 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 2004-03-11 23:56
Does anyone know where to find an online list of Italian musical terms and their definitions? I'm working on putting an orchestral composition I'm finally finished with onto paper (with Finale) and need more descriptive words than the ones I'm familiar with.
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"You have to play just right to make dissonant music sound wrong in the right way"
Post Edited (2004-03-12 00:39)
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 2004-03-12 00:39
I have that book, but the problem is that I don't know always know what word to look up.
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"You have to play just right to make dissonant music sound wrong in the right way"
Post Edited (2004-03-12 00:39)
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-12 03:39
Shame on all the music teachers out there that don't insist on this as a part of the journey of teaching students ... shame shame shame (I jest, slightly).
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-03-12 04:36
Question:
If you are an American composer, writing a piece for an American group, then why not use English terms and phrases to explain your musical intentions to the players. In other words, write it out in English, and skip the obscure Italian terminology. In much of the contemporary American music I play and premiere in NYC, the composers have chosen English, in most cases, to get their musical points across.
Just a thought. As always, do what works best for you.
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-12 04:44
Well now, that was a predictable response!
But I guess you've got a point, John, afterall the Germans use their own vernacular (well in contemporary music anyway) why not just Anglicise the world ... would make life a lot easier, wouldn't it?
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
Post Edited (2004-03-12 04:45)
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-03-12 06:03
I quite like the Italian notation, probably since it's what I'm used to. When I play Grainger, who is notorious for English terms (good or bad is a matter of opinion), I find myself having a bit of trouble as I spend the extra mental quarter of a second to translate the terms back into Italian so that I can interpret them more easily.
Though if you want to do something fancy, I wouldn't go through the trouble of translating it into an Italian word that isn't commonly seen.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Stéphane
Date: 2004-03-12 08:28
Using your own language is a good idea, even though that can be tricky sometimes to descrypt the composer's intention. I remember Erik satie indications on some partitions like "on the tip of the tongue": this one might sound very clear to us clarinettists, only this was on a work for piano!
Stephane.
After you've heard a work by Mozart, the silence that follows, this is still by Mozart.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-03-12 14:22
There are quite a number of inexpensive "Pocket Books" of musical terminology available, I have an "Elsons" and use it on occasion. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2004-03-13 09:53
Joel - it's very simple, if you don't know the Italian words, your performers won't either (unless they are Italians, of course).
Just say it in English. You can still use Italian for the words everyone will know - forte, allegro, diminuendo, pizzicato - but as soon as you need to say anything more complicated, just use English.
I'm looking at the score of the War Requiem, and I see
Slow and solemn (Lento e solenne)
pp
sim.
muted
marked
Slow (lento) all instruments and voices - slow crescendo
Good enough for Britten, good enough for you?
...
diz - the Germans don't only use German in contemporary music. Look at Mahler or Berg, you will see plenty of German words. Even Beethoven did it; get out your viola music and look at the Heiliger Dankgesang in Quartet 15: the German instructions (Neue Kraft fuehlend) were written by Beethoven, the Italian equivalents (Sentendo nuova forza) added to the manuscript by another hand.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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