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Dynamic Levels and Relationships
Dynamic levels and relationships have traditionally been used in musical contexts for expressive or dramatic purposes. Expressive changes in dynamic levels and the relationships of those changes have most often been used to support the motion of melodic lines, to enhance the sense of direction in harmonic motion, or to emphasize a particular musical idea. A change of dynamic level, in and of itself, can produce a dramatic musical event, and is a common musical occurrence. Changes in dynamic level can be gradual or sudden; subtle or extreme.
Dynamics have traditionally been described by analogy: louder than, softer than; very loud (fortissimo), soft (piano), medium loud (mezzo-forte), etc. The artistic element of dynamics in a piece of music is judged in relation to context. Dynamic levels are gauged in relation to
(1) the overall, conceptual dynamic level of the piece of music,
(2) the sounds occurring simultaneously with a sound source in question, and
(3) the sounds that immediately follow and precede a particular sound source.
The components of dynamic levels and relationships in audio recording are dynamic contour (with gradual and abrupt changes in dynamic level), emphasis/deemphasis accents (abrupt changes in dynamic level), musical balance (gradual and abrupt changes in dynamic levels), and dynamic speech inflections.
Rapid, slight alterations or changes in dynamic level for expressive purposes are often present in live performances. This is called tremolo, and is used primarily to add interest and substance to a sustained sound. Tremolo and vibrato are often confused. Vibrato is a rapid, slight variation of the pitch of a sound; it, also, is used to enhance the sound quality of the sound source. At times, performers may not be able to control their sound well enough to control tremolo and vibrato alterations; in these instances, tremolo and vibrato may detract from the source's sound quality, rather than contribute to it.
Changes in dynamic levels over time comprise dynamic contour. Dynamic contours can be perceived for individual sounds, individual sound sources, individual musical ideas comprised of a number of sound sources, and the overall piece of music. Dynamic contour can be perceived from many different perspectives: from the smallest changes within the spectral envelope through great changes in the overall dynamic level of a recording.
The composite of all of the dynamic contours creates musical balance. Musical balance is the interrelationships of the dynamic levels of each sound source, to one another and to the entire musical texture. The relative dynamic level of a particular sound source in relation to another sound source is a comparison of two parts of the musical balance.
Dynamic contours and musical balance have been used in supportive roles in most traditional music. At times dynamic level changes have been used for their own dramatic impact on the music, but most often they are used to assist the effectiveness of another artistic element.
To support a musical idea or to create a sense of drama, musical ideas are often brought to the listener's attention by dynamic emphasis or attenuation accents. A shift in dynamic level that brings the listener's attention to a musical idea, is an accent. Accents are most often emphasis accents, making use of increasing the dynamic level of the sound to achieve the desired result. Much more difficult to successfully achieve, deemphasis (or attenuation) accents draw the listener's attention to a musical idea, or a sound source, by a decrease in the dynamic level of the sound. Attenuation accents are often unsuccessful because the listener has a natural tendency to move attention away from softer sounds; these accents are most easily accomplished in sparse musical textures, where little else is going on to draw the listener's attention away from the material being accented.
Dynamic levels and relationships may be significantly different in the final recording than they were originally performed. The recording process has very precise control over the dynamic levels of a sound source in the musical balance of the final recording. An instrument may have an audible dynamic level in the musical balance of a recording that is very different from the dynamic level at which the instrument was originally performed. The timbre of the instrument will exhibit the dynamic levels at which it was performed (perceived performance intensity), but its relative dynamic level in relation to the other musical parts might be significantly altered by the mix. For example, an instrument may be recorded playing a passage at ff, with the passage ending up in the final musical balance at a very soft dynamic level; the timbre of the instrument will send the cue that the passage was performed very loudly, yet the actual dynamic level will be quite soft in relation to the overall musical texture, and to the other instruments of the texture.
The dynamic level of a sound source in relation to other sound sources, musical balance, is quite different and distinct from the perceived distance of one sound source to another. Yet, these two occurrences are often confused, and is the source of much common, misleading terminology used by recordists. Significant differences are present between a softly generated sound that is close to the listener, and a loudly performed sound that is at a great distance to the listener, even when the two sounds have precisely the same perceived loudness level. Loudness levels within the recording process are independently controllable from the loudness level at which the sound was performed, and are independently controllable from the distance of the sound source from the original receptor and from the person listening to the final recording.
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