P D C G Middle C u B

Transcription

1 READIN MUSIC NOTES With Ease E For the Earliest BeginnerA P D C Middle C B f F BETTY WANER Associate Trinity College London, Associate Msic Astralia READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 1 A Nova Book Company Pblication

2 READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE: For the Earliest Beginner by Betty Wagner ATCL, A Ms A Edited and Illstrated by Anne Dollin Msic Clips by John Wagner For Alex and James Pblished in 2004 by NOVA BOOK COMPANY PO Box 746, Potts Point NSW 1335, Astralia Additional copies may be prchased from: Copyright 2004 Betty Dawn Wagner All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the prposes of private stdy, research, criticism or review as permitted nder the Copyright Act, no part of this pblication may be reprodced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withot the written permission of the pblisher. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 2

3 Sond and Msic Clips in this Booklet Sond and msic clips have been embedded throghot this booklet to illstrate the material covered. To hear these clips yo need to view this pdf with Adobe Reader 6 or 7. These programs are available as free downloads from System Reqirements for Adobe Reader 6.0.1: Windows Intel Pentim processor or compatible Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennim Edition, Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6, Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 32MB of RAM (64MB recommended) 60MB of available hard-disk space Internet Explorer 5.01, 5.5, 6.0, or 6.1 Macintosh PowerPC 3 processor Mac OS X v MB of RAM with virtal memory on (64MB recommended) 70MB of available hard-disk space System Reqirements for Adobe Reader 7.0: Windows Intel Pentim processor or compatible Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 128MB of RAM Up to 90MB of available hard-disk space Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher Macintosh PowerPC 3 processor Mac OS X v or 10.3 Up to 35MB of RAM Up to 125MB of available hard-disk space A QickTime player mst also be added to Windows systems in order to play the embedded QickTime msic clips. QickTime players are available as free downloads from For frther tips abot installing Adobe Reader and QickTime on yor compter, please visit: If yo have Acrobat Reader 5, yo will still be able to read and print ot this pdf booklet. However, yo will not be able to play the embedded sond and msic clips. Sond clips have been embedded behind faces of the ang of Seven members. Msic clips have been embedded behind featred notes in the keyboard and staff diagrams, too. For example: Click here to hear Fritz speak Click here to hear the piano notes F To play a clip, simply click on these parts of the page with yor mose. See how many clips yo can find! Sometimes the ang of Seven members say different things. Can yo find these places? READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 3

4 CONTENTS Chapter 1 The Piano Keyboard and the Msical Alphabet... 5 Chapter 2 The reat Staff...14 Chapter 3 The First Eleven Notes...15 Chapter 4 The Next Six Notes...23 Chapter 5 The Final For Notes...28 Smmary Chart The reat Staff A Msical Map...32 READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 4

5 { { Chapter 1 THE PIANO KEYBOARD AND THE MUSICAL ALPHABET A B C D E F DID YOU KNOW that all the beatifl msic we hear day after day is written and played on only seven notes of different letter names: A, B, C, D, E, F and? Where are these notes fond on a piano keyboard? To make it easy to remember where each note is fond, let s read the story of the ang of Seven. This story will help yo find these seven notes with ease. First, take a look at a piano keyboard. Yo will see that all the black notes are in grops of either two or three. Let s pretend that each grop of two black notes is a Dog s Kennel, and each grop of three black notes is a Hose with Three Chimneys: Dog s Kennel Hose with Three Chimneys A Tip! There are NINE msic clips embedded in this diagram. Can yo find them all? MIDDLE C C D E F A B The white notes near the Dog s Kennel and the Hose with Three Chimneys are C, D, E, F,, A and B. These are the first seven notes we need to learn. Now, trn the page to read the story of the ang of Seven, which will tell yo how to se the Dog s Kennel and the Hose with Three Chimneys to find all seven notes in the msical alphabet! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 5

6 { Middle C MIDDLE C Dog s Kennel First let s meet Middle C with his party hat on! He loves to eat honey cake so he s very chbby. He owns the dog so yo ll find him right beside the dog s kennel. DID YOU KNOW Middle C is fond at abot the middle of the standard piano keyboard. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 6

7 { Middle C DEE THE DO Dog s Kennel Here is Dee, the fzzy little Dog that belongs to Middle C. Dee sleeps inside her warm cosy kennel. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 7

8 { Middle C EVIE Dog s Kennel Pretty Evie loves dogs. She sits close beside the kennel so that she can pat Dee, the dog. Evie s boyfriend, Fritz, is right beside her on the next note READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 8

9 { Middle C FRITZ Hose with Three Chimneys This is Fritz with his spiky hair. Fritz is on gard at the Front of the Hose with Three Chimneys. Fritz likes it here becase he is right beside his girlfriend, Evie. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 9

10 { Middle C OODY and ANDY Hose with Three Chimneys Two brothers, oody and Andy, live inside the Hose with Three Chimneys. oody has crly hair. Andy has a red bow tie. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 10

11 { Middle C BUZZ THE BEE Hose with Three Chimneys Finally let s meet Bzz the Bee. She has a big sting and she gards the Back of the Hose with Three Chimneys. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 11

