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Below is a link to a Q & A video where Fiddlerman discusses dynamics. Personally, I think practicing with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, as he uses as his first example, is a great way to start. See how many different feelings you can get by varying your dynamics with it. It might be fun to post a video of you playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with different bow dynamics as replies here. Might be helpful for you and others.
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Yep! Great place... to start.
Maybe that's all anyone needs - nothing wrong with that. 😊
But, I think I'm misunderstanding...
Might be a good reason to start a Party with this theme, if you mean to ask for exploration/examples?
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I definitely need to practise ppp.
At home I like the way I sound when I play mf/f, but at orchestra, I usually play ppp and I sound terrible.
Andrew
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dang...missed this one when first posted.. that cajun cookin is smokin!
thanks @mouse wouldve probably missed this had you not shared. some really good info here. and i like how he left the vibrato off to demonstrate. ill eventually get there but I need some more work on other things first..not meaning anyone else...talking about myself!! and the example gives a better gauge to measure by in my case.
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Gordon Shumway said
I definitely need to practise ppp.At home I like the way I sound when I play mf/f, but at orchestra, I usually play ppp and I sound terrible.
Actually, I think my problem is, when I play p/pp with acceptable tone, and the conductor says "you're too loud", he's not talking to to me, but I still try to get quieter anyway! I need to have more confidence.
Andrew
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Believe me when I say, it's everyones problem.
In orchestra, as a section leader and concertmaster, I had sectionals. The thing that would make me the proudest is if I could get the whole section to play a great P, PP, PPP etc. It's impressive.
Same with getting the whole orchestra to do it. If by chance an orchestra can play great P's, it makes their Forte's all the more impressive and exciting.
You know that you are playing with great musicians when they hold back when necessary.
Work on playing rich piano volumes and it will pay off immensely.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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When playing ppp in orchestras, you don't necessarily have to produce a full sound or even hear yourself. The section will collectively fill out the needed tone color. I tend to think of an orchestral pianissimo as not quite the same as a solo or chamber pianissimo.
There's some really impressive pianissimo string playing in this performance of Bruckner's 4th. Listen for the tremolo strings at very beginning of the piece (0:43 of the video) and again after 7:30, and also note the dynamic range in the long viola soli passage that starts at 21:43.
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Oh Boy!
The Cats are going to love it if I start practicing to sound like the hum of little insects. 🤣
- Emily
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Nice Idea I think, Practicing dynamics with a simple tune like Twinkle Twinkle little star is super effective and sharing videos could inspire and help everyone improve!
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My previous two posts are more than 3 years old. I have learnt since that it's not really about being super quiet with zero projection (although that is OK in an orchestra section) - you tend to do that inadvertently if you are practising at home.
Playing quietly is about producing a meaty tone but controlling how much you project. It's relative.
There's a Pablo Casals quote I've posted elsewhere, but I'll repeat it: -
"Mezzoforte varies from quite loud to really quite quiet, and mezzopiano varies from quite quiet to really quite loud."
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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