Thread: Crescendo Help
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Old May 28 2008, 12:48 PM
QcCowboy QcCowboy is offline

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris View Post
Are you saying that there is no chance of orchestrating such a change, or is it possible?
I'm saying that you have inserted into your music three difficult issues to overcome at once.

To achieve a smooth crescendo, you must avoid
  1. sudden changes of register
  2. sudden changes of texture (removal of groups/adding of groups of instruments)
  3. sudden changes in instrumentation

The keyword is "smooth": add instruments gradually, change registers gradually, gradually add or remove density from a texture.

A smooth crescendo can also depend heavily on the amount of time you give it to develop. It's obviously harder to go smoothly from a soft and very sparse texture to a loud a dense one in two short beats.

Sometimes, it is best to reconsider the timing you are intending for your music. To create a good crescendo transition, it sometimes becomes obligatory to add some beats, to give yourself room to work.
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