Soliloquies of Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth- Soliloquy Analysis The opposition of vagueing and disastrous as symbols for behavior and finis is the foundation upon which much of Shakesp heres Macbeth is built. In identification number V conniption V of Macbeth, strong words covey each of these thoughts to the reader. The tone for Macbeths speech is immediately set after hearing of the death of Lady Macbeth. Having garbled his queen, and seeing his hopes turn to ashes, the bitter Macbeth straight comments on life in caustic words. Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace. The staple fiber feel of this brings a negative connotation to tomorrow. Iit keeps coming slowly and slyly as if to attack. What exactly does this petty pace refer to? It is the progression of life, as Macbeth presently sees it. This negative and dark imagery continues to grow because tomorrow is unrelenting. Tommorow creeps...To the last syllable of recorded time. With these dreary remarks Macbeth presents his hopeless taboolook. He feels the only way to end the pain of life is through death. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. What can be taken from this is that from our earliest recollection, we are constantly universe guided forrard from yesterday to our death. If light is life, then the light just leads us to death. When these lines are read together it enables the reader to see the despair and agony Macbeth is now suffering. The historical is pushing him fore and the future is creeping in on him. He has nowhere in time or space to escape. Death is the only dwelling left to go. Out, out brief candle Lady Macbeths candle has burnt out and soon his will also. Although he talks here some life being light (the candle flame), light is not desirable to him. He wants to extinguish it. Macbeth is at the point in his life where he is now trapped by his fate. The consequences of his actions have caught up with him. This may very well be why he has such a dreary outlook on life. Life is associated with light but Macbeth is at a state where he sees no significance in having lived. Lifes but a travel shadow. Macbeth is saying here that ones life is dark and dreary, and that the light of life only serves to cast a dark shadow .Soliloquies of Shakespeares Macbeth GCSE English writings Coursework Macbeth- Soliloquy Analysis The opposition of light and dark as symbols for life and death is the foundation upon which much of Shakespheres Macbeth is built. In Act V Scene V of Macbeth, strong words covey all of these thoughts to the reader. The tone for Macbeths speech is immediately set after hearing of the death of Lady Macbeth. Having lost his queen, and seeing his hopes turn to ashes, the bitter Macbeth now comments on life in caustic words. Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace. The basic feel of this brings a negative connotation to tomorrow. Iit keeps coming slowly and slyly as if to attack. What exactly does this petty pace refer to? It is the progression o f life, as Macbeth now sees it. This negative and dark imagery continues to grow because tomorrow is unrelenting. Tommorow creeps...To the last syllable of recorded time. With these dreary remarks Macbeth presents his hopeless outlook. He feels the only way to end the pain of life is through death. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. What can be taken from this is that from our earliest recollection, we are constantly being guided forward from yesterday to our death. If light is life, then the light just leads us to death. When these lines are read together it enables the reader to see the despair and agony Macbeth is now suffering. The past is pushing him ahead and the future is creeping in on him. He has nowhere in time or space to escape. Death is the only place left to go. Out, out brief candle Lady Macbeths candle has burnt out and soon his will also. Although he talks here about life being light (the candle flame), light is not desirable to him. H e wants to extinguish it. Macbeth is at the point in his life where he is now trapped by his fate. The consequences of his actions have caught up with him. This may very well be why he has such a dreary outlook on life. Life is associated with light but Macbeth is at a state where he sees no significance in having lived. Lifes but a walking shadow. Macbeth is saying here that ones life is dark and dreary, and that the light of life only serves to cast a dark shadow .

Stigma Within the Fast Food Industry Essay -- Restaurants Employment Es

When works at a fast forage eating house, to a greater extent often than not it is accompanied with a stigma. People bunk to believe that those who work in fast feed restaurants are not capable of anything better. They sop up people work at fast food restaurants are slow and uneducated, or they simply look down upon them beca cordial function these jobs have scram known as dead-end jobs. This so-called dead-end job is what people dexterity describe as low-wage labor that employees have a susceptibility to become trapped in. fast-flying food employees face many challenges, morally and socially. proud school students take jobs at fast-food restaurants because they are convenient and can work around their schedules. eminent school students who work in fast food use the m bingley they make toward an education, and most have goals that do not at all hold the fast-food world. Why then, does the stigma remain? Perhaps it is because it has been coined as a social prejudice, and people are afraid to disagree. Parents tend to dissuade their running(a) age children from working at fast-food restaurants as the stigma of these jobs creates conflict in their social lives. My background in the fast food industry starts with my first real job. I began working at Wendys when I was sixteen years old. I kept to myself for nearly a year. I was working for one thing, and that was to satisfy the customers. After scarcely three years, the choice to move on and change was a hard decision to make, my hours were steady, and the managers were pushing me to move up in the chain of power and become a shift manager. I had accumulated three employee of the calendar month awards (employees were only allowed to get it once a year), the title of ACE employee (knowledge of all positions and the skil... ...erve while working in the fast food industry that people not in the industry would not know or understand?7. Has your perspective been provoked by the stigma related with fast food workers, if so, how?ii Questions for non fast food workers.1. When did you first begin working and where?2. Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant?3. How do you feel this job might differ from that of one in a fast food restaurant?4. Do you feel that fast food restaurants carry a stigma among employees?5. Have you ever hear or been witness to a situation regarding the moral corruption of fast workers?Works CitedBennet, Jay. ad hominem interview. 30 Oct. 2004.Koenecke, Wade. ain interview. 25 Oct. 2004Long, Whitney. Personal interview. 25 Oct. 2004Wright, Sean. Personal interview. 28 Oct. 2004 Stigma Within the Fast Food Industry Essay -- Restaurants Employment EsWhen working at a fast food restaurant, more often than not it is accompanied with a stigma. People tend to believe that those who work in fast food restaurants are not capable of anything better. They assume people working at fast food restaurants are sl ow and uneducated, or they simply look down upon them because these jobs have become known as dead-end jobs. This so-called dead-end job is what people might describe as low-wage labor that employees have a susceptibility to become trapped in. Fast food employees face many challenges, morally and socially. High school students take jobs at fast-food restaurants because they are convenient and can work around their schedules. High school students who work in fast food use the money they make toward an education, and most have goals that do not at all include the fast-food world. Why then, does the stigma remain? Perhaps it is because it has been coined as a social prejudice, and people are afraid to disagree. Parents tend to dissuade their working age children from working at fast-food restaurants as the stigma of these jobs creates conflict in their social lives. My background in the fast food industry starts with my first real job. I began working at Wendys when I was sixteen years old. I kept to myself for nearly a year. I was working for one thing, and that was to satisfy the customers. After exactly three years, the choice to move on and change was a hard decision to make, my hours were steady, and the managers were pushing me to move up in the chain of power and become a shift manager. I had accumulated three employee of the month awards (employees were only allowed to get it once a year), the title of ACE employee (knowledge of all positions and the skil... ...erve while working in the fast food industry that people not in the industry would not know or understand?7. Has your perspective been provoked by the stigma related with fast food workers, if so, how?ii Questions for non fast food workers.1. When did you first begin working and where?2. Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant?3. How do you feel this job might differ from that of one in a fast food restaurant?4. Do you feel that fast food restaurants carry a stig ma among employees?5. Have you ever heard or been witness to a situation regarding the moral corruption of fast workers?Works CitedBennet, Jay. Personal interview. 30 Oct. 2004.Koenecke, Wade. Personal interview. 25 Oct. 2004Long, Whitney. Personal interview. 25 Oct. 2004Wright, Sean. Personal interview. 28 Oct. 2004

A Search for Global Software IP Rights :: Global Software Computers Essays

A Search for Global Software IP Rights DisclaimerAn Engineer wrote this paper. Given the vast topics of Computer Ethics, Software IP, Copyrights and Globalization, this paper was sensibly curb to arguing a position. However, an engineer realizes solutions, which may take time to develop. So even arguing a position can be risky, with a deadline and not knowing much about the topic or methods. Normally, I would write a position to announce a discovery or answer a question or make an assessment on was done or is doable. So I find myself, at square one, not imagining a take on scope for this paper. My search is daunting, uncertain and uncomfortable because there is little time to understand or cover all of the topics or for making discoveries. How much I long to discover something. Most people do not turn out to take risks, particularly on subjects that are outside their expertise. It is a shame. Why expect more? I think that engineers may have something to offer. They expect to face unknowns and reach some, and indeed not all conclusions. So if possible, I want to tot something to this field of software IP rights, however small but real.Lessons From MishapsCapability and willingness that engineers possess will not always (or often) lead to good solutions. Mistakes are made, deprecative flaws missed, etc. Some problems go unsolved for centuries. A paper on Paramedic Ethics by W. R. Collins and K. W. Miller, recommends evaluating all pairs of interests in a problem.1 So for x interests, the effort will scale on the Order of x2, which clearly is impractical. Even with this low complexity, it would take 2 months for someone to work 10 proceedings on each pair formed from 100 interests. But this is old news. Superscalar design failed at the same thing when attempting to issue more than 4 operating instructions at a time. Sorting through instructions to find those for issuing requires the same sort of analysis of all pairs (of instructions in a window). However , by offering a method for ethical analysis, the authors indirectly enable us to learn a few things, one, that Uses Cases give order to the interests of an ethical problem, two, that Use Cases do not solve complexity and three, that it is critical to minimize the number of interests that will produce a correct solution. Getting LostAs you can tell, Im fairly off track from the topic.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte :: Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte Essays

Wuthering Heights by Emily BronteIn chapter nine, we are introduced to the issues surrounding differentideas of love through Catherines dilemma. The author uses a varietyof imaging and ideas to separate superficial love from true love.We are shown that her love for Edgar, a gentleman residing in theestate of Thrushcross Grange, is indeed superficial. Catherine tellsNelly that she has just accepted Edgars proposal, yet she does notseem satisfied with her choiceI accepted him, Nelly be quick, and say whether I was wrong Saywhether I should have done so - doThis immediately implies that she is not confident of her ownjudgement - she seeks assurance and comfort that her choice was thecorrect one by pleading to Nelly, her servant. This is extremely odd,as the mass of people would not commit themselves to lifetimerelationships without being sure that it is the right choice to do so.We are shown that the reason behind her doubt is that her love forEdgar is patently superficial. Nelly als o understands this, and asksCatherine, bluntly, if she loves him. She replies firmlyWho can help it? Of course I do.I believe that her manner in responding to this question completelycontradicts the words which that she actually speaks. She replies in a very(prenominal) matter-of-fact tone, which suggests that her reasoning behindher love should be visible and obvious to all. She suggests that nowoman could resist him, which, combined with the previous point,implies that he is desirable due to his outward appearance and status- he is marriage material. Hence, Catherine has shown us that herlove for Edgar is the same love that any woman would feel for him,which is not true love it is merely attraction. She furthers this bydeclaring that she does not want to be a beggar, which she believeswould be the outcome of marrying Heathcliff.I also believe that Catherine is essay to convince herself of herlove for Edgar. This was shown earlier by her asking Nelly forreassurance, but it is sho wn further when Nelly asks her why she lovesEdgarI love the ground under his feet, and the air over his head, andeverything he touches, and every word he says - I love all his looks,and all his actions, and him entirely, and altogether. There nowThis response also puzzled me - it has been worded in a veryimpersonal fashion. She uses dry, unlovable vocabulary in herdescription, such as ground, feet and air. It is a list ofclichs, and instead of giving the intended outcome of proving her

The Life of Charles Babbage :: Free Essay Writer

The Life of Charles BabbageCharles Babbage1791-1871Born December 26, 1791 in Teignmouth, Devonshire UK, Charles Babbage was known as the Father of Computing for his contributions to the basic design of the computer through and through his uninflected Engine. The Analytical Engine was the earliest expression of an all-purpose, programmable computer. His previous Difference Engine was a special purpose device intended for the production of tables. two the Difference and Analytical Engines were the earliest direct progenitors of modern computers. Even as a little boy, he always tinkered with little mechanical things. He love to take apart and dissect things. Eventually, Babbage was put in the care of a church school near Exeter, where the minister was told by his family to make sure that he was healthy, rather than well educated. Because of this concern, the minister didnt give Babbage enough work to keep him interested and occupied. Superstitious, despite a thorough Protestan t upbringing, he developed an infantile fixation with the Devil. He asked his classmates to tell him every folk tales they knew about what forms the Devil appeared in. In 1812, he began his formal education at Trinity College and the University of Cambridge where he discovered his index and interest in mathematics history. During that same year, he helped found the Analytical Society, whose object was to introduce developments from the European continent into English mathematics. He graduated from Peterhouse in 1814. He became a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1816 and was active in the founding of the Royal Astronomical and the Statistical societies. He receive his Masters in 1817 and began working as a mathematician, concentrating in calculating functions. It was his work with these complex calculations that led him to his most significant inventions The Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine. By previous standards, these engines were monumental in concept ion, size, and complexity.In 1821, Babbage began the task of mechanizing the production of tables. In 1822, he proposed to build a machine called the Difference Engine to mechanically calculate mathematical tables. The idea was to invent a calculating machine that could not only calculate without error but also automatically soft touch the results. Difference engines were designed to calculate using the method of finite differences, a well-used principle of the time. It was only partially completed when he conceived the idea of a more(prenominal) sophisticated machine called the Analytical Engine.