12 Now we have met all the members of the ang of Seven: Middle C, Dee the Dog, Evie, Fritz, oody, Andy and Bzz the Bee. They stand for the seven letters of the msical alphabet: C, D, E, F,, A and B. The little stories we have given yo linked each member of the ang of Seven to the Dog s Kennel or to the Hose with Three Chimneys. If yo remember these little stories yo will easily be able to find each letter of the msical alphabet on yor keyboard. Now take a look at yor keyboard. How many different Dog s Kennels can yo find? How many different Hoses with Three Chimneys can yo find? The same ang of Seven members are fond with them all. For example, Dee the Dog is inside every Dog s Kennel, and oody and Andy are inside every Hose with Three Chimneys. How many times can yo find the following members of the ang of Seven on yor keyboard? Dee the Dog oody Evie Bzz the Bee Fritz Andy Middle C is a very special note. There is actally only one Middle C. It is sally near the middle of yor keyboard. Yor teacher will show yo where it is. The other notes that are fond jst to the left of each Dog s Kennel are jst called C. Do yo remember that chbby Middle C likes to eat honey cake? The C notes are right beside the Bees on the keyboard too! The Bees provide the C notes with honey for their cakes. Can yo find Middle C on yor keyboard? How many other C notes can yo find on yor keyboard? READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 12

13 { { { { { { MIDDLE C In this booklet we are particlarly interested in learning the twenty one notes that are fond near the middle of the keyboard ten notes on either side of Middle C. Hose with Three Chimneys Dog s Kennel Hose with Three Chimneys Dog s Kennel Hose with Three Chimneys Dog s Kennel A B C D E F A B D E F A B C D E F These notes covered in Chapter 3 These notes covered in Chapter 4 These notes covered in Chapter 5 There are three Dog s Kennels and three Hoses with Three Chimneys in these twenty one notes. Yo will also find three fll sets of the ang of Seven in these notes. Have a look at yor keyboard and see if yo can find these twenty one notes on yor keyboard. Can yo name all of the ang of Seven members on these notes on yor keyboard? In the following chapters, the ang of Seven will help yo find these notes on the msical staff, which is known as the reat Staff or the reat Stave. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 13

14 THE REAT STAFF When yo open a book containing msical tnes yo will notice that there are what looks a bit like two little fences going across the page, each with five railings. Each of these two little fences is called a Staff or Stave. Treble clef Chapter 2 Treble staff ò Bracket or brace Bass clef Bass staff Bar line Doble bar line The staffs are joined at the beginning with a bracket and a bar line, and at the very end of the tne they are finished with a doble bar line. The tne is divided into small sections called bars (or measres). The bars are separated by single bar lines. At the beginning of the first fence or staff will be the sign. This is called the Treble Clef or Clef. The fence with the treble clef is sed for the higher notes of the piano. It is called the Treble Staff. At the beginning of the second fence or staff will be the sign. This is called the Bass Clef or F Clef. The fence with the bass clef is sed for the lower notes of the piano. It is called the Bass Staff. The treble staff and the bass staff together make p the reat Staff. On each staff yo will also see oval shapes which often have a stem on one side, and can also have a hook or flag. These stand for the notes on the keyboard. Here are some of these notes to begin with: f P On the following pages or old friends, the ang of Seven, are going to help s learn to read these notes on the reat Staff! The little stories will help yo easily find the ang of Seven members on both the treble staff and the bass staff. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 14 o C b

15 Chapter 3 THE FIRST ELEVEN NOTES The first member of the ang of Seven that we will find on the reat Staff is Middle C. Middle C is a very special note becase he is right in the middle between the two staffs! Here are the two different ways of writing Middle C: Yo will find Middle C in two places first line below the treble staff, and first line above the bass staff. DID YOU KNOW Middle C sits on a little short line all of his own that makes him look like he has a hat on. The little line is called a Ledger Line. ò Here is a little poem to sm p everything we have learned so far abot staffs The Treble Staff is UP A BOVE The Bass Staff is DOWN BELOW And in the MIDDLE is MIDDLE C. First line the Treble Staff BELOW First line ABOVE the Bass Staff too. He s as MAIC as can be! And he wears his HAT to tea. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 15

16 ò MIDDLE C ò MIDDLE C MIDDLE C Remember Middle C with his party hat on? He loves to eat cake so he s very chbby. Middle C is in two very special places between the treble staff and the bass staff. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 16

17 ò BUZZ THE BEE and DEE THE DO ò B MIDDLE C MIDDLE C D Bzz the Bee is flying back and forth along the top of the bass staff jst below Middle C, watching ot for brglars. Middle C also has his little dog, Dee, jst above him. Here is Dee the Dog poking her nose nderneath the treble staff. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 17

18 INTRODUCIN TWO IMPORTANT LINES ò LINE oody F F LINE Here are two very important lines which will help s remember the notes on the bass and treble staffs: Fritz Fritz is on the F Line, which is the second line DOWN on the bass staff. oody is on the Line, which is the second line UP on the treble staff. They match don t they! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 18

19 ò FRITZ the Boss of the Bass Staff F F LINE Fritz has the boss job on the BASS staff. Fritz is in charge of the F clef (or bass clef). So he is on the line called the F Line that goes between the two dots of the bass clef. Fritz has a rond smooth head that looks like the bass clef. The Bass Clef sign came from the letter F written in an old fashioned way: READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 19

20 ò EVIE and FRITZ, OODY and ANDY (LAST FOUR NOTES ON THE BASS STAFF) E F A Here are Evie and Fritz on the bass staff. Fritz is easy to find, on his special line in charge of the bass clef. Fritz s girlfriend Evie is in the space jst below Fritz. Here are the brothers, oody and Andy, on the bass staff. They love to climb so yo will find them jst above their great friend, Fritz. Andy (with his red bow tie) is the better climber so he is always jst above his brother, oody. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 20

