Music in Theory & Practice Ch 1

Tie

- a curved line that connects notes of the same pitch into - a single sound with a duration equal to the sum of both note values

Rhythm

- a general term used to describe the motion of music in time - the fundamental unit of rhythm is the pulse or beat

Irregular Divisions of Notes

- a note value may be divided or subdivided into any number of equal parts - those divisions and subdivisions that require added number are called divisions and subdivisions

Meter

- a regular, recurring pattern of strong a weak beats - this recurring pattern of durations is identified at the beginning of a composition by a meter signature (time signature)

Mensural (Measured) Notation

- a system that included durational values as well as pitch, developed during the 13 as well as pitch

Asymmetrical Meters

- applies to those meter signatures that indicate the pulse - cannot be divided into equal group of 2, 3, or 4 beats the upper numbers in asymmetrical meters are usually 5 or 7

Pitch

- describes the highness or lowness (the frequency of the tone - represented by symbols positioned on a staff and identified with letter names in music notation

Simple Meter

- each beat is divided in two parts - the upper numbers are usually 2, 3, or 4 - the basic pulse in simpler meter will be some kind of a note value that is not dotted

Compound Meter

- each pulse is a dotted note, which is divided into groups of three parts (compound division) - the upper numbers are usually 6, 9, and 12 - the lower number refers to the division of the beat - the basic pulse will be some kind of dotted note value

Neumatic Notation

- from about 650 to 1200, music notation consisted of a set of symbols called neumes - these symbols took their name from the Greek word forgesture - could not convey pitch or duration - served as a memory aid in recalling previously learned melodic lines - horizontal lines wee gradually added to indicate the location of F and C - a four-line staff appeared that included the F line, the C line, and 2 additional lines during the 11th century - combined with the staff, neumes could now indicate specific pitches - the 4-line staff is still used to notate Gregorian chant

Directions For Notation: Compound Meter

- in compound meter, it is important to show the basic pulse structure of the measure and the division (of three) as clearly as possible - use flags for eight or shorter-values notes that are ot grouped within a beat

Half-Step Motion

- in passages of music involving half-step motion, a flatted note is followed most often by a note with a different letter name a half step lower - a sharped note is followed most often by a note with a different letter name a half step higher in passages involving half-step motion

Interval

- the relationship between two tones - the half step is the smallest interval used in Western music (it's the interval between 2 adjacent keys-black or white-on the keyboard)

Directions For Notation: Stems

- the stems of single notes within the staff should be about one octave in length - when a staff contains only a single melody, stems go down on those notes above the middle line and up on those notes below the middle line - when a note is on the middle line, the stem is usually down, except when the stems of adjacent notes are in the opposite direction

Directions For Notation: Bars

- the whole rest can be used to indicate a full measure of rest in any meter - use two quarter rests rater than a half rest in a 3/4 meter

Grand Staff

- together, the treble and bass staves make up a grand staff - the two C's are the same pitch: middle C - associated most often with keyboard music

Asymmetrical Meter Signatures

5/4, 5/8, 5/16, 7/4, 7/8, 7/16

Letter Names

A B C D E F G

Clef

a symbol placed at the beginning of a line of music that establishes the letter names of the lines and the spaces of the staff

C8

highest note on the piano

Natural

cancels any previous sharp of flat and returns to the natural, or unaltered pitch

Syncopation

if a part of the measure that is usually unstressed is accented, the rhythm is considered to be syncopated

Staff

consists of five equally spaced horizontal lines

Dynamic Markings

indicate the general volume (amplitude) of sound

8vh

indicates when a pitch sounds an octave below the written note

C4

middle C

Duple, Triple, and Quadruple Meters

duple- have 2 basic pulses triple- have 3 basic pulses quadruple- have 4 basic pulses 2/4- simple duple meter 6/8- compound duple meter

Enharmonic Equivalents

tones that have the same pitch but different letter names

Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, and Baritone Clefs

used less often than alto and tenor clefs

Directions For Notation: 2 Melodies on the Same Staff

when 2 melodies occupy the same staff, the stems for one melody are up and the stems for the other melody are down

Directions For Notation: Ledger Lines

when stemmed noted notes are place on ledger lines, the stems should extend to the middle line of the staff

Alto Clef

- C clef that designates the 3rd line of the staff as middle C - standard clef used in music for viola

Tenor Clef

- C clef that designates the fourth line of the staff as middle C - occasionally found in music written for cello, bassoon, or trombone

Directions For Notation: Irregular Divisions

- irregular divisions of a beat or measure are indicated by showing the number of notes in the resulting group by means of an Arabic numeral - the note values of the irregular group are notated the same way as the regular group, provided the number of notes in the irregular group is less than twice that of the regular - e.g. a triplet retains the same note values as a regular duplet - when the number of notes in the irregular group is more than twice the number of the regular, then the next smaller note value is used

Dot

- lengthens the value of the note by half again its value - a second dot lengthens the dotted note value by half the length of the first dot

C Clef

- may be positioned on any line of the staff to designate middle C - coupled w/ a set of secondary names that identify each of the possible positions

Directions For Notation: Notes

- noteheads are oval in shape & positioned on the staff lines and spaces at a slight upward slant - when notes of a chord are on an adjacent line and space, the higher of the 2 is always to the right, regardless of the direction of the stem - when a dotted note is on a line, the dot is usually placed slightly above the line - when 2 separate voices are placed on a single staff, the dots are below the line on the notes with stems down

Present Notation

- our present system of notation evolved from 13th century practices - a treatise on mensural notation, De Musica Mensurabili (Ars Cantus Mensurabilis), by Franco of Cologne (active 1250-1280), contains the fundamental rules of modern tradition - graphic details such as the shape the of notes & clefs have changed - new symbols have been (and continue to be) invented as needed to better communicate the growing complexity of music

8va

- pitch sound an octave above the written note - used when a large number of ledger lines make not reading difficult

Directions For Notation: Beams

- when connected by beams, stemmed notes should be modified so that the beams are slanted to cross no more than one line of the staff for each group of notes - beams are slightly thicker than note stems - connect no more than six notes by beams unless all are part of one beat - flagged and beamed notes are generally not mixed, except when notating vocal music - in vocal music, flagged notes have traditionally been used when the text-music relationship involves one note for each syllable - modern practice has moved toward the use of "instrumental" notation for vocal music

Directions For Notation: Dynamics Markings Placement

instrumental music: - usually placed beneath the staff to which they refer - sometimes placed above the staff because of inadequate spacing vocal music: - usually placed above the staff to which they refer - done to avoid confusion w/ text piano scores: - placed between the staves if the markings are to apply to both staves - if markings are needed for each staff individually, the markings should go just above or below the staff to which they refer - markings should not be placed on the staff, although the crescendo and diminuendo will protrude into the staff on occasion

Flat

lowers the pitch a half step

Double Flat

lowers the pitch two half steps

A0

lowest note on the piano

Ledger lines

pitches that go beyond the limits of the staff are written by adding ledger lines above or below the staff ledger lines accommodate only one note

Sharp

raises the pitch a half step

Double Sharp

raises the pitch two half steps

Accidentals

symbols that are placed to the left of the noteheads to indicate the raising of lowering a pitch