Reading Music: Common Notation

1 Reading music : Common NotationBy:Catherine Schmidt-JonesReading music : Common NotationBy:Catherine Schmidt-JonesOnline:< >C O N N E X I O N SRice University, Houston, Texas 2008 CatherineSchmidt-JonesThisselectionandar rangementofcontentislicensedundertheCrea tiveCommonsAttributionLicense: .. :Sharp,Flat,andNaturalNotes.. elling..17 Solutions.. :NoteLengthsinWrittenMusic.. :RestLength.. ,Ties,andBorrowedDivisions.. o.. eatsandOtherMusicalRoadMapSigns..50 Solutions..60 Solutions..??Index..65 Attributions.. 67ivChapter 1 Peopleweretalkinglongb "byear"(withoutwrittenmusic),andsomemusi ctraditionsrelymoreonimprovisationand/or "byear" , ecializesinlong,complexpiecesforlargegro upsofmusicianssingingorplayingpartsexact lyasacomp ,thiswouldb eto odi erenttyp esofmusicnotationhaveb eeninvented,andsome,suchastablature3, ,however,isonasta .Infact,thistyp Thesta (pluralstaves)iswrittenas ( )ofthemusicareplacedononeoftheselinesori naspaceinb eaddedtoshowanotethatisto ohighorto olowtob eonthesta.

2 Verticalbarlinesdividethesta ,eitherheavyorlight,isusedtomarktheendso flargersectionsofmusic,includingtheverye ndofapiece, < >.2"WhatKindofMusicisThat?"< >3"ReadingGuitarTablature"< > :The vehorizontallinesarethelinesofthesta .Inb oveorb elowthesta ,ledgerlinesareaddedtoshowhowfarab oveorb ortantsymb olsonthesta ,theclefsymb ol,keysignatureandtimesignature,app earattheb eginningofthesta .Manydi erentkindsofsymb olscanapp earon,ab ove,andb elowthesta .Thenotes( )andrests( ) ; olsonthesta ,liketheclef( )symb ol,thekeysignature( ),andthetimesignature( ),tellyouimp ortantinformationab olsthatapp earab oveandb elowthemusicmaytellyouhowfastitgo es(temp o( )markings),howlouditshouldb e(dynamic( )markings),wheretogonext(rep eats( ),forexample)andevengivedirectionsforhow top erformparticularnotes(accents( ),forexample).OtherSymb olsontheSta :Thebarlinesdividethesta (sounds)andrests(silences) olsmayapp earon,ab ove,orb elowthesta , ,theyarereadonesta eplayedatthesametime(bythesamep ersonorbydi erentp eople),theywillb ,orstavesthatshouldb eplayedbythesame3p erson(forexample,therighthandandlefthand ofapianopart)mayb egroup edtogetherbybracesorbracketsattheb (a)(b) :(b)Whenmanystavesaretob eplayedatthesametime,asinthisorchestrals core,thelinesforsimilarinstruments-allth eviolins,forexample,orallthestrings-mayb rstsymb olthatapp earsattheb eginningofeverymusicsta ( )isaclefsymb ortantb ecauseittellsyouwhichnote( )(A,B,C,D,E,F,orG) ,atrebleclefsymb oltellsyouthatthesecondlinefromtheb ottom(thelinethatthesymb olcurlsaround)is"G".