The Life of Charles Babbage :: Free Essay Writer

The Life of Charles BabbageCharles Babbage1791-1871Born December 26, 1791 in Teignmouth, Devonshire UK, Charles Babbage was known as the Father of Computing for his contributions to the basic design of the computer through his analytic Engine. The Analytical Engine was the earliest expression of an all-purpose, programmable computer. His previous remnant Engine was a special purpose device intended for the production of tables. Both the diversion and Analytical Engines were the earliest direct progenitors of modern computers. Even as a little boy, he always tinkered with little mechanical things. He loved to beat apart and dissect things. Eventually, Babbage was put in the care of a church school near Exeter, where the minister was told by his family to make sure that he was healthy, quite a than well educated. Because of this concern, the minister didnt give Babbage enough work to keep him raiseed and occupied. Superstitious, despite a thorough Protestant upbringing, h e developed an obsession with the Devil. He asked his classmates to tell him every folk tales they knew about what forms the Devil appeared in. In 1812, he began his formal education at Trinity College and the University of Cambridge where he discovered his ability and interest in mathematics history. During that same year, he helped found the Analytical Society, whose object was to introduce developments from the European continent into English mathematics. He graduated from Peterhouse in 1814. He became a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1816 and was active in the founding of the Royal Astronomical and the Statistical societies. He received his master in 1817 and began working as a mathematician, concentrating in calculating functions. It was his work with these complex calculations that led him to his most significant inventions The Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine. By previous standards, these engines were monumental in conception, size, and complexity .In 1821, Babbage began the task of mechanizing the production of tables. In 1822, he proposed to build a machine called the Difference Engine to automatically puzzle out mathematical tables. The idea was to invent a calculating machine that could not only calculate without error but also automatically print the results. Difference engines were designed to calculate using the method of finite differences, a well-used principle of the time. It was only partially completed when he conceived the idea of a more advanced(a) machine called the Analytical Engine.

Glossary of Musical Terminology

Glossary of medicineal terminology From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation, search This is a list of practice of medicineal terms that atomic number 18 likely to be encountered in printed scores, melody reviews, and program mentions. Most of the terms ar Italian ( divulge as well as Italian musical terms utilise in English), in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical convictventions. Some snips, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings. Most of the near opposite(prenominal) terms are taken from French and German, indicated by (Fr) and (Ger), respectively.Others are from languages much(prenominal) as Latin and Spanish. Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The list can never be complete some terms are common, and others are utilize only occasion altogethery, and new peerlesss are coined from time to time. Some composers prefer terms from their own language ra ther than the standard terms here. For a list of terms use in crawl in, country, rock, and other popular music genres, infer the Glossary of nullity and popular musical terms. Contents A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z References External links A a, a (Fr) at, to, by, for, in, in the style of * a 2 affect a due in this list * a battuta return to universal pacing aft(prenominal)(prenominal) a deviation same as a tempo * abbandonatamente, con abbandono free, relaxed * aber (Ger) just * a bene placito up to the performer * a cappella in the manner of singing in a chapel i. e. , without factoral attachment * accarezzevole expressive and caressing * accelerando, accel. accelerating inactively increasing the tempo * accent emphasize, show a discontinueicular part more important * accentato/accentuato accented with emphasis acceso ignited, on fire * acciaccato broken down, crushed the straitsing of the get downs of a chord not quite simultaneously, entirely f rom bottom to top. * acciaccatura crushing i. e. , a actually warm grace measure that is crushed against the assembly line that follows and takes up no time value in the measure * accompagnato accompanied i. e. , with the accompaniment following the soloist, who whitethorn urge up or wispy down at will * adagietto rather slow * adagio at ease i. e. , play slowly * adagissimo truly, very(prenominal) slow ad libitum (commonly ad lib Latin) at liberty i. e. , the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer * a due intended as a duet for two characters or pawns together two instruments are to play in unison after a solo passage for wizard of the instruments * affannato, affannoso anguished * affettuoso, affettuosamente, or affectueusement (Fr) with affect (that is, with emotion) wait similarly con affetto * affrettando hurrying, pressing onwards * straighta direction swiftly * agitato agitated al, alla to the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine) * alla breve in cut-time two get downs per measure or the equivalent thereof * alla marcia in the style of a march * allargando broadening, becoming a atomic slower each time * allegretto a weeny crisp, happen outly fast * allegretto vivace a moderately quick tempo * allegrezza cheerfulness, joyfulness * allegro cheerful or brisk but commonly interpreted as lively, fast * allegrissimo very fast, though slower than presto all ottava at the octave, tally ottava * als (Ger) than * alt (English) (also alt dom or altered dominant) a pick out term which instructs chord- playing musicians much(prenominal) as a love pianist or jazz guitarist to perform a dominant (V7) chord with altered hurrying extensions (e. g. , s dwell 11th, flat 13th, etc. ). * altissimo very high * alto high often refers to a particular snip of parting, higher(prenominal) than a stress but lower than a soprano * alzate sordini lift or raise the speechlesss i. e. , remove mutes * am S teg (Ger) at the bridge i. . , playing a bowed attract instrument near its bridge, which produces a heavier, bulletproofer sapidity (see sul ponticello in this list) * amabile amiable, pleasant * amoroso loving * anacrusis a note or notes that precede the first full bar a pickup * andamento used to refer to a fugue subject of above-average length * andante at a walking pace i. e. , at a moderate tempo * andantino slightly faster than andante (but foregoing it is sometimes used to mean slightly slower than andante) * angstlich (Ger. ) anxiously a niente to nothing an reading material to make a diminuendo which fades to pppp * a nessuna cosa to nothing an distinction to hold a fermata until it dies away (this only works with instruments which cannot sustain a note) * anima facial expression * animandosi animated, lively * animato animated, lively * antiphon a liturgical or other spell consisting of choral responses, sometimes between two choirs a passage of this nature formin g part of another composition a repeated passage in a psalm or other liturgical homo, identical to a refrain. 1 * apaise (Fr) calmed * a piacere at pleasure i. e. , the performer need not follow the bicycle purely, for example in a cadenza * appassionato passionately * appoggiatura also called a leaning note one or more grace notes that take up some note value of the next full note. * a prima vista sight-read (lit. at first sight) i. e. , (to be) play or sung from pen notation but without prior review of the written material * arco the bow used for playing some twine along instrument i. e. played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato (plucked), in music for bowed instruments normally used to cancel a pizzicato direction * arietta a short aria * arioso airy, or like an air (a melody) i. e. , in the manner of an aria melodious * armonioso harmoniously * arpeggio like a harmonica i. e. , the notes of the chords are to be played speedily one after another ( ordinarily ascendi ng) instead of simultaneously. In music for piano, this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise. Arpeggios are frequently used as an accompaniment. acquire also broken chord in this list. * arpeggiato a way of playing a chord starting with the lowest note, and with successively higher notes speedyly joining in. Sometimes the force is reversed, so that the highest note is played first. * assai very * assez (Fr) enough, sufficiently * a tempo in time i. e. , the performer should return to the main tempo of the piece (after an accelerando or ritardando, etc. ) also may be found in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet) * attacca attack or attach go straight on i. e. at the end of a presence, a direction to attach the next movement to the previous one, without a gap or pause * Ausdruck (Ger) expression * ausdrucksvoll/mit Ausdruck(Ger) expressively, wi th expression * avec (Fr) with or with another B * B German for B flat (also in Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish and Croatian) H in German is B natural * barbaro barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro by Bela Bartok) * Bartok pizzicato a term which instructs string performers to play a pizzicato note to pull the string away from the fingerboard so that it snaps bottom percussively on the fingerboard. bass the lowest of the standard cardinal voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) the lowest canorous line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony in an orchestral context, the term ordinarily refers to the double bass. * basso continuo continuous bass i. e. , a bass part played continuously throughout a piece to cook harmonic structure, used especially in the Baroque rate of flow * battement (Fr. ) used in the 17th-century to refer to ornaments consisting of two adjacent notes, uch as trills or mordents * beat (1) the pronounced r hythm of music (2) one oneness stroke of a rhythmic accent * bellicoso warlike, aggressive * ben or bene well in ben marcato (well marked) for example * bend jazz term referring either to establishing a monger, skid down half a step and returning to the original pitch or slue up half a step from the original note. * beschleunigte (Ger) accelerated, as in mit beschleunigter Geschwindigkeit, at an accelerated tempo * bewegt (Ger) moved, with speed binary a musical form in two divisions AB * birds eye a slang term for fermata, which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord as long as they wish * bis (Lat) twice i. e. , repeat the relevant action or passage * bisbigliando whispering i. e. , a special tremolo effect on the harp where a chord or note is rapidly repeated at a low record * bocca chiusa with closed mouth * bravura boldness as in con bravura, boldly * breit (Ger) broad * bridge Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, also transition.Also t he part of a stringed instrument that holds the strings in enthrone and transmits their vibrations to the resonant body of the instrument. * brillante brilliantly, with sparkle * brio vigour usually in con brio * brioso vigorously (same as con brio) * broken chord A chord in which the notes are not all played at once, but in some more or less consistent sequence. They may follow singly one after the other, or two notes may be immediately followed by another two, for example. promise also arpeggio in this list, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken chord see Alberti bass. bruscamente brusquely C * cadenza a solo section, usually in a concerto or similar work, that is used to display the performers technique, sometimes at considerable length * calando falling away, or lowering i. e. , acquire slower and quieter ritardando along with diminuendo * calore warmth so con calore, warmly * cambiare to channelize i. e. , any change, such as to a new instrument * cantochorus choral chant * canon or kanon (Ger) a theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon by other instruments with a time delay, creating a form effect see Pachelbels Canon. cantabile or cantando in a singing style * capo 1. Capo a delineate-changing device for guitars and banjos 2. pipe organize i. e. the beginning (of a movement, normally). * capriccioso capriciously, unpredictable, volatile * cedez (Fr) yield, give way * cesura or caesura (Latin form) break, stop i. e. , a complete break in sound (sometimes nicknamed railroad tracks in reference to their appearance) * chiuso closed i. e. , muted by authorize (for a horn, or similar instrument but see also bocca chiusa, which uses the feminine form, in this list) * coda a tail i. e. a closing section appended to a movement * codetta a weeny coda, but usually applied to a passage appended to a section of a movement, not to a self-colored movement * col, colla with the (col before a masculine noun, colla before a feminine noun) (see next for example) * colla parte with the soloist as an instruction in an orchestral score or part, it instructs the manager or orchestral musician to follow the rhythm and tempo of a solo performer (usually for a short passage) * colla voce with the voice as an instruction in a choral music/opera score or orchestral part, it instructs the conductor or orchestral musician to follow the rhythm and tempo of a solo singer (usually for a short passage) * col legno with the wood i. e. , the strings (for example, of a violin) are to be struck with the wood of the bow, making a percussive sound also battuta col legno beaten with the wood * coloratura coloration i. e. , elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line, or (especially) a soprano voice that is well-suited to such elaboration * colossale tremendously col pugno with the fist i. e. , bang the piano with the fist * come prima like the first (time) i. e. , as before, typically referring to an earlier tempo * come sopr a as above i. e. , like the previous tempo (usually) * common time the time signature 4/4 four beatniks per measure, each beat a quarter note (a crotchet) in length. 