21 ò OODY the Boss of the Treble Staff LINE oody has the boss job on the TREBLE staff. oody is in charge of the clef (or treble clef). So he is on the line, called the Line, that goes right throgh the central crl of the treble clef. His crly hair looks like the crly treble clef. The Treble Clef sign came from the letter written in an old fashioned way: READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 21

22 ò EVIE and FRITZ, OODY and ANDY (FIRST FOUR NOTES ON THE TREBLE STAFF) F E A Here are Evie and Fritz again on the treble staff. Evie likes to pat Dee the Dog, so she sits jst above Dee on the first line of the treble staff. Evie s boyfriend Fritz is in the space jst above her. Here are the brothers, oody and Andy, on the treble staff. oody is easy to find, on his special line in charge of the treble clef. Andy (with his red bow tie) is the better climber so he is always jst above his brother, oody. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 22

23 Chapter 4 THE NEXT SIX NOTES The eleven notes we have learned to read in Chapter 3 on the reat Staff go as follows: The last for notes on the bass staff: Evie and Fritz, oody and Andy; Bzz the Bee, Middle C, and Dee the Dog; Then in between the staffs: Then the first for notes on the treble staff: Evie and Fritz, oody and Andy; If yo practise these notes sing the Msic With Ease Flashcards ntil yo can remember them qickly, yo will find that all of the msic yo learn in the ftre will be mch easier to read! Now the ang of Seven will help s learn the next six notes on the reat Staff READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 23

24 ò LOW C and HIH C ò HIH C LOW C The first C note below Middle C is located eight notes (one octave) below Middle C on the bass staff. We shall call this special note Low C. The first C note above Middle C is located one octave above Middle C on the treble staff. We shall call this special note High C. Low C and High C are easy to find! Low C is in the second space UP on the bass staff. And High C is in the second space DOWN on the treble staff. They match don t they! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 24

25 ò BUZZ THE BEE and DEE THE DO (Bass staff) B LOW C D Low C has a Bee named Bzz, and a Dog named Dee, one on either side of him, jst as Middle C does. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 25

26 ò BUZZ THE BEE and DEE THE DO (Treble staff) B HIH C D High C also has a Bee named Bzz, and a Dog named Dee, one on either side of him, jst as Middle C does. READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 26

27 SUMMARY CHART OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NOTES Here are the most important notes we have learnt. They set the position of all the other notes on the reat Staff so far. ò OODY ON THE LINE HIH C MIDDLE C FRITZ ON THE F LINE LOW C These pairs of notes all match, don t they! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 27

28 Chapter 5 THE FINAL FOUR NOTES We have now learned to read 17 notes on and between the bass and treble staffs. There are only for more notes to go of the 21 notes we are learning to read in this booklet. This will complete all the notes on the reat Staff. There will be three complete grops of the ang of Seven in these 21 notes. We have already seen three C notes, each with his Bee named Bzz, and his Dog named Dee. However, so far we have only seen two each of the Evie and Fritz pair, and two each of the oody and Andy pair. So, as oody and Andy are the last two notes on the bass staff, let s make them the first two notes on the bass staff too! And, as Evie and Fritz are the first two notes on the treble staff, let s make them the last two notes on the treble staff too! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 28

29 ò OODY and ANDY (Bass Staff) A A oody and Andy are the last two notes on the bass staff. So we will make oody and Andy the first two notes on the bass staff too! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 29

30 ò EVIE and FRITZ (Treble staff) E F E F Evie and Fritz are the first two notes on the treble staff. So we will make Evie and Fritz the last two notes on the treble staff too! READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 30

31 Now we have learned to read twenty one notes from the very Bottom line of the Bass staff to the very Top line of the Treble staff the whole of the reat Staff. We have got to know the ang of Seven very well and have fond three complete sets of the ang of Seven members on the reat Staff! Practise these notes sing the Msic With Ease Flash Cards (inclded as a free bons with this booklet) ntil yo can recognise them all instantly. We hope the ang of Seven have helped yo to learn to read msic notes with ease! For a fn way to learn to read all the notes on the ledger lines, below, between and above the treble and bass staffs, sing jst two simple poems, read or next booklet, Reading Ledger Line Notes With Ease available from the Msic With Ease website. Read more details... READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE Page 31

32 THE REAT STAFF A MUSICAL MAP M I D D L E READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE A B C D E F A B C D E F A B C D E F Page 32 ò LINE HIH C MIDDLE C F LINE LOW C FIRST ELEVEN NOTES NEXT SIX NOTES FINAL FOUR NOTES READIN MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE PAE 32

