- Hello, today we are going to look at dynamics.
Do you know what dynamics are?
In music, dynamics are the differences in volume
that you can hear.
Some sounds can be soft and quiet.
Can you whisper "quiet" very softly?
Copy me. Quiet.
Other sounds can be very loud.
Can you repeat the word "loud" after me?
One, two, three
Loud!
Wow, that was so loud my ears hurt.
In music, we use special Italian words
to describe how loud or soft a sound is.
Let's compare them.
A very soft sound is called pianissimo.
Pianissimo sounds very much like this.
It's very quiet. Can you clap along after me?
That was very quiet, wasn't it?
A sound that is a little bit louder,
but still soft, is called piano.
No, not that kind of piano.
A piano dynamic sounds like this.
Clap along after me.
A loud sound is called forte.
Forte sounds a bit like this
Can you join in?
And an extremely loud sound is called fortissimo.
Fortissimo sounds like this
We are now going to take a look at some students
that will be clapping different dynamics.
It could be pianissimo, piano, forte or fortissimo.
Have a listen and think about which dynamics you hear.
Do you know what that was?
That was fortissimo.
Which dynamic was this?
That was forte.
Can you guess what the dynamic was this time?
That was piano.
Which dynamic was this?
That was pianissimo.
Were you able to identify which dynamic
was used for each child's clapping?
Now in music, a song might get louder over time.
This is called a crescendo.
I can play a crescendo on this drum.
If you look at the crescendo symbol,
we can see, that from left to right,
the space between the two lines gets bigger
as the sound gets louder.
Have a listen.
The opposite of a crescendo is a decrescendo.
A decrescendo is when music slowly becomes softer over time.
Let's look at the symbol for a decrescendo
from left to right. You can see how the distance
between the two lines gets smaller
as the sound becomes quieter.
Have a listen.
Now let's see if we can tell the difference
between the two.
We're going to watch the students again and they are
going to either clap a crescendo or a decrescendo.
What I want you to do is draw in the air with your finger
whether you think it is a crescendo or a decrescendo.
Was that a crescendo or a decrescendo?
That was a crescendo.
What about this one?
What did you think that was?
That was a decrescendo.
Well done!
Can you think of why we might use
different dynamics in music?
Some songs are very bouncy and jumpy
and are often played loud to highlight the mood,
like a marching band or a pop song.
But some songs are sad, or slow, and these songs
are usually played with soft dynamics, like a lullaby.
Wow, those are a lot of dynamics we have looked at.
So remember, the dynamics in music refer to the volume
of the sound from pianissimo to fortissimo.
I wonder if you can sing your favourite song
with different dynamics?