Sonically Speaking: The Language of Music

If you have ever glanced at a piece of sheet music, chances are, you have found it to be intimidating. Symbols, squiggles, dots, and Italian words scatter the page, making it difficult to perceive the most essential markings themselves, the music notes! Before I learned how to read sheet music and interpret these phrases, I too, was overwhelmed by a page of written music. Nevertheless, I have been mesmerized by music for as long as I can remember. With rhythm tied to everything from my heartbeat to footsteps, I can always count on having a song stuck in my head. The musical tongue has become natural to me after playing the violin for ten years, allowing me to establish a connection with the musical art form. By playing in quartets, duets, and as a soloist, I have learned to deeply understand the language of music. In addition, music has shaped how I live and has become a part of my brain. Every time I pick up my bow or place my hands on a keyboard, my mind switches to its musical section and words like “pianissimo” and “étude” come to mind. Composers are compelled to use exclusive terminology to refer to elements in music. While ordinary people may use terms like “volume” and “speed”, instrumentalists have adopted a specific sociolect to reference musical elements such as tone, tempo, and titles.

In a car, a listener might adjust the volume, making the noise level higher or lower. As a musician, volume is often expressed with and connected to mood. For instrumentalists, volume is more complex than labels like “loud” or “quiet”. Rather than making the noise level higher, a composer will instruct the musician to increase volume with intensity or to suddenly shift to a soft, sweet, and slow sound. This is called tone. “Legato” represents a tone that is smooth and has a melting feel. While playing the violin, I can establish legato by elongating the bow and letting my right arm feel relaxed and smooth, like it is stretching a piece of taffy. Legato makes the listener feel calm and sleepy. Its antithesis, “staccato” symbolizes a choppy, turbulent style of playing. To play staccato, I shorten my bow movements and make each note brisk. Staccato’s causes the listener to feel agitated and hear resistance and intensity in the music notes. These tones can be played quietly or loudly, but what really matters is the emotion drawn from the notes. The same measure, a group of consecutive notes, can sound unrelated depending on the style. This is why the words written on the page are so important in a piece of music.

Tempo comes from the latin word, tempus, meaning “time” and is used to describe speed. All musicians, including percussionists use BPM (beats for minute) as the musical measurement for tempo. When an orchestra is ordered to play at 50 BPM, they might roll their eyes with annoyance. 50 BPM is an extremely slow tempo that can be repetitive or boring and is usually associated with monotonous, tiresome practicing. Meanwhile, playing at 208 BPM can evoke stress because a tempo this fast is a challenge to keep up with. There are also mood markers associated with BPM, which inform the instrumentalist to consolidate style and tempo. “Allegro” translates to playing fast and lively tempo, “ritardando” means play gradually slower, and “allargando” instructs slowing down while growing louder. “Meno” (less), “piu” (more), “quasi” (almost), and “subito” (suddenly) are terms that can be added onto a style phrase similar to a prefix.

Another component of the musical sociolect references composers and their music. Since there are numerous classical titles with the same name (i.e.,Waltz, Minuet, and Gavotte), orchestras frequently abbreviate a piece’s name. There is no need for a group of musicians to call Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by his full name when everyone is aware of who is being discussed. When speaking with another instrumentalist, I might mention a composer like Bach or Tchaikovsky like they are a friend. “Did you hear the measure where Beethoven incorporated an arpeggio in his Fifth?” If I was to not use musical abbreviations and sociolect, the same sentence would sound something like, “Did you hear the section of four beats where Ludwig van Beethoven added the notes of a chord in succession in ‘Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67’?” As you can see, the use of musical expressions reduces the sentence, making it clear, concise, and efficient.

What is the point of having a solitary language for musicians? In the end, it comes down to simplicity and a common understanding. Musical terms give the composer a chance to explain to the performer what they had in mind when writing their piece of music. It is as if the composer is having a conversation with the violinist, trumpeter, or conductor, instructing them exactly what emotion they should draw out of their audience. When listening to music, I have felt strong emotions at the end of a song and it is not a coincidence. Whether it be sad and tearful, or invigorating and enthusiastic, an orchestra or artist always has the goal to bring some type of sentiment into their piece. Authors select the precise words from a dictionary to share their story with the reader. Similarly, composers use terms from their musical sociolect for their listener’s ears. Once the piece of music is written, instrumentalists add to this dialect with terms of reference. Tone, tempo, and titles are three components of the musical sociolect that makes understanding music easier for instrumentalists like me.