"Acciaccatura" is a musical ornamentation technique characterized by the momentary playing of a note just before the main note. This additional note is typically quickly resolved onto the main note, creating an instant sense of dissonance. The term is derived from the Italian word "Acciaccare", which means "to crush".
When performing an acciaccatura, the musician quickly plays a short note just before the main note, generating an immediate sense of discord. This instantaneous dissonance contributes to enriching the emotional expression in music.
In sheet music, acciaccature are usually marked with small eighth notes with a slanting line and typically appear only in the melody or main theme.
Although similar to "appoggiatura", acciaccature emphasize the main note more strongly while appoggiature emphasize the auxiliary note.
The origin of acciaccature can be traced back to the Baroque period and has continued to exist in later musical eras. This ornamental technique introduces subtle dissonance and tension, adding extra layers of emotion to musical passages. In music, acciaccature are often used to convey a sense of urgency or surprise.
Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer, the predominant musical figure during the transition between the Classical to Romantic eras. He occupies an unprecedented dominance in the history of Western music history, and has been widely regarded as the greatest, most influential and most popular musician who ever lived.
Beethoven's music inherited the artistic atmosphere of Haydn and Mozart, penetrated the desire for dignity, vented the anger tortured by fate, and demonstrated his determination to fight with fate.
Compared to other musicians, Beethoven is effectively to interact the philosophy of life with audience through music. Although he was not a romantic, he had become the object followed by other romantics.
As a musician, Beethoven suffered from ear diseases. However, he was unwilling to succumb to fate, vowing to take fate by the throat, and continue to complete his career. In the last ten years of his life, without hearing any sound, his compositions influenced the development of music for nearly two hundred years.