Hi all
A question about notation. I often see three sixteenth notes and a sixteenth note rest, as shown in the picture.
I prefer to write it like this:
If you have several rhythms like in the first example, there are often many rests, which I don’t find very pleasant to read. Therefore, I prefer the second example. But my question about it is, does it make a big difference for the interpretation, say, if the third sixteenth note should be short due to the sixteenth note rest, compared to the eighth note with staccato? I think it’s irrelevant for pop, rock, and jazz. But what about classical musicians? Thank you very much for information about this.
In my experience they are pretty much the same in human execution. And staccato in software typically shortens a note by 50%, so that’s identical. Certainly your preferred notation is easier to read as well.
Unfortunately, many musicians interpret staccato as an articulation of attack, rather than an articulation of release. I wouldn’t use this with amateur musicians.
That’s interesting. I’m not sure, but I tend to think I see the first example relatively often in classical music. Perhaps it is actually clearer for amateurs than staccato, although I prefer the second example with staccato, simply for readability.
If the third note shouldn’t have a conspicuous articulation, I’d omit the staccato dot. Either use three semiquavers (16ths) with a rest, or, depending on tempo and style, simply write a quaver (8th). In many cases, (esp. in moderate to fast tempo) classical musicians will shorten it anyway, it will not stand out rhythmically. Only in a very slow adagio the eighth might be held noticeably longer.
There’s a composer I’ve been working with for over 20 years that just writes in Finale how he wants to hear it back. He doesn’t give a lot of attention to what the players in the band want to see as that’s what he pays me for LOL!
Granted we have a long working relationship and he expects me to fix these. For many composers I have worked with, I wouldn’t dare touch a single rhythm! IMO it all depends on the relationships between the composer, ensemble, and copyist as to what is expected and how it will be performed.
That’s a very good example, thank you very much. I’ve also often experienced that music was composed by ear in a sequencer and then the notes were simply printed out. It was not uncommon to see a quarter note written as a sixteenth note and three sixteenth rests. But it’s definitely true that it depends on the relationship between the composer, ensemble, and copyist. I also think that this is the priority. Nevertheless, I think it does matter if it’s well-notated, it affects the interpretation very much. In Dorico, you can edit the sound and notation independently of each other, which I think is worthwhile and great.
Context is everything. The answer to your question does not rely so much on the snippets that you have shown, but much more on what precedes and follows them.
That being said, if a short notation is predominantly there because this makes the samples behave better, most of the time there might be a more elegant notational alternative that is much more suited for presentation to reading musicians.
This is interesting. If I were playing a big band chart, I would play the three notes the same. If it was a classical piece, I would assume that the composer wanted the last note to be played differently in some way, perhaps shorter than a semi-quaver.
This is defintely NOT the same. Rest is rest is silence, not prolonging the previous note.
If you play, say a funk guitar line, you stop after the three 16th, and start over the next bunch of sixteenth. Or is kills the line.
Thank you very much for your response. I agree, especially for jazz/funk-oriented music, the second example is preferable as it’s easier to read. However, I think finer distinctions are often made in classical music.
That’s certainly true. I think it also depends on the instrument and whether it’s jazz-oriented or classical. Would it matter for brass or woodwind players? In a big band arrangement, I always write the second example, but you do see the first example quite often, although perhaps not in big band arrangements.
I would say both. Drums are generally short, regardless of whether it’s a long or short note. For instance, a whole note on the snare still sounds rather short unless it’s written as a roll. Even cymbals are short, even though they may sound longer. An eighth-note groove played on the ride looks rhythmically the same when notated whether it’s written on the hi-hat. And if a crash needs to be choked, I always write “Choke” above it. Generally, I tend to write as few symbols as possible to make it easier to read. But I never knew exactly whether and what difference it makes with the many rests. Probably with tonal instruments, it’s a matter of interpretation that is difficult to notate?
