Accent notes

Hello everyone,

I'm fairly new to writing notation, and was wondering if there is any articulation to make one note softer, I've been using hairpins for dynamics but would like something that can be a little more specific, for instance having four quarter notes and making the third one lighter than the rest, any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Jackson

Why not just write a lower dynamic beneath it? For example three notes in mf, one note in p.

I'm not aware of any articulation that makes a note actually softer, since well, that's what dynamics are for. But it also depends what articulations the other notes have. If you have three notes with accents, just leaving out the accent on the fourth one will obviously make it "softer". Or, if you're talking about a different kind of softness: If you have three notes played staccato and the fourth note connected to the fifth with a portato, it will also appear somewhat "softer", just because the notes aren't so short.

But what exactly do you want? A lower dynamic? Then use dynamic markings. A note without clear attack? Then connect it to the previous note with a portato, legato, or even more extremely portamento. A note that ends softly? Ditto, just connect it to the following note(s) like that.

Personally, I've made the experience that writing a portato can often be very efficient in such cases. It just seems to scream "play me softly" for some reason. But of course you can't use it on just one note, you need at least two notes to connect with it.

You hit the nail on the head, I definitely should be using a lower dynamic marking, thanks so much!

Jackson

When I first started writing music, I wondered that myself.

I think what he means is an "anti-accent." It's an odd, rarely used symbol that looks like the cross between a doughnot, an asterisk, and an upside-down number 7. Used extensively in Stravinsky's "Cold Rose" piece.

I think using a seperate dynamic marking for one note is kinda wrong, but I don't know any other way.

~Kal

Beethoven loves using separate dynamics for single notes. And pretty much all other composers do it from time to time too. And the serialist composers often didn't write a single note without a separate dynamic. I see nothing really wrong with it, except for the fact that it clutters your score a bit more than an articulation. But I don't think layout questions should decide about the music you write. :)

P.S. Funny, I just realized I spoke of Beethoven in the present tense and of the serialists in the past tense. :P

You can always put / through > and explain it in your score. :)

This is actually a great question, by the way, even if it seems like a simple one. We do have a symbol for an accent, but no anti-accent, as Kal said.

Another way, although rarely used (and advised against) is by using smaller-sized notes (take care to not notate them as grace notes) and explaining in the score.

There is an articulation (don't know the name really), which looks like a v, and a u at the same time. Which means no definete angle, but no ending for the u. like a small bawl sign of sorts, which means "no accent". Taken from Kurt Stone "Notation of the 20th century". There must be some reference of this on the Internet, but can't google it now!

Umm... why bother with an articulation that you'll have to explain, when dynamics serve the same purpose and are standard notation? No need to reinvent the wheel.