Volume 3 Oboe

Studies in
Musical Expression
from the works of Ferling
edited by
William R. Higgins

b c
&
 8 2001
William R. Higgins
848 Arlington Road
Camp Hill, PA 17011
 The Study of Musical Expression
Performing with expression (musicianship) is often believed to be a gift rather than a learned
technique. If this were true, music would be performed by only a select few and everyone else would
miss out on the joy of making music. Statements such as the following quote from Barretts method
for the oboe are far too general and wrongly imply that expressive performance can not be learned.

Expression, unlike those musical attributes which may

be acquired by study, is only exhibited where nature has
bestowed a favourable organisation (sic). Upon those
who have not this gift, no practice, no study, will ever
confer it. - - Nevertheless, the habit of playing good
music, and listening to the best artists, will give a notion
of what is meant by it; and by taking the latter as models,
one can in some measure supply the place of real
expression.

Apollon Marie Rose Barret (1804-1897) - Oboe Method

There is an element of truth in Barrets statement. Artistry indeed is a gift but we could not
agree that the study of musicianship is a poor substitute for such a gift. With good pedagogy,
expressive playing is well within the capabilities of even an average student. Understandably, the art of
musicianship can be elusive and more difficult to grasp than the fundamental skills involving the
production of pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and fingerings. A performer can be well schooled in the
technical fundamentals of music making and still not understand the musical shaping of a line or the
finer nuances that separate great performances from mediocre ones.

Musical Expression
Expression in music refers primarily to the creation of a mood or emotional state in the listener
brought about by the performers regulation of stress and release within the musical line. While all
music has at least some degree of emotion, cantilena or song music generates the greatest amount of
expression. Bravura music such as marches, all types of dance music, and popular music is of a more
stylistic nature and intended to accompany a physical activity as opposed to conveying an emotional
state or meaning. Musical expression, therefore, should not be confused with musical style.

Deterrents to Expressive Performance in Printed Music

The primary obstacles to expressive performance in music are: the barline, notes grouped by
metrical beat, and slurs taken literally as note groupings and articulations. Of these, the greatest
deterrent is the barline. Barlines came into existence in the late 16th century as a means of helping
performers stay together in ensemble performance. With the exception of stylized music such as
dances, the presence of the barline provides no assistance in performing musically, in fact, it frequently
has the opposite effect.

Note Grouping
Contemporary notational practices dictate that notes are to be barred in relationship to the meter of
the pieces duple or ternary divisions. While mechanical subdivisions aid in the counting of music and
assist in ensemble unity, they interfere with the underlying musical grouping of the notes. Whereas
young students must rely upon artificial groupings for a sense of pulse and meter, more advanced
students should concern themselves with musical note grouping as the primary guide to expression.
 The goal of musical expression is to create motion in music. Motion infuses the musical line with
life and thereby gives it an expressive quality. The creation of this motion inherently lies with the
treatment of the anacrusis or upbeat. If the upbeat is stressed and the downbeat is de-emphasized,
motion will occur. In printed music, notational practices visually give emphasis to the beat. Students
should learn to look between the beats, to the notes that move the music forward.

Example of unexpressive grouping which is standard in printed music. Note that the grouping
is from the strong beat to the weak beat
SB WB SB WB SB WB SB SB WB SB WB SB WB SB

Example of expressive grouping. In this more musical grouping, note that the weak beat, not the
strong beat, is at the beginning of the group.
SB WB SB W B SB WB SB SB WB SB W B SB WB SB

Bracketing Notes in Groups

Grouping the upbeat to downbeat (weak beat to strong beat) rather than vise versa reduces the
emphasis on strong beats and emphasizes the inherent, natural movement of a composition. Placement
of the brackets will, in part, depend upon the tempo of the selection and the basic meter of the piece
binary (2s) or ternary (3s). At faster tempi, the brackets are placed from the weak beat to the strong
beat. At slower tempi, the brackets are placed from the weak part of the beat to the strong part of the
beat.

Legend: SB = Strong Beat. (beats 1 and 3 in duple meter; beat 1 in triple meter, beats 1 and
4 in compound meter.)
SB SB SB SB SB SB

1 3 1 3 1 3

SB SB SB

1 1 1

SB SB SB SB SB

1 4 1 4 1
 WB = Weak Beat. (beats 2 and 4 in duple meter; beats 2 and 3 in triple meter, beats 2, 3,
and 5, 6 in compound meter)

WB WB WB WB WB

2 4 2 4 2

WB WB WB WB

2 3 2 3

WB WB WBWB WBWB

3 6 2 3 5 6

WP = Weak Part of the beat. (any notes falling between beats)

WP WP WP WP WP

2 2 2 4
Simple Duple Meter (in 2s) - 8 4 2 8 etc.

