Musical Bits And Pieces For Non-Musicians

Musical Bits And Pieces For Non-Musicians Musical NOTES are written on a row of five lines like birds sitting on telegraph wires. The set of lines is called a STAFF (sometimes pronounced stave ). Some notes sit ON a line. Others sit in a SPACE between lines. When notes are too high or too low for the normal five lines, extra lines can be added above or below the staff to accommodate them. These are called LEDGER LINES, and they are just wide enough to fit one note. LEDGER LINE NOTE STAFF At the beginning of each staff is a symbol that tells you whether the notes on the staff are for a high or low voice or instrument. The symbol is called a CLEF. The two most common are the TREBLE CLEF (for high notes/voices) and the BASS CLEF (for low ones). TREBLE CLEF BASS CLEF NOTES are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Each one has its own slot on the STAFF. Which slot each note occupies depends on whether there is a TREBLE CLEF or a BASS CLEF at the beginning of the STAFF. When there is a TREBLE CLEFF at the beginning the notes are named like this: On the lines In the spaces E F G A B A way of remembering the notes on the lines: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. The notes in the spaces spell the word FACE. When there is a BASS CLEFF at the beginning the notes are named like this: On the lines In the spaces G A B A way of remembering the notes on the lines: Grizzly Bears Don t Fly Aeroplanes. Remember the notes in the spaces with All Cows Eat Grass. C D C E D F E G F A The upper STAFF (marked with a TREBLE CLEF) and the lower one (marked with a BASS CLEF) are closely related. To understand how, imagine this 11-line STAFF: If we now knock out the middle line we end up with two lots of five the two normal STAFFS. The note on the LEDGER LINE between them is called, for obvious reasons, MIDDLE C. 1

Musical NOTES are drawn in different ways, and the style tells you a note s DURATION, that is, how long it should be held on when played or sung. There are five common ones, and in the following graphics each note is half the length of the one to its left: The longest note in regular use is called a SEMIBRIEVE. It has a white centre and no STEM (stick at the side). SEMIBRIEVE The MINIM is half as long as a SEMIBRIEVE. It has a white centre and also a STEM. Two MINIMS last the same length of time as one SEMIBRIEVE. MINIM The CROTCHET is half as long as a MINIM. It is solid black and has a STEM. Two CROTCHETS last the same length of time as one MINIM, and four of them the same length of time as one SEMIBRIEVE. CROTCHET The QUAVER is half as long as a CROTCHET. It is solid black and has a STEM. It also has a flag or tail. Two QUAVERS last the same length of time as one CROTCHET. Four of them equal the length of one MINIM and eight of them equal one SEMIBRIEVE. QUAVER The SEMIQUAVER is half as long as a QUAVER. It is solid black and has a STEM. It also has a double flag or tail. Two SEMIQUAVERS last the same length of time as one QUAVER. Four of them equal the length of one CROTCHET, eight of them equal one MINIM and sixteen equal one SEMIBRIEVE. In summary, then, this is how the various notes relate to each other in terms of their relative duration: When two or more FLAGGED notes of the same type are next to each other on the STAFF, the flags or tails are often combined into a BEAM, like this: is written as 2

Vertical lines cross the STAFF at regular intervals. These are called BAR LINES and they divide the STAFF into BARS (sometimes called MEASURES). The first bar on each line may be numbered to help you find your way around the piece. Each BAR in a piece of music has the same number of BEATS in it. How many of them there are, and their DURATION, is shown by the TIME SIGNATURE at the beginning of the piece. A TIME SIGNATURE has two numbers, one above the other: 16 BAR NUMBER TIME SIGNATURE BAR LINE Between these lines is one BAR BAR LINE The bottom number is the type of note that represents one beat: 2 = a MINIM 4 = a CROTCHET 8 = a QUAVER FOUR-FOUR TIME THREE-FOUR TIME SIX-EIGHT TIME The top number is how many of those notes are in each BAR. So a 4/4 TIME SIGNATURE means there are four CROTCHETS in each bar; 6/8 means there are six QUAVERS in each bar; 3/2 means there are three MINIMS in each bar, and so on. Sometimes a composer wants to indicate a REST. A REST is when, for a certain duration, the instrument or singer should be silent. The picture shows the rests and their equivalent notes. So the middle one in the picture is a period of silence the same length as a CROTCHET. It is therefore called a CROTCHET REST. Sometimes a composer needs to lengthen a note and will do it by placing a DOT after the note. Such notes are called DOTTED NOTES. The dot lengthens the note by half its length. So a dotted CROTCHET lasts as long as a CROTCHET plus a QUAVER. NORMAL CROTCHET DOTTED CROTCHET Another way a note can be lengthened is by using a TIE. This is a curved line linking two notes of the same PITCH. In this case the second note is not played separately, but the first note is held on for the duration of the two notes. TIE These two pieces will sound exactly the same A TIE must not be confused with a SLUR. A SLUR is also a curved line, but it does not hug the notes so closely, and indicates that the enclosed notes should be played or sung without separation, i.e. with no break between. The word joy here is sung over three notes without breaking off. SLUR 3

