ABBREVIATIONS, SIGNS, ETC., (_Continued_)
49. _A dot after a note_ shows that the value of the note is to be half
again as great as it would be without the dot, _i.e._, the value is to
be three-halves that of the original note.
[Illustration]
50. _When two dots follow the note_ the second dot adds half as much as
the first dot has added, _i.e._, the entire value is seven-fourths that
of the original note.
[Illustration]
51. _When three dots follow the note_ the third dot adds one-half the
value added by the second, _i.e._, the entire value of the triple-dotted
note is fifteen-eighths that of the original note.
[Illustration]
52. _A dot over or under a note_ is called the _staccato mark_ and
indicates that the tone is to be sounded and then instantly released.
[Illustration] In music for organ and for some other instruments the
staccato note is sometimes interpreted differently, this depending on
the character of the instrument.
On stringed instruments of the violin family the staccato
effect is usually secured by a long, rapid stroke of the bow
for each tone; in the case of harp and drum the hand is
quickly brought in contact with the vibrating body, thus
stopping the tone instantly. On the organ the tone is often
prolonged to one-half the value of the printed note before the
keys are released.
53. _The wedge-shaped dash over the note_ (staccatissimo) was formerly
employed to indicate a tone still more detached than that indicated by
the dot, but this sign is really superfluous, and is seldom used at
present. [Illustration]
54. _A tie_ is a curved line connecting the heads of two notes that call
for the same tone. It indicates that they are to be sounded as one tone
having a duration equal to the combined value of both notes. _E.g._, a
half-note tied to a quarter-note would indicate a tone equal in
duration-length to that shown by a dotted half-note; two half-notes tied
would indicate a tone equal in duration to that shown by a whole-note.
(See examples under Sections 49, 50, and 51).
Fig. 30 illustrates the more common variety of tie, while Fig. 31 shows
an example of the _enharmonic[10] tie_.
[Footnote 10: For definition of enharmonic see p. 10, Sec. 27.]
[Illustration: Fig. 30.]
[Illustration: Fig. 31.]
55. The _slur_ is used in so many different ways that it is impossible
to give a general definition. It consists of a curved line, sometimes
very short (in which case it looks like the tie), but sometimes very
long, connecting ten, fifteen, or more notes. Some of the more common
uses of the slur are:
A. _To indicate legato_ (sustained or connected) _tones_, as contrasted
with staccato (detached) ones.
In violin music this implies playing all tones thus slurred in
one bow; in music for the voice and for wind instruments it
implies singing or playing them in one breath.
B. _As a phrase-mark_, in the interpretation of which the first tone of
the phrase is often accented slightly, and the last one shortened in
value.
This interpretation of the phrase is especially common when
the phrase is short (as in the two-note phrase), and when the
tones constituting the phrase are of short duration, _e.g._,
the phrase given in Fig. 32 would be played approximately as
written in Fig. 33.
[Illustration: Fig. 32.]
[Illustration: Fig. 33.]
But if the notes are of greater value, especially in slow
tempi, the slur merely indicates legato, _i.e._, sustained or
connected rendition. Fig. 34 illustrates such a case.
[Illustration: Fig. 34.]
This is a matter of such diverse usage that it is difficult to
generalize regarding it. The tendency seems at present to be
in the direction of using the slur (_in instrumental music_)
as a phrase-mark exclusively, it being understood that unless
there is some direction to the contrary, the tones are to be
performed in a connected manner.
C. In vocal music, to show that two or more tones are to be sung to one
syllable of text. See Fig. 35.
[Illustration: Fig. 35. MENDELSSOHN (_S. Paul_) re-mem-bers His
chil-dren.]
In notes of small denomination (eighths and smaller) this same
thing is often indicated by _stroking_ the stems together as
in Fig. 36. This can only be done in cases where the natural
grouping of notes in the measure will not be destroyed.
