Abstract:
This study examined musicians' preferences for hearing a concert band crescendo with different rates of intensity change. Music educators (N = 62) rated six recordings of a crescendo performed by a digital concert band for similarity to an "ideal concert band crescendo." Each recording was altered to specifically examine a recommended technique for teaching a full band crescendo to student musicians (Casey, 1991; Jackson, 2010; Jagow, 2007; Lisk, 2006). Different rates of intensity change were applied to an unaltered V^7 -I concert band recording to simulate sound envelopes shaped as a wedge, ramp and bell. Findings indicated a significant preference (p < .05) for all instruments to increase loudness logarithmically in the shape of a trumpet bell when performing a full band crescendo.
