{"id":624,"date":"2016-08-29T20:33:20","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T20:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/jhauser\/?page_id=624"},"modified":"2020-10-14T20:20:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T20:20:33","slug":"9th10th-grade-mtsboa-all-midstate-video-even-years","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/jhauser\/9th10th-grade-mtsboa-all-midstate-video-even-years\/","title":{"rendered":"9th\/10th grade MTSBOA All-Midstate Video Fall 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allegro moderato – Meno<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This excerpt\u00a0presents two particular challenges. \u00a0The first is all of the Italian terms that are written in. \u00a0In order to fully understand what the composer or editor intended, we need to know what these terms mean.<\/p>\n

Allegro moderato<\/em> – moderately fast; For this piece, what is fast? \u00a0Is it the quarter note beat? \u00a0Is it the fastest notes? \u00a0In this piece, I choose to interpret it as having the sixteenth notes be fairly quick, but not so fast as to be sloppy. \u00a0Your judges would rather hear you play slightly slower and clean than fast and lack clarity.<\/p>\n

Meno<\/em> – less; not as fast as Allegro moderato<\/em>, again giving credence to the idea of playing so that the beat itself is not too quick.<\/p>\n

a voce spiegato –\u00a0<\/em>in a voice of explanation, to be made clear or understandable; just one more term that means to play this clearly and not too fast for clarity.<\/p>\n

allarg. assai –\u00a0<\/em>short for\u00a0allargando assai<\/em> – slowing down, broadening, and usually getting louder or more intense,\u00a0assai<\/em> is a term that intensifies the word it affects, so broaden more and really build the intensity here.<\/p>\n

The second big challenge is to acknowledge all of the accents and other written indications. \u00a0Make sure to indicate a difference between the articulations that are written.<\/p>\n

Slurs should start with the same articulation as any non-slurred note, but the second note should start with a softer articulation. \u00a0As you listen to the recording, pay attention to the 2nd note (and later notes) of slurs to hear the difference between the front and end of each note.<\/p>\n

Staccato means separated, which can sometimes also mean short, but in this context, I see the staccato notes as having a bit more bounce to them than the other notes. \u00a0Play them short enough to get a good front, but not so short that they get pecky.<\/p>\n

The final consideration that I am going to mention is the use of alternate positions. \u00a0Try playing this in all ‘normal’ positions, with the Ds above the staff in 1st position, etc. \u00a0While some of these sound very good, some of them present awkward slide combinations that slow you down or force you to use a heavier articulation in order to maintain clarity. \u00a0Watch my performance below and take your copy of the music (or better yet make another clean copy to do this with) and write down everything that I do that isn’t on the page.<\/p>\n