Posted by The Other Scott on October 22, 2000 at 18:18:26:
In Reply to: ffff posted by Jay on October 22, 2000 at 09:36:24:
Hmmm...well, depends a bit on the piece, but someone once told me ffff is the international symbol for "blat." :)
For some pieces, it means that you need to adjust your piano dynamic down and then provide the biggest, most robust sound you can (but with good intonation). On others, they really do mean BLAT. We're playing "A Light in the Darkness" in a few weeks. The piece is about the Oklahoma City bombing. We have ffff all over the middle third, along with a lot of flutter tonguing and a few things you don't usually see in a tuba part. They actually want a disturbing, atonal sound on that one.