Musical questions and answers thread

[Pulcinella]

Thanks for the further explanation/clarification, ferney.
My admiration for both Igor (for his skill, whether inate or contrived) and you (for your ability and willingness to explain things so clearly) is unbounded!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thanks, Richard. Something I've been meaning to ask myself concerns:

One might think that by spacing them out in time so that the player isn't ever tapdancing, making sure they don't happen when one of the strings being changed is actually resonating (unless that's what's required - the "pedal-glissando" is an essential part of the harp's extended articulational repertoire)

... does this mean that Harpists can "pitch bend" whilst playing, giving a sort of "harp sprechgesang" effect? (I sort-of suspected it could, but it's one of those things that, when you write it, often players turn round and say "can't be done".)

[Pulcinella]

There's a good example of different harp tunings near the end of Venus, in The Planets.
The two instruments have been playing merrily with the same tuning instructions, with overall key signature E flat, then harp 2 gets a bar rest with instructions C sharp, D sharp, F sharp, A natural (harp 1 gets F flat), and indeed the violins (but only them at that bar) change to E major key signature; in the next bar (harp 2 key signature now new E major too!) there is a further instruction (E natural), while harp 1 gets a few bars rest, with instructions C natural, D natural, F natural, G natural in the first, and stays in E flat major!
All to give the 'seamless' effect Holst wanted, presumably.

[Richard Barrett]

... does this mean that Harpists can "pitch bend" whilst playing, giving a sort of "harp sprechgesang" effect? (I sort-of suspected it could, but it's one of those things that, when you write it, often players turn round and say "can't be done".)

The pedal mechanism works not by changing the tension of the strings but by rotating a circular plate for each string with pins that stop it at the appropriate point. Therefore the intermediate point between a pedal being on one position or another isn't intermediate in pitch but involves the pin not being fully in contact with the string, producing a buzzing effect. So you can either have a rapid transition in pitch (even a trill) by moving the pedal quickly from one position to another, or a more or less controllable degree of "buzz". Both of these are fairly common in contemporary composition for the harp.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thanks - I'd heard that effect, but wondered if microtonal pitches could be produced securely. Evidently not - probably good news for the player's achilles tendon.

[Richard Barrett]

wondered if microtonal pitches could be produced securely.

Well, they can, by retuning the strings themselves. This is how the harp part works in CONSTRUCTION - it's written for a baroque harp which has no pedals but three parallel rows of strings, two sets of "white" notes in unison on the outside, and one of "black notes" in between which can be reached by the fingers of either hand. By tuning the whole one of the outside rows a quartertone lower and making some adjustments to the middle row you get 21 pitches per octave which isn't bad. Then, inevitably, the result has to be notated on three staves...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Again thanks - that's useful to know. Sadly the "pitch bend" effect I was imagining doesn't seem possible on "standard" modern orchestral harp.

[Richard Barrett]

There's a good example of different harp tunings near the end of Venus, in The Planets.

Indeed many problems are solved by using two harps rather than one! On the other hand, Shostakovich in his symphonies uses two harps which play in unison throughout (with a few small exceptions)! My harpist in residence thinks this is because harps produced in the USSR were of inferior quality and DSCH needed two for them to be heard at all.

[EdgeleyRob]

Thanks for the further explanation/clarification, ferney.
My admiration for both Igor (for his skill, whether inate or contrived) and you (for your ability and willingness to explain things so clearly) is unbounded!

Seconded.
Thanks also to Richard Barrett and Pabmusic.

[Bryn]

That's worse than Clav Bal:

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
To play this motive 840 times in succession, it would be right to prepare oneself previously,
and in the most dead silence, by earnest immobilities

The translation of Satie's note offered omits a crucial point. As Anne Queffélec reminds us in a YouTube item to which my attention was drawn by Margaret Leng Tan in a recent round-robin email, the original French has "Pour se joué", i.e. "in order to play to oneself".

[HighlandDougie]

Hmm, I don't like being Norman Nitpick but "se jouer" doesn't usually mean, "to play to oneself", but, rather, "to be played" or "to be played out". I'm sure that Anne Quéffelec, who is an expert on Satie and (probably) the French language is right but, in a typically Satie-esque way, there is a degree of ambiguity about what it seems intended to mean.

[Bryn]

Hmm, I don't like being Norman Nitpick but "se jouer" doesn't usually mean, "to play to oneself", but, rather, "to be played" or "to be played out". I'm sure that Anne Quéffelec, who is an expert on Satie and (probably) the French language is right but, in a typically Satie-esque way, there is a degree of ambiguity about what it seems intended to mean.

As a native Parisienne, I would hope Anne Queffélec was indeed familiar with French usage. Fascinating YouTube item, by the way.

[vinteuil]

.
... I agree with Highland Dougie - "se jouer" is the standard form of what in English would be put into the passive "This piece is to be played.."

Le Petit Robert gives : SE JOUER - être joué (jeu, musique, théâtre... ) Ce jeu se joue à quatre...

And Littré has : Se jouer, être joué, en parlant d'un instrument de musique, d'un morceau de musique. Ceci se joue à quatre mains. Cet instrument se joue avec la bouche, avec les doigts.


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[Stanfordian]

In a musical context what is meant by the term 'cadence'?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In a musical context what is meant by the term 'cadence'?

Usually, the end of a phrase (and the chord progressions chosen to mark these).