The creation of a musical rhythm involves both sounds of various durations, and pauses, peculiar moments of calm. They have a special duration (like notes), notation and names. From time immemorial, composers, emphasizing or obscuring individual moments of the work, used pauses.
The sign, which indicates the duration of temporary silence, also has the name "pause". The theory of music divides pauses into simple, compound and orchestral. By duration, they are very miserable (sixty-fourth) or very large (brevis). We will describe how pauses in music are indicated, how long they last and how they are called, in this article.
Musical punctuation marks
A pause in music is a kind of punctuation marks. They separate phrases or separate sentences in one work. Such pauses are commonly called caesuras. But it happens, for example, that pauses separate sounds in one musical sentence. Thus, the composer shows as if intermittent speech characterizing the excitement. Or, on the contrary, it represents a sharp, fast and emotionally-pointed musical line. This method can often be found in vocal art.
Everyone knows theatrical pause. It is used to show painful thoughts or intense silence before a serious question.
Instrumental music also does not do without pauses. Here, caesuras often accompany moments of emotional discharge or tension in a musical sentence or phrase. Sometimes it happens that the author deliberately delays a pause, escalating the situation. Or it happens that the entire musical line is simply torn from the inside by caesuras. This is a special artistic and musical technique. Like it or not, without well-placed pauses there is neither musical nor artistic beauty.
Dividing pauses by duration
The duration of a sound or its absence is one of the main concepts of the musical world. The duration of sound is the time period of the oscillation of the body that makes the sound. There are relative durations and absolute. The latter is measured by time categories (e.g., pulse beat or second). Relative sound duration affects the expressiveness of a musical work and is a connection between the complex logical parts of the work.
The absolute duration in meter and rhythm is expressed. A sounding note cannot be compared with absolute duration. The duration of its sound can only be compared with the duration of other notes. The duration of a pause in a musical composition or vocal piece corresponds to musical notes, from which the pauses are called. The duration of the musical punctuation mark can be increased by resorting to special designations, farms. They are usually placed under the pause icon or above it.
Simple pauses
Simple pauses are half, whole, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty second, etc. In the musical environment, concepts such as longa and brevis are also used. The duration of the first is four integers, and the brevis is two. Both of these pauses were used in musical notation of ancient music. Today they are not used.
There are pauses - stops: backlash and caesura. The latter is used in orchestral music. Its duration is set by the conductor. It is depicted in the form of two dashes tilted to the right, crossing the top line of the musician. Luftpause is used by musicians playing wind instruments. It does not affect the sound of the work. It is indicated by a comma located above the stave.
Whole pause
The pause, called the whole, coincides with the note of the same name, respectively, is also called. Its duration is four counts (times), or a pulse beat. On a musician, a whole pause in music is indicated by a black rectangle suspended by the fourth line of the musical staff. Sometimes it is shifted down or up and even recorded separately. But in any case, it should hang on the line of the musician, even on the extension line.
Half pause
In duration, a half pause corresponds to the duration of a half note and lasts two counts or a pulse beat. It is indicated on the stave by a rectangle similar to the pause sign of the whole. Only half is written on the third line of the musical staff. If you need to shift or record a half pause separately, it is simply shown above the line.
Often the theme “Pause in music” is given to beginner musicians tight because of the similarity of the designation of the whole and half pauses. Experienced musicians suggest using a hint: a half pause is placed on the third line of the musician - exactly in its half!
Quarter pause
Quarter pauses in music have the same duration as a quarter note. The count of this pause is one, or one beat of the pulse. To draw a quarter pause is quite difficult. The scheme is as follows: through the third and fourth lines of the stave, dashes with a slight tilt to the left are drawn. Then they need to be connected to get lightning. Now a comma is turned inside out. All, a pause of a quarter of the sound is ready.
Pause eighth
This pause corresponds to the eighth note. Writing it is simple. Through three rulers of the musician, an oblique line is set. A comma is added to its upper end, lying with its convex part down. The tail of the eighth pause is a flag of the note itself.
Pause sixteenth
What is the pause in the music corresponding to the sixteenth note? By analogy with the previous ones - the sixteenth. It is designated on the musician as the eighth, only it has two tails.
If there is a need to indicate pauses in a note letter even smaller, then the number of tails will increase at the pause sign. So, for example, the pause of the 32nd will have three tails, the 64th will have four, and so on.
Compound pauses
Pauses lasting longer than a brevis are called compound. Pauses in music, their name and spelling depends on simple pauses. If compound notes are connected by a league, then compound pauses in a stave are composed of simple pauses. There are three rules for writing such characters:
- Simple pauses in the composition of the composite should be recorded according to the grouping of in-cycle characters.
- You must try to express a composite pause through fewer simple pauses.
- Long-lasting composite pauses are indicated by an orchestral pause sign.
For example, a pause lasting seven musical measures will be recorded in the following chain: four brevis, two longs and one pause whole.
Pause orchestral
If there is a need for a pause, which lasts several musical measures, then you need to use the orchestra. What it is? An orchestral pause in music is indicated on the stave by a bold line located on the third line. Above it there is always a number, indicating the duration of musical downtime during performance.
An orchestral pause is most often used when performing a polyphonic musical composition. Sometimes in a vocal part there are moments (lasting several measures) of unclaimed voice. A pause that has a duration of more than one measure and applies to all participants in a choir, ensemble or orchestra is called a general one.
Musical pause score
A musical composition always flows without stopping. Therefore, pauses should calmly flow from measure to measure. They are considered similar to notes whose names are:
- a whole pause: one, two, three, four;
- half: one, two, and (or three, four, depending on the beat);
- quarter: one.
Further to decrease.