Note Reading
A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four spaces.
Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet (A B C D E F G).
A clef is a musical symbol placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the letter names of the lines and spaces.
The two main clefs are the treble and the bass:
A grand staff is a combination of both the treble and bass clefs connected by a vertical line on the left side of the staves (plural staffs).
Ledger Lines are an extension of the staff. They are additional lines both above and below which are parallel to the staff. Each ledger line contains one note.
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Note Values
Each note has a specific duration.Meter
Meter is the regular recurring pattern of strong and weak beats of equal duration; also known as time. The meter or time signature in a musical composition is indicated by a fraction, and located at the beginning of a piece of music. The lower number of the fraction tells what kind of note receives one beat. The upper number tells how many beats are in a measure. In Western music there are two types of meter, simple and compoud. In simple meter the upper number is either 2, 3, or 4. Each beat is subdivided by two.
In compound meter the upper number is either 6,9, or 12. Each beat is a dotted note and subdivided into groups of three beats.
Intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes. Intervals are always counted from the lower note to the higher one, with the lower note being counted as one. Intervals come in different qualities and size. If the notes are sounded successively, it is a melodic interval. If sounded simultaneously, then it is a harmonic interval.The smallest interval used in Western music is the half step. A visual representation of a half step would be the distance between a consecutive white and black note on the piano. There are two exceptions to this rule, as two natural half steps occur between the notes E and F, and B and C.
A whole step is the distance between two consecutive white or black keys. It is made up of two half steps.
Intervals come in various sizes: Unisons, Seconds, Thirds, Fourths, Fifths, Sixths, and Sevenths.
2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths can be found as Major and Minor.
Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and Octaves are Perfect.
When a major interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes minor.
When a major interval is lowered by two half steps, it becomes diminished.
When a minor interval is raised by a half step, it becomes major.
When a minor interval is raised by two half steps, it becomes augmented.
When a minor interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes diminished.
When a perfect interval is raised by a half step, it becomes augmented.
When a perfect interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes diminished.
Qualities
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Interval Identification
It is important to be able to hear and identify intervals. This is a very important thing for musicians to do. Here is a list of familiar songs that will help you to identify the intervals.
m2- Stormy Weather | m2 |
M2- Happy Birthday | M2 |
m3- The Impossible Dream | m3 |
M3- Halls of Montezuma | M3 |
P4- Here comes the bride | P4 |
A4- Maria from West Side Story | A4 |
P5- Star Wars | P5 |
M6- NBC theme music | M6 |
m7- Somewhere from West Side Story | m7 |
M7- Bali Hai from South Pacific | M7 |
Octave- Over the rainbow | Oct. |
Scales
There are many different types of scales. They are the backbone of music. A major scale is a series of 8 consecutive notes that use the following pattern of half and whole steps. Db-C#, Gb-F#, Cb-B, are enharmonic keys, meaning that they are written differently, but sound the same. There are 15 major and 15 minor key signatures. The sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff indicate the main tone (diatonic) to which other tones are related.
Chords & Symbols
All triads have three positions that they can be arranged in. The root, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversion.
Root Position Triad
If the triad root is in the lowest voice then the triad is in Root Position.
If the third of the triad is in the lowest voice the triad is the 1st inversion.
If the 5th of the triad is in the lowest voice, the triad is in the 2nd inversion.
Figured Bass was developed in the early Baroque period. It was a system of musical shorthand that made the writing of keyboard parts easier. It was customary for the composer to write out the bass line and to place Arabic numerals above or below the figured bass to indicate the harmonies. The keyboard part was called the continuo, which was improvised by the player.
In figured bass the Arabic numerals represent the intervals that sound above a given bass part. Certain abbreviations have become well known.
Alterations from the given key signature are indicated by placing an accidental before the Arabic numeral.
An accidental, such as a sharp, flat, or natural that appears by itself under a bass note indicates a triad in root position with the third interval above the bass note sharped, flatted or naturaled.
Any sharp, flat, or natural sign beside the Arabic number indicates that this interval above the bass note should be sharped, flatted, or naturaled depending on the symbol.
4 b4
Sometimes, composers used a slash through the Arabic number instead of a sharp. They both mean the same thing.
In the early 1800's, German composers started to use roman numerals to symbolize harmony. Each note in a scale can have a triad or chord built above it. Upper case (Major) and lower case (minor) Roman Numerals are used to indicate the type of chord. I, IV, V are major triads/chords, ii, iii, vi are minor triads/chords, and vii is diminished.
Expression Marks
Largo | Very slow |
Larghetto | Not as slow as largo |
Adagio | Slow, leisurely |
Lento | Slow |
Moderato | Moderate |
Andante | Moving with a moderate tempo |
Andantino | Faster than andante |
Allegretto | A little slower than allegro |
Allegro | Moderately fast |
Vivace | Lively, animated, brisk |
Presto | Fast, rapid |
Prestissimo | Very rapidly |
Dynamics
Pianissimo | Very soft |
Piano | Soft |
Mezzo piano | Moderately soft |
Mezzo forte | Moderately loud |
Forte | Loud |
Fortissimo | Very loud |
Crescendo | Increasing in loudness |
Decrescendo | decreasing in loudness |
Diminuendo | diminishing in loudness |
Rinforzando | sudden increase in loudness |
Sforzando | play the note with sudden emphasis |
Amoroso | tender and affectionate |
Animato | animated; lively |
Calando | gradually softer and slower |
Cantabile | in a singing style |
Con Anima | with life and animation |
Con Brio | with vigor and spirit |
Con Fuoco | with energy or passion |
Deciso | decisively |
Detache | detached |
Dolce | sweetly |
Doloroso | sorrowfully |
Espressivo | expressively |
Furioso | furious |
Giocoso | humorous |
Grandioso | with grandeur |
Grazioso | gracefully |
Legato | smooth and connected |
Leggiero | lightly |
Maestoso | majestically |
Marcato | marked and stressed |
Marzial | in the style of a march |
Morendo | dying away |
Perdendosi | dying away |
Pesante | heavy |
Religioso | religious, solemn |
Rubato | taken out of tempo |
Semplice | simple |
Sempre | always, continuously |
Sostenuto | sustained |
Soto voce | in an undertone |
Staccato | short and detached |
Tenuto | sustained, held for full value |
Tranquillo | tranquill |
Staccato | a dot placed above or below a note means to play it short |
Slur | a curved line either above or below notes that connects two different pitches that are to be played smoothly |
Tie | a curved line either above or below two of the same notes indicating not to attack the second note |
Tenuto | a line above or below the note means to play the full value of the note |
Accent | an accent placed above or below the note means to emphasise the not |
Breath Mark | an apostrophe placed above the staff means to take a breath |
Assai | very |
Con | with |
L'istesso tempo | same tempo |
Meno | less |
Mosso | moved, agitated |
Non troppo | not too much |
Piu mosso | faster |
Poco | little |
Poco a poco | little by little |
Sempre | always |
Simile | in the same manner |
Subito | suddenly |