Sound On

James Morgan Thurmond’s work, subtitled A Method for Achieving Expression and Style in Musical Performance, lends an “inside” look about how musicians make interpretive decisions. By understanding which notes are most and least important, and how to cognitively organize them, we can arrive at a more emotional, moving realization of the musical line.

Arsis-Thesis

Notes can be assigned two labels: arsis and thesis. The notes marked arsis are full of forward motion and emphasis, as when walking, one lifts one’s foot. The thesis notes resound with rest and resolution, as when walking, one brings one’s foot to the ground. When mentally grouping the notes, one should start with an arsis and end with a thesis. The arsis gets the emphasis. Traditional notation can be very misleading. Consider this diagram from page sixty-four, showing how we should mentally group notes together:

Context

Now consider this reasoning in the context of a musical line on page sixty-three:

Conclusion

Though the writing is highly academic in character, this book does contain “the accumulated experience and study of more than half a century of professional playing and teaching.” James Morgan Thurmond thoroughly explains and defends his thought process. This is a valuable read for any mature musician and music educator. Note Grouping is distributed by Hal Leonard.