Lesson 9: Dynamics and Expression
- Shape a phrase with breath alone, without losing pitch.
- Play a familiar piece with shape, not just notes.
- Lesson 8 — articulation.
- Stable breath control on all diatonic notes.
- Dynamic shaping with breath.
- Phrase contour.
The recorder's voice is small. Its dynamic range is in the small.
Soft means less air; loud means more — but less air pulls pitch flat and more air pushes it sharp. Every dynamic change is also a small embouchure adjustment.
Three dynamic levels
- p · piano · soft
- Whisper air. Slightly more thumb hole vent than usual. Pitch tends to drop — aim a hair higher with the embouchure.
- mf · mezzo-forte · comfortable
- Your default. The pitch you have been using is here.
- f · forte · loud
- More air, not harder air. Pitch tends to rise — relax the embouchure to compensate.
The recorder will not swell inside a single note — crescendo happens across notes, not within them.
Hold G4 long. Play the first whole at p, the second at mf, the third at f. Match pitch across all three by lipping.
Read the phrase three times. First flat at mf. Second with a soft start, swelling to the middle, settling back. Third the opposite.
Play: Amazing Grace, with shape
Most people hum this piece without varying the dynamics — which is why most performances of it are dull. The first verse below should grow toward the high note in the middle of the second phrase, then ebb away.
Now play these
- Amazing Grace (full hymn)
- All five verses. The shape of one verse, repeated five times, with small variations.
- Au Clair de la Lune
- Each verse can be a different dynamic level. Try mf, then p (a verse far away), then back to mf.
- Ode to Joy
- Beethoven's tune. Build through the four phrases — mf, f, back to mp, f.
When a recording of you playing Amazing Grace has audible shape — you can tell where the music is going from the breath alone — you are ready for Lesson 10.