HURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2009
DYNAMIC SIGNS IN MUSIC
The word Crescendo means you have to get gradually louder while the opposite word Decrescendo or Diminuendo means you have to get gradually softer.
The Crescendo and Diminuendo dynamics music signs are stated by two lines coming towards each other or against each other. The place where they meet is where the softest sound should be produced.
DYNAMICS AND ACCENTS IN MUSIC
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc.) or functional (velocity). The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics.
The two basic dynamic indications in music are:
- p or piano, meaning "soft."
- f or forte, meaning "loud" or "strong" also it can mean "deep".
More subtle degrees of loudness or softness are indicated by:
- mp, standing for mezzo-piano, meaning "moderately soft" and
- mf, standing for mezzo-forte, meaning "moderately loud".
Beyond f and p, there are also
- ff, standing for "fortissimo", and meaning "very loud",
- pp, standing for "pianissimo", and meaning "very soft",
In music, an accent is an emphasis placed on a particular note, either as a result of its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark. Accents contribute to the articulation and prosody of a performance of a musical phrase. Compared to surrounding notes:
- A dynamic accent or stress accent is an emphasis using louder sound, typically most pronounced on the attack of the sound.
- A tonic accent is an emphasis on a note by virtue of being higher in pitch.
- An agogic accent is an emphasis by virtue of being longer induration.
Accents which do not correspond to the stressed beats of the prevailingmeter are said to be syncopated.
ACCENT MARKS
In music notation, an accent mark indicates a louder dynamic to apply to a single note, or an articulation mark. The most common is the horizontal accent, the fourth symbol in the diagram above; this is the symbol that most musicians mean when they say accent mark. The vertical accent, third in the diagram, may be stronger or weaker than the horizontal accent; composers have never been consistent in using these markings. The vertical accent has many informal names such as a "housetop". In most musical works this type of accent is meant to be played more forcefully and usually shorter.
The remaining marks typically shorten a note. Staccato, the first symbol shown above, indicates that the last part of a note should be silenced to create separation between it and the following note. The duration of a staccato note may be about half as long as the note value would indicate, although the tempo and performers' taste varies this quite a bit. Thestaccatissimo, shown second, is usually interpreted as shorter than the staccato, but composers up to the time of Mozart used these symbols interchangeably. The third one shown, the Teepee Accent, is played with the same dynamics as a regular accent mark but condensed into about half the original length of the note (depending on style, song, preference, etc.), essentially a combination of accent and staccato. The fourth mark shown, the Accent mark, indicates that the marked note should have an emphasized beginning and then taper off rather quickly. The tenuto mark, shown fifth above, indicates that a note is to be separated with a little space from surrounding notes. This separation may be enough to emphasize the note, or it may have to be played a little louder, at the discretion of the player. The tenuto mark also indicates that the note should be played for its full value - not cut off earlier. Sometimes these symbols are used in combination.
Even when these symbols are absent, experienced musicians will introduce the appropriate gesture according to the style of the music.
ARTICULATION IN MUSIC
In music, articulation refers to the direction or performance technique which affects the transition or continuity on single note or between multiple notes or sounds.
There are many different kinds of articulation, each having a different effect on how the note is played. Some articulation marks include the slur,phrase mark, staccato, staccatissimo, accent, sforzando, rinforzando, and legato. Each articulation is represented by a different symbol placed above or below the note (depending on its position on the staff).
Woodwind and brass instruments generally articulate by tonguing, the use of the tongue to break the airflow into the instrument. Stringed instruments use different bowing techniques to achieve different articulations.
When staccato marks are combined with a slur, the result is portato, also known as articulated legato. Tenuto markings under a slur are called (for bowed strings) hook bows. This name is also less commonly applied to staccato or martellato (martelé) markings.
METRONOME PAUSE/TEMPO
A metronome is any device that produces regular ticks (beats). More precisely it produces a regulated aural, visual or tactile pulse. It dates back to the early 19th century. A metronome is used by some performing musicians for practice in maintaining a consistent tempo; it givescomposers an approximate way of specifying the tempo[1]. From its inception, however, the metronome has been a highly controversial tool (see Criticism of metronome use), and there are musicians who reject its use altogether.
TUESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2009
2nd example of cd cover with process-part th
After a bit more brainstorming I came to the concept of using one word to describe the type of music that the band played. I would then use that word as the main piece on the front cover. I chose the word Smooth for the calm music and the word Roughfor the heavy metal music and the word Digital for the electronic music.
I then went out and got myself a copy of Xara3D (USD$45) which I tell you is VERY easy to use for a 3D program. It took a total of 10 minutes to figure out without any tutorials, just playing with the buttons.
I then pumped out the 3D letters into Photoshop an
d then did about 80% of the designing in P
hotoshop and 20% in illustrator for the vectorised pieces. Below you can see the design process I used to create the first CD cover.
You will notice the visual consistency between the three CD covers as we were required to have this between both designs, there were meant to be all from the same publisher. We also had to have all legal requirements on the CD jackets.
The album title was given to us and for the smooth song it was called Mad World, the rock one was called Attitude and the electronic one was called Equinoxe. The first Smooth cover took a day to complete and the attitude one took about half as long as I was more familiar
with what to do and the digital one took about 3 hours.
Below are the final designs, try to compare them to my visual responses up above.
You will notice in the Smooth design, I have used the colours blue and green with an ocean type feel (check out the Jellyfish).
In the Rough design you will notice I have used angry red colours in a grungy chaotic mess that reflects my original musical response. The text was purposely made hard to read to reflect the chaotic nature of the music.
In the Digital one I have used an in-your-face, high energy, bright coloured design which reflects my original music response. You will notice the circles on the back cover, kind of popping as like in my original drawing.
Front Cover
2nd example of cd cover with process-part two
2nd example of cd cover with process-part one
FRIDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2009
cd cover reserch
Kerry Plitzer was open to our ideas, giving us free reign to manipulate her photos as we saw fit. She wanted a design tat worked with her jazz-acoustic music style, and referenced a scrapbooking style she'd like to see incorporated.The designer went with bolder colours and shapes, playing off the title "you took me in" by nestling Lerry's photo inside the shapes. 
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