3 Onanysta , ,G, oltellsyouthatthesecondlinefromthetop(th eonebracketedbythesymb ol'sdots) ,buttheyareallindi < >. opularmnemonicsused.(a)(b) :Youcanuseawordorsillysentencetohelpyoum emorizewhichnotesb 'tliketheseones, , "OctavesandtheMa jor-MinorTonalSystem"< #p2bb> :Allofthenotesonthissta ,butitisnowveryraretoseethemanywherebuti ntheirstandardp olinanunusualplace,rememb er:trebleclefisaGclef; ; :ItisrarethesedaystoseetheGandFclefsinth esenonstandardp ereadoneo ctaveb eopleareuncomfortablereadingbassclef, "8"attheb ottomofthetrebleclefsymb olmeansthatthenotesshouldsoundoneo :Asmall"8"attheb ottomofatrebleclefmeansthatthenotesshoul dsoundoneo erentclefs?Musiciseasiertoreadandwriteif mostofthenotesfallonthesta andfewledgerlines( )havetob ovemiddleC6,whiletheFindicatedbythebassc lefistheFb elowmiddleC.(CclefindicatesmiddleC.) , etransp "OctavesandtheMa jor-MinorTonalSystem"< #p2bb>7"Range"< >8"Transp osingInstruments"< > :MiddleCisab ovethebassclefandb elowthetrebleclef; ( )Writethenameofeachnoteb elowthenoteoneachsta ( )Cho oseaclefinwhichyouneedtopracticerecogniz ingnotesab oveandb elowthesta eginningofthesta ,andthenwritethecorrectnotenamesb ( ) :Sharp,Flat, ,andtheshorteritswavelength13, 'twanttotalkab ,theyjustgivethedi erentpitchesdi erentletternames:A,B,C,D,E,F, (onakeyb oard,that'sallthewhitekeys)withinoneo ctave.

4 (Whenyougettotheeighthnaturalnote,yousta rtthenexto ctave14onanotherA.) :Thenaturalnotesnamethewhitekeysonakeyb venotes(onakeyb oard,theblackkeys)?10 Thiscontentisavailableonlineat< >.11"AcousticsforMusicTheory":SectionWave length,Frequency,andPitch< #s2>12"HarmonicSeries"< #p1c>13"AcousticsforMusicTheory":SectionWavel ength,Frequency,andPitch< #s2>14"OctavesandtheMa jor-MinorTonalSystem"< >15"WhatKindofMusicisThat?"< > :Sharp, at,andnaturalsignscanapp eareitherinthekeysignature( ), "thenotethatisonehalfstep16higherthanthe naturalnote".A atsignmeans"thenotethatisonehalfsteplowe rthanthenaturalnote".Someofthenaturalnot esareonlyonehalfstepapart, ,thenoteinb etweenthemcanonlyb enamedusinga ,using atsandsharps,anypitchcanb ,theGsharpandtheA atareplayedonthesamekeyonthekeyb oard; "HalfStepsandWholeSteps"< >17"HalfStepsandWholeSteps"< >13andwritetheFnaturalas"Esharp";Fnatural isthenotethatisahalfstephigherthanEnatur al,whichisthede erentnamesbutsoundthesamearecalledenharm onic( ) :GsharpandA atsignscanb eusedintwoways:theycanb epartofakeysignature( ), ,ifmostoftheC'sinapieceofmusicaregoingto b esharp,thenasharpsignisputinthe"C"spacea ttheb eginningofthesta ( ), 'saregoingtob esharp,thenthoseC' :Whenasharpsignapp earsintheCspaceinthekeysignature,allC' edoublesharpordouble (onewholestep)higherthanthenaturalnote;a double atistwohalfsteps(awholestep) ,quadruple, atsarerare,butfollowthesamepattern:every sharpor atsmayseemtob emakingthingsmoredi cultthantheyneedtob "Anatural"insteadof"Gdoublesharp"?

5 Theansweristhat,althoughAnaturalandGdoub lesharparethesamepitch,theydon' (andthatincludesmostp erformers,notjustcomp osersandmusicteachers),callinganote"Gdou blesharp"givesimp ortantandusefulinformationab :Doublesharpsraisethepitchbytwohalfsteps (onewholestep).Double atslowerthepitchbytwohalfsteps(onewholes tep). ( )symb olonthesta ( ).Itmayhaveeithersomesharp( )symb olsonparticularlinesorspaces,orsome at( )symb ols, atsorsharpslistedaftertheclefsymb ol,thenthekeysignatureis"allnotesarenatu ral".Incommonnotation,clefandkeysignatur earetheonlysymb olsthatnormallyapp earoneverysta .Theyapp earsooftenb ecausetheyaresuchimp ortantsymb ols;theytellyouwhatnoteisoneachlineandsp aceofthesta .Thecleftellsyoutheletternameofthenote(A ,B,C,etc.),andthekeytellsyouwhethertheno teissharp, "Harmony":Chords< #l0b>19"BeginningHarmonicAnalysis"< >20 Thiscontentisavailableonlineat< >. (or at)app earsonalineorspaceinthekeysignature,allt henotesonthatlineorspacearesharp(or at),andallothernoteswiththesameletternam esinothero ctavesarealsosharp(or at).

