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Using Words We Know
What a Gelatinous Idea!
Once, many many MANY years ago, I composed an orchestral piece entitled First Piece for Orchestra, or something profound like that, and in several places in the score I used the Italian word subito as an indication of dynamics, like pianissimo or forte.
Only one problem: the word doesn’t mean ‘subdued,’ as I evidently thought it did. It means ‘immediately.’
I submitted the piece to a contest and it died a quick death. I don’t think it was very good, for one thing. As I recall, it had a bunch of descending scales and not much else. But one thing I’m sure of: It did not help that I used a word in a way that showed I didn’t know what it meant!
I can just picture one of the contest judges now, reading over the manuscript and going, “Immediately? Immediately WHAT?!?”
The way it’s supposed to be used is to say that something is to happen the opposite of gradually. For example, ritenuto poco a poco means “slowing down gradually” or “slowing down bit by bit.” Whereas if you just say ritenuto, it means ‘more slowly.’ If you want to say that the change in tempo is instantaneous, you could say ritenuto subito, which of course means “slow down immediately.”
Oops!
You can use it for dynamics. A mezzo-piano mark which is meant to take place “at…
