Volume Assessment (c4elink)

Composers started marking their scores with instructions about dynamics:

Well into the 17th century

For the most part, pianists and harpsichordists don’t have direct contact with the strings of their instruments. Therefore, they manipulate sound through a _______________mechanism.

keyboard

Which of the following two excerpts uses soft dynamics?
A. play
B. play

Excerpt B an excerpt of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for piano, exemplifies soft dynamics.

Percussion players produce more or less volume by changing bow pressure and speed.

False Percussion players DON’T produce more or less volume by changing bow pressure and speed. They simply don’t use a bow.

The volume of this excerpt is an example of which of the following?
-play-

Piano This excerpt from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is an example of piano volume.

Volume and dynamics are interchangeable terms.

True

As a musical concept, dynamics covers only the overall loudness or softness of a piece of music.

False That was a false statement. Dynamics can refer to the overall loudness or softness of music, as well as to the process of gradual change between volume levels.

Musicians have always made their own choices regarding volume to fine tune their playing to specific performance spaces.

False This only happened before composers started marking scores with instructions about volume.

This musical excerpt is an example of forte

True This excerpt from Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance No. 8 is an example of forte.

A pianist’s skill in manipulating volume is usually referred to as the performer’s_______________

touch