INTRO TO READING
Music notation is the representation of sound with symbols, from basic notations for pitch, duration, and timing, to more advanced descriptions of expression, timbre, and even special effects.
You will notice that this page and the intro to harmony and theory page are quite similar. The reason being is that the basics for learning reading and harmony and theory are the same. Later, when you progress past the basics of reading you will learn about such topics as:
Shaping and Volume Symbols
Syncopated Rhythms
Odd Time Meters
Complex Song Forms
and lots more…
Staff – Clefs – Leger Lines
The foundation of our notational system is called the staff (or stave). Staves is usually used as the plural. It is a grid system comprised of five lines and the spaces between them.
The position of the notes placed on the staff visually represents the relative “highness” or “lowness” of the pitches.
Each of the lines and spaces are assigned a letter name. The letter names are arranged alphabetically in ascending order: A B C D E F G. The location of the letter names is determined by a clef placed at the beginning of the staff. The following example uses the F clef. The F clef (or sometimes called the bass clef) locates the F below middle C on the fourth line of the staff.
The following picture shows the G clef. The G clef (or treble clef) locates the G above middle C on the second line of the staff.
Small lines called ledger lines can be added to the staff to extend its range higher or lower.
To summarize, it is essential that the student be fluent in recognizing notes in both of the clefs (treble and bass). I cover all of this and much more in our lessons.
Accidentals
Examining the piano or keyboard will show that there are notes between most of the white keys. These are the black keys on the piano. These pitches are half steps between the adjacent white keys. A sharp (#) is the symbol used to indicate the pitch is a half step higher.
By examining the keyboard, while most sharps or flats will be the black keys, some may be another white key directly beneath or above another white key. This applies to the pairs of white keys which do not share a black key in between.
Come find out more in a private lesson.
Measures – Notes / Rests – Time Signatures
Rhythm is the organization of music as it relates to time. One of the most basic aspects of rhythm is pulse, which is a steady recurring pattern of beats. This recurring pattern of beats is divided into strong and weak beat that repeat during a piece of music. This regularly recurring pattern of beats is called meter. The most common meter divides a pulse into 4 beat segments. The next most common meter divides the pulse into 3 beat segments.
The meter is divided into measures or bars. Bar lines separate each measure. A double bar line is a thin line followed by a thick line. The double bar line occurs only at the end of a piece of music. Sometimes the double line is called the final bar line because you stop playing when you reach this bar line.
Music notation uses symbols to represent pitch and rhythm as well as silence. These symbols are called notes and rests. The chart below shows some some of the most common symbols used to represent music on a staff.
The time signature is a set of numbers placed at the beginning of a piece of music. The top number indicates the number of beats in a measure and the bottom number indicates which basic rhythmic value represents the duration of one beat.
The top number “4” indicates that there are 4 beats in each measure. The bottom number “4” indicates that the quarter note (the “4” mean one quarter or 1/4th of the measure) receives one beat. This time signature would also make the half note worth 2 beats, and the hole note worth 4 beats.
