 The Fingering Forum
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Author: J. Minyard
Date: 2003-06-23 19:46
What are Grace Notes, and what purpose do they serve; i.e. why would a composer use them? Why not just write the music in the conventional way?
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Author: ~Heather ~
Date: 2003-06-23 21:27
A musical note that is added as an emrichment, and is printed in small type and not counted in the rhythm, it is played as fast and as graceful as possible. Hope this helps!
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Author: Dee
Date: 2003-06-23 23:59
Heather, that is not completely correct. In some instances, the grace notes do have a specific duration. This is covered in the Rubank Advanced volumes and I believe a little bit in the Intermediate volume. Some grace notes are to start on the note and others are to start before the note. One can usually tell by the way they are written and the traditions of the time in which they were written. For example, the 2nd movement of Mozart's clarinet concerto, the grace note starts on the beat and is half the duration of the main note.
As to why it was done this way, it has to do with what was considered correct compositional technique at the time. I forget the details but a phrase could not start on certain notes of the scale. The composers (like Mozart) got around this restriction by writing the note as a grace note since it did not technically count as part of the phrase that way.
Modern composers are more and more frequently writing out the grace note to show exactly what interpretation they want. You will occasionally see the short grace notes in modern compostions but the long grace notes (i.e. specific duration as in the Mozart example above) simply are not used now, they are written out in full.
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Author: ~Heather ~
Date: 2003-06-24 01:38
i know what a grace note is, i just copied down what I had in my music dictionary. lol!
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2003-06-24 04:55
To add to Dee's in-depth description, just look at the music: if it is feasable to play the graces on the beat, and still fit with rest of the phrase, then play them that way. A good example of where *not* to play them on the beat when they are used right before a "shot", where everyone plays a short note at the same time: in that case you'd play it leading up to the beat. Try both ways, on and off the beat, and see which one you like better. In most cases, your interpretation will be correct: because, interpretation is all it really is.
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Author: Vidnel
Date: 2003-07-16 23:22
If you are playing it then it is your own music. There is no right or wrong way to play unless you are playing to be judged. If you play it differently then somebody else, to bad for them.
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