All You Need To Know About Musical Phrasing
The musical phrase is a particular part where an instrument player can go solo with a continuation idea from the beginning to the end that makes sense and has smooth phrasing. The chords you are using, the volume of the notes, the rhythm that follows the chords, and the way you phrase the words are all parts of musical phrasing. Remember when you were watching an emotionless performance or listening to a passionate song? The clear difference was all because of one thing – musical phrasing.
There’s no such thing as a specific length of a musical phrase, though the common musical phrase is four measures in length. As long as you pour your heart and soul into it, it will be sure to turn out as a beautiful piece of music.
The Basics You Need to Know About Musical Phrases
Dynamics are an important part of phrasing
Dynamics are extremely crucial when it comes to shaping your music. You need to test the musical arch to determine how exactly you are sounding. And you’ve got to adjust the volume as per the requirements. For instance, you can end it soft instead of going for something mellow in the beginning. To put it in other words, you can increase the volume in the middle of the music and lower the phrase when the conclusion is near.
However, you can also start strong yet end it with a slow beat. You’re the creator behind your own music piece – so go ahead and be creative while shaping your music!
When your phrase is an arch
Make use of melody lines to draw out the arch. The concept is simple – in an incident where you’re starting with the lower phrasing, pick higher notes somewhere in the middle of the song, and finally end the phrase with a low note.
That’s exactly what most musicians will do! And don’t even think for a second that the up and down beats may sound a tad boring – it can actually sound perfect in certain cases! You just have to try adding a little variation so that it sounds different and amazing. There’s absolutely no harm in adding some high or low notes variation in the middle of the song.
Add emotions to your phrases
Have you ever wondered why some songs lacked any emotional appeal or simply sounded dull? That’s what happens when musicians don’t put much effort into adding emotions to the phrases.
As you are taking up your drums or keyboard lessons, you were probably taught to master different songwriting techniques. This is the perfect time for you to get personal and add emotion to bring life into your music! But, how can you do that? Let’s say you have a romantic song. The best thing you can do here is to add softness to the phrases. Try to add tenderness in some pitches and finally conclude each phrase with a delicate sound so that it looks like you’re ‘whispering’ the last note. Unlike jazz songs, you don’t have to follow this particular technique and should follow the arch method instead!
Musical phrasing plays an integral role in shaping your song. Whether you are an instrument player or a singer, you should know how to phrase the song and add emotions. But if song phrasing is not your specialty, you should consider hiring a music teacher to learn this technique effortlessly.
