Dynamics

Contributions by Interviewees

• Michel Arrignon
• Paolo Beltramini
• François Benda
• Alain Billard
• James Campbell
• Alain Damiens
• Steve Hartman
• Seunghee Lee
• Harri Mäki
• Heinrich Mätzener
• Ernesto Molinari
• Pascal Moraguès
• John Moses
• Thomas Piercy
• Milan Rericha
• Ernst Schlader
• David Shifrin
• Richard Stoltzman

Dynamics as an Important Means of Creativy

Dynamics refers to the use of different volumes in musical performance. Dynamics serve as a basis for the elaboration of phrasing, articulation, and rhythmic accentuation. The execution of dynamic progressions is based on a subjective reading of different dynamic and musical terms. Musical notation cannot accurately convey many dynamic differences, so the dynamic level of individual notes, tone groups, and phrases becomes an important interpretive task. Dynamics as expression was mentioned as early as Jean-Xavier Lefèvre's Méthode (1802).
Steve Hartman, Michel Arrignon, François Benda, James Campbell, Pascal Moraguès point out that even without dynamic indications in the musical text, individual notes and passages are played not rigidly, but rather with a flexible dynamic level. James Campbell goes further to say that since today the clarinet is usually played without vibrato, dynamics play a greater role in shaping phrases. François Benda points out the importance of a lively dynamic in auditions. In that context, because the guidelines of stylistic freedom are very narrowly defined a great deal of variability must be shown in the dynamic range.

Technical Know-How

Gaston Hamelin

Harri Mäki and Joe Allard use the technique of the flexible embouchure line, which leads back to Gaston Hamelin. A lower embouchure line allows for greater forte; to play piano, the embouchure line is higher while maintaining the same jaw position. This technique evens out the differences in intonation between forte (often too low) and piano (often too high).

In order for the sound to unfold dynamically and freely, the reed must be able to vibrate freely not only at the front, but also on the sides. It is therefore important to ensure that the lower lip, rather than curving to follow the shape of the reed, only forms a table on which the reed can vibrate (lessons with Hans Rudolf Stalder around 1980, not published). To prevent air from escaping, the base must be sealed laterally with the upper lip only. See also Flexible Embouchure Line, Interview with Joe Allard (on Gaston Hamelin), McKim, Debra Jean (2000) and John Moses.

Technical Notes from the Interviews

Even the attack is decisive for the dynamics of a tone. Alain Billard and Eli Eban not only shape the basic dynamics during a sound, but also determine the dynamic character in the attack. Dynamics and articulation thus become equal parameters of the aesthetic. Eban uses different tongue articulations and vocal formations, but above all different uses of airflow when playing a tone.
Air direction, breath support and vocal shaping
[David Shifrin#Finding your diaphragmatic support|David Shifrin]] finds the best way to achieve a resonant sound is with a good breath support. He demonstrates this with a breathing exercise in which he fills the lungs to their greatest possible capacity when breathing in. The subsequent sound is very sonorous ("the radio voice").
Harri Mäki: demonstrates that dynamic volume has nothing to do with air volume. He has a student play the low e fortissimo. The bell points horizontally forward. If one holds a piece of paper in front of the bell, it does not move, because there is practically no air escaping from the cup. This means that a forte can be produced with very little air flowing through it. What is more important is that enough surface of the sheet of paper starts to vibrate and that the air is guided to the sheet in a focused manner. See also Joe Allard und Ron Odrich For Heinrich Mätzener, the basis of dynamic liveliness lies in an agile air flow and an interactive balance of approach and air pressure (see also Joe Allard, Marc Flandre 2013). The basic exercise in tone formation is the "messa di voce."
In lessons, Ernesto Molinari sets the task of approaching a piano dynamic from forte: "If the resulting tone corresponds to the musical idea, one must memorize the combination of airflow, embouchure, and vocal formation as a musical movement linked with the resultant tone. Only when a satisfactory sound is achieved in the forte is it possible to play it in a piano dynamic.”
Milan Rericha warns against achieving more intense dynamics with larger movements of the trunk or arm. This would be counterproductive; dynamics can only be influenced with differentiated airflow and air speed.
Ernst Schlader avoids speaking of tension, including in connection with dynamics. He finds the word flexibility to be more appropriate. The pharynx, airflow, and embouchure formation must be used differently at different dynamic levels. Often, embouchure pressure is erroneously increased in the piano, however, dynamic shaping is primarily achieved by modifying air conduction: Ernesto Molinari, Heinrich Mätzener, Thomas Piercy.

Dynamics in Metric Progression
Paolo Beltramini, James Campbell always practice dynamics in connection with metric structure. To bring attention to the dynamic process, James Campbell transforms etudes into tone exercises: dynamics and articulation are enacted on the initial tone of the phrase. He sings the melody in his head, and the sustained tone follows this "inner line" of the music.
Seunghee Lee observes a greater (dynamic) flexibility of the sound when playing with double lip.

Musical Comments from the Interviews

Dynamics and Timbre
Michel Arrignon observes a constant change in the aesthetic canon. Following today's trend, many younger clarinetists are looking, above all, for a dark, homogenous tone, often at the cost of dynamic flexibility and a musically elegant design recede into the background or are even lost altogether. Neither
Auch David Shifrin nor John Moses would sacrifice flexibility of timbre [with its accompanying dynamic variability] to a beautiful dark tone.
Pascal Moraguès encourages everyone to explore the dynamic limits of sound and not to be afraid of crossing boundaries. It is important that one is always guided by musical expression. If a sound becomes too loud or screaming in the high register, this can always be corrected.
Auch Thomas Piercy, likewise, does not want to sacrifice the possibilities of musical expression to a uniform, stable sound. He prefers tonal and dynamic flexibility. He chooses an instrument, an appropriate mouthpiece, and a reed, which can be played without much effort and which allows for this flexibility. To get to know the boundaries of musical expression, he encourages us to occasionally overshoot the mark. Only in this way do we get to know the point beyond which the sound can no longer be controlled.

Phrasing Thanks to Dynamic Flexibility
Steve Hartman talks about the need to phrase a musical text in a way that makes it speak. It is the performer's task to bring the music closer to the listener by dynamically shaping individual notes or passages. If a dynamic inner life is to be dispensed with, the composer marks this with the playing instruction "senza espressione." The different meters also give hints on how to make a passage dynamic by means of accentuation.

Piano as Tone Color
Alain Damiens brings a psychological aspect into play: a pianississimo can have the power of a fortississimo, not in decibels, but in inner tension. What is required is a boundless imagination and the will to explore the acoustic boundaries of the instrument and of space. Access to this world is provided by the aural scanning of the sound for its overtones at every dynamic level, which Alain calls “traveling into the sounds with the ear” ["voyager avec l'oreille dans les sons"]. Alain Damiens sensitizes the ear and thus the ability to play to the limits of the audible by exploring the noise-like compositions of Helmuth Lachenmann.
For Richard Stoltzman, a piano must have the same intensity and concentration as a forte. He was influenced by his encounter with Olivier Messiaen, who in "abîme des oiseaux" from the Quatuor pour la fin du temps demanded a special color in pianissimo: Messiaen demanded a "black sound" [noir], not the cultivated pianissimo performers typically strive for, but a noisy almost pressed, dirty sound.