Instrumental Attack!!

[snyprrr]

What are your thoughts on the attack and decay of various instruments? Do I not have anything better to do?

[Mirror Image]

I always liked the attack of strings (i. e. violin, viola, cello, guitar, etc.), but I also like the abrasive qualities of brass instruments, though these instruments can be played softly, they still have a piercing attack that cuts right through an orchestral texture. I enjoy the way woodwind instruments are able to swell in notes and I love the tone of the oboe and cor anglais, especially in the Impressionistic music where woodwind sections are accented more and given more prominent roles within the orchestra.

[Szykneij]

This story about the intense shock waves created by the trombone is apropos, even if the video is less than spectacular.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13574197

[DavidW]

It seems to me (but I don't know) that instruments in the baroque era tended to have brief decays compared to modern instruments.  Is that in my head?

[snyprrr]

I've got to admit that my impetus for this was the 'Attack' setting on the guitar synthesizer. I like to push to attack to '0', or 'Decay', and also set the 'Release' very short, perhaps '2', sooooo...

the point being, with the synth, you can get sounds that are extremely short, like muted guitar strings, but much much shorter. Of course, this takes Attack aaand Release into consideration, not just Attack.

But, I am interested in the 'weak and meager' sounds, the sounds that don't last long.

[jochanaan]

It's really impossible to speak of a singular "attack" when talking about non-percussion instruments.  We players have been trained to vary our attack from a hard accent or even forte-piano to an almost-unnoticeable fade-in.

[DavidW]

It's really impossible to speak of a singular "attack" when talking about non-percussion instruments.  We players have been trained to vary our attack from a hard accent or even forte-piano to an almost-unnoticeable fade-in.

Not under Solti!   Kidding!

[Andante]

What does annoy me is when a CD is edited by a moran who does not allow the decay to finish i,e just an abrupt stop

[snyprrr]

It's really impossible to speak of a singular "attack" when talking about non-percussion instruments.  We players have been trained to vary our attack from a hard accent or even forte-piano to an almost-unnoticeable fade-in.

This is what bothers me in the writing of music. There can be a 64th notes between the time my finger hits the string, and the finger leaves the string. Can you imagine how complex written music would be if we notated things down to the nano?

[jochanaan]

This is what bothers me in the writing of music. There can be a 64th notes between the time my finger hits the string, and the finger leaves the string. Can you imagine how complex written music would be if we notated things down to the nano?

Yes, I can.  Just look at a Mahler score!

Seriously, there comes a point where a composer just has to trust the players.  Most of the better ones know how to anticipate an entrance, and exactly what kind of attack best fits the immediate context.  And it's that little "64th note" margin, and what players do with it, that can make the difference between a mechanically great performance and a truly great one.