Articulation (music)
Articulation is a musical parameter that determines how a single note or other discrete event is sounded. Articulations primarily structure an event's start and end, determining the length of its sound and the shape of its attack and decay. They can also modify an event's timbre, dynamics, and pitch.[1] Musical articulation is analogous to the articulation of speech, and during the Baroque and Classical periods it was taught by comparison to oratory.[2]
Western music has a set of traditional articulations that were standardized in the 19th century[3] and remain widely used.[1] Composers are not limited to these, however, and may invent new articulations as a piece requires.[4] When writing electronic and computer music, composers can design articulations from the ground up.[5]
In addition to the following instructions given by composers, performers choose how to articulate the events of a score independently, in accordance with their interpretation of it. Until the 17th century, it was rare to mark articulations in a score, and even during the Baroque period they were uncommon apart from ornaments, leaving them up to the performer and the standards of the time. Even during the Classical period, the interpretation of articulation marks varied far more widely than it does today.[6] Articulations have now become more tightly standardized, but performers still must consider the fashions of their time, methods of playing that were current at the time the piece they are performing was written, the context of their performance, the style of the music, and their own taste and analysis when deciding how to articulate a score's events.[7]
Procedure[edit]
Brass and woodwind instruments[edit]
Woodwind and brass instruments generally produce articulations by tonguing, the use of the tongue to break the airflow into the instrument.
Certain palate cues can help student musicians master articulations. For example, the syllable "dah" demonstrates one placement of the tongue to articulate notes. In most cases, using the near tip of the tongue, is the best way of articulation. However, different articulation markings require different tongue placement. Smooth, connected passages may require an articulation more reminiscent of the syllable "la," while heavy, sharp notes may be attacked with an articulation similar to "tah."
Furthermore, the implementation of double-tonguing may be required when many articulations are required in rapid succession. Double-tonguing can be simulated by repeating the syllables "dig" and "guh" in rapid succession. Other syllables for double tonguing are "tuh" and "kuh," "tih" and "kuh," and any other combination of syllables that use the tip of the tongue behind the front teeth and then the back of the tongue against the back of the mouth. Double-tonguing is an articulation primarily used by brass players, but the use of double-tonguing by woodwind players is becoming more common.
A third, rare form of articulation for wind players is "doodle tonguing". The name of this articulation comes from the sound, doodle, one would make if she were to sound her voice while performing the articulation. Doodle-tonguing is achieved by moving the tip of the tongue up and down quickly to block the air stream momentarily on the way up, and again on the way down.
String Instruments[edit]
Stringed instruments use different techniques such as bowing, picking, or a technique by plucking the strings with the hand. This technique is called pizzicato. String instruments use these methods to achieve different articulations, varying the speed, pressure, and angle of the bow or pick. Musicians use articulation to create a link between notes, such as legato. Legato is formed by letting the string vibrate without stopping or muting it so the note slurs with the consecutive ones. Staccato is another very common musical articulation found in music. This action is caused by the player plucking, bowing, or picking the note and immediately muting the note so it is shorter than normal. Think of these two as opposites. Duration is indeed the most striking feature of articulation but is not its only one. Articulation describes the forming of a tone in all its facets. This also includes loudness, timbre, intonation, and envelope characteristics. A note is accented by a sort of triangle without its base. A musician using a string instrument would accent a note by playing the string harder and with more attack creating a louder sound.