6 :Thiskeysignaturehasa atonthe"B"line,soalloftheseB'sare atsalwaysapp eror ,ifakey(Gma jororEminor)hasonlyonesharp,itwillb eFsharp,soFsharpisalwaysthe (Dma jorandBminor)haveFsharpandCsharp,soCshar pisalwaysthesecondsharpinakeysignature, :Fsharp,Csharp,Gsharp,Dsharp,Asharp,Esha rp, atsisthereverseoftheorderofsharps:B at,E at,A at,D at,G at,C at,F at(Fma jorandDminor)haveaB at;thekeyswithtwo ats(B atma jorandGminor)haveB atandE at; atsandsharps,liketheorderofthekeysthemse lves,followsacircleof "Ma jorKeysandScales"< >22"TheCircleofFifths"< > ,thekeysignaturecanhelpyou , ats,thenameofthekeysignatureisthenameoft hesecond-to-last (ma jor)keysimplybylo atkeys,thesecond-to-last ,thenotethatnamesthekeyisonehalfstepab ovethe jorkeysthattheserulesdonotworkforareCma jor(no atsorsharps)andFma jor(one at).23"Ma jorKeysandScales"< >24"HalfStepsandWholeSteps"< > jor,rememb erthatthesecond-to-last atisalwaysap erfectfourth25higherthan(orap erfect fthlowerthan)the nal erfectfourthlowerthanthenameofthe nal :ThekeyofCma jorhasnosharpsor jorhasone ,itwillb eintherelativeminor26ofthema eabletotelljustfromlistening(seeMa jorKeysandScales27)whetherthemusicisinam a ,theb estclueistolo okatthe (andoftenthe nalnoteofthemelo dy,also) ( ) ( ),anynotecanb esharp, at,ornatural( ).

7 Asharpsymb olraisesthepitch( )(ofanaturalnote)byonehalfstep30;a atsymb "Interval"< #p21b>26"MinorKeysandScales":SectionRelativeMi norandMa jorKeys< #s3>27"Ma jorKeysandScales"< >28"Harmony":Chords< #l0b>29 Thiscontentisavailableonlineat< >.30"HalfStepsandWholeSteps"< > otherwiththesesymb ols?Therearetwelvepitchesavailablewithin anyo (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,andL)anditsownlin eorspaceonasta .Butthatwouldactuallyb efairlyine cient,b ,spaces,andnotesforthesevenpitchesitis(m ostly)goingtouse,plusawaytowritetheo (A,B,C,D,E,F,G),andeachlineorspaceonasta ( )willcorresp ,weallowanyofthesenotestob esharp, at, ok( )atthenotesonakeyb :Sevenofthetwelvep ossiblenotesineacho ctave35are"natural" ,thereareplentyofpitchesthatyoucanonlyge tbynamingthemwitheithera atorasharp(onthekeyb oard,the"blackkey"notes).Forexample,31"O ctavesandtheMa jor-MinorTonalSystem"< >32"Ma jorKeysandScales"< >33"Ma jorKeysandScales"< >34"MinorKeysandScales"< >35"OctavesandtheMa jor-MinorTonalSystem"< >19thenoteinb etweenDnaturalandEnaturalcanb enamedeitherDsharporE okverydi erentonthesta ,buttheyaregoingtosoundexactlythesame,si nceyouplayb :DsharpandE atlo okverydi erentwhenwrittenincommonnotation, ( )Nametheotherenharmonicnotesthatareliste dab ovetheblackkeysonthekeyb.

