Comments on: A Revolutionary View of Dynamics

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:58:46 +0000

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!

By: Joy M.

Joy M. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:38:10 +0000

This is a great thought! I really love this concept of dynamics and plan to try it out with my students soon. Thanks!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:44:39 +0000

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!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:46:08 +0000

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.

By: dtrince

dtrince — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:25:41 +0000

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…

By: Mindy

Mindy — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:21:17 +0000

These ideas would be really good for group lesson activities with older students.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:48:26 +0000

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.

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:06:36 +0000

Cool!

By: eugene cantera

eugene cantera — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:30:11 +0000

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.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:15:47 +0000

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.