33 QUESTION Msic With Ease FLASH CARDS FLASH CARDS ANSWER Pblished in 2004 by NOVA BOOK COMPANY PO Box 746, Potts Point NSW 1335, Astralia BETTY WANER Associate Trinity College London, Associate Msic Astralia A Nova Book Company Pblication Betty Wagner Additional copies may be prchased from: Copyright 2004 Betty Dawn Wagner All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the prposes of private stdy, research, criticism or review as permitted nder the Copyright Act, no part of this pblication may be reprodced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withot the written permission of the pblisher. These Msic With Ease Flash Cards cover the 21 notes from the bottom of the bass staff to the top of the treble staff. QUESTION How to Use Yor Msic With Ease Flash Cards There are two complete flash cards on every page of this pdf docment, each with a Qestion side and an Answer side. 1. Print ot one copy of every page. ANSWER They are designed to be sed with the booklet, Reading Msic Notes With Ease by Betty Wagner. With the stories of the ang of Seven characters told in this booklet, stdents can learn to read these fndamental 21 notes on the reat Staff, in no time at all! Reading Msic Notes With Ease (in two versions: for the Earliest Beginner or for the Adlt Beginner) and other niqe booklets on learning msic are available from the Msic With Ease website: Betty Wagner 2. Ct along the dotted lines on each page to separate and trim the flash cards. 3. Prchase a small photo albm which holds at least x 15 cm photographs, and displays jst one photograph per page. Slip the QUESTION side of the first flash card into the first pocket and the ANSWER side of that flash card into the reverse side of the same pocket. Contine ntil all the flash cards are set p in the albm 4. Flip throgh the albm reglarly, identifying the notes on the Qestion side of each card and then checking yor answers. Before yo know it yo will be able to read all the 21 notes on the reat Staff with ease!

34 QUESTION MIDDLE C ANSWER 1 1 Betty Wagner Middle C can be written one line below the treble staff, or one line above the bass staff. This important note is right in the centre of the reat Staff. ò QUESTION 2 ANSWER MIDDLE C 2 Betty Wagner Middle C can be written one line below the treble staff, or one line above the bass staff. This important note is right in the centre of the reat Staff. ò

35 QUESTION 3 ANSWER B 3 Betty Wagner Bzz the Bee is flying back and forth along the top of the bass staff jst below Middle C, watching ot for brglars. Middle C B QUESTION D ANSWER 4 4 Betty Wagner Here is Dee the Dog poking her nose nderneath the treble staff. Dee the Dog is always jst above Middle C. Middle C D

36 QUESTION 5 ANSWER F 5 Betty Wagner Fritz is the boss of the F clef (or bass clef). So he is on the F line that goes between the two dots of the bass clef. F QUESTION E ANSWER 6 6 Betty Wagner Evie is in the space jst below her boyfriend, Fritz. (Fritz is easy to find on the F line of the bass staff.) E F A

37 QUESTION 7 ANSWER Betty Wagner oody and his brother, Andy, love to climb so yo will find them jst above their great friend, Fritz. (Fritz is easy to find on the F line of the bass staff.) E F A 7 QUESTION A ANSWER 8 8 Betty Wagner Andy, (with his red bow tie) is a better climber than his brother, oody. So Andy is always jst above oody on the staff. E F A

38 QUESTION ANSWER 9 9 Betty Wagner oody is the boss of the clef (or treble clef). So he is on the line that goes right throgh the central crl of the treble clef. QUESTION 10 ANSWER E 10 Betty Wagner Evie likes to pat Dee the Dog, so she sits near Dee, on the first line of the treble staff. Evie s boyfriend Fritz is in the space jst above her. D E F A

39 QUESTION 11 ANSWER F 11 Betty Wagner Fritz is in the space jst above his girlfriend, Evie. Fritz is also jst below oody (on the line) and his climbing brother, Andy. E F A QUESTION A ANSWER Betty Wagner Andy (with his red bow tie) is a better climber than his brother, oody, so he is always jst above oody on the staff. (oody is easy to find on the line of the treble staff.) E F A

40 QUESTION 13 ANSWER LOW C 13 Betty Wagner Low C is in the second space UP on the bass staff. And High C is in the second space DOWN on the treble staff. They match don t they! ò Low C High C QUESTION B ANSWER Betty Wagner Low C has a Bee named Bzz, jst below him, the same as Middle C does. B C

41 QUESTION 15 ANSWER D 15 Betty Wagner Low C has a Dog named Dee, jst above him, the same as Middle C does. C D QUESTION HIH C ANSWER Betty Wagner High C is in the second space DOWN on the treble staff. And Low C is in the second space UP on the bass staff. They match don t they! ò Low C High C

42 QUESTION B ANSWER Betty Wagner High C has a Bee named Bzz, jst below him, the same as Middle C does. B C QUESTION D ANSWER Betty Wagner High C has a Dog named Dee, jst above him, the same as Middle C does. C D

43 QUESTION ANSWER Betty Wagner oody and Andy are the last two notes on the bass staff. So we will make oody and Andy the first two notes on the bass staff too! A A QUESTION 20 ANSWER A 20 Betty Wagner oody and Andy are the last two notes on the bass staff. So we will make oody and Andy the first two notes on the bass staff too! A A

44 QUESTION 21 ANSWER E 21 Betty Wagner Evie and Fritz are the first two notes on the treble staff. So we will make Evie and Fritz the last two notes on the treble staff too! E F E F QUESTION F ANSWER Betty Wagner Evie and Fritz are the first two notes on the treble staff. So we will make Evie and Fritz the last two notes on the treble staff too! E F E F

45 Rhythm in Msic Note Lengths and Time Signatres By Betty Wagner, ATCL, AMsA OUR everyday lives throb with rhythms! Snrise and snset, The crashing of the waves, The ponding of a jogger s feet; and The beating of or hearts. Or speech also is filled with the rhythms of words and syllables, especially in the beatifl form of poetry. However, it is in msic that rhythm has probably reached its most systematic form. A reglar plse or beat is fond in all modern msic and the notes form rhythmic patterns of infinite variety. Or system of writing down the rhythms of msic is to se: Varios note shapes to indicate note lengths; and Time signatres to indicate the beat of the msic. Time Signatre 2 4. Different Note Shapes A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 1

