Musical expression

Musical expression is the art of playing or singing with a personal response to the <a href="/facts/Music/hDVP0xsQ">music</a>.
At a practical level, this means making appropriate use of <a href="/facts/Dynamics_(music)/o2FTe5LC">dynamics</a>, <a href="/facts/Musical_phrasing/45kgtwa7">phrasing</a>, <a href="/facts/Timbre/lVXB949E">timbre</a> and <a href="/facts/Articulation_(music)/5SoWzI6X">articulation</a> to bring the music to life. Composers may specify these aspects of expression to a greater or lesser extent in the <a href="/facts/Musical_notation/eubaB0AK">notation</a> of their <a href="/facts/Full_score/P1rGJt0t">musical score</a>.
The nature of musical expression has also been discussed at a theoretical level throughout of the history of <a href="/facts/Classical_music/oglVXmSb">classical music</a>. One common view is that music both expresses and evokes emotion, forming a conduit for emotional communication between the musician and the audience. This view has been present through most of musical history, though it was most clearly expressed in musical <a href="/facts/Romanticism/lfG31kE3">romanticism</a>. However, emotion's role in music has been challenged on occasion by those like <a href="/facts/Igor_Stravinsky/RHLfSzGS">Igor Stravinsky</a> who see music as a pure art form and expression as an irrelevant distraction.

Musical expression open-in-new

Musical expression