traquenard

In music, the term "terraced dynamics" refers to the contrasting and sudden shift from forte (loud) to piano (soft) volume and vice versa, without gradual changes. This is one of the main features of Baroque music.

Expressive style typical of some early music in which volume levels shift abruptly from soft to loud and back without gradual crescendos and decrescendos.

Terraced dynamics are demonstrated in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, performed by Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach Orchester. In this video example, you can hear abrupt changes in dynamics between the solo instruments playing mezzo piano (medium soft) and the full orchestra playing forte (loud).

For example, listen to Bach's Two part Invention in C Major. You have a statement of the initial subject that repeats again and again. You'll notice how it gets louder each time it is played. This is an example of terraced dynamics.

Dynamics express to the musician how loud to play the music. We can think of dynamics as a kind of scale, with many intermediate steps between very loud and very soft. The names of these steps all use either forte or piano, meaning loud and soft. For example, fortissimo and pianissimo are very loud and very soft.

For example, listen to Bach's Two part Invention in C Major. You have a statement of the initial subject that repeats again and again. You'll notice how it gets louder each time it is played. This is an example of terraced dynamics.

Some of the most famous musicals through the decades that followed include My Fair Lady (1956), The Fantasticks (1960), Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), Les Misérables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Rent (1996), Wicked (2003) and Hamilton (2015).

Terraced melody. A melody structured so that it begins in a high register and steps or cascades down to a low concluding pitch. Peyote ceremonies of Plains tribes.

Dynamics is the study of how moving objects behave. Dynamics is the part of mechanics that studies movement and its causes. The study of the causes of motion and changes in motion is known as dynamics. Dynamics is the study of how moving objects behave.

The material essence of music lies with its melody, harmony, rhythm, and dynamics. Melody gives music soul, while rhythm blends the expression of harmony and dynamics with the tempo of the passage. All are necessary to create a recognizable pattern known as a “song.”

For the purpose of this class, we will refer to SEVEN elements of music: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Timbre, Dynamics, Texture, and Form.

Melody, harmony, rhythm, and form and the expressive elements of dynamics, tempo, and timbre (tone color).