46 Note Lengths Back in the thirteenth centry, only for symbols for note lengths had been developed. One was a black diamond eqivalent to or semibreve. The other notes were even longer: the Breve, the Longa and the Doble Longa (or Maxima)! Some 16th Centry Notes Maxima Minim Longa Semiminm The development of or modern set of note symbols from these early beginnings took hndreds of years, as we progressed from writing msic down on animal skin manscripts to the printing presses of today. Breve Semibreve h Fsa An easy way of nderstanding modern note lengths is shown in the chart on the next page. Msical rests follow the same patterns as the notes so they are also inclded in this chart. A NOTE indicates a msical sond. Its shape indicates its length. A REST indicates silence. Its shape indicates its length, which is the same as the length of its corresponding note. Notes may have three distinct parts: An oval note head. This can be either black or white; A stem. This is drawn on the left if it goes downwards, or on the right if it goes pwards; A Tip! Remember this by saying, Raise yor right hand to swear an oath in cort! A Hook or Flag. This is always drawn on the right side of the stem. Stem Note Head b Hook or flag In general, when notes are written on a staff, the stems of the notes: o UP if the note head is below the third line, and o DOWN if the note head is above the third line. o P On the third line they go UP or DOWN depending on the notes arond them. A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 2

47 CHART OF COMMONLY USED NOTES AND RESTS Semibreve (or Whole Note) Minim (or Half Note) Crotchet (or Qarter Note) Qaver (or Eighth Note) Notes f o P b C Rests Ÿ Ÿ ø œ Memory Aids Sammy hangs from the 4th line. (He is more adventros than his sister, Minnie ) Minnie sits on the 3rd line. The crotchet note looks like a crotchety old man, and the crotchet rest looks like a zigzag followed by a C. One Word (Qaver) One Hook! Comments From the semibreve note onwards, every time something is added to a note, it becomes half as long! A semibreve rest may be sed to fill a complete bar in any kind of time. In this case, it is called a Whole Bar Rest. The stems on notes are drawn on the left if they go downwards, and on the right if they go pwards. A dot after a note or a rest makes it half as long again. eg f. represents one and a half minims. The rests from the qaver rest onwards look like sevens! Semiqaver (or Sixteenth Note) v W œ œ Two Words (Semi-qaver) Two Hooks! From the qaver rest onwards, every time something is added to a rest, it becomes half as long! Demisemiqaver (or Thirty-second Note) p Q œ œœ Three Words (Demi-semi-qaver) Three Hooks! In the qaver, semiqaver and demisemiqaver notes, the hook is always on the right side of the stem. A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 3

48 Time Signatres A Time Signatre is a set of two nmbers written at the beginning of a piece of msic to describe the beat of the msic. The Time Signatre is always written after the Key Signatre (if there is one), or otherwise immediately after the Clef. The Top Nmber gives the nmber of beats in a bar (or a measre). The Bottom Nmber gives the vale of each beat: 2 = minim (or half note) 4 = crotchet (or qarter note) 8 = qaver (or eighth note) For example, a 2 A Tip! To remember this, think of an old-fashioned clock yo mst trn the key before it keeps the time. So the Key Signatre comes before the Time Signatre! time signatre indicates that there are two minim beats in every bar. Important note: Shorter notes sch as crotchets and qavers can also be sed, as long as the combination of notes in every bar makes p the correct nmber of beats. e.g. or P P or P C C C C P Conting Time When yo prepare to play a piece of msic, yo shold look at the Time Signatre and work ot how the melody fits into that rhythm. An easy way to do this is to cont ot the beats in each bar as yo play it. For example in a 2 slight stress on the first beat in each bar: 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 melody, yo wold cont ot two beats in the bar at an even pace, with a If the melody contains short notes sch as crotchets or qavers, yo may add the word and between the main beats, to help yo keep these short notes in time. However, the overall speed and rhythm mst stay the same: 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and Let s take a look at some time signatres and the way they are conted: A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 4

49 2 Time Signatre Two Minim Beats in the Bar Often sed for marches Pattern of beats: Strong Weak Strong Weak Lavender Ble Fingering 1 2 f o o A f E C 1 2 and (Click icon to hear song played) 2 5 4/ ofo o o C and 1 and 2 - oo a- and 1 and and 1 and and Lav- en- der ble dil-ly, dil-ly, Lav- en- der green. ø P C P 2 B o A f. 2 ø 2 4 Little Brown Jg Time Signatre Two Crotchet Beats in the Bar Often sed for marches or polkas Pattern of beats: Strong Weak Strong Weak F o o o E 3 o o o o o o o o P A B A B and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1- and 2 and and 1 and and Hah, ha, ha, yo and me, Li-ttle brown jg don t I love thee! C P D 2 P E A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 5