Example of a Weak Beat to Strong Beat movement:

WB SB WB SB WB SB
 Example of a Weak Part of a beat to a strong part of a beat: ( Upbeat to Downbeat movement )

WP SP WP SP WP SP WP SP WP SP

Example of Weak Parts of a beat to a Beat: ( extended Upbeat to Downbeat movement )

WP WP WP WP WP WP WP WP WP

B B B B B B B B B

3 3 3
Simple Triple Meter (in 3s) - 8 4 2 etc.

Triple meters flow in a (SB-WB-WB) pattern. The two weak beats move toward the strong beat.

Examples of simple triple meter:

WB SB WB WB SB WB WB SB

Example of two levels: (1) weak beats to strong beats and (2) weak parts of the beat to the beat

WB SB WB WB SB WB WB SB

WP WP WP
Compound Duple Meter (grouped in 2s and 3s) - 68 12 6 12
8 4 4 etc.

At a fast tempo, 68 flows in two beats to a measure. At slower tempi, 68 flows in two groups of
three notes acting like both a duple and a triple meter at the same time. Since most expressive
music is at a slower tempo, a combination of 2s and 3s is most common.

WB SB WBs SB WBs SB WB SB WBs SB

9
Compound Triple Meter (grouped in 2s and 3s) - 8 etc.

WB SB WB WB SB

WPs WP WP WPs

Applying emphasis to note groups

Emphasis is applied to note groupings in six different ways, through: (1) articulation, (2)
dynamics, (3) duration, (4) accentuation, (5) tone, and (6) tempo. Several of these modes of emphasis
may be in use at the same time. The choice of emphasis modes along with the note grouping greatly
contributes to a musical performance.

Articulation

Ta Da Ta Ta Da Ta Da
Dynamics

Duration

Accentuation

Tone

da de da de da de da de da da de da de da de da de da

Tempo

move forward slightly move forward slightly

wait wait
Teaching the Note Grouping Approach
One approach for building musical expression in students is to have them: (1) decide the mood of
the piece - feeling; (2) decide the balance of the piece - form; (3) decide the approach to producing the
mood - texture; (4) group the notes for musical flow - brackets; (5) decide the mode of emphasis for
the note groups; (6) practice the note groupings separately, and (7) apply the techniques to the piece in
a seamless, continuous manner.
While overemphasis of the note groups facilitates learning, the student is warned that, after a
reasonable time with small group patterns, gross over-emphasis is inappropriate. The advanced player
does not look at the smaller groups of notes but at groups that relate to the direction and shape of the
entire phrase.

The Study of the Note Grouping Approach

The approach to musical expression presented here is based on the work of James Morgan
Thurmond Note Grouping: A Method for Achieving Expression and Style in Musical Performance.
(ISBN 0-942782-00-3) Ft. Lauderdale, Fl: Meredith Music Publications, 1982. It is recommended that
the teacher and advanced student procure this text and study it thoroughly.

Example of the Note-Grouping Approach

On the following pages are three versions of Robert Schumanns (1810-1856) Traumerei.
Compare the traditional notation with the expressive note grouping and finally with the example that
prints the note groups musically instead of conforming to standard notation. In each note-group and
each extended note group, press the movement forward to a repose by using appropriate emphasis in
the form of articulation, dynamics, duration, accentuation, tone, and tempo. Each group is to have some
form of expressive emphasis at the beginning of the group and less at the end. By regrouping the
printed music, the student becomes aware of the expressive flow of the composition.
Traumerei from Kinderscenen, Opus 15, No. 7 - Original Notation Robert Schumann

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 The Musical Expression Series
edited by
William R. Higgins

Available for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone, and Bassoon

Volume 1 - Studies in Musical Expression:

from the works of Verroust

Volume 2 - Studies in Musical Expression:

from the works of Barret

Volume 3 - Studies in Musical Expression:

from the works of Ferling

Volume 4 - 72 Studies in Musical Expression:

from the works of Verroust, Barret, and Ferling