music

Double bar line

A double bar line indicates the end of a section; it means you are at the end of a certain part of a song.

Duple, Triple and Quadruple Meters

Both simple and compound meter can have two, three or four recurring pulses. Meters are identified as duple if there are two basic pulses, triple if there are three basic pulses and quadruple if there are four.

Dynamic Markings

Dynamic markings indicate the general volume of a sound. Although it is not precise, it denotes the approximately level of intensity.

Reading Notes Using the Clefs Treble Clef

For notes on lines of a treble clef, just remember the phrase: Every Good Boy Does Fine (The first letter of each word are the note names from the bottom up) As for the notes on the spaces of a G staff, we just remember the letters that form the word FACE. (When naming spaces, remember FACE!)

Bass Clef

For notes on the spaces of a Bass Clef, remember the phrase: Grizzly Bears Deserve Fish Always. To remember the notes in the spaces of the Bass Clef, use: All Cows Eat Grass.

Compound Meter

In a compound meter, each pulse is a dotted note. Dotted notes are then divided into groups of three. The upper numbers you usually see in a compound meter are 6, 9 and 12. Above, we see that even though 6/8 literally means six eighth notes per measure. The pulse, or where we would clap along, is a dotted quarter note (which equals three eighth notes in length). Here are some more compound meters with their divisions

Letter Names

the various pitches in our musical language are referred to by the first seven letters of the alphabet: These seven letters repeat themselves as we travel higher and lower, so after G would come A and so on.

The Dot

When placed to the right of a note head, the dot lengthens the value of the note by half against its value. Dots can also be placed after rest, the same concept applies:

Note Tree

Whole Note 4 beats each Half Notes 2 beats each Quarter Notes 1 beat each Eighth Notes 1⁄2 beat each Sixteenth Notes 1⁄4 beat each

Notation of Duration

Name Note Rest Description A Whole Note gets 4 beats. A whole rest also gets 4 beats. A Half Note gets 2 beats. A half rest also gets 2 beats. A Quarter Note gets 1 beat. A quarter rest also gets 1 beat. An Eighth Note gets 1⁄2 beat. An eighth rest also gets 1⁄2 beat. A Sixteenth Note gets 1⁄4 beat. A seixteenth rest also gets 1⁄4 beat. A Thirty-second Note gets 1/8 beat. A thirty-second note also gets 1/8 beat.

Ledger Lines

Not all notes in a song always fit in the space that the staff provides. In situations like these we use ledger lines. Ledger lines extend the staff higher and/or lower to accommodate a wider range of pitches. So, instead of writing an entire new line on the staff just for one extra note, we notate the distance by drawing small lines that show how many notes above or below the staff the note lies. These follow the same line- space-line-space (means notes going in order) rules.

An example of syncopation within music:

Notice how the first eighth note forces the following quarter note to hit in between beats 1 and 2, and the next quarter note between beats 2 and 3, then 3 and 4, then 4 and beat 1 of the next measure.

Repeat signs

Repeat signs signal us to repeat a section of music. We repeat all the music from the forward repeat sign (||: ) until the nearest backward repeat sign ( :||) which also indicates to go back to the nearest forward repeat sign.

Rhythm

Rhythm is a general term used to describe the movement or motion of music in time. We feel ryithm through the beat or pulse. Even people who are not trained in music can sense the pulse of a song and may respond either by tapping their foot or clapping their hand.

Syncopation

Syncopation happens when the part of the measure that is not usually accented is given emphasis. Syncopation stresses beats that are normally unstressed, and is sometimes referred to playing on the "upbeat" or "off-beat".

Tempo

Tempo is an Italian word that comes from the Greek word tempus, meaning time. TEMPO NAME BEATS PER MINUTE Largo 40-60 Larghetto 60-66 Adagio 66-76 Andante 76-108 Moderato 108-120 Allegro 120-168 Presto 168-200 Prestissimo 200-208

The C clef - The "Movable" Clef

The C clef isn't as common as the F Clef or G Clef, simply because the many instruments do not use it. It works like this: wherever the pointy arrow-part of the clef points to is where you will find you Middle C. Because of this, the C Clef is considered movable (because you can move it around). We need a movable C clef so the ranges of different instruments fit nicely into the lines of the staff. Check out some of the different usages of C Clef:

Treble Clef -"G Clef"

The G clef almost looks like an ornate letter G—it evolved into what we know today as the treble clef.

Bass Clef - "F Clef"

The design of the bass clef appears to have derived from the letter F. Like the G clef, it shows you where to look for the letter F on the staff-- located between the two dots (the fourth line of the staff).

Intervals

The distance between two notes is called and interval. A half step is the smallest possible interval in Western music. A whole step is made up of two half steps. 5 Half steps naturally occur between B & C and E & F on C-tuned instruments. What this mean is that to go from E natural to F natural, without using any sharps, is a half step. The same goes for B to C. A natural is any unaltered tone. On the piano, it is the white keys.

The Staff

The musical staff consists of five equally spaced horizontal lines which makes four spaces in between them.We number these lines from the bottom up. The first line is the bottom line, the 2nd line is the one above the bottom line and you know how things go after that.

The Slur

The slur is a curved line that connects two or more notes of different pitches. It looks like a tie, but only indicates that the notes should be played legato (smooth and connected).

The Tie

The tie is a curved line that connects two notes and adds their rhythmic value. In other words, it is a big plus sign. (Example: a quarter note tied to another quarter note would be held for 2 beats TOTAL)

Types of Clefs

The word "clef" comes from a French word meaning "key." Just like the key of a map, a clef gives us information on how to read a staff. A clef is a symbol placed at the beginning of a line of music that establishes what the letter names on the lines spaces of a staff will be.

Tempo Related Terms

There are also terms that affect the tempo of a piece other than just bpm: accelerando (accel.) = speed up gradually allargando (allarg.) = slow down and grow louder ritardando (rit.) = slow down gradually rallentando (rall.) = slow down gradually

Accidentals

An accidental is a symbol that alters a note by a half step by using a sharp, a flat, or a natural: Sharp (♯): Makes a note higher in pitch by a half step. Flat (♭): Makes a note lower in pitch by a half step. Natural (♮): Returns a note to its original pitch after having been sharpened or flattened. (***Note: Naturals also cancel out sharps or flats implied by a key signature, which we will talk about later***)

Asymmetrical Meters

Asymmetrical meters cannot be divided into equal groups of 2, 3 or 4. The most common upper number of these meters are 5 or 7.

Bar Lines

Bar lines are lines that divide the staff into measures.

Simple Meter

In simple meter, each beat can break down into two parts:

Fine or End

Indicates the end a piece or a musical score.

Meter: Time Signatures

Meter is defined as a "regular, recurring pattern of strong and weak beats". In simple terms, it tells us how many beats fit into one measure and what we should count to. A time signature (a symbol showing meter)is made up of two numbers and always appears at the beginning of a piece. The top number of a time signature tells us how many (Ex:3), and the bottom number tells us what kind of note (Ex: 4= quarter note). In time signatures when the bottom number is 2, it stands for a half note, 4 stands for a quarter note, 8 stands for an eighth note, 16 stands for a sixteenth note and 32 stands for a thirty-second note.

How to draw a Treble Clef:

See the clef curling around the second line? This indicates that G is located at the second line. Using this information, we can then identify the notes on the other lines and spaces on the staff using the G on the second line as our reference point.

Rhythm Clef: Neutral clef or Percussion Clef

This is a clef that is use for non-pitched instruments, like the drums or a percussion section. This clef primarily shows the rhythm of a piece of music without specific pitches. Percussion staves don't always use five lines either - sometimes they only have one line.