Ah, I now know where I've been going wrong- if Chris' example is right, I haven't been inserting enough peanuts!! (although I draw the line at penguins)
By nuances I mean more the phrasing and the length of notes, i.e. holding a note just that tiniest fraction longer or shorter than would be written. Variance in volume has never been an option with the instruments I've played, so has never been something I've put in the music. I just find that taking the played note and writing it down is like translating something from one language into another, and wondered if other people have had a similar struggle. Hilary -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 07 November 2006 09:18 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [NSP] Re: the vagaries of the written note The written notes identify a piece. By "nuances" i expect hilary means aspects of style (though in French "les nuances" means "dynamics" - loud and soft, crescendo-diminuendo etc.). Style - i.e. phrasing, articulation etc. - is tradition. It can be conveyed by a teacher and/or absorbed from careful listening. "Classical" music is as much a tradition as any other genre. The top young students have often acquired a solid and complete technique from their "anonymous" teachers before they go near a big name to study the finer points of interpretation. In Hilary's specific case, it would be interesting to see what she had written and to compare it with how she plays the same pieces. I don't think one can generalise about how to put a maximum of music into the notes on the page. The older the music, the fewer the markings - presumably because people weren't exposed to a wide variety of styles as they are today (transport, communications). The addition of markings reached an extreme with webern, who put dynamics over rests (go figure). The following delight may be new to some of you: http://www.well.com/user/bryan/waltz.html chirs -----Original Message----- From: Hilary de Vries [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 06, 2006 10:41 PM To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [NSP] the vagaries of the written note With the topic drifting into the area of written music, I'd like to ask to see if other people have had the same experience as me with regards to writing music down. Before starting to compose myself, I took written music pretty much as gospel (probably encouraged by learning Highland chanter where it all felt very spelt out). Then when I tried to write my tunes down, I discovered that it was far from an exact science. I felt like I was squeezing them into some kind of musical corset: the overall shape was okay, but somehow the nuances had been flattened out. The fact that some of my tunes don't have a regular time signature hasn't made the process any easier. I've sort of accepted the limitations of the written note, but not without a struggle, and the fight's not over yet. I wonder what other people's experiences have been, and if similar battles have been fought. Or if, unlike me, you've found ways to get your tune over without feeling compromised. If so, I'd love to know how! I look forward to your replies! Hilary -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html __________ NOD32 1.1856 (20061106) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com