50 ) 3 4 Time Signatre Three Crotchet Beats in the Bar Often sed for waltzes Pattern of beats: Strong Medim Weak Strong Medim Weak Daisy, Daisy Fingering _ 3 4 (Click icon to hear song played) o f o F C o o o A A A f o f o F C B_ Bt yo ll look sweet, p- on the seat of a _ P C o A o F f cyo C f. F f 1 2 bi- cle bilt for two! 4 Time Signatre For Crotchet Beats in the Bar Pattern of beats: Strong Weak Medim Weak Strong Weak Medim Weak ood King Wenceslas _ o F o o o o F o f o D o o o f D E C ood King Wen- ces- las looked ot on the feast of Ste- ven. C F f F A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 6

51 ) 6 8 Drink to Me Only Time Signatre Six Qaver Beats in the Bar (or more correctly, two dotted crotchet beats in the bar see page 9) Often sed for fast waltzes or marches Pattern of beats: Strong Medim Weak Strong Medim Weak Strong Medim Weak Strong Medim Weak o ooo b o o o o o o 5 1 o D o o E o b o o F F F E E ) ) ) Drink to me on- ly wi- th thine ey- es and I will pledge with mine C D C C œ Two Common Abbreviations Back in the Middle Ages, time (or meter) was thoght to be a perfect time signatre related to the Holy Trinity. So this time signatre was indicated by a circle representing perfection. On the other hand, the time signatre half circle; and the time signatre The time signatre may be written as `; and The time signatre may be written as B. 2 was considered to be imperfect and was indicated by a was indicated by a half circle with a line thogh it. Today, similar versions of these latter two abbreviations are still in se: 4 A Classification of Time Signatres Time Signatres may be groped in two different ways: (a) (b) According to the nmber of beats in the bar: Dple two beats in each bar Triple three beats in each bar Qadrple for beats in each bar According to the type of note beats: Simple Time notes are groped according to simple note beats Compond Time notes are groped according to dotted note beats. On the following page we present a smmary chart of the Simple and Compond Time Signatres. A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 7

52 Dple 2 SIMPLE TIME SINATURES Triple Qadrple P P C C PPP C CC PPPP 4 8 C CCC Dple 6 COMPOUND TIME SINATURES Triple Qadrple P. P. C. C P. P. P. C. C. C P. P. P. P. C. C. C. C. Notes on Time Signatres Chart Simple Top Nmbers are 2, 3 and 4. The bottom nmbers in each case are 2, 4 and 8. The notes are groped according to simple note beats. Compond The top nmbers (6, 9 and 12) are three times those in the Simple Time Signatres. The bottom nmbers (4, 8 and 16) are two times those in the Simple Time Signatres. The notes are groped according to dotted note beats. A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 8

53 Simple and Dotted Note Beats As shown in the chart on page 8: In every time signatre, the notes are groped together according to either: SIMPLE minim, crotchet or qaver beats; or DOTTED minim, crotchet or qaver beats. Compond Time Signatres always have dotted note beats. For instance, althogh msic in the Compond Dple time of together into dotted crotchets. So we say that Similarly, althogh the Compond Qadrple time means twelve semiqavers in the bar, these notes are groped together into for dotted qaver beat grops that are eqivalent to the twelve semiqavers has six qavers in the bar, these are considered to be groped 6 8 msic has two dotted crotchet beats in the bar. The Simple Triple time,, and the Compond Dple time,, can both have six qaver notes in a bar. However, these two time signatres prodce qite different rhythms becase the notes are groped together in different ways: Simple Triple Three simple note beats 3 4 P P P P P P P P P Compond Dple Two dotted note beats 6 8 P P P P P P P. P. Asymmetric Time Signatres A variety of other time signatres occr in the folk msic of central and eastern Erope. Often there 5 5 is an neven nmber of beats in each bar. Examples inclde 4, 8 7 7, 4 and 8. These asymmetric time signatres are also sed by modern composers to enrich today s msic. Conclsion The rich tapestry of rhythm in msic is captred and conveyed to others by sing note symbols and time signatres. These systems, developed over many centries, offer access to the immense variety of written msic available today! Copyright 2004 Betty Dawn Wagner All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the prposes of private stdy, research, criticism or review as permitted nder the Copyright Act, no part of this pblication may be reprodced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withot the written permission of the pblisher. A MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS ARTICLE: RHYTHM IN MUSIC: NOTE LENTHS AND TIME SINATURES Page 9

54 Try Yor Hand at These ang of Seven ames! (Answers on Page 6) By est Athor, Anne Dollin, PhD Help Bzz the Bee pick the flowers with the best honey! The best flowers are marked with a B note. Color them orange! Help Dee the Dog pick the tastiest bones for her dinner! The tastiest bones are marked with a D note. Color them brown! MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS AMES Page 1

55 Help Middle C reach his cake! Middle C mst walk across this path, one paving stone at a time. He can ONLY step on paving stones that are marked with a Middle C note, a High C note or a Low C note. Color these paving stones red and find Middle C s track! START FINISH Help oody and Andy reach the Pot of old on the other side of the river! oody can ONLY step on stepping stones that are marked with a note. Color oody s stones pale green and find his track! Andy can ONLY step on stones that are marked with an A note. Color Andy s stones dark green and find his track! START START FINISH POT OF OLD MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS AMES Page 2

56 Help Evie and Fritz choose their balloons! Evie s balloons are all marked with E notes. Color Evie s balloons pale ble. Fritz s balloons are all marked with F notes. Color Fritz s balloons dark ble! Middle C says, Join with a straight line all the pairs of stars which have notes of the same name inside them. Which star is left over? MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS AMES Page 3

