subject: Learn Piano - The Expressive Elements Used in Playing the Piano [print this page] Learn Piano - The Expressive Elements Used in Playing the Piano
Our nature gives us the basic elements to survive. These elements are earth, wind, fire and water. Like our dear Mother Nature, music has its own basic elements to produce a good piece. In music, we call them the Expressive Elements and is divided into three: dynamics, tempo and tone color or timbre. Without the three elements, a piano piece may sound boring and may not express a certain feeling. The audience may not be able to connect to the pianist's current mood and vice versa. These elements add contrasts and variety to music. So, how are the three different from one another and how do they affect a musical piece? Dynamics is defined as the softness or loudness of sound. The dynamic indications are all derived from Italian words. In the beginning, there are only four levels mostly used: "piano" (written as p) which means soft, "forte" (written as f) which means loud, "mezzo piano" (written as mp) which means half soft and "mezzo forte" (written as mf). In addition to the four, there are also two added dynamics: "pianissimo" (written as pp) which means that the piece or part of the piece should be played very soft and "fortissimo" (written as ff) meaning that the piece should be played very loud. Beyond pp and ff are "Pianississimo" which is used to indicate an even softer sound and is written as ppp. It is played the softest way possible. Its counterpart is "Fortississimo", wherein fff is used as a mark. It should be played the loudest way possible. Dynamics promotes a specific emotion on the piece. Without even playing the entire piece and just by looking what dynamics it indicate, a pianist can tell whether he will be playing a sad or an aggressive piece. Different dynamics are produced by adding (when getting louder) or subtracting (when getting softer) pressure from the fingers. These weights or pressure may come from the arm, shoulder or whole body. Tempo, on the other hand refers to the speed of sound whether it is fast, moderate or slow. The different tempo levels are: "Adagio" means that the music is played slowly. "Andante" means that it is slow but moving. "Moderato" refers to playing in moderate speed. "Allegro" means fast and may indicate that the music is lively or cheerful. "Presto" means the music is very fast. In the beginning, there are only three tempo used: Moderato, Allegretto (which is between moderato and allegro) and Andante. The tempo indication is always found on the left side corner of a piano piece. Timbre or Tone Color refers to the source of sound whether it is instrumental or vocal. A timbre refers to all musical aspects but does not specifically refer to the pitch, volume or length of a sound. For example, you can listen to both piano and guitar played at the same time, playing the same piece, yet it is still easy to distinguish which is the guitar sound and which is the piano sound.
