Does Your Crescendo Have the “Wow Factor?”

The crescendo (and its counterpart, the diminuendo or decrescendo) is one of the first expressive tools we musicians learn. But has your crescendo lost its “wow factor?” Here are some quick reminders of what to do, what NOT to do, and a few practice techniques.

First, what NOT to do. I can almost guarantee that you have been guilty of one of these. We all have.

What NOT to do:

1. Don’t let a crescendo be an afterthought. Practice the expression of a piece, including any crescendi or diminuendi, in the early learning stages so they incorporate into your understanding of the piece.
2. Don’t tighten up. Staying relaxed throughout the crescendo will keep your tone even and your technique fluid.  One of the literal meanings of the word forte is strong, and you can’t be strong if you’re too tense and tight to play.
3. Don’t start a crescendo abruptly. A crescendo grows (the actual meaning of the word). Sudden changes of dynamics are indicated in other ways.

What you SHOULD do:

1. Make an even progression. Let the volume develop evenly throughout the crescendo so that the dynamic difference between adjacent notes is fairly equal.
2. Control your tone. While there are choices you can make about changing your tone during a crescendo, making those choices on purpose and by accident are two different things.
3. Consider the context. Every crescendo has a unique character, depending on the piece of music and the particular passage. Make certain that the crescendo you are playing fits the circumstance.
4. Consider the goal. Judge the progress of a crescendo by the strength of the high point, and by the length of the crescendo. Graduate the crescendo over its entire length, and keep the intensity of the crescendo related to the importance of its musical goal. For instance, the goal of the crescendo may be the ultimate climax of the piece, or only a little swell in the phrase.

How to Practice:

A crescendo is all about shading and proportion. The secret lies in being able to control the sound at every stage of the crescendo. So even though we think of the crescendo as an expressive tool, we need a solid technique to perform it well. Try these suggestions for practice:

1. Incorporate crescendi and diminuendi into scales and arpeggios. As your scale ascends, add a crescendo. On the descent, use a diminuendo. Then do the reverse: a diminuendo on the way up and a crescendo on the way down. Try this technique first with a one octave scale, then two octaves and then three, keeping the crescendo gradual and even over the entire length of the scale.

2. Play just one note, slowly repeating the note and add a crescendo and diminuendo. Try playing three notes, then 5, then 7, etc., lengthening the crescendo so it lasts over all the notes.

3. “Count” the crescendo. Pretend you are using your TV remote control and adjusting the volume settings by number. A simple counting scheme like “0-1-2-3-2-1-0,” can help you graduate the volume change over the crescendo.

4. Practice the context. Look at an instance in a piece of music. Determine the starting volume. Find the goal or high point of the crescendo. Play each end of the crescendo with the volume you intend to use. Then play the entire passage, developing the crescendo evenly and keeping the volume level of each end the same as you practiced.

By the way, one of my favorite orchestral crescendi is in the finale of Stravinsky’s Firebird. You can hear it here in a performance from Disney Fantasia 2000. The crescendo I mean starts around 5:58.

How do you practice a crescendo?