Musical vocabulary for tempo
02/26/2015 19:42
Tags:
Tim Mccoul Kansas | Tim Mccoul Wichita | Timothy Mccoul Kansas | Timothy Mccoul Wichita | Tim Mccoul News | Timothy Mccoul News | Timothy Mccoul music professor | Tim Mccoul music professor | Professor Timothy Mccoul | Professor Tim Mccoul
Musical vocabulary for tempo
Some musical pieces do not have a mathematical time indication. In classical music it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words. Most of these words are Italian, because many of the most important composers of the 17th century were Italian, and this period was when tempo indications were first used extensively and codified.
Before the metronome, words were the only way to describe the tempo of a composition. Yet after the metronome's invention, these words continued to be used, often additionally indicating the mood of the piece, thus blurring the traditional distinction between tempo and mood indicators. For example, presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution (presto being faster), but allegro also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian). Presto, on the other hand, indicates speed as such.
Additional Italian words also indicate tempo and mood. For example, the "agitato" in the Allegro agitato of the last movement of George Gershwin's piano concerto in F has both a tempo indication (undoubtedly faster than a usual Allegro) and a mood indication ("agitated"). Tim Mccoul Kansas
Timothy Mccoul Wichita: Tempo - Additional terms
- A piacere – the performer may use his or her own discretion with regard to tempo and rhythm; literally "at pleasure"
- A tempo – resume previous tempo
- L'istesso tempo or Lo stesso tempo – at the same speed
- Tempo comodo – at a comfortable (normal) speed
- Tempo di... – the speed of a ... (such as Tempo di valse (speed of a waltz, ˜60 bpm), Tempo di marcia (speed of a march, ˜120 bpm))
- Tempo giusto – at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in strict tempo
- Tempo semplice – simple, regular speed, plainly
- Tempo Primo - resume the original (first) tempo
Timothy Mccoul News Beatmatching
Beatmatching is a technique used by DJs that involves speeding up or slowing down a record in order to match the tempo of a previous track so both can be seamlessly mixed.
DJs often beatmatch the underlying tempos of recordings, rather than their strict BPM value suggested by the kick drum, particularly when dealing with high tempo tracks. A 240 BPM track, for example, will match the beat of a 120 BPM track without slowing down or speeding up, because both will have an underlying tempo of 120 crotchets (quarter notes) per minute. Thus, some soul music (around 75–90 BPM) can be mixed well with a drum and bass beat (from 150–185 BPM).
When speeding up or slowing down a record on a turntable, the pitch and tempo of a track are linked: spin a disc 10% faster and both pitch and tempo will be 10% higher. Software processing to change the pitch without changing the tempo, or vice versa, is called time-stretching or pitch-shifting. While it works fairly well for small adjustments (± 20%), the result can be noisy and unmusical for larger changes.
Timothy Mccoul Kansas Extreme tempos
More extreme tempos are achievable at the same underlying tempo with very fast drum patterns, often expressed as drum rolls. Such compositions often exhibit a much slower underlying tempo, but may increase the tempo by adding additional percussive beats. Extreme music subgenres such as speedcore and grindcore often strive to reach unusually fast tempos. The use of extreme tempo was very common in the fast bebop jazz from the 1940s and 1950s. A common jazz tune such as "Cherokee" was often performed at quarter note equal to or sometimes exceeding 368 BPM. Some of Charlie Parker's famous tunes ("Bebop", "Shaw Nuff") have been performed at 380 BPM plus. John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" was performed at 374 BPM.
Some musical pieces do not have a mathematical time indication. In classical music it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words. Most of these words are Italian, because many of the most important composers of the 17th century were Italian, and this period was when tempo indications were first used extensively and codified.
Before the metronome, words were the only way to describe the tempo of a composition. Yet after the metronome's invention, these words continued to be used, often additionally indicating the mood of the piece, thus blurring the traditional distinction between tempo and mood indicators. For example, presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution (presto being faster), but allegro also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian). Presto, on the other hand, indicates speed as such.
Additional Italian words also indicate tempo and mood. For example, the "agitato" in the Allegro agitato of the last movement of George Gershwin's piano concerto in F has both a tempo indication (undoubtedly faster than a usual Allegro) and a mood indication ("agitated"). Tim Mccoul Kansas
Timothy Mccoul Wichita: Tempo - Additional terms
- A piacere – the performer may use his or her own discretion with regard to tempo and rhythm; literally "at pleasure"
- A tempo – resume previous tempo
- L'istesso tempo or Lo stesso tempo – at the same speed
- Tempo comodo – at a comfortable (normal) speed
- Tempo di... – the speed of a ... (such as Tempo di valse (speed of a waltz, ˜60 bpm), Tempo di marcia (speed of a march, ˜120 bpm))
- Tempo giusto – at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in strict tempo
- Tempo semplice – simple, regular speed, plainly
- Tempo Primo - resume the original (first) tempo
Timothy Mccoul News Beatmatching
Beatmatching is a technique used by DJs that involves speeding up or slowing down a record in order to match the tempo of a previous track so both can be seamlessly mixed.
DJs often beatmatch the underlying tempos of recordings, rather than their strict BPM value suggested by the kick drum, particularly when dealing with high tempo tracks. A 240 BPM track, for example, will match the beat of a 120 BPM track without slowing down or speeding up, because both will have an underlying tempo of 120 crotchets (quarter notes) per minute. Thus, some soul music (around 75–90 BPM) can be mixed well with a drum and bass beat (from 150–185 BPM).
When speeding up or slowing down a record on a turntable, the pitch and tempo of a track are linked: spin a disc 10% faster and both pitch and tempo will be 10% higher. Software processing to change the pitch without changing the tempo, or vice versa, is called time-stretching or pitch-shifting. While it works fairly well for small adjustments (± 20%), the result can be noisy and unmusical for larger changes.
Timothy Mccoul Kansas Extreme tempos
More extreme tempos are achievable at the same underlying tempo with very fast drum patterns, often expressed as drum rolls. Such compositions often exhibit a much slower underlying tempo, but may increase the tempo by adding additional percussive beats. Extreme music subgenres such as speedcore and grindcore often strive to reach unusually fast tempos. The use of extreme tempo was very common in the fast bebop jazz from the 1940s and 1950s. A common jazz tune such as "Cherokee" was often performed at quarter note equal to or sometimes exceeding 368 BPM. Some of Charlie Parker's famous tunes ("Bebop", "Shaw Nuff") have been performed at 380 BPM plus. John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" was performed at 374 BPM.