Study #12

Weissenborn Opus 8/2, Study #12 for advanced bassoon students. Control of breathing, dynamics, slow finger motion, and the meaning of rinforzando (rFp).

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Weissenborn Opus 8/2, Study #12 for advanced bassoon students. Control of breathing, dynamics, slow finger motion, and the meaning of rinforzando (rFp).

The original transcript is available here.

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Transcript

00:00Introduction

Welcome to this video on Weissenborn Study #12. This study tests the student's control over breathing, dynamics, and slow finger motions. I spoke earlier in Lesson 9 about where to breathe. If you have not yet viewed that video, I encourage you to do so. That video provides information on breathing choices that enhance musical phrases.

00:18Breathing and Musical Phrasing

This study contains the first of many uses of rinforzando by Weissenborn in his 50 Studies. Despite its ample examples in the studies, I have yet to find a student who knows the meaning of the marking. rFp, rF, or rFz is a special stress, literally a reinforcing of the note.

Figure 1Open full-size figure
Figure 1

01:03Rinforzando (rFp, rF, rFz)

Weissenborn provides a key to understanding the use of this marking in Study 35. Study 35 demonstrates that rinforzando in the quieter dynamics is similar to sforzando in the louder dynamics. In Study 12 the p or piano after the rF means that the volume should return to piano after the rinforzando. "Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO)"

Figure 1Open full-size figure
Figure 1

2:08Study #35 Comparison

Study #35 Comparison

02:58Reflection: "Garbage In, Garbage Out"

This is an old saying in computer programming. It meant that the quality of information given by a computer program was only as good as the quality of information given to it. If you give a computer program poor or nonsensical information, it will produce poor-quality information.

03:25What We Put Into Our Lives

Your output—your musical performances, your health, your conversations with others, the sum total of your life—is directly dependent upon what you are putting into your body, mind, and soul. Be sure to consider carefully what you are viewing, eating, and learning.

Credits

  • author Terry B. Ewell
  • composer Julius Weissenborn