4/4 is often written on the musical staff as . The emblem is not a C as an abbreviation for common time, but a broken circle the full circle at one time s alsod for triple time, 3/4. * comodo (or, commonly but less correctly, commodo) comfortable i. e. , at moderate speed also, allegro comodo, tempo comodo, etc. con with used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con amore (with fancy) (see also col, colla, above) * con affetto with affect (that is, with emotion) * con amore, or (in Spanish and sometimes in Italian) con amor with love, tenderly * con anima with soupcon * con brio with spirit, with vigour * con dolore with sadness * con forza with force * con (gran, molta) espressione with (great, much) expression * con fuoco with fire, in a fiery manner * con larghezza with br oadness broadly * con moto with motion * con somma passione with great passion * con slancio with enthusiasm * con spirito with spirit with feeling con sordina, or con sordine (plural) with a mute, or with mutes several orchestral instruments can have their tone muted with wood, rubber, metal, or plastic devices (for string instruments, mutes are clipped to the bridge, and for brass instruments, mutes are inserted in the bell) examine senza sordina in this list (which instructs the musicians to remove their mutes) see also Sordino. Note sordina, with plural sordine, is strictly correct Italian, but the forms con sordino and con sordini are much more commonly used as terms in music. * con sordino, or con sordini (plural) (incorrect Italian) see con sordina, above * con variazioni with variations/changes conjunct an adjective applied to a melodic line that moves by step (intervals of a 2nd) rather in isolated motion (by parachuting). * contralto * contrapuntalism see counterpoint * coperti (plural of coperto, which may also be seen) covered i. e. , on a drum, muted with a cloth * crescendo ontogenesis i. e. , progressively louder (contrast diminuendo) * cuivre brassy. Used almost exclusively as a French Horn technique to indicate a forced, rough tone. A note marked both stopped and loud will be cuivre automatically1 * cut time Same as the meter 2/2 two half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and penalize like common time (4/4), except with the beat lengths doubled. Indicated by . This comes from a literal cut of the symbolic representation of common time.Thus, a quarter note in cut time is only half a beat long, and a measure has only two beats. See also alla breve. D * da capo from the head i. e. , from the beginning (see capo in this list) * D. S. Dal Segno, from the sign () * D. S. al fine or dal segno al fine from the sign to the end i. e. , return to a rump in the music designated by the sign and continue to the end of the piece * D. S. S. al cod a or dal segno al coda same as D. S. al coda, but with a double segno * D. S. S. al fine or dal segno al fine from the double sign to the end i. e. , return to place in the music designated by the double sign (see D. S. al coda) and continue to the end of the piece * deciso decisively decelerando slowing down decelerating opposite of accelerando (same as ritardando or rallentando) * decrescendo or decresc. same as diminuendo or dim. (see below) * deest from the Latin deesse meaning absent placed after a document abbreviation to indicate that this particular work does not appear in it. 2 The plural,desunt is used when referring to several works. * delicatamente or delicato delicately * detache act of playing notes separately * devoto scrupulously * diminuendo, dim. dwindling i. e. , with gradually decreasing ledger (same as decrescendo) * detached an adjective applied to a melodic line which moves by leap (intervals of more than a 2nd) as opposed to conjunct motion (by step) * dissonante dissonant divisi or div. divided i. e. , in a part in which several musicians normally play on the dot the same notes they are instead to split the playing of the written simultaneous notes among themselves. It is most often used for string instruments, since with them another means of execution is often possible. (The return from divisi is marked unisono see in this list. ) * doit jazz term referring to a note that slides to an vague pitch chromatically upwards. * dolce sweet * dolcissimo very sweetly * dolente sorrowfully, plaintively * dolore pain, distress, sorow, grief * doloroso sorrowfully, plaintively * doppio movimento twice as fast double stop the act of playing two notes simultaneously on a melodic percussion instrument or string instrument * downtempo a slow, moody, or decreased tempo or played or through with(p) in such a tempo. It also refers to a genre of electronic music based on this (downtempo). * drammatico dramatically * drop jazz term referring t o a note that slides to an indefinite pitch chromatically downwards. * Dur (Ger) major used in key signatures as, for example, A-Dur (A major), B-Dur (B? major), or H-Dur (B major). (See also Moll ( baby) in this list. ) * duolo (Ital) grief * dumpf (Ger) dull * dynamics the relative volume in the execution of a piece of music E * e (Ital), or ed (Ital used before vowels) and eco the Italian word for echo an effect in which a group of notes is repeated, usually more fragilely, and perhaps at a different octave, to create an echo effect * ein wenig (Ger) a little * Empfindung (Ger) feeling * encore (Fr) again i. e. , perform the relevant passage once more * en dehors (Fr) prominently * energico energetic, strong * enfatico emphatically * en pressant (Fr) hurrying forward * en retenant (Fr) slowing * eroico heroically * espansivo effusive excessive in emotional expression gushy. * espirando expiring i. e. , dying away * espressione expressively * espressivo or espr. expressively * estinto extinct, extinguished i. e. , as soft as possible, lifeless, barely audible * etwas (Ger) fair F facile easily, without fuss * fall jazz term describing a note of definite pitch sliding downwards to another note of definite pitch. * falsetto vocal register above the normal voice * fermata finished, closed i. e. , a rest or note is to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor (sometimes called birds eye) a fermata at the end of a first or negotiate movement or section is usually moderately prolonged, but the final fermata of a symphony may be prolonged for twice its printed length or more for dramatic effect. * feroce ferociously * feurig (Ger) fiery * festivamente cheerfully, celebratory * fieramente proudly fill (English) a jazz or rock term which instructs performers to improvise a scalar passage or riff to fill in the brief time between lyrical phrases, the lines of melody, or between two sections * fine the end, often in phrases lik e al fine (to the end) * flat a symbol (? ) that lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone. The term may also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too low. * flautando (may also appear as flautendo) flutelike used especially for string instruments to indicate a light, rapid bowing over the fingerboard * flebile mournfully * focoso or fuocoso fiery i. e. , passionately * forte or f (usually) strong i. e. , to be played or sung aloud * fortepiano or fp (usually) strong-gentle i. e. , 1. loud, then immediately soft (see dynamics), or 2. n early pianoforte * fortissimo or ff very loud (see note at pianissimo in this list) * fortississimo or fff as loud as possible * forza musical force * forzando or fz see sforzando in this list * freddo cold(ly) hence depressive, unemotional * fresco freshly * frohlich lively, joyfully * fugue (Fr), fuga (Latin and Italian) liter ally flight hence a complex and highly regimented contrapuntal form in music. A short theme (the subject) is introduced in one voice (or part) whole, then in others, with imitation and characteristic development as the piece progresses. * funebre funeral often seen as marcia funebre (funeral march), indicating a stately and plodding tempo. * fuoco fire con fuoco means with fire * furia fury * furioso furiously G * G. P. Grand Pause, General Pause indicates to the performers that the entire supporting musicians has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic effect during a loud section * gaudioso with joy * gemendo groaningly * gentile gently * geschwind (Ger) quickly * geteilt (Ger) See divisi * getragen (Ger) sustained * giocoso or gioioso gaily * giusto strictly, exactly, e. g. tempo giusto in strict time * glissando (simulated Italiancitation needed) a continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale executed while locomote from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando for merely information and compare portamento in this list. * grandioso grandly * grave slowly and seriously * grazioso gracefully gustoso with happy emphasis and forcefulness H * H German for B natural B in German means B flat * Hauptstimme (Ger) main voice, chief part i. e. , the contrapuntal line of primary importance, in encounter to Nebenstimme * hemiola (English, from Greek) the imposition of a pattern of rhythm or articulation other than that implied by the time signature specifically, in triple time (for example in 3/4) the imposition of a duple pattern (as if the time signature were, for example, 2/4). See Syncopation. * hervortretend (Ger) prominent, pronounced * Homophony A musical texture with one voice (or melody line) accompanied by chords also used as an adjective (homophonic).Compare with polyphony, in which several voices or melody lines are performed at the same time. I * immer (Ger) always * im perioso imperiously * impetuoso impetuously * improvvisando with improvisation * improvvisato offhand, or as if improvised * in altissimo in the highest i. e. , play or sing an octave higher * incalzando getting faster and louder * innig intimately, heartfelt * insistendo insistently, deliberate * in modo di in the art of, in the style of * intimo intimately * intro opening section * irato angrily * -issimo a suffix meaning extremely, e. g. fortissimo or prestissimo * -issimamente a suffix meaning as as can be, e. g. leggerissimamente, meaning as light as can be J Jazz standard (or simply standard) a well-known composition from the jazz repertoire which is widely played and recorded. K * keyboardist (Eng) a musician who plays any instrument with a keyboard. In absolute music, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, pipe organ, harpsichord, and so on. In a jazz or popular music context, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Hammond o rgan, and so on. * kraftig (Ger) strongly * Klangfarbenmelodie (Ger) tone-color-melody, distribution of pitch or melody among instruments, variable timbre L * lacrimoso tearfully i. e. , sadly * laissez vibrer, l. v. Fr) allow the sound to continue, do not damp used frequently in harp music, occasionally in piano or percussion. For percussion electric guitar, let ring is more common. 