8 Ifyouneedsta pap er,youcanprintoutthisPDF le36 Butthesearenottheonlyp e atorsharp,soyoucanhave,forexample, okingatthekeyb oard( )andrememb eringthatthede nitionofsharpis"onehalfstephigherthannat ural", osetocallthenoteEsharpinsteadofFnatural? Eventhoughtheysoundthesame,EsharpandFnat ural,astheyareactuallyusedinmusic,aredi erentnotes.(Theymay,insomecircumstances, alsosounddi erent;seeb elow( :EnharmonicSp ellingsandEqualTemp erament).)Notonlywilltheylo okdi erentwhenwrittenonasta ,buttheywillhavedi erentfunctionswithinakeyanddi osermayverywellprefertowriteanEsharp,b ecausethatmakesthenote'splaceintheharmon iesofapiecemorecleartothep erformer.(PleaseseeTriads37,BeyondTriads 38,andHarmonicAnalysis39formoreonhowindi vidualnotes tintochordsandharmonicprogressions.)Infa ct,thisneed(tomakeeachnote'splaceintheha rmonyveryclear)issoimp ortantthatdoublesharpsanddouble atshaveb (onewholestep40) atsarefairlyrare,andtripleandquadruple atsevenrarer, pap df37"Triads"< >38"BeyondTriads:NamingOtherChords"< >39"BeginningHarmonicAnalysis"< >40"HalfStepsandWholeSteps"< > ( )Giveatleastoneenharmonicsp (Lo okatthekeyb oard( )againifyouneedto.)

9 Jorkeys,forexample,alwaysfollowthesamepa tternofhalfstepsandwholesteps.(SeeMa ,di erentfromthema jorscalepattern;seeMinorKeys42.)Sowhethe ryoustartama jorscaleonanE at,orstartitonaDsharp,youwillb efollowingthesamepattern, erentnames,thescaleswilllo okverydi erentwhenwritten,andmusiciansmaythinkoft hemasb eingdi ,mostinstrumentalistswould nditeasiertoplayinE ,anE atma jorscalemayevensoundslightlydi erentfromaDsharpma jorscale.(Seeb elow( :EnharmonicSp ellingsandEqualTemp erament).)41"Ma jorKeysandScales"< >42"MinorKeysandScales"< > :TheE atma jorandDsharpma jorscalessoundthesameonthepiano,although theylo okverydi ,lo okagainatthepianokeyb oard( )and ,Dsharpma jorandE atma ,theirkeysignatureswilllo okverydi erent,butmusicinDsharpwillnotb eanyhigherorlowerthanmusicinE :ThekeysignaturesforE atandDsharplo okverydi erent,butwouldsoundthesameonakeyb ( ) (Ifyouarenotwell-versedinkeysignatures( )yet,picktheeasiestenharmonicsp ellingforthekeyname,andtheeasiestenharmo nicsp ,to o.)

10 ,itisimp ortanttonameachordorintervalasithasb eensp elled,inordertounderstandhowit jorchordmeanssomethingdi erentinthekeyofDthanaD atma jorchorddo erentthananintervalofama jorthird,eventhoughtheywouldb eplayedusingthesamekeysonapiano.(Forprac ticenamingintervals, , ductiontohowchordsfunctioninaharmony,see BeginningHarmonicAnalysis48.)43"Harmony" :Chords< #l0b>44"Interval"< >45"Interval"< >46"NamingTriads"< >47"BeyondTriads:NamingOtherChords"< >48"BeginningHarmonicAnalysis"< > ellingsandEqualTemp eramentAlloftheab ovediscussionassumesthatallnotesaretuned inequaltemp eramenthasb ecomethe"o cial" culttoretune(organ,harp,andxylophone,ton amejustafew),preciselyb ne-tunequickly(forexampleviolins,clarine ts,andtromb ones)oftenmoveawayfromequaltemp ,consciouslyorunconsciously,towardsjusti ntonation51, ens,enharmonicallysp ellednotes,scales,intervals,andchords,ma ynotonlyb etheoreticallydi eslightlydi erencesb etween,say,aDsharpandanE at,whenthishapp ens,areverysmall,butmayb elargeenoughtob atsusedtonotatemusicinthesetraditionssho uldnotb eassumedtomeanachangeinpitchequaltoanequ al-temp nitionsanddiscussionsofequaltemp erament,justintonation,andothertuningsys tems, "TuningSystems":SectionEqualTemp erament< #s22>50"WhatKindofMusicisThat?