Music that races can also quicken the pulse. Here are some examples.
When my sons were younger, we watched "Thomas the Tank Engine" religiously.
We collected the videos and the trains. One episode featured a racing song. Junior Campbell and Michael O’Donnell wrote: “Let’s have a race, have a race, have a race. Let’s see who is the quickest. Who can be the fastest? On your marks now, ready, set go!”
It is a catchy tune and has stayed with me for more than two decades. My younger son recently shared with me another composer’s reworking of this melodic theme into a symphonic suite.
My first race song was “Camptown Races” by American composer Stephen Foster. Inspiration for the song is debated by music scholars. Use of the song seemed relegated to the minstrel shows of the 19th century and explains why it has come into disfavor in our current day. More importantly to me as a young person, it introduced me to dialects and sparked an interest in languages that exists today.
Who can forget the thrilling chariot race in "Ben Hur?" The music, written by one of filmdom’s great score composers. Miklós Rózsa, was a perfect accompaniment to the race and was in line with the film’s grandeur.
Hearing the "Ben Hur" theme weave in and out of the various places, including the race, was a lesson in film composition. The film took home the Oscar for its musical score.
Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” while not a racing piece as such, does paint the picture of the German warrior goddesses riding forth to collect the bodies of fallen heroes to take them to Valhalla. One can see these women flying, maybe even racing, to the bodies of the fallen to bring them back to the halls of eternal feasting.
Racing and urgency are parts of regular music as well. The “accelerando” and “stringendo” are terms used to indicate to the player that the piece is to pick up steam.
Accelerando is a simple quickening of the tempo; I know my heart races a bit as I pick up the tempo as a player. Stringendo is like the accelerando except that volume usually picks up as well. I generally interpret stringendo as a piling up of the music for a dramatic effect that gets my heart racing as well as the excitement that builds to some climax.
For some musicians (me included), there is a tendency to push the tempo of a piece we deem as easy. My band teacher would warn us, “You’re off to the races again! You won’t be able to play if you take it that fast.”
He was usually right. During our recent Camelot practices, we took off on our conductor. He stopped us immediately. “My tempo please.”
As you race through life, remember to savor the good parts and enjoy your racing music. I’ll meet you at the end!
Richard Tiegs writes music in his Coralville home to stretch those mind muscles. Ready, set, go!
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Music that races can also quicken the pulse. Here are some examples.