We have noticed how a note s DURATION can be extended by a half by using a DOT. We can also adjust its PITCH by a half, i.e. move it either up or down by half a note. This is done by using a SHARP or a FLAT. A SHARP moves the pitch up half a note. A FLAT moves it down half a note. The second note is half a note higher than the first. The second note is half a note lower than the first. SHARP sign FLAT sign You will often see a group of SHARP or FLAT signs at the beginning of a STAFF. This group is the KEY SIGNATURE for the piece of music. This is quite a complicated area of musical knowledge and you don t need to concern yourself with it at this stage. KEY SIGNATURE NATURAL sign There is also a NATURAL sign, which brings a SHARP or FLAT note back again to its normal, or NATURAL, level. The note D D sharp - half a note higher D natural - back down to normal D Many musical terms are written in and around the STAFF to guide the player or singer. Traditionally, these are in the Italian language. DYNAMICS are signs indicating how loud or soft the music should be played or sung. [ Soft in Italian is piano and loud is forte. The instrument we call a piano is more correctly a pianoforte, that is, an instrument that can vary the volume of the sounds it produces.] The main DYNAMICS are as follows: Dynamic Notated How Performed pianissimo pp Very soft piano p Soft mezzo piano mp Moderately soft mezzo forte mf Moderately loud forte f Loud fortissimo ff Very loud Other terms indicate how to change from soft to loud and vice versa. These are concerned with DYNAMIC VARIANCE. The main ones are as follows: Term Notated How Performed crescendo cresc. Gradually louder diminuendo dim. Gradually softer 4

Graphics are sometimes used for DYNAMIC VARIANCE instead of words, as follows: = crescendo = getting louder = diminuendo = getting softer Various other symbols are used to indicate how a piece of music should be played or sung. Some of the commonest again with Italian names are: STACCATO. This is indicated by a dot below or above the note (and not to be confused with a DOTTED NOTE, where the dot is after the note to lengthen it). A STACCATO note is played or sung very sharply, with a break between it and the next note. In this example the first three notes are STACCATO notes. STACCATO DOT FERMATA. This symbol, placed above the STAFF, means that the note should be held on as long as the conductor requires. FERMATA Other words and indicators are to do with the SECTIONS of a piece of music and the ORDER in which they should be played and sung, or repeated. Again, these are in Italian and the most common ones are: Name Coda Segno Fine To Coda Da Capo (D.C.) D.C. al Coda D.C. al Fine Dal Segno (D.S.) D.S. al Coda D.S. al Fine Meaning The Coda starts here [ coda means a tail at the end of the piece] The sign/symbol to play/sing from [ Segno means a sign - see below] (Pronounced fin-ay ) Finish playing/singing here [ Fine means finish ] From here, go to the Coda Play/sing from the beginning [ Da capo means from the beginning ] Play/sing from the beginning to the Coda Play/sing from the beginning to the Fine From the sign - see below Play/sing from the sign to the Coda Play/sing from the sign to the Fine SEGNO (sign) = The sign to play from when you are re-directed by a Dal Segno instruction = The first and second times through, play/sing from here. = The third time through, play/sing from here. 5

Finally, here s a reference list of yet more musical terms that you will meet from time to time: Term Grave Largo Lento Adagio Larghetto Andante Andantino Moderato Allegretto Allegro Vivo Vivace Presto Accelerando Rallentando Ritardando A Tempo Terms to do with TEMPO - Speed (from very slow to very fast) Meaning Very slow and solemn Very slow and broad, with dignity Very slow Very slow and expressive Not as slow as Largo but slower than Andante Walking tempo: slowish but with a flowing movement A little quicker than Andante Medium speed: not fast, not slow Light and cheerful, but not as fast as Allegro Merry, quick, lively, bright Lively, brisk - usually with Allegro as Allegro Vivo Vivacious; faster than Allegro Very fast Changes in Tempo Gradually speeding up Gradually slowing down Back to the original tempo after a slowing-down TEMPO (speed) can be indicated more scientifically by saying how many beats per minute the piece should progress at. The indicator usually looks like this: BEATS PER MINUTE Terms to do with STYLE Agitato Animato Appassionato Con brio Grandioso Legato Maestoso Scherzando Con spirito Tenuto Tranquillo Excitedly, with agitation With animation; in a spirited manner With intensity and depth of feeling With vigour In a noble, elevated style Smooth and connected, in a flowing manner With majesty and grandeur In a light, playful and sportive manner With spirit or animation Sustained for the full time-value With tranquility; quietly, restfully 6