[Illustration: Fig. 36. ev-er and ev-er, for ev-er and]
D. To mark special note-groups (triplets, etc.), in which case the slur
is accompanied by a figure indicating the number of notes in the group.
See Fig. 37 (_a_)
The most common of these irregular note-groups is the
_triplet_, which consists of three notes to be performed in
the time ordinarily given to two of the same value. Sometimes
the triplet consists of only two notes as in Fig. 37 (_b_). In
such a case the first two of the three notes composing the
triplet are considered to be tied.
[Illustration: Fig. 37.]
When the triplet form is perfectly obvious, the Fig. 3 (as
well as the slur) may be omitted.
Other examples of irregular note-groups, together with the
names commonly applied, follow.
[Illustration: Doublet. Quintuplet or Quintolet. Sextuplet or
Sextolet. Septolet or Septimole.]
56. The _combination of slur or tie and dots_ over the notes indicates
that the tones are to be somewhat detached, but not sharply so.
[Illustration]
This effect is sometimes erroneously termed _portamento_ (lit.
_carrying_), but this term is more properly reserved for an
entirely different effect, _viz._, when a singer, or player on
a stringed instrument, passes from a high tone to a low one
(or vice versa) touching lightly on some or all of the
diatonic tones between the two melody tones.
57. The horizontal _dash over a note_ [Illustration] indicates that the
tone is to be slightly accented, and sustained. This mark is also
sometimes used after a staccato passage to show that the tones are no
longer to be performed in detached fashion, but are to be sustained.
This latter use is especially common in music for stringed instruments.
58. The combination of _dash and dot over a note_ [Illustration]
indicates that the tone is to be slightly accented and separated from
its neighboring tones.
59. _Accent marks_ are made in a variety of fashions. The most common
forms follow. [horizontal accent symbol] [vertical accent symbol] _sf_
_fz_. All indicate that a certain tone or chord is to be differentiated
from its neighboring tones or chords by receiving a certain relative
amount of stress.
60. In music for keyboard instruments it is sometimes necessary to
indicate that a certain part is to be played by a certain hand. The
abbreviations r.h. (right hand), m.d. (mano destra, It.), and m.d. (main
droite, Fr.), designate that a passage or tone is to be played with the
right hand, while l.h. (left hand), m.s. (mano sinistra, It.), and m.g.
(main gauche, Fr.), show that the left hand is to be employed.
61. _The wavy line placed vertically beside a chord_ [Illustration]
indicates that the tones are to be sounded consecutively instead of
simultaneously, beginning with the lowest tone, all tones being
sustained until the duration-value of the chord has expired. This is
called _arpeggio playing_. When the wavy line extends through the entire
chord (covering both staffs) as in Fig. 38, all the tones of the chord
are to be played one after another, beginning with the lowest: but if
there is a separate wavy line for each staff as at Fig. 39 then the
lowest tone represented on the upper staff is to be played
simultaneously with the lowest tone represented on the bass staff.
[Illustration: Fig. 38.]
[Illustration: Fig. 39.]
The word arpeggio (plural arpeggi) is a derivation of the
Italian word _arpa_ (meaning harp), and from this word _arpa_
and its corresponding verb _arpeggiare_ (to play on the harp)
are derived also a number of other terms commonly used in
instrumental music. Among these are--arpeggiamento,
arpeggiando, arpeggiato, etc., all of these terms referring to
a _harp style_ of performance, the tones being sounded one
after another in rapid succession instead of simultaneously as
on the piano.
62. The sign [crescendo-decrescendo symbol] over a note indicates that
the tone is to be begun softly, gradually increased in power, and as
gradually decreased again, ending as softly as it began. In vocal music
this effect is called _messa di voce_.
63. In music for stringed instruments of the violin family, the sign
[down-bow symbol] indicates down-bow and the sign [up-bow symbol]
up-bow. In cello music the down-bow sign is sometimes written [cello
down-bow symbol].