Crescendo also means to speed up.
Crescendo also means to speed up. This increases the rate of information that the brain must process so that is perceived as more intense.Also, if you are having difficulty with a crescendo, you'll need to figure out how much you need to do to make it louder, gradually. Louder does not mean more difficult on you. It should be just as easy to play loudly as when you are playing softly.
Before entering the crescendo, in the phrases before it that is, play at a volume low enough to leave yourself enough room in terms of volume to grow the crescendo . You don't want to max out the piano's capability before you hit that climax.
The last thing you need to do in a dynamic crescendo is to short change your notes, make sure they get full value and that you are evenly touching the key bed on all of them..
Now there is a timing thing happening at the same time. Because to increase volume you ramp up velocity of each note striking the strings. So the drop speed increases, the after effect is that you need a slight seemingly sustain on the notes to get to their full value. So it feels as though you are slowing down the release of the notes. If you just rap it out the sound will be all wrong, it gets wispy or thin sounding instead of intense.
Seriously... You're learning the Death Waltz???Which arrangement???
I though using the sustain pedal (which I barely learning to properly use) could help me there, but because of how fast this passage is so far I have only dirtied the sound, not even half pedal helps much because the problem is that I need a steady curve from mp to mf, then f to ff and the end is ff to fff -> gliss./quote]I can see how that would muddy it up. If to use any pedal you must learn to be a master of disguise ! Very quick very light taps of the pedal might help you out of a bind. However, it can become a crutch. Also the pedal must be mechanically well regulated on your piano. I'm a fan of cheating with pedal but so it it barely is heard as pedal. I guess if my technique were better I wouldn't think lime that ! At any rate, the sustain I was mentioning didn't mean with pedal.
Quote from: senanserat on June 10, 2013, 08:56:12 PMI though using the sustain pedal (which I barely learning to properly use) could help me there, but because of how fast this passage is so far I have only dirtied the sound, not even half pedal helps much because the problem is that I need a steady curve from mp to mf, then f to ff and the end is ff to fff -> gliss./quote]I can see how that would muddy it up. If to use any pedal you must learn to be a master of disguise ! Very quick very light taps of the pedal might help you out of a bind. However, it can become a crutch. Also the pedal must be mechanically well regulated on your piano. I'm a fan of cheating with pedal but so it it barely is heard as pedal. I guess if my technique were better I wouldn't think lime that ! At any rate, the sustain I was mentioning didn't mean with pedal.I understand, while I didn't have a teacher I avoided practicing mostly because I didn't want to pick bad habits. I though the pedal was just something you pressed and magic sounds came out of it, but it is very very danm trickyThe piece I am playing is this one in question, please note how in 1:50 he starts a cresc. that just makes you lean forward in expectation. That is what I wish, that is technique, something, something one can acquire with the right methods And tat is with crappy sound quality! (Was going to use the BBCode but it said invalid link soo)
No, it does not; crescendo pertains to volume only. Personal associations are not everybody else's rules.
Generally, getting louder also means speeding up,
As we can see this is quite the complex topic, yet there are no many replies as to what exactly would the technique be. >.<
You keep a crescendo smooth, perhaps paradoxically, by maintaining the rhythmic accent variations in volume within it. That way the ear is guided properly where you are going. Lose them, and you lose the reference points to the build up.
The poster mentions wanting a kind of forward anticipation in the crescendo. My take on that would be to administer, if anything, a slight gain or accentuation of the pulse as the crescendo builds. What's your thought ? I have not listened to the recording he posted yet but will get to that.
Just to add to the confusion ( ) I might mention that in some orchestral and choral works the build to a climax consists of both a crescendo (more volume) and an actual slowing down of the musical pulse (sometimes a simple tempo change; sometimes an actual doubling of the note values of the main theme)! One can hear this in such diverse places as Copland's Appalachian Spring, the Brahms German Requiem, and Beethoven Symphony #9. Mahler Resurrection Symphony also...So as has been said -- there are no general rules!
In the recording, the pianist maintains strict tempo.I think that anticipation is achieved not through speeding up, but rather (very) slightly delaying hitting the main beats (while maintaining tempo overall).
That would be a pretty standard approach that many top pianists have used ( in fact as pointed out, even orchestral groups). There are many ways to accentuate something, one is that slight sense of holding back.
Excuse my ignorance, but are you sayong that in order to achive that type of cresc. "slowing" down?. Let see the score, measure 101's end and start of the 102, woulnd't that quick note (rest) note be accelerated?As someone mentioned there are different types of cresc. what I want to achive is that particular type for this piece.
Listen to the bass pulse in that recording you posted, I think it's where you are speaking of anyway. Baam-baam- baam,- boom, baam- baam- baam,- boom. Can you feel that slightest hesitation between there ? Not the notes, feel the pulse. You have to feel it to do it, it's not a by the numbers thing. What isn't heard is as important as what is.I'm sorry, I'm not the greatest at explaining this !
Now that I've listened to the music, I'd agree with others that in this case, getting louder just means getting louder without an acceleration at that part of the music. However, I think the overall piece should speed up a bit from beginning to end. This will help intensify the music.
Okay so bottom line, in this case let gravity drop be harder while accelerating in (I guess) the end of measure 101 and 102?
I never use gravity drop because it's inefficient. I control the weight of my arm or wrist coming down to play louder. I do not actually use more strength, just speed, so that it's just as easy to play loud as it is to play soft. The technique uses far less energy and movement.
But the bass is just an octave played with a tribal-ish rythm, the real crescendo comes from the melody, am I right? What I need is that steady acumulation of tension so I can have people on the edge of their seats by the time the gliss. comes to release the tension.Don't worry I am not the most elocuent myself when it comes to this.