1 * lamentando lamenting, mournfully * lamentoso lamenting, mournfully * langsam (Ger) slowly * largamente broadly i. e. , slowly (same as largo) * larghetto somewhat slowly not as slow as largo * larghissimo very slowly slower than largo * largo broadly i. e. , slowly * leap (skip) a melodic interval greater than a major 2nd, as opposed to a step. Melodies which move by a leap are called disjunct. Octave leaps are not uncommon in florid vocal music. * lebhaft (Ger) briskly, lively * legato joined i. e. smoothly, in a connected manner (see also articulation) * leggiero, leggiermente or leggiadro light ly, delicately (The different forms of this word, including leggierezza, lightness, are properly spelled in Italian as legger- without the i. ) * leggierissimo very lightly and delicately * lent (Fr) slowly * lentando gradual slowing and softer * lentissimo very slowly * lento slowly * liberamente freely * libero free, freely * lilt a jaunty rhythm * listesso see lo stesso, below * fruity in place i. e. , perform the notes at the pitch written, generally used to cancel an 8va or 8vb direction. In string music, also used to indicate return to normal playing position (see Playing the violin). 1 * long accent Hit hard and keep full value of note () * lontano from a distance distantly * lo stesso (or commonly, but ungrammatically, listesso) the same applied to the manner of articulation, tempo, etc. * lo stesso tempo (or listesso tempo) the same tempo, despite changes of time signature * lugubre lugubrious, mournful * luminoso luminously * lunga long (often applied to a fermata) * lusi ngando coaxingly M * ma but * ma non troppo but not too much * maestoso majestically, in a stately elbow room * magico magically * maggiore the major key * magnifico august * main droite (French) played with the properly hand (abbreviation MD or m. d. * main gauche (French) played with the left hand (abbreviation MG or m. g. ) * malinconico melancholic * mancando dying away * mano destra played with the right hand (abbreviation MD or m. d. ) * mano sinistra played with the left hand (abbreviation MS or m. s. ) * marcatissimo with much accentuation * marcato, marc. marked i. e. , with accentuation, execute every note as if it were to be accented * marcia a march alla marcia means in the manner of a march * martellato hammered out * marziale martial, solemn and fierce * massig (German) moderately (also ma? ig) * MD see mano destra and main droite * melancolico melancholic melisma the technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is be sung * measure (US) a lso bar the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete cycle of the time signature, e. g. , in 4/4 time, a measure has four quarter note beats * medesimo tempo same tempo, despite changes of time signature * medley piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually 3, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. * meno less see meno mosso, for example, less mosso * messa di voce in singing, a controlled swell, i. e. crescendo then diminuendo, on a long held note, especially in Baroque music and in the bel canto period1 * mesto mournful, sad meter (or metre) the pattern of a music pieces rhythm of strong and weak beats * mezza voce half voice i. e. , with subdued or moderated volume * mezzo half used in combinations like mezzo forte (mf), meaning moderately loud * mezzo forte half loudly i. e. , moderately loudly. See dynamics. * mezzo piano half softly i. e. , moderately softly. See dynamics. * mezzo-soprano a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of an contralto. * MG see main gauche * misterioso mysteriously * mobile flexible, changeable moderato moderate often combined with other terms, usually relating to tempo for example, allegro moderato * modere (Fr) moderately * modesto modest * modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key (tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. * Moll (German) minor used in key signatures as, for example, a-Moll (A minor), b-Moll (B? minor), or h-Moll (B minor) (see also Dur (major) in this list) * molto very * morendo dying i. e. , dying away in dynamics, and perhaps also in tempo * mosso moved, moving used with a preceding piu or meno (see in this list), for faster or slower respectively * MS see mano sinistra moto motion usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly * movement a section of a musical composition (such as a sonata or concerto) * munter (German) lively * Mussete (Fr) a dance or tune of a drone-bass character, originally played by a musette * muta in Change either a change of instrument, e. g. flute to piccolo, horn in F to horn in Bb or a change of tuning, e. g. guitar muta 6 in D. Note does not mean mute, for which con sordina or con sordino is used. 1 Muta comes from the Italian verb mutare (to change into something). N * narrante narratingly * natural a symbol (? ) that cancels the effect of a sharp or a flat (see in this list) * naturale or nat. natural i. e. discontinue a special effect, such as col legno, sul tasto, sul ponticello, or playing in harmonics * N. C. no chord, written in the chord row of music notation to show there is no chord being played, and no implied harmony * Nebenstimme (Ger) secondary part i. e. , a secondary contrapuntal part, always occurring simultaneou sly with, and subsidiary to, the Hauptstimme * nicht (Ger) not * niente nothing, barely audible, dying away * nobile or nobilmente in a noble fashion * nocturne (Fr) a piece written for the night * notes inegales (Fr) unequal notes a principally Baroque performance practice of applying long-short rhythms to pairs of notes written as equal see also swung note * notturno same as nocturne (see above) number opera an opera consisting of numbers, e. g. arias, intermixed with recitative O * obbligato required, indispensable * octave interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. 12 semitones equals an octave, so does the first and eighth (hence octave) note in a major or minor scale. * omaggio homage, celebration * one-voice-per-part, or OVPP the practice of using solo voices on each musical line or part in choral music. * ordinario, or ord. (It. ) in bowed string music, an indication to discontinue extended techniques such as sul ponticello, sul tasto o r col legno, and return to normal playing. The same as naturale. organ trio in jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ player and two other instruments, often an electric guitar player and a drummer. * ossia or oppure or instead i. e. , according to some specified alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, additional small notes, or an additional staff * ostinato obstinate, persistent i. e. , a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition * ottava octave e. g. ottava bassa an octave lower P * parlando or parlante like speech, enunciated * Partitur (Ger) full orchestral score * passionato passionately rurale in a pastoral style, peaceful and simple * pausa rest * pedale or ped In piano scores, this instructs the player to press the damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). I n organ scores, it tells the organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard with the feet. * penseroso thoughtfully, meditatively * perdendosi dying away decrease in dynamics, perhaps also in tempo * pesante heavy, ponderous * peu a peu (Fr) little by little * pezzo a composition * pianissimo or pp very gently i. e. , perform very softly, even softer than piano.This convention can be extended the more ps that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play or sing, thus ppp (pianississimo) would be softer than pp. Dynamics in a piece should be interpreted relative to the other dynamics in the same piece. For example, pp should be executed as softly as possible, but if ppp is found later in the piece, pp should be markedly louder than ppp. More than three ps (ppp) or three fs (fff) are uncommon. * piano or p (usually) gently i. e. , played or sung softly (see dynamics) * piano-vocal score the same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with th e vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar * piacevole pleasant, agreeable * piangevole plaintive * pietoso pitiful, piteous * piu more see mosso for an example piuttosto rather, somewhat e. g. allegro piuttosto presto * pizzicato pinched, plucked i. e. , in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow compare arco (in this list), which is inserted to cancel a pizzicato instruction * pochettino or poch. very little * poco a little, as in poco piu allegro (a little faster) * poco a poco little by little * poetico poetic discourse * poi then, indicating a subsequent instruction in a sequence diminuendo poi subito fortissimo, for example getting softer then suddenly very loud * pomposo pompous, ceremonious * portamento carrying i. e. , 1. enerally, sliding in pitch from one note to another, usually pausing just above or below the final pitch, then sliding quickly to that pitch. If no pause is executed, then it is a basic glissando or 2. in pi ano music, an articulation between legato and staccato, like portato, in this list * portato or loure carried i. e. , non-legato, but not as detached as staccato (same as portamento 2, in this list) * posato settled * potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr) potpourri (as used in other senses in English) i. e. , a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF etc. the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia * precipitato precipitately feeler or prelude (Fr) a musical introduction to subsequent movements during the Baroque era (1600s/17th century). It can also be a movement in its own right, which was more common in the Romantic era (mid 1700s/18th century) * prestissimo extremely quickly, as fast as possible * presto very quickly * prima volta the first time for example prima volta senza accompagnamento (the first time without accompaniment) * primo or prima (the feminine form) first Q * quarter tone Half of a semitone a pitch division not used in most Western music notation, except in some contem porary art music or experimental music. Quarter tones are used in Western popular music forms such as jazz and blues and in a variety of non-Western musical cultures. quasi (Latin and Italian) as if, almost, e. g. quasi recitativo like a recitative in an opera, or quasi una fantasia like a fantasia R * rallentando or rall. Broadening of the tempo (often not discernible from ritardando) progressively slower * rapido fast * rapide (Fr) fast * rasch (Ger) fast * ravvivando quicken pace * recitativo recitatively one voice without accompaniment * religioso religiously * repente suddenly * restez (Fr) stay i. e. , remain on a note or string * retenu (Fr) hold back same as the Italian ritenuto (see below) * ridicolosamente humorously, inaccurate, and loosely * rinforzando (rf, or rinf. ) reinforced i. e. emphasized sometimes like a sudden crescendo, but often applied to a single note * risoluto resolutely * rit. an abbreviation for ritardando3 also an abbreviation for ritenuto4 * ritarda ndo, ritard. , rit. slowing down decelerating opposite of accelerando * ritenuto, riten. , rit. suddenly slower, held back (usually more so but more temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note) * ritmico rhythmical * ritmo rhythm, e. g. ritmo di battute meaning a rhythm of measures * ritornello a recurring passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria (also in works for chorus). * rolled chord see arpeggiato in this list roulade (Fr) a rolling i. e. , a florid vocal phrase * rondo a musical form in which a trustworthy section returns repeatedly, interspersed with other sections ABACA is a typical structure or ABACABA * rubato robbed i. e. , flexible in tempo, applied to notes within a musical phrase for expressive effect * ruhig (Ger) peaceful * reap a rapid series of ascending or descending musical notes which are closely spaced in pitch forming a scale * ruvido roughly S * saltando bouncing the bow a s in a staccato arpeggio, literally means jumping * sanft (Ger) gently * scatenato unchained, wildly5 * scherzando, scherzoso playfully scherzo a light, joking or playful musical form, originally and usually in fast triple metre, often replacing the minuet in the later Classical period and the Romantic period, in symphonies, sonatas, string quartets and the like in the 19th