, just like 2/4 but the measuring unit been the half note (minim) instead of the quarter note (crochet). First minim = strong part; second minim = light part.

[tunneller]

So it is strong/light/light/light  in each bar, or strong/light/strong/light ?

Thanks, John

[pianist1976]

Neither. It's two parts, no four parts.

Strong/light. One half note per beat.

[tunneller]

Note that in this piece, each bar has four triplets.

So with regard the stress on the first note of each triplet, do you mean:

Strong/none/light/none ?

Regards, and appreaciate feedback on Dec 25th, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to be logging on today 

[pianowolfi]

Yes pianist1976 is right, but who plays this piece strong-light anyway? It's all phrasing and linear, and harmonic relations.

[pianist1976]

Yes pianist1976 is right, but who plays this piece strong-light anyway? It's all phrasing and linear, and harmonic relations.

Completely true  

@tunneller,  the general rules of the natural bar accentuation are only a very general guidance from the Solfeggio which must not be taken literally. As Pianowolfi said, there are many other music factors to be taken in account (I missed that part in my reply, I was talking only about the general theory, sorry). In this case it is absurd to play, for example, the two first triplets of Beethoven's Op 27 no. 2 forte and the two second ones piano and so on in the next bar, etc.

But according to the strict music theory, 2/2 is a binary bar, not a four part bar as 4/4, so it's natural accentuation is what I said, having in account that the real music involves many more factors aside the strict metro.

[mcdiddy1]

Alla breve does means cut time so the half note is the rhythmic value that is the beat. Of course meter is a silent pulse that occurs in music. If you want to change the dynamics of the piece that would be more of an interprative decision based on phrasing, interpretation, and harmonic tension and release. In other words the meter should not influence the dynamic, the "weak" beats should have a more lifting quality but not forte, piano, or strong light.

[tunneller]

But assuming for this post that I stick to the "natural accentuation", are you saying for the triplets

strong/strong/light/light

or

strong/none/light/none

Thanks, T.

[mcdiddy1]

 

But assuming for this post that I stick to the "natural accentuation", are you saying for the triplets

strong/strong/light/light

or

strong/none/light/none

Thanks, T.

You have to keep in mind the music you are playing. For example when you talk about Moonlight Sonata -which you probably shouldnt call it that because Beethoven never gave it that name- the beginning of the piece triplets is a rhythmic ostinato , a patten that keeps repeating. The piece is seperated into three voices or four voices - i really don't remember .  My point being stylistically you want to keep the triplets in this piece in the background because they are not the melody and reflect the harmonic changes in the piece. There shouldn't be a clear volume change in the triplets but rather in the soprano voice played by the pinky.

That being said if you wanted to think in the metric accents it would start at the beginning of the first and third triplet. Feeling strong weak in every measure. This pulsing doesn't have limited to one measure but it can be extended to two measure. As long as your playing with a steady pulse and putting the triplets in the background of the other voices, it will sound fine.