These go along with those tempo markings from the previous post.
Ritardando- to slow down
Accelerando- to speed up
Tempo Comodo- at a comfortable tempo
Tempo di ...- speed of a ...(tempo di waltz- tempo of a waltz) Tempo giusto- strict tempo Tempo semplice- simple tempo Poco- little Piu- more Molto- much, very Quasi- almost Subito- suddenly Meno- less Non troppo- not so much Mosso- movement Lentando- growing softer and slower Doppio piu lento- half speed Precipitando- hurrying
See if you can figure out what this one means
We're taking a little break from the mass of confusion that is chords and do some music notation. We'll go through tempos and the meanings of other markings you'll see in your music. This way you won't need to go ask someone when you see these in your music. Tempos from slowest to fastest- metronome markings given*
Larghissimo-19 BPM and under
Grave-20-40 BPM
Largo-40-50 BPM
Larghetto-50-55 BPM
Adagio-55-65 BPM
Adagietto-65-69 BPM
Andante Moderato-69-72 BPM
Andante-73-77 BPM
Andantino-78-83 BPM
Marcia Moderato-83-85 BPM
Moderato-86-97 BPM
Allegretto-98-109 BPM
Allegro-109-132 BPM
Vivace-132-140 BPM
Vivacissimo-140-150 BPM
Allegrissimo-150-167 BPM
Presto-168-177 BPM
Prestissimo-178 BPM and over
Gaze upon the beauty of my metronome. Actually this metronome is nice because it has some tempo markings around the center.
*Metronome markings are more suggestions than rules, the tempo will ultimately be up to the conductor. When in doubt listen to recordings and use those as a reference.
There is a lot of stuff you can do to warm up. You can decide for yourself what works for you and what doesn't.
Scales
Scales are something you should always warm up with even if you hate them, which you probably do. You can practice scales from a piece or étude, one you have been working on recently, one you need a refresher on, or a chromatic scale. A chromatic scale is a scale that goes up by half steps, hitting every note. These are nice to practice so you can get a feel for the keys or fingerboard, not very fun to listen to though.
Stretching
This might seem a little stupid to you, and it kind of is, but we stretch every day in orchestra. It helps me remember that playing requires your body not just your mind. This makes me mindful my posture and range of motion. Also kind of amusing when people see you stretching before you play and give you the weirdest looks. It's hilarious.
Old Pieces
It's fun to look back on the old things you played and get a little nostalgic...that might just be me. Either way practicing old stuff keeps your reptoire fresh just in case you need a piece for an audition or recital.
Instrument Specific Warm Ups
One thing you can do to warm up for stringed instruments is to play scales or open strings at different tempos and patterns. It helps to use simple fingerings so you can focus on having your bow arm move how it should. If you play a wind instrument you can do the same thing to warm up your lungs and tongue, except you know with your mouth.
These are built on the root, Major third, and augmented fifth above the root. There are not any naturally occurring augmented triads in a Major key, which just means you'll need an accidental to use one. This chord is kind of unsettling and not very pleasant.
Diminished Triad
These chords are built on a root, minor third, and a diminished fifth above the root. There is only one naturally occurring triad in any Major key on the seventh degree. Diminished triads sound suspenseful.
A triad is a chord with three notes, the most basic triad consists of a root, a third, and a fifth. This chord will be built on either all lines or all spaces in a row. Triads will either be Major, minor, diminished, and augmented. Sound familiar? Today we'll start with the first two, Major and minor.
Major Triads
They are built from a root, a Major third, and a perfect fifth above the root. There are three occurring triads in a Major key, built on the first, fourth, and fifth degrees. These triads sound bright and happy.
The are built from a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth above the root. Again there are three naturally occurring triads in a minor key, but built on the second, third and sixth degrees. They sound much darker than Major triads.
Chords may not seem to matter much depending on the instrument you play, especially if you can only play one note at a time. However, chords are important because they explain more relationships between notes. Have you ever looked at the full score of a piece your band or orchestra is playing? You'll see that everyone has different notes, but they all sound good together. You could probably hear that while playing.
A chord is three or more notes played at the same time. This could be from the same instrument or different instruments. Any three notes or more notes. Ever. Needless to say some chords sound absolutely horrible, but some sound absolutely heavenly. Why is this? That's what I'm answering in this series.