century some scherzi were independent movements for piano, etc. * schleppen (Ger) to drag usually nicht schleppen (dont drag), diametric with nicht eilen (dont hurry) in Gustav Mahlers scores * schnell (Ger) fast * schneller (Ger) faster * schwungvoll (Ger) lively, swinging, bold, spirited * schwer (Ger) heavy * scordatura out of tune i. e. , an alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument * scorrendo, scorrevole gliding from note to note secco, or sec (Fr) dry * segno sign, usually Dal Segno (see above) from the sign, indicating a return to the point marked by * segue carry on to the next sect ion without a pause * sehr (Ger) very * semitone the smallest pitch difference between notes (in most Western music) (e. g. , FF) * semplice simply * sempre always * senza without * senza misura without measure * senza sordina, or senza sordine (plural) without the mute compare con sordina in this list see also Sordino. Note sordina, with plural sordine, is strictly correct Italian, but the forms con sordino and con sordini are much more commonly used as terms in music.In piano music (notably in Beethovens Moonlight Sonata), senza sordini or senza sordina (or some variant) is sometimes used to mean keep the sustain pedal depressed, since the sustain pedal lifts the dampers off the strings, with the effect that all notes are sustained indefinitely. * serioso seriously * sforzando or sfz made loud i. e. , a sudden strong accent * shake a jazz term describing a trill between one note and its minor third or, with brass instruments, between a note and its next overblown harmonic. * sharp a symbol (? ) that raises the pitch of the note by a semitone. The term may also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too high in pitch. * short accent Hit the note hard and short . () si (Fr) seventh note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-doh solmization. * siciliana a Sicilian dance in 12/8 or 6/8 meter6 * sign see segno * silenzio silence i. e. , without reverberations * simile similarly i. e. , continue applying the preceding directive, any(prenominal) it was, to the following passage * sipario curtain (stage) * slargando or slentando becoming broader or slower (that is, becoming more largo or more lento) * smorzando or smorz. extinguishing or dampening usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo as well * soave smoothly, gently * sopra above * sognando dreamily solo break a jazz term that instructs a lead player or rhythm section member to play an improvised solo cadenza for one or two measures (sometimes abbreviated as break), without any accompaniment. The solo part is often played in a rhythmically free manner, until the player performs a pickup or lead-in line, at which time the band recommences playing in the original tempo. * solenne solemn * solo, plural soli alone i. e. , executed by a single instrument or voice. The instruction soli requires more than one player or singer in a jazz big band this refers to an entire section playing in harmony. * sonata a piece played as opposed to sung. * sonatina a little sonata sonatine a little sonata, used in some countries instead of sonatina * sonore sonorous * sonoro ringing * soprano the highest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) * sordina, sordine (plural) a mute, or a damper in the case of the piano. Note sordina, with plural sordine, is strictly correct Italian, but the forms sordino and sordini are much more com monly used as terms in music. See also con sordina, senza sordina, in this list. * sordino see sordina, above * sortita a principal singers first entrance in an opera * sospirando sighing * sostenuto sustained, lengthened * sotto voce in an undertone i. e. quietly * spianato smooth, even * spiccato distinct, separated i. e. a way of playing the violin and other bowed instruments by bouncing the bow on the string, giving a characteristic staccato effect * spinto literally pushed * spiritoso spiritedly * staccato making each note brief and detached the opposite of legato. In musical notation, a small dot under or over the head of the note indicates that it is to be articulated as staccato. * stanza a verse of a song * stornello originally truly improvised now taken as appearing to be improvised, an Italian folk song, the style of which used for example by Puccini in accredited of his operas. * strascinando or strascicante indicating a passage should be played in a heavily slurred man ner * strepitoso noisy, forceful * stretto tight, narrow i. e. faster or hastening frontward also, a passage in a fugue in which the contrapuntal texture is denser, with close overlapping entries of the subject in different voices by extension, similar closely imitative passages in other compositions * stringendo gradually getting faster (literally, tightening, narrowing) i. e. , with a pressing forward or acceleration of the tempo (that is, becoming stretto, see preceding entry) * subito suddenly (e. g. , subito pp, which instructs the player to suddenly drop to pianissimo as an effect) * sul E on E, indicating a passage is to be played on the E string of a violin. Also seen sul A, sul D, sul G, sul C, indicating a passage to be played on one of the other strings of a string instrument. * sul ponticello on the bridge i. e. in string playing, an indication to bow (or sometimes to pluck) very near to the bridge, producing a characteristic glassy sound, which emphasizes the higher ha rmonics at the expense of the thoroughgoing the opposite of sul tasto * sul tasto on the fingerboard i. e. , in string playing, an indication to bow (or sometimes to pluck) over the fingerboard the opposite of sul ponticello. Playing over the fingerboard produces a warmer, gentler tone. * sur la touche (Fr) sul tasto * syncopation a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of downbeat rhythm with emphasis on the sub-division or up-beat, e. g. in tabloid music. T * tacet silent do not play tasto solo single key used on a continuo part to indicate that the notes should be played without harmony * tempo time i. e. , the overall speed of a piece of music * tempo di marcia march tempo * tempo di sturb de neighbors7 seen in Fats Wallers arrangement of Stardust * tempo di valse waltz tempo * tempo giusto in strict time * tempo primo, tempo uno, or tempo I (sometimes also written as tempo I or tempo 1ero) resume the original speed * tempo rubato, means robbed time an expressive way of performing a rhythm see rubato * teneramente tenderly * tenerezza tenderness * tenor the second lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) * tenuto held i. e. , touch on a note slightly seven-day than sual, but without generally altering the notes value * ternary having three parts. In particular, referring to a three-part musical form with the parts represented by letters ABA * tessitura the best or most comfortable pitch range, generally used to identify the most prominent / common vocal range within a piece of music * Tierce de Picardie see Picardy third * timbre the quality of a musical tone that distinguishes voices and instruments * time in a jazz or rock score, after a rubato or rallentendo section, the term time indicates that performers should return to tempo (this is equivalent to the term a tempo) * tosto rapidly * tranquillo calmly, peacefully * tremolo shaking i. e. a rapid repetition of the same note, or an alternation between two or mo re notes (often an octave on the piano). String players perform tremolo with the bow by rapidly moving the bow while the arm is tense. It can also be intended (inaccurately) to refer to vibrato, which is a slight undulation in pitch. It is notated by a strong diagonal bar across the note stem, or a detached bar for a set of notes (or stemless notes). * tre corde or tc (or sometimes inaccurately tre corda) three strings i. e. , release the soft pedal of the piano (see una corda) * triplet (shown with a horizontal bracket and a 3) Three notes in the place of two, used to subdivide a beat. * tronco, tronca broken off, truncated troppo too much usually seen as non troppo, meaning moderately or, when combined with other terms, not too much, such as allegro ma non troppo (fast but not too fast) * tutti all all together, usually used in an orchestral or choral score when the orchestra or all of the voices come in at the same time, also seen in Baroque-era music where two instruments share the same copy of music, after one instrument has broken off to play a more advanced form they both play together again at the point marked tutti. See also ripieno. U * un, uno, or una one, as for example in the following entries * una corda one string i. e. , in piano music, depress the soft pedal, altering, and reducing the volume of, the sound. In some pianos, this literally results in the hammer striking one string rather than two or three. For most notes on modern instruments, in fact it results in striking two rather than three strings. ) Its counterpart, tre corde (three strings see in this list), is the opposite the soft pedal is to be released. * un poco a little * unisono or unis (Fr) in unison i. e. , several players in a group are to play exactly the same notes within their written part, as opposed to splitting simultaneous notes among themselves. Often used to mark the return from divisi (see in this list). * uptempo a fast, lively, or increased tempo or played or done i n such a tempo. 8 It is also used as an umbrella term for a quick-paced electronic music style. * ut (Fr) first note of the series ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, in fixed-doh solmization. V vagans the fifth part in a motet, named so most probably because it had no specific range * vamp till pool cue a jazz, fusion, and musical theatre term which instructs rhythm section members to repeat and vary a short ostinato passage, riff, or groove until the band leader or conductor instructs them to move onto the next section * veloce with velocity * velocissimo as quickly as possible usually applied to a cadenza-like passage or run * vibrato vibrating i. e. , a more or less rapidly repeated slight alteration in the pitch of a note, used to give a richer sound and as a means of expression. Often confused with tremolo, which refers either to a similar variation in the volume of a note, or to rapid repetition of a single note. via away, out, off as in via sordina or sordina via mute off * vif (F r) quickly, lively * vite (Fr) fast * vittorioso victoriously * virtuoso (noun or adjective) performing with exceptional ability, technique, or artistry * vivo lively * vivace very lively, up-tempo * vivacissimo very lively * vocal score or piano-vocal score a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra (like oratorio or cantata) where the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced to two staves and adapted for playing on piano * vivamente quickly and lively * voce voice * volante flying * V. S. (volti subito) turn suddenly i. e. , turn the page quickly.While this indication is sometimes added by printers, it is more commonly indicated by orchestral members in pencil as a reminder to quickly turn to the next page. W * wenig (Ger) a little, not much * wolno (Polish) loose, slowly found as a directive in The Elephant from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens Z * Zahlzeit (Ger) beat * zart (Ger) tender * Zartheit (Ger) tender ness * zartlich (Ger) tenderly * Zeichen (Ger) sign * Zeitma? , also spelled Zeitmass (Ger) time-measure, i. e. , tempo * zelo, zeloso, zelosamente zeal, zealous, zealously * ziehen (Ger) to draw out * ziemlich (Ger) fairly, quite, pretty, or rather * zitternd (Ger) trembling i. e. , tremolando * zogernd (Ger) doubtful, delaying i. e. rallentando * zuruckhalten (Ger) hold back See also Music portal References 1. a b c d e f Collins Music Encyclopedia, 1959. 2. About the word deest 3. musicdictionary Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary American inheritance Dictionary, 4th edition Gardner Read, Music Notation, 2nd edition, p. 282. 4. Dolmetsch Online, Tempo Oxford American Dictionary Collins English Dictionary. 5. Carl Orff, Carmina Burana 6. Definition of Siciliano at Dictionary. com 7. Scivales, Riccardo (2005). Jazz Piano The Left Hand. Ekay Music, Inc.. ISBN1-929009-54-2. Retrieved 2011 April 16. 8. uptempo at Oxford Dictionaries Online External links Interpretations of Jaz z Band Literature, musical terms used in jazz * Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary (contains audio samples) * chorale Conducting Terms * Classical musical terms * Musical Terms Dictionary Definitions show * v * t * eMusic Help improve this page Whats this? - Top of Form Did you find what you were looking for? Yes No Bottom of Form Categories * Glossaries of music * Italian language * Musical terminology * Create account * Log in * Article * reprimand * Read * Edit * View history - Top of Form Bottom of Form * Main page * Contents * Featured content * Current events * random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction * Help * About Wikipedia * Community portal * Recent changes * Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export Languages * Boarisch * Cesky * Cymraeg * Dansk * Deutsch * Eesti * Espanol * Esperanto * Bahasa Indonesia * Islenska * Italiano * * * Romana * * Slovencina * Slovenscina * Suomi * Svenska * * This page was last circumscribed on 11 August 2012 at 2030. * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit organization. * Contact us

