Playing Faster
Mikaela Barthol
Mr. Campbell
Introduction to Music 101
Section WB
Fall Semester
26 October 2014 Playing Faster Symphonic classics like those of Ludwig van Beethoven are thought of to be perfect, relaxing, and, nowadays, even dull. Beethoven’s classic musical pieces have been passed down through the generations. Each new performance or recording is judged against the interpretive choices of the artists before them (Saving). But what if the way we are accustomed to hearing the pieces preformed now, is not the way that Beethoven himself intended when he wrote the pieces (Abumrad)? According to Beethoven’s original tempo markings on his sheet music, the pieces should be played much faster than they are played today. …show more content…
Vierordt’s Law is a psychological term discovered by Karl Von Vierordt in the 1890s. It describes how people, when asked to judge intervals of time, or tempos, people will always overestimate short durations of time, and underestimate long durations of time. In other words, when there is a slow tempo, your mind will try to speed in up and vice verse. At some point, if our mind is constantly speeding up slow tempos, and slowing down fast tempos, there must be a place where we perceive time exactly as it is. This is called the indifference point. It falls around ninty-four and ninty-six beats per minute (Abumrad). This has also been called “human time”, which makes sense because in the seventeenth century, people used to use their pulse for keeping a timed tempo. The average person’s pulse is around eighty beats per minutes, but could be higher for a stressed performer (Eveleth). Perhaps even around ninty-four or ninty-six beats per minute. This is also the tempo where people typically dial back to when they slow down a Beethoven piece. It is what just feels right to a lot of people
Mikaela Barthol
Mr. Campbell
Introduction to Music 101
Section WB
Fall Semester
26 October 2014 Playing Faster Symphonic classics like those of Ludwig van Beethoven are thought of to be perfect, relaxing, and, nowadays, even dull. Beethoven’s classic musical pieces have been passed down through the generations. Each new performance or recording is judged against the interpretive choices of the artists before them (Saving). But what if the way we are accustomed to hearing the pieces preformed now, is not the way that Beethoven himself intended when he wrote the pieces (Abumrad)? According to Beethoven’s original tempo markings on his sheet music, the pieces should be played much faster than they are played today. …show more content…
Vierordt’s Law is a psychological term discovered by Karl Von Vierordt in the 1890s. It describes how people, when asked to judge intervals of time, or tempos, people will always overestimate short durations of time, and underestimate long durations of time. In other words, when there is a slow tempo, your mind will try to speed in up and vice verse. At some point, if our mind is constantly speeding up slow tempos, and slowing down fast tempos, there must be a place where we perceive time exactly as it is. This is called the indifference point. It falls around ninty-four and ninty-six beats per minute (Abumrad). This has also been called “human time”, which makes sense because in the seventeenth century, people used to use their pulse for keeping a timed tempo. The average person’s pulse is around eighty beats per minutes, but could be higher for a stressed performer (Eveleth). Perhaps even around ninty-four or ninty-six beats per minute. This is also the tempo where people typically dial back to when they slow down a Beethoven piece. It is what just feels right to a lot of people