Overexaggeration

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YSgP54OHi-A

See that f written in the music? What if it actually read fffff?

As musicians, we have a lot to worry about at the instrument: fingering, timing, technique, hand position; the list goes on. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we sometimes forget about dynamics and phrasing, especially when learning a new piece. Well, it might help us during those forgetful times to throw caution to the wind and overexaggerate them!

Granted, I don’t write this in the hopes of romanticizing a Mozart or Haydn work, but it can help with finding our most confident and pronounced sounds when a passage is falling flat. Most of the time, we end up using a majority of that overexaggerated sound when we perform, as it often brings out the intended phrasing or dynamic! And I don’t just mean that for the full forte end of the spectrum; a soft pianissimo needs intensity, too.

Overexaggeration usually helps me with discovering a new connection or part of the music with which I was unaware, so don’t sleep on it.

What are some passages that you need to liven up?