57 ang of Seven to the Resce! Decode the missing words and read this ang of Seven story! climbed ot of something glittering f f f r m l f f one in the forest. He fond a f p inside. f f and went for a long y f f hole with r k to my they are sweets, thoght m y of f f f k s. I cold f f them and have a lovely f. t f f h f f f r h in, and then sddenly fell and jammed -first in the hole! p f f n. So they set ot to f s r and s n i f f the grond and to wonder where h for him. cold f f t r k s footsteps. At last she fond the hole where was trapped. f p Contined next page f MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS AMES Page 4

58 took one look, then flew home as f f f,, and to come and s v. f f s t as she cold and They f r f f to the resce becase f l r daylight was f f f. They f i n f f f s f r h t together. Sddenly, with a lod f, f n f l n s l y y and dg ntil they the. Then they all plled brst from the hole and on the grond at their feet! f His was with dirt bt he k f f m at them all with What yo all are, shoted, to do sch a f s f f f! r v f f f l f. MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS AMES Page 5

59 Answers Page Bzz the Bee s Best Flowers Dee the Dog s Tastiest Bones Middle C s Track to his Cake oody s Trip Across the River Andy s Trip Across the River Evie s Balloons Fritz s Balloons Middle C s Star Pairs. (Left over star is colored black.) ang of Seven to the Resce! Middle C climbed ot of bed one day and went for a long ramble in the forest. He fond a dark hole with something glittering deep inside. Maybe they are sweets, thoght Middle C. I cold add them to my bag of cakes and have a lovely tea! Middle C reached in, and then sddenly fell and jammed head-first in the deep hole! Dee the Dog and Bzz the Bee began to wonder where Middle C cold be. So they set ot to search for him. Dee the Dog sniffed the grond and tracked Middle C s footsteps. At last she fond the deep hole where Middle C was trapped. Bzz the Bee took one look, then flew home as fast as she cold and begged oody, Andy, Evie and Fritz to come and save Middle C. They raced to the resce becase already the daylight was fading. They dg and dg ntil they reached Middle C s feet. Then they all plled together. Sddenly, with a lod bang, Middle C brst from the hole and landed safely on the grond at their feet! His face was caked with dirt bt he beamed at them all with glee. What aces yo all are, Middle C shoted, to do sch a brave deed! Copyright 2004 Anne Elizabeth Dollin All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the prposes of private stdy, research, criticism or review as permitted nder the Copyright Act, no part of this pblication may be reprodced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withot the written permission of the pblisher. MUSIC WITH EASE BONUS AMES Page 6

60 Navigation Tips for Msic With Ease Ebooks How to Jmp to a Particlar Booklet or Bons Each booklet and bons in yor PDF package is listed as a Bookmark in the left hand panel (A) which appears when yo first open this ebook. Simply click on the booklet or bons of yor choice and the first page of this docment will appear on the screen. The width of the Bookmark panel may be adjsted by dragging the dividing line (B). C A B If the Bookmark list disappears at any stage, reopen it by clicking on the Bookmarks tab (C) How to Jmp to a Specific Page of the Ebook Where another specific page or topic in this ebook is discssed, it may be written in ble and nderlined. For example:... see page 14. Finally on pages 26-28, is given in Appendix 1. If yo click on the words written in ble, that page of the ebook will open on the screen. D How to Jmp Back to the Previos Page Beside the page navigation arrows, yo will see another navigation icon (D) called Previos View. In Adobe Reader 6 and 7 it is at the bottom of the screen and looks like this: In Acrobat Reader 5 it is a black arrow located in the top toolbar. Click on this icon and the previos page that yo were viewing of the ebook will be shown on the screen. How to Rotate the View of a Page on the Screen A few pages of the Msic With Ease ebooks have been written in landscape format. Of corse, if yo print ot these pages, yo can easily trn them to read them in the correct orientation. However, there is also a way in which yo can rotate these pages for easier viewing on the screen. From the View men in yor Reader program, select Rotate View and then choose Clockwise. Simply repeat this process, bt this time choosing Conterclockwise, to retrn the screen view to the original orientation. Landscape format

61 Tips for Viewing Msic With Ease Ebooks With Adobe Reader 8 All the Msic With Ease ebooks are flly fnctional with Adobe Reader 8. The sond clips, links, bookmarks, printing and all other featres can be sed jst as they were in previos versions of Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader 8 does differ from previos versions, thogh, in the following ways: New Interface A few of the common featres sed with the Msic With Ease ebooks are in different positions in the new Adobe Reader 8 interface. These are shown in the following diagram: A Bookmarks B Movable Dividing Line C Bookmarks Tab D Navigation Icons D C A B ʻPrevios Viewʼ Navigation Btton is Missing from Toolbar The new interface of Adobe Reader 8 also lacks an important navigation btton that is extremely sefl when viewing a Msic With Ease ebook: Previos View. However, this important navigation btton can be easily added back into the Adobe Reader 8 toolbar. This is how to do it: Instrctions for PC Users On a PC, right-click with yor mose on one of the two navigation arrows in the top toolbar. From the men that pops p, click on the ʻPrevios Viewʼ tool. The ʻPrevios Viewʼ tool shold now appear in the top toolbar as shown in the illstration on the next page. Right-Click Here to See Men

