A Revolutionary View of Dynamics
Okay, so maybe the term “revolutionary” is a bit over-the-top, but not by much. My whole understanding of dynamics was altered recently as I sat in on my brother’s cello lesson. His teacher explained that in each piece, my brother should utilize the full dynamic range of the instrument, executing each dynamic marking in relation to that whole range. I had previously thought of dynamics mostly in absolute terms, rather than as being relative to the whole. And even when I did think relationally, I never thought of it quite to this extent.
I’ve already used this explanation countless times with my students and the quality of their dynamic control and contrast has improved dramatically. For instance, we look over a piece and identify the loudest dynamic marking in the piece [it may be mf or it may be ffff!]. This is the point at which we want to be playing at the loudest range of the instrument. I have the student demonstrate. Then we find the softest dynamic marking. This is where we will play at the softest range of the instrument. Again, the student tries it out. All intermediate dynamic markings are performed in relation to these two extremities. My students have really connected with this understanding of dynamics, and their playing is so much more musical as a result! No longer are the dynamic markings some abstract idea of loud or soft; they have something concrete to “grab hold of” both technically and musically as they incorporate the dynamics into their playing. (Undoubtedly there are exceptions to this, but at least with my students, the tendency more often is to have too little contrast in their dynamics, rather than too much, so this has proved to be a very effective tool for them at this point!)
Perhaps this is something that has been perfectly obvious to everyone else for years, but I’ll risk exhibiting my ignorance in case there are others who may benefit from this view of dynamics that has “revolutionized” my teaching (and playing!)! 
I also find that talking about dynamics with my voice students in terms of ENERGY (I relate it to group dynamics – in which quiet can be even more energetic than loud when everyone’s focused). This REALLY helps them to not push to get “loud” or pull off the voice to get “soft.” Also, there’s no way a voice can produce more *decibels* than, say, a tuba, so we work on figuring out resonance approaches that increase the vocal presence (sort of like adjusting your treble/bass on the stereo) rather than the volume. I love the word DYNAMICS, rather than loud/soft.
One of my colleagues tells his students that as they play, anyone (whether it be a teacher, an audience, or even a non-musician) should be able to point to the music and say… ‘you got loud here, softer there…you played this note short and gave that one more oomph!’ It’s a nice way to impart to students that those little musical extras can be the difference between a so-so and much better performance.
Cool!
This is a great idea – I’m going to try it today! I’ll also second Eugene’s suggestion. I tell my students to imagine that someone is sitting on the sofa listening with a score that has no dynamic markings. They are to play so that the person will know how to write in the correct dynamics.
These ideas would be really good for group lesson activities with older students.
You could also combine this as a rhythm activity, and put dynamic markings on rhythm that your students could clap out, or even use various forms of body percussion, depending on the dynamics markings. For example F or FF could be clapped, MF could be foot stomped, MP could be “patsched”/kneeslapped, P could be snapped, etc. would also make for good group lessson emphasis on the importance of dynamics, in the abiliity to listen to and hear each other… give that a world, and maybe take some photos/videos of the activities…
Great way to approach teaching dynamics! Another idea that I use with my voice students is to have them figure out the overall phrase “shape” of their piece. I’ve found that this is beneficial because it allows them to see the contour of the music and understand why and how they are getting louder or softer.
I have been struggling with getting some of my voice students to achieve greater dynamic contrast within their pieces. I typically use the “phrase shape” method that Rachel described, but always with an abstract concept of what the various dynamic levels are. I can’t wait to integrate the concept of having concrete dynamic levels relative to a particular piece along with the method I usually use… I am very excited to see how my students react to this idea!
This is a great thought! I really love this concept of dynamics and plan to try it out with my students soon. Thanks!
This was very helpful for me… I’m about to graduate this year and will probably be looking to start a private studio. Posts like this are great for those of us looking to gather lots of different teaching ideas!