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metalhead

 

Posts: 380
Joined: Apr. 15 2023
 

Phrasing vs dynamics 

What is the difference between the 2? I think I know what dynamics are: loudness or softness of a note. But what about phrasing? Somebody said it's how you let notes breathe, but I am not sure what that means.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jan. 12 2026 11:16:17
 
Ricardo

Posts: 16196
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Phrasing vs dynamics (in reply to metalhead

Phrasing is a more broad term that might included tone, vibrato, technique approach (how you attack or play or sing a note), connecting the notes with ligado vs detaching them with staccato, etc. We can admit that timing and dynamics play the biggest role in what will distinguish how a phrase is played of course. Dynamics really are just louder vs softer executed notes. It is impractical in many cases to signify one soft note, two loud, 5 VERY soft, one VERY loud, etc, especially with fast notes. That IS dynamics but most of the time dynamics refers to a general arc of a long passage getting louder or softer gradually or all at once suddenly. So the nuance of that language might favor "phrasing" to distinguish those to gradual or sectional dynamic approaches. But again, this is just a language issue and getting very very specific always clears things up.

here, "the PHRASING of your compás or rhythm playing will be the result of tempo+dynamics+technique (which strum pattern)". In spain they use "aire" and "soniquete" or "pellizco" in equally vague manner, lacking specifics. Hope that helps.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jan. 12 2026 12:07:47
 
Fawkes

 

Posts: 154
Joined: Feb. 11 2015
 

RE: Phrasing vs dynamics (in reply to metalhead

Although it has come to mean all the things Ricardo mentions, the essence of phrasing is the grouping of sequences of notes to clarify meaning in the music. This may refer just to written phrase marks in the music, or to the various means a musician uses to communicate that grouping in performance. The 'breathing' is a singer's breathing, the commas and periods in the lyrics.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jan. 12 2026 16:21:44
 
Arash

Posts: 4754
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: Phrasing vs dynamics (in reply to metalhead

Although flamenco hast strict rythm and rules, you are flexible inside that rule in your expression (length of notes, accents, silence, how you build tension and how you resolve that tension, etc.). Dynamics (loud, soft, etc.) serve phrasing and not the other way around.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Jan. 12 2026 20:32:41
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