62 Instrctions for Mac Users 1. From the Adobe Reader 8 ʻToolsʼ men at the top of the screen, select the ʻCstomize Toolbars...ʼ option. A window called ʻMore Toolsʼ will open p. 2. Scroll throgh the long list of additional tools in the ʻMore Toolsʼ window ntil yo find the set of tools nder the heading ʻPage Navigation Toolbarʼ. 3. Click on the check box beside the ʻPrevios Viewʼ tool, making an arrow appear in this check box. 4. Click the ʻOKʼ btton to confirm the changes and close the window. The ʻPrevios Viewʼ tool shold now appear in the top toolbar as shown below. Added ʻPrevios Viewʼ Tool

63 CONTINUE YOUR MUSIC LEARNIN THE MUSIC WITH EASE WAY! Now that yo have mastered reading yor msic notes sing the Msic With Ease method, why not contine yor msic learning with the aid of the other niqe ebooks in the Msic With Ease series? Reading Ledger Line Notes With Ease After yo learn to read the notes of the bass and treble staves (or staffs), yo will sddenly find yorself face to face with a whole new problem! To start playing really nice piano pieces, yo mst learn to read Ledger Line Notes (the notes above, between and below the staves). The ebook, Reading Ledger Line Notes With Ease Makes reading ledger line notes fn -- instead of a chore Actally shows yo how to read, simply and easily, all the ledger line notes on a standard 88 white note piano Reading Ledger Line Notes With Ease comes with two great new bonses: Msical Symbols, Terms, and Ornaments, a glossary that will help yo play with correct timing and expression, and add attractive ornamentation to yor msic. And a free bons copy of another Msic With Ease ebook, Playing Msic Scales With Ease (see below)! What people are saying abot Reading Ledger Line Notes With Ease: I wold have never believed that yo cold explain msical notation so fast. The Msic with Ease ebook, Reading Ledger Line Notes helps going from the basic notes, taght so fast in Reading Msic Notes with Ease, to those tricky notes going otside the lines. I havenʼt even gone a week since laying my eyes on the first ebook and I am so mch more confident that Iʼll be able to read notes. And I really never thoght it wold go this fast. I love the Msic With Ease ebooks! -- Karin van den Berg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands For more information visit: Playing Msic Scales With Ease This exclsive ebook will end yor msic scale learning headaches. The learning and practice of msic scales will become interesting and fn, and rather than (as is so often the case) a painfl daily activity that stdents jst have to endre. Playing Msic Scales With Ease: Covers all 61 fndamental msic scales (major, minor, contrary motion, chomatic) Incldes 22 pages of scale tips and memory games to help yo blitz scales exams Also incldes a free bons copy of Reading Ledger Line Notes With Ease (see above)! What people are saying abot Playing Msic Scales With Ease: Yo make it fn and very easy to nderstand. Thanks a million! -- Ronald ibbs, Springfield ardens, NY Playing Msic Scales with Ease has really helped me to nderstand and play msic scales. I was amazed at how fast I learned to play them. -- Marc Johann, West Palm Beach, FL For more information visit: OTHER EBOOKS IN THE MUSIC WITH EASE SERIES

64 And Last Bt Not Least... Playing Poplar Msic With Ease Once yo have learned to read yor msic notes and ledger lines with ease, why not lanch into playing poplar msic with ease? Or latest and largest ebook, Playing Poplar Msic With Ease, will show yo how to do it! This invalable ebook will teach yo all the chords yo have to play with yor left hand to make yor msic sond fantastic: We start yo off with jst single note accompaniments in the left hand and step-by-step we bild it p ntil yo can play qite proficiently with the correct chords and impress yor friends... Learn to play happy chords for happy msic; and sad chords for sad msic. Donʼt jst play chords that yo think are OK. The reslt will not sond at all good. Instead stdy this ebook, and learn how to play beatifl poplar msic, the Msic With Ease way! Playing Poplar Msic With Ease: Teaches easy-to-learn accompaniments. Progress at yor own pace throgh a series of graded levels right p to advanced accompaniments. Explains all the chords - With this comprehensive ebook, learn how to play all the common types of chords yo will find in poplar msic books: * Major Chords * Minor Chords * Seventh and Minor Seventh Chords * Sixth and Minor Sixth Chords * Diminished and Diminished Seventh Chords * Agmented Chords * Sspended Chords * Add Chords * Higher Order Chords; and * Slash Chords. Makes learning easy - Read every msic example easily with the help of note names written beside the notes on the bass or treble staff. Incldes msic clips so yo can HEAR the chords and embellishments - Play embedded msic clips that give clear illstrations for every chord type and embellishment techniqe. Playing Poplar Msic With Ease also incldes two great new bonses: How to Use the Pedal in Piano Playing. Correct pedalling can make or mar yor msic. Learn how to se the sstain pedal correctly with this Msic With Ease article. All techniqes are illstrated with embedded sond clips. Msical Symbols, Terms, and Ornaments. This free bons glossary is a fascinating and essential resorce for any msician - whether they play classical or poplar msic! What people are saying abot Playing Poplar Msic With Ease: A great ebook... I by a lot of sheet msic for songs I hear on the radio and like, bt I always had troble playing them. Now I can play them ʻwith easeʼ! Itʼs great! -- Jessica Meyer, Lime Springs, IA Thank yo for Playing Poplar Msic With Ease. Yor ebooks are really wonderfl for beginners, yong and old, fn and easy for the little ones, and terribly encoraging for the old ones as well. -- Jennifer Simons, Kranenbrg, ermany For more information visit: OTHER EBOOKS IN THE MUSIC WITH EASE SERIES