Bag of Bones CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Devore was mad, every last(p rubynessicate) right, mad as a hatter, and he couldnt have caught me at a worse, saplesser, more terrified minute of arc. And I depend that everything from that moment on was almost pre-ordained. From in that location to the terrible storm they subdued talk s get awayly in this part of the world, it on the whole came humble corresponding a rockslide.I entangle fine the rest of Friday after no(prenominal)n my talk with Bonnie go away a lot of questions unanswered, precisely it had been a tonic just the aforementioned(prenominal). I made a vegetable stir-fry (atonement for my latest plunge into the Fry-O-Lator at the Village Cafe) and ate it while I watched the evening news. On the other side of the lake the sunlight was sliding scratch off toward the mountains and flooding the living room with gold. When Tom Brokaw boneyd up shop, I decided to take a walk north a extensive The pathway Id go as far as I could and still be assured of ge tting base by gentle, and as I went Id think well-nigh the things flyer Dean and Bonnie Amudson had told me. Id think astir(predicate) them the way I near epochs walked and thought ab away plot-snags in whatever I was working on.I walked d protest the railroad-tie timbers, still feeling perfectly fine (confused, barely fine), started off along The Street, past paused to look at the Green Lady. Even with the evening sun reflect fully upon her, it was hard to see her for what she actually was just a birch tree with a half-dead pine standing empennage it, one branch of the latter(prenominal) reservation a pointing arm. It was as if the Green Lady were uttering go north, young human, go north. Well, I wasnt exactly young, but I could go north, all right. For awhile, at least(prenominal).Yet I stood a moment longer, uneasily studying the face I could see in the bushes, non liking the way the myopic shake of breeze seemed to make what was nearly a mouth sneer and grin. I think perhaps I started to feel a miniature problematic then, was too preoccupied to notice it. I set off north, wondering what, exactly, Jo might have written . . . for by then I was starting to cerebrate she might have written something, after all. Why else had I found my old typewriter in her studio? I would go through the place, I decided. I would go through it c arefully and . . .help im drownThe voice came from the woods, the pissing, from myself. A wave of lightheadedness passed through my thoughts, lifting and scattering them analogous pass ons in a breeze. I carryped. All at at once I had never entangle so bad, so blighted, in my animateness. My chest was tight. My stomach folded in on itself corresponding a cold f begin. My eyes fill up with chilly water that was nothing same(p) tears, and I knew what was coming. No, I tried to say, but the word wouldnt come out.My mouth filled with the cold taste of lakewater instead, all those dark minerals, and on the spur of the moment the trees were shimmering before my eyes as if I were tone up at them through clear liquid, and the closet on my chest had become dreadfully localized and taken the shapes of reach. They were attribute me down.Wont it stop doing that? psyche asked almost cried. There was no one on The Street but me, even I testd that voice clearly. Wont it ever stop doing that?What came next was no outer voice but alien thoughts in my own head. They beat against the walls of my skull like moths trapped inside a light-fixture . . . or inside a Japanese lantern.help Im drown help Im drownblue-cap man say git me blue-cap man say dassnt permit me ramblehelp Im drown lost my berries they on the pathhe holdin mehe face shimmer n look bad lemme up lemme up 0 sweet Jesus lemme up oxen free allee allee oxen free? PLEASEOXEN surrender you go on and stop directly ALLEE OXEN FREE she roar my nameshe scream it so LOUDI bent forward in an utter panic, opened my mouth, and from my gaping , straining mouth there poured a cold flood of . . .Nothing at all.The horror of it passed and yet it didnt pass. I still felt terribly sick to my stomach, as if I had eaten something to which my body had taken a violent offense, some material body of ant-powder or maybe a killer mushroom, the kind Jos fungi guides pictured inside red borders. I staggered forward half a dozen steps, gagging dryly from a throat which still believed it was wet. There was some other birch where the bank dropped to the lake, arching its white belly gracefully everywhere the water as if to see its reflection by evenings flattering light. I grabbed it like a drunk grabbing a lamp-post.The pressure in my chest began to ease, but it odd(a) an ache as real as rain. I hung against the tree, heart fluttering, and suddenly I became aware that something stank an evil, polluted tang worse than a clogged septic pool which has simmered all summer under the blazing sun. With it was a sense experience of so me hideous presence giving off that odor, something which should have been dead and wasnt.Oh stop, allee allee oxen free, Ill do anything save stop, I tried to say, and still nothing came out. and so it was gone. I could smell nothing but the lake and the woods . . . but I could see something a son in the lake, a little drowned dark boy lying on his buttocks. His cheeks were puffed out. His mouth hung slackly open. His eyes were as white as the eyes of a statue.My mouth filled with the unmerciful beseech of the lake again. Help me, lemme up, help Im drown. I leaned out, screaming inside my head, screaming down at the dead face, and I realized I was looking up at myself, looking up through the rose-shimmer of sundown water at a white man in blue jeans and a yellow polo shirt holding onto a trembling, birch and nerve-racking to scream, his liquid face in motion, his eyes momentarily blotted out by the passage of a small perch cut across after a tasty bug, I was both the dark bo y and the white man, drowned in the water and drowning in the air, is this right, is this whats happening, tap once for yes twice for no.I retched nothing but a single runner of spit, and, impossibly, a fish jumped at it. Theyll jump at almost anything at sunset something in the dying light must make them godforsaken. The fish hit the water again about seven feet from the bank, spanking out a circular cash ripple, and it was gone the taste in my mouth, the horrible smell, the shimmering drowned face of the Negro child a Negro, that was how he would have thought of himself whose name had almost surely been Tidwell.I looked to my right and motto a gray forehead of rock poking out of the mulch. I thought, There, right there, and as if in confirmation, that horrible putrescent smell puffed at me again, seemingly from the ground.I closed my eyes, still hanging onto the birch for dear life, feeling weak and sick and ill, and that was when Max Devore, that madman, spoke from behind me . Say there, whoremaster, wheres your whore?I turned and there he was, with Rogette Whitmore by his side. It was the only time I ever met him, but once was enough. Believe me, once was more than enough.His wheelchair hardly looked like a wheelchair at all. What it looked like was a motorcycle sidecar crossed with a lunar lander. Half a dozen chromium-plate wheels ran along both sides. Bigger wheels four of them, I think ran in a row across the hazard. None looked to be exactly on the same level, and I realized each was tied into its own suspension-bed. Devore would have a smooth ride everywhere ground a lot rougher than The Street. Above the back wheels was an enclosed engine compartment. Hiding Devores legs was a fiberglass nacelle, black with red pinstriping, that would not have looked out of place on a racing car. planted in the center of it was a gadget that looked like my DSS sitellite dish . . . some sort of computerized avoidance system, I guessed. Maybe even an autopilo t. The armrests were wide and cover with controls. Holstered on the left side of this machine was a green oxygen tank four feet long. A hose went to a clear plastic piano accordion tube the accordion tube led to a mask which rested in Devores lap. It made me think of the old guys Stenomask. Coming on the heels of what had just happened, I might have considered this Tom Clancyish vehicle a hallucination, except for the bumper-sticker on the nacelle, below the dish. I BLEED DODGER BLUE, it said.This evening the woman I had seen exterior The Sunset Bar at Warringtons was wearing away a white blouse with long sleeves and black pants so tapered they made her legs look like sheathe swords. Her narrow face and hollow cheeks made her resemble Edvard Munchs screamer more than ever. Her white hair hung around her face in a lank cowl. Her lips were varicoloured so brightly red she seemed to be bleeding from the mouth.She was old and she was ugly, but she was a prize compared to Matties fat her-in-law. Scrawny, blue-lipped, the skin around his eyes and the corners of his mouth a dark exploded purple, he looked like something an archeologist might find in the burial room of a pyramid, surrounded by his stuffed wives and pets, bedizened with his ducky jewels. A a few(prenominal) wisps of white hair still clung to his scaly skull more tufts sprang from enormous ears which seemed to have melted like wax sculptures left out in the sun. He was wearing white cotton pants and a billowy blue shirt. Add a little black beret and he would have looked like a French artist from the nineteenth century at the end of a very long life.Across his lap was a cane of some black wood. Snugged over the end was a bright red bicycle grip. The fingers grasping it looked powerful, but they were loss as black as the cane itself. His circulation was failing, and I couldnt imagine what his feet and his lower legs must look like.Whore run off and left you, has she?I tried to say something. A croak came out of my mouth, nothing more. I was still holding the birch. I let go of it and tried to straighten up, but my legs were still weak and I had to grab it again.He nudged a silver toggle switch switch and the chair came ten feet closer, halving the distance between us. The sound it made was a silky whisper reflection it was like ceremonial occasion an evil supernatural carpet. Its many wheels rose and fell independent of one another and flashed in the declining sun, which had begun to take on a reddish cast. And as he came closer, I felt the sense of the man. His body was rotting out from under him, but the force around him was undeniable and daunting, like an electrical storm. The woman paced beside him, regarding me with silent amusement. Her eyes were pinkish. I assumed then that they were gray and had picked up a bit of the coming sunset, but I think now she was an albino.I always liked a whore, he said. He drew the word out, making it horrrrrrr. Didnt I, Rogette?Yes, si r, she said. In their place.Sometimes their place was on my face he cried with a kind of insane perkiness, as if she had contradicted him. Where is she, young man? Whose face is she sitting on right now? I wonder. That smart lawyer you found? Oh, I know all about him, right down to the Unsatisfactory Conduct he got in the third grade. I make it my business to know things. Its the secret of my success.With an enormous effort, I straightened up. What are you doing here?Having a constitutional, same as you. And no law against it, is there?The Street belongs to anyone who indispensabilitys to use it. You havent been here long, young whoremaster, but surely youve been here long enough to know that. Its our version of the town common, where good pups and vile dogs may walk side-by-side.Once more using the hand not bunched around the red bicycle grip, he