![]() Equally, as a composer, I would expect a performer to understand that by rit. is written, then I would play more slowly, more gradually, and take into careful account the expressive intentions (as best I could) of the composer. then I would understand this as a far subtler change in speed, but quite a prompt one. If, however, in the middle of a fast passage the composer indicates a rit. after a piece may be more marked than one that joins one section to another. This is certainly how I have continued to approach these words when performing a piece, but the context of the words is also key.īy the context, I’m referring to where in the music they appear and also what kind of style of music they are contained in. When I first came across these terms in the music I was studying, I remember my teacher saying that ritardando required a prompt but gentle slowing of the speed, whereas rallentando was a more gradual slowing of the tempo. The problem is often in reaching a universal agreement as to whether ritardando and rallentando are used to mean the same thing (slow down), or actually are used by composers to indicate slightly different intentions. This may be a purely expressive gesture or one that leads the music into a different section that is at a slower speed. They mean the same thing but it saves writing out a complete word and all seasoned players are aware of this small convention.īoth ritardando and rallentando indicate to the performer to slow down the speed of the passage they are playing. Often these words are abbreviated in written scores to rit. They are words that tell the performer or player to alter the speed of the passage they are playing but in slightly different ways. ![]() The words ritardando and rallentando are also Italian words that regularly appear in music. These are indications of speed ( tempo), that give the player/performer a reasonably clear idea of what speed and character that the piece begins with. You may well have come across words like, Allegro and Andante that are written at the start or sections of a piece of music. The words that you will discover in the music of Beethoven, Mozart, Scarlatti, Berlioz for example, and many other composers, covers the speed of the music, its dynamics (volume and changes to volume), articulations (how a note begins), as well as other components of a composition. Of course, in the 21 st Century, this has changed although the tradition of using Italian has not diminished in popularity. If you look like almost any musical score from the past few hundred years, you’ll most likely come across a variety of words that are written in Italian. It is perhaps this legacy that has led to the use of Italian in music for many hundreds of years and something that every student of the subject needs to embrace. They shaped and developed music and the instruments involved in a way that very few other countries have. As you might very well expect, the use of Italian stems from the important influence that the Italians had on Western Classical Music from the Medieval days forward. One of those traditions that still holds true for today is that of using Italian terms to instruct a performer in notated scores. Musical tradition is at times a rather odd element of this popular art.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |