Introduction to reading music

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Augustus Fisher
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1 Reading Music Page 1 of 5 Learn To Sing Introduction to reading music Reading or understanding music is not difficult and anyone that has the ability to read the written word can learn to read music. We are going to cover the basics of music reading here and apply this to the songs from this course. Staff Music is held together on sets of lines called the STAFF. Multiple staffs are called STAVES and these are held together using thick double BAR LINES. Notes are placed on the staff either on a line or between the lines and the higher the note is on the staff the higher it is in pitch. Music, like the printed word, is read from left to right. Staff Clefs '=&==4==V==W==X==Y==!====== Time Signature Bar line '= ==4==[==Z==X==W==!====== Staves Clefs There are three basic types of clefs used in choral singing and the one you will be following in the music will depend on which part you sing. Treble Clef Bass Clef Octave Clef & &=R== 8 Why are there different types of clefs? Well they work for different ranges of notes, the higher notes (female voices) use the treble clef and the lower notes use the bass clef. If the bass notes were written in the treble clef then they would be well below the staff lines and very difficult to read. The octave clef is just like the treble clef with an 8 symbol below it specifying that all notes are actually an octave lower than written. These notes are all the same, middle C &=R== =^ &=Y== 8

2 Reading Music Page 2 of 5 Learn To Sing Note and Rest Length The shape of the note and whether it is open or filled in defines how long the note is sung for. If the duration of the quarter note is represented by R (for "Reference length") then the notes and rests have the following durations. =x= =o= =_= =O= Whole note 4R Half note 2R Quarter note R Eighth note ½R (Semi-Breve) (Minim) (Crotchet) (Quaver) Tying two notes together on the same pitch joins their lengths together as though they were one note. Notes on different pitches that look tied together are slurs and these are sung smoothly using a single breath. Placing a dot to the right of the note lengthens it by half of its value again. Two dots lengthen it by three quarters. The following notes are all the same length (3R) = = =o = _*=_*=_= =o*=_= Rests indicate periods where there is silence and they can be dotted too (but not tied). =<= =;= =:= =9= Whole Rest Half rest Quarter rest Eighth rest 4R 2R R ½R Triplet A triplet is a set of 3 notes whose time is condensed into the space of 2 notes. The notes have equal lengths and are therefore 2/3 of a beat each. 3 &=4=Y=Y=ßY=Y=Y=!

3 Reading Music Page 3 of 5 Learn To Sing Time Signatures and Tempo The time signature looks like a fraction and defines how many beats are in the bar (the upper number) and what the beat type is (the lower number). The most common time is 4/4 which means there are 4 quarter notes per bar and this can also be written as C (for Common time). A time signature of 6/8 would mean 6 eighth notes per bar. &=4_=_=_=_! &=0_=_=_=_! &=5o=o=o! &=6O=O=O==O=O=O! Note that the time signature doesn t tell us the Tempo (how fast the music goes). It only gives us how the beats in the bars are arranged. The tempo is normally defined in text using Italian words (adagio) or specifying beats per minute. =120 &=4_=_=_=_! This tells us there are 4 quarter notes per bar and there are 120 beats per minute so there are two beats per second. Each bar therefore lasts 2 seconds! Note Pitch Notes are named A to G and have different positions for each clef as follows: &==============================R=S=T=U=V=W=X=Y=Z=[=\=]=^ C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A ==P=Q=R=S=T=U=V=W=X=Y=Z=[=\=]=^======================== Note on a ledger line When a note goes above or below the staff lines then temporary lines (ledger lines) are used to identify where the note is.

4 Reading Music Page 4 of 5 Learn To Sing Sharps, Flats and Naturals So far we have only mentioned notes A to G (the white notes on the piano) but how do we get to the black notes? We have to add a SHARP (#) to raise the pitch by half a tone or a FLAT (b) to lower the pitch by half a tone. For instance C# is between the notes C and D and is the same is Db. Double flat Flat Natural Sharp Double sharp If a note is altered like this (called accidentals) then it remains true for the whole bar and then resets afterwards unless the symbol is in the key signature where it is true for the whole piece. Double sharps and flats are used to change the natural pitch by TWO half tones. The sharp or flat can be reset within the same bar by using the NATURAL symbol. ==&==4=Y=ÙY==Z==Y=!==Y=ÙY=Z=ùY=!==== C C# D C# C C# D C &= =4=Y==Y==Z=ùY=!==Y=ùY=Z==Y=!==== C# C# D C C# C D C Repeats Repeats are used to jump back to a previous point in the music (like GOTO in BASIC) and are indicated by a double bar line with dots. The jump point is either the previous forward repeat symbol (the mirror image of the repeat) or if it doesn t exist then the start of the piece. ==&==4=Y==Y==Z==Y=!====[==[==\==[=) ==&==4=Y==Y==Z==Y=!(==[==[==\==[=) Repeat back to the beginning Repeat this bar Repeats are normally performed just once unless indicated otherwise.

5 Reading Music Page 5 of 5 Learn To Sing Expressions Expressions are used to add dynamic and artistic shape to the music. When words are used they are normally Italian phrases shortened into just a few symbols (eg mp = Mezzo Piano). Pianissimo piano mezzo-piano mezzo-forte forte fortissimo Very Soft Soft Half-soft Half-loud Loud Very Loud or Cres. Crescendo means a gradual increase in volume. This can be spread over several notes and bars. The start and final volumes are sometimes indicated each side of the hairpin. or Desc. &=>Y= Decrescendo means a gradual decrease in volume. Fermata means to hold the note indefinitely as dictated by the director or conductor. We have now covered all the symbols used in the song but there are many more that exist. The ones here are the most common and will be all that you need to be able to understand most choral music. Remember that reading music is not a gift. It is accessible to anyone that learns the rules just like reading, driving or operating the TV remote control! I hope you have found this short introduction useful. These notes were compiled by Jon Conway Harmony and singing Educator jon.musicman@gmail.com Bass of The B Naturals A Cappella quartet

INTERMEDIATE STUDY GUIDE

INTERMEDIATE STUDY GUIDE Be Able to Hear and Sing DO RE DO MI DO FA DO SOL DO LA DO TI DO DO RE DO MI DO FA DO SOL DO LA DO TI DO DO DO MI FA MI SOL DO TI, DO SOL, FA MI SOL MI TI, DO SOL, DO Pitch SOLFEGE: do re mi fa sol la