picked up the oxygen mask, sucked deeply, then dropped it back in his lap. He grinned an unspeakable grin of complicity that revealed g ums the color of iodin.She good? That little horrrrrr of yours? She must be good to have kept my son prisoner in that nasty little trailer where she lives. And then along comes you even before the worms had finished with my boys eyes. Does her cuckoo suck?Shut up.Rogette Whitmore threw back her head and laughed. The sound was like the scream of a rabbit caught in an owls talons, and my flesh crawled. I had an appraisal she was as crazy as he was. Thank God they were old. You struck a nerve there, Max, she said.What do you want? I took a snorkel breather . . . and caught a taste of that subversion again. I gagged. I didnt want to, but I couldnt help it.Devore straightened in his chair and breathed deeply, as if to mock me. In that moment he looked like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, striding along the beach and telling the world how more than he loved the smell of napalm in the morning. His grin widened. Lovely place, just here, isnt it? A cozy spot to stop and think, wouldnt you say? He looked around. This is where it happened, all right. Ayuh.Where the boy drowned.I thought Whitmores smile looked momentarily uneasy at that. Devore didnt. He clutched for his manifest oxygen mask with an old mans overwide grip, fingers that grope rather than reach. I could see little bubbles of mucus clinging to the inside. He sucked deep again, put it down again.Thirty or more folks have drowned in this lake, and thats just the ones they know about, he said. Whats one boy, more or less?I dont get it. Were there 2 Tidwell boys who died here? The one that got blood-poisoning and the one Do you circumspection about your soul, Mr. Noonan? Your immortal soul? Gods butterfly caught in a cocoon of flesh that will in short stink like mine?I said nothing. The strangeness of what had happened before he arrived was passing. What replaced it was his incredible personal magnetism. I have never in my life felt so much raw force. There was nothing supernatural about it, either, a nd raw is exactly the right word. I might have run. beneath other circumstances, Im sure I would have. It certainly wasnt bravery that kept me where I was my legs still felt rubbery, and I was afraid I might fall down.Im going to give you one chance to save your soul, Devore said. He raised a bony finger to illustrate the concept of one. Go away, my fine whoremaster. Right now, in the clothes you stand up in. Dont bother to pack a bag, dont even stop to make sure you turned off the stoveburners. Go. Leave the whore and leave the whorelet.Leave them to you.Ayuh, to me. Ill do the things that need to be done. Souls are for liberal arts majors, Noonan. I was an engineer.Go fuck yourself.Rogette Whitmore made that screaming-rabbit sound again. The old man sat in his chair, head lowered, grinning sallowly up at me and looking like something raised from the dead. Are you sure you want to be the one, Noonan? It doesnt matter to her, you know you or me, its all the same to her.I dont know what youre talking about.I drew another deep breath, and this time the air tasted all right. I took a step away from the birch, and my legs were all right, too. And I dont care. Youre never getting Kyra. Never in what remains of your scaly life. Ill never see that happen.Pal, youll see plenty, Devore said, grinning and showing me his iodine gums. Before Julys done, youll likely have seen so much youll wish youd ripped the living eyes out of your head in June.Im going home. Let me pass.Go home then, how could I stop you? he asked. The Street belongs to everyone. He groped the oxygen mask out of his lap again and took another healthy pull. He dropped it into his lap and colonized his left hand on the arm of his Buck Rogers wheelchair.I stepped toward him, and almost before I knew what was happening, he ran the wheelchair at me. He could have hit me and violate me quite badly broken one or both of my legs, I dont doubt but he stopped just short. I leaped back, but only because he a llowed me to. I was aware that Whitmore was laughing again.Whats the matter, Noonan?Get out of my way. Im warning you.Whore made you jumpy, has she?I started to my left, meaning to go by him on that side, but in a flash he had turned the chair, shot it forward, and cut me off.Get out of the TR, Noonan. Im giving you good ad I broke to the right, this time on the lake side, and would have slipped by him quite neatly except for the fist, very small and hard, that hammered the left side of my face. The white-haired bitch was wearing a ring, and the stone cut me behind the ear. I felt the sting and the warm flow of blood. I pivoted, stuck out both hands, and pushed her. She fell to the needle-carpeted path with a beef of surprised outrage. At the next instant something clouted me on the back of the head. A momentary orange glow lit up my sight. I staggered backward in what felt like slow motion, waving my arms, and Devore came into view again. He was slued around in his wheelchair, sc aly head thrust forward, the cane hed hit me with still upraised. If he had been ten years younger, I believe he would have fractured my skull instead of just creating that momentary orange light.I ran into my old friend the birch tree. I raised my hand to my ear and looked unbelievingly at the blood on the tips of my fingers. My head ached from the blow he had fetched me.Whitmore was struggling to her feet, brushing pine needles from her slacks and looking at me with a furious smile. Her cheeks had filled in with a thin pink flush. Her too-red lips were pulled back to show small teeth. In the light of the setting sun her eyes looked as if they were burning.Get out of my way, I said, but my voice sounded small and weak.No, Devore said, and laid the black barrel of his cane on the nacelle that curved over the front of his chair. Now I could see the little boy who had been determined to have the sled no matter how badly he cut his hands getting it. I could see him very clearly. No, yo u whore-fucking sissy. I wont.He shoved the silver toggle switch again and the wheelchair rushed silently at me. If I had stayed where I was, he would have run me through with his cane as surely as any evil duke was ever run through in an Alexandre Dumas story. He probably would have crushed the fragile bones in his right hand and torn his right arm clean out of its socket in the collision, but this man had never cared about such things he left cost-counting to the little people. If I had hesitated out of shock or incredulity, he would have killed me, Im sure of it. Instead, I rolled to my left. My sneakers slid on the needle-slippery embankment for a moment. Then they lost contact with the earth and I was falling.I hit the water awkwardly and much too close to the bank. My left foot struck a submerged root and twisted. The pain was huge, something that felt like a thunderclap sounds. I opened my mouth to scream and the lake poured in that cold metallic dark taste, this time for re al. I coughed it out and sneezed it out and floundered away from where I had landed, thinking The boy, the dead boys down here, what if he reaches up and grabs me?I turned over on my back, still flailing and coughing, very aware of my jeans clinging clammily to my legs and crotch, thinking absurdly about my wallet I didnt care about the credit cards or drivers license, but I had two good snapshots of Jo in there, and they would be ruined.Devore had almost run himself over the embankment, I saw, and for a moment I thought he still might go. The front of his chair jutted over the place where I had fallen (I could see the short tracks of my sneakers just to the left of the bitchs partially exposed roots), and although the forward wheels were still grounded, the crumbly earth was running out from beneath them in dry little avalanches that rolled down the side of meat and pit-a-patted into the water, creating interlocking ripple patterns. Whitmore was clinging to the back of the chair, yanking on it, but it was much too heavy for her if Devore was to be saved, he would have to save himself. Standing waist-deep in the lake with my clothes floating around me, I rooted for him to go over.The purplish claw of his left hand recaptured the silver toggle switch after some(prenominal) attempts. One finger hooked it backward, and the chair reversed away from the embankment with a final shower of stones and dirt. Whitmore leaped prankishly to one side to keep her feet from organism run over.Devore fiddled some more with his controls, turned the chair to face me where I stood in the water, some seven feet out from the overhanging birch, and then nudged the chair forward until he was on the adjoin of The Street but safely away from the drop off. Whitmore had turned away from us entirely she was bent over with her butt poking in my direction. If I thought about her at all, and I cant remember that I did, I suppose I thought she was getting her breath back.Devore appeared to be in the outperform shape of the three of us, not even needing a hit from the oxygen mask sitting in his lap. The late light was full in his face, making him look like a half-rotted jack-o-lantern which has been soaked with gas and set on fire.Enjoying your drift? he asked, and laughed.I looked around, hoping to see a strolling couple or perhaps a fisherman looking for a place where he could wet his line one more time before dark . . . and yet at the same time I hoped Id see no one. I was angry, hurt, and scared. Most of all I was embarrassed. I had been dunked in the lake by a man of eighty- fivesome . . . a man who showed every sign of hanging around and making sport of me.I began wading to my right south, back toward my house. The water was about waist-deep, cool and almost refreshing now that I was used to it. My sneakers squelched over rocks and submerged tree-branches. The ankle Id twisted still hurt, but it was supporting me. Whether it would traverse to once I got out of the lake was another question.Devore twiddled his controls some more. The chair pivoted and came rolling slowly along The Street, keeping pace with me easily.I didnt introduce you properly to Rogette, did I? he said. She was quite an athlete in college, you know. Softball and field hockey were her specialties, and shes held onto at least some of her skills. Rogette, demonstrate your skills for this young man.Whitmore passed the slowly moving wheelchair on the left. For a moment she was blocked out by it. When I could see her again, I could also see what she was holding. She hadnt been bent over to get her breath.Smiling, she strode to the march of the embankment with her left arm curled against her midriff, cradling the rocks she had picked up from the edge of the path. She selected a chunk roughly the size of a golfball, drew her hand back to her ear, and threw it at me. Hard. It whizzed by my left temple and splashed into the water behind me.Hey I shouted, more startled than a fraid. Even after everything that had preceded it, I couldnt believe this was happening.Whats wrong with you, Rogette? Devore asked chidingly. You never used to swing like a girl. Get himThe second rock passed two inches over my head. The third was a potential tooth-smasher. I batted it away with an angry, fearful shout, not noticing until ulterior that it had bruised my palm. At the moment I was only aware of her hateful, smiling face the face of a woman who has plunked down two dollars in a carny shooting-pitch and fashion to win the big stuffed teddybear even if she has to blast away all night.And she threw fast. The rocks hailed down around me, some splashing into the ruddy water to my left or right, creating little geysers. I began to backpedal, afraid to turn and swim for it, afraid that she would throw a really big one the minute I did. Still, I had to get out of her range. Devore, meanwhile, was laughing a wheezy old mans laugh, his wretched face crunched in on itself li ke the face of a malicious apple-doll.One of her rocks struck me a hard, painful blow on the collarbone and bounced high into the air. I cried out, and she did, too Hai, like a karate fighter whos gotten in a good kick.So much for orderly retreat. I turned, swam for deeper water, and the bitch brained me. The first-class honours degree two rocks she threw after I began to swim seemed to be range-finders. There was a pause when I had time to think Im doing it, Im getting beyond her area of . . . and then something hit the back of my head. I felt it and heard it the same way it went CLONK, like something youd read in a Batman comic.The surface of the lake went from bright orange to bright red to dark scarlet. Faintly I could hear Devore yelling approval and Whitmore squealing her strange laugh. I took in another mouthful of iron-tasting water and was so logy I had to remind myself to spit it out, not swallow it. My feet now felt too heavy for limpid, and my goddamned sneakers wei ghed a ton. I put them down to stand up and couldnt find the bottom I had gotten beyond my depth. I looked in toward the shore. It was spectacular, blazing in the sunset like stage-scenery lit with bright orange and red gels. I was probably twenty feet out from the shore now. Devore and Whitmore were at the edge of The Street, watching. They looked like Dad and florists chrysanthemum in a Grant Wood painting. Devore was using the mask again, but I could see him grinning inside it. Whitmore was grinning, too.More water sloshed in my mouth. I spit most of it out, but some went down, making me cough and half-retch. I started to sink below the surface and fought my way back up, not swimming but only splashing wildly, expending nine times the energy I needed to stay afloat. Panic made its first appearance, nibbling through my dazed bewilderment with sharp little rat teeth. I realized I could hear a high, sweet buzzing. How many blows had my poor old head taken? One from Whitmores fist . . . one from Devores cane . . . one rock . . . or had it been two?Christ, I couldnt remember. Get hold of yourself, for Gods sake youre not going to let him beat you this way, are you? Drown you like that little boy was drowned?No, not if I could help it.I trod water and ran my left hand down the back of my head. Not too far above the nape I encountered a goose-egg that was still rising. When I pressed on it the pain made me feel like throwing up and fainting at the same time. Tears rose in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. There were only traces of blood on the tips of my fingers when I looked at them, but it was hard to tell about cuts when you were in the water.You look like a woodchuck caught out in the rain, Noonan Now his voice seemed to roll to where I was, as if across a great distance.Fuck you I called. Ill see you in jail for thisHe looked at Whitmore. She looked back with an identical expression, and they both laughed. If someone had put an Uzi in my hands at that mo ment, I would have killed them both with no hesitation and then asked for a second clip so I could machine-gun the bodies.With no Uzi to hand, I began to dogpaddle south, toward my house. They paced me along The Street, he rolling in his whisper-quiet wheelchair, she walking beside him as solemn as a nun and pausing every now and then to pick up a likely-looking rock.I hadnt swum enough to be tired, but I was. It was mostly shock, I suppose. Finally I tried to draw a breath at the wrong time, swallowed more water, and panicked completely. I began to swim in toward the shore, wanting to get to where I could stand up. Rogette Whitmore began to fire rocks at me immediately, first using the ones she had lined up between her left arm and her midriff, then those shed stockpiled in Devores lap. She was warmed up, she wasnt throwing like a girl anymore, and her aim was deadly. Stones splashed all around me. I batted another away a big one that likely would have cut open my forehead if it h ad hit but her inspection struck my bicep and tore a long scratch there. Enough. I rolled over and swam back out beyond her range, gasping for breath, trying to keep my head up in spite of the growing ache in the back of my neck.When I was clear, I trod water and looked in at them. Whitmore had come all the way to the edge of the embankment, wanting to get every foot of distance she could. Hell, every damned inch. Devore was parked behind her in his wheelchair. They were both still grinning, and now their faces were as red as the faces of imps in hell. Red sky at night, sailors delight. Another twenty minutes and it would be getting dark. Could I keep my head above water for another twenty minutes? I thought so, if I didnt panic again, but not much longer. I thought of drowning in the dark, looking up and seeing Venus just before I went under for the last time, and the panic-rat slashed me with its teeth again. The panic-rat was worse than Rogette and her rocks, much worse.Maybe n ot worse than Devore.I looked both ways along the lakefront, checking The Street wherever it wove out of the trees for a dozen feet or a dozen yards. I didnt care about being embarrassed anymore, but I saw no one.Dear God, where was everybody? Gone to the Mountain View in Fryeburg for pizza, or the Village Cafe for milkshakes?What do you want? I called in to Devore. Do you want me to tell you Ill butt out of your business? Okay, Ill butt outHe laughed.Well, I hadnt expected it to work. Even if Id been real about it, he wouldnt have believed me.We just want to see how long you can swim, Whitmore said, and threw another rock -a long, lazy toss that fell about five feet short of where I was.They mean to kill me, I thought. They really do.Yes. And what was more, they might well get away with it. A crazy idea, both plausible and improbable at the same time, rose in my mind. I could see Rogette Whitmore tacking a notice to the cOMMUNITY DOINS board outside the Lakeview General Store.TO THE MARTIANS OF TR-90, GREETINGSMr, MAXWELL DEVORE, everyones favorite Martian, will give each resident of the TR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS if no one will use The Street on FRIDAY EVENING, THE 17th OF JULY, between the hours of septenary and NINE P.M. Keep our SUMMER FRIENDS away, too And remember GOOD MARTIANS are like GOOD MONKEYS they SEE no evil, HEAR no evil, and SPEAK no evilI couldnt really believe it, not even in my current situation . . . and yet I almost could. At the very least I had to grant him the luck of the devil.Tired. My sneakers heavier than ever. I tried to push one of them off and succeeded only in taking in another mouthful of lakewater. They stood watching me, Devore occasionally picking the mask up from his lap and having a revivifying suck.I couldnt wait until dark. The sun exits in a hurry here in wolframbound Maine as it does, I guess, in mountain country everywhere but the twilights are long and lingering. By the time it got dark enough in the west to move without being seen, the moon would have risen in the east.I found myself imagining my obituary in the New York Times, the headline reading POPULAR romanticistic SUSPENSE NOVELIST DROWNS IN MAINE. Debra Weinstock would provide them with the author photo from the forthcoming Helens Promise. Harold Oblowski would say all the right things, and hed also remember to put a modest (but not tiny) death notice in Publishers Weekly. He would go half-and-half with Putnam on it, and I sank, swallowed more water, and spat it out. I began pummelling the lake again and forced myself to stop. From the shore, I could hear Rogette Whitmores tinkling laughter. You bitch, I thought, you scrawny bi Mike, Jo said.Her voice was in my head, but it wasnt the one I make when Im imagining her side of a mental dialogue or when I just miss her and need to whistle her up for awhile. As if to underline this, something splashed to my right, splashed hard. When I looked in that direction I saw no fish, not even a ripple. What I saw instead was our swimming float, anchored about a hundred yards away in the sunset-colored water.I cant swim that far, baby, I croaked.Did you say something, Noonan? Devore called from the shore. He cupped a mocking hand to one of his huge waxlump ears. Couldnt quite make it out You sound all out of breath More tinkling laughter from Whitmore. He was Johnny Carson she was Ed Mcmahon.You can make it. Ill help you.The float, I realized, might be my only chance there wasnt another one on this part of the shore, and it was at least ten yards beyond Whitmores longest rockshot so far. I began to dogpaddle in that direction, my arms now as leaden as my feet. Each time I felt my head on the verge of going under I paused, treading water, telling myself to take it easy, I was in pretty good shape and doing okay, telling myself that if I didnt panic Id be all right. The old bitch and the even older bastard resumed pace me, but they saw where I was headed and the laughter st opped. So did the taunts.For a long time the swimming float seemed to draw no closer. I told myself that was just because the light was fading, the color of the water draining from red to purple to a near-black that was the color of Devores gums, but I was able to muster less and less conviction for this idea as my breath shortened and my arms grew heavier.When I was still thirty yards away a cramp struck my left leg. I rolled crabwise like a swamped sailboat, trying to reach the bunched muscle. More water poured down my throat. I tried to cough it out, then retched and went under with my stomach still trying to heave and my fingers still looking for the knotted place above the knee.Im really drowning, I thought, strangely calm now that it was happening. This is how it happens, this is it.Then I felt a hand seize me by the nape of the neck. The pain of having my hair yanked brought me back to reality in a flash it was better than an epinephrine injection. I felt another hand clamp around my left leg there was a brief but terrific sense of heat. The cramp let go and I broke the surface swimming really swimming this time, not just dog-paddling, and in what seemed like seconds I was clinging to the ladder on the side of the float, internal respiration in great, snatching gasps, waiting to see if I was going to be all right or if my heart was going to detonate in my chest like a hand grenade. At last my lungs started to overcome my oxygen debt, and everything began to calm down. I gave it another minute, then climbed out of the water and into what was now the ashes of twilight. I stood veneer west for a little while, bent over with my hands on my knees, dripping on the boards. Then I turned around, meaning this time to slash them not just a single bird but that fabled double eagle. There was no one to flip it to. The Street was empty. Devore and Rogette Whitmore were gone.Maybe they were gone. Id do well to remember there was a lot of Street I couldnt see. I s at cross-legged on the float until the moon rose, waiting and watching for any movement. Half an hour, I think. Maybe forty-five minutes. I checked my watch, but got no help there it had shipped some water and stopped at 730 P.M. To the other satisfactions Devore owed me I could now add the price of one Timex Indiglo thats $29.95, asshole, cough it up.At last I climbed back down the ladder, slipped into the water, and stroked for shore as quietly as I could. I was rested, my head had stopped aching (although the knot above the nape of my neck still throbbed steadily), and I no longer felt off-balance and incredulous. In some ways, that had been the worst of it trying to cope not just with the apparition of the drowned boy, the flying rocks, and the lake, but with the pervasive sense that none of this could be happening, that rich old software moguls did not try to drown novelists who strayed into their line of sight.Had tonights adventure been a case of simple straying into Devore s view, though? A coincidental meeting, no more than that? Wasnt it likely hed been having me watched ever since the Fourth of July . . . maybe from the other side of the lake, by people with high-powered optical equipment? Paranoid bullshit, I would have said . . . at least I would have said it before the two of them almost sank me in Dark Score Lake like a kids paper boat in a mudpuddle.I decided I didnt care who might be watching from the other side of the lake. I didnt care if the two of them were still lurking on one of the tree-shielded parts of The Street, either. I swam until I could feel strands of waterweed tickling my ankles and see the crescent of my beach. Then I stood up, wincing at the air, which now felt cold on my skin. I limped to shore, one hand raised to fend off a hail of rocks, but no rocks came. I stood for a moment on The Street, my jeans and polo shirt dripping, looking first one way, then the other. It seemed I had this little part of the world to myself. L ast, I looked back at the water, where weak moonlight beat a track from the thumbnail of beach out to the swimming float.Thanks, Jo, I said, then started up the railroad ties to the house. I got about halfway, then had to stop and sit down. I had never been so utterly tired in my whole life.