Basic Musical Notation
All music must be written before it can
be read, understood, and played by musicians. To do this, a system
of notation has been developed that gives musicians the information
they need to play music as the composer intended it.
Here is a list of topics discussed on
this page:
The Staff
The staff is the basis of written
music. It is what the notes are presented on. It consists of 5 lines
with four spaces between them. A simple, unadorned staff is shown
below.
Clefs
This is the treble staff. The treble
clef (the large fancy symbol to the far left) shows the musician
that the staff is treble. Since it curls around the G line, it is
also called a G clef. The treble staff begins with the first line as
E. Each successive space and line is the next letter in the musical
alphabet. The staff ends with the last line as an F. Many mnemonic
devices exist to help a person remember which line and space is
which. One of the most common phrases to remember the names of the
lines is: Every Good Boy Does Fine.
(Also popular is Elvis'Guitar Broke Down Friday).
To remember the spaces, just remember that they spell FACE starting
from the bottom.
This is the bass (pronounced 'base' )
staff. The bass clef, also known as the F clef because it locates
the line known as F, is on the far left. The bass clef uses the same
musical alphabet as treble, but the letters start in different
places. Instead of an E, the bottom line is a G, and the letters
proceed logically from there. Again, simple mnemonics can be used to
remember the names of the notes. The lines on the bass cleft, from
bottom to top are: G, B, D, F, A (Good Boys Don't FightAnyone),
and the spaces are A,C,E,G (All Cows Eat Grass).
This is a C clef. The C clef can move
on the staff, and the center of the symbol is always over C.
Depending on where it is, it is given different names. The note
beside each clef is C. These clefs are used very infrequently.
The Grand Staff
When the bass and treble clef are
combined and connected by a brace (left) and lines, they become the
grand staff. This greatly increases the range of pitches that can be
noted, and is often used in piano music, due to the piano's wide
range.
Measures
The vertical lines on the staff mark
the measures. Measures are used to divide and organize music. The time
signature determines
how many beats can be in a measure. The thick double bars mark the
beginning and ends of a piece of music. Measures are sometimes
marked with numbers to make navigating a piece easier. The first
measure would be measure one, the second measure two and so on.
Notes
Different pitches are named by letters.
The musical alphabet is, in ascending order by pitch, A, B, C, D, E,
F and G. After G, the cycle repeats going back to A. Each line and
space on the staff represents a different pitch. The lower on the
staff, the lower the pitch of the note. Notes are represented by
little ovals on the staff. Depending on the clef (discussed below),
the position of each note on the staff corresponds to a letter name.
Notes Written on the Staff
Notes are centered on the lines or in
the spaces between the lines. Stems on notes above the middle line
trail down from the left of the note. Stems on notes below the
middle line stick up on the right of the note. Stems on notes on the
line usually go down except when adjacent notes have flags that go
up. Note stems are usually one octave (eight successive lines and
spaces) long. When two melodies occupy the same staff, the stems for
the notes in one melody are written up and the stems for notes in
the other are written down.
Ledger Lines
Ledger lines extend above and below the
staff, allowing for higher or lower notes to be shown than would
otherwise fit on the staff. These lines follow the same musical
alphabet pattern as the staff does. Think of them as just extra
lines and spaces on the end of the staff.
The stems of notes on ledger lines
extend either up or down towards the middle line.
Note Durations
All notes have length. However, the
amount of beats they get depends on the time
signature, so only relative note durations will be discussed here.
This graphic shows a heirarchy of note
values.
At the top is a whole note (1). A half
note is half the duration of a whole note, so a whole note is equal
to two half notes (2). Likewise, half notes are worth two quarter
notes (3). Quarter notes are worth two eighth notes (4), and eighth
notes are worth two sixteenth notes (5).
Sixteenth notes (right) and eighth
notes (left) may also look like this. Single sixteenth and eighth
notes have flags, many sixteenth and eighth notes combine flags into
connecting bars.
Sixteenth notes and eighth notes may
also combine together. the combination looks like this picture to
the left.
Dotted Notes
A dot beside a note increases its
duration by half its original value. For example, half notes, in 4/4
time, are worth 2 beats. When a dot is placed next to the half note,
the duration is increased by one (one being half of the original
duration of two) and the resulting duration is three beats. The
curved line in the picture above is a tie.
Ties connect notes that are the same pitch together to create a
sustained note.
Rests
Rests are simply places where the
musician does not play. Rests have equivalent values to
corresponding notes of duration. Thus, there is a whole rest, half
rest, quarter rest, etc., just like normal notes. Rests are always
located in the same vertical position.
Accidentals
Accidentals modify the pitch of a note
by increasing or decreasing it by one half step. Accidentals stay in
effect for all notes of the same pitch for the rest of the measure.
Accidentals in the very beginning of the music are key
signatures.
Flats (left side of the picture) lower
the pitch of the note by one half step.
Sharps (right side of picture) raise
the pitch of the note by one half step.
Naturals cancel out any previous sharps
or flats. The pitch returns to normal.
Ties and Slurs
Ties and slurs connect two or more
notes together. Ties connect notes of the same pitch, forming
essentialy one longer note. Slurs smoothly connect notes of
different pitch. This means to play the notes without breaks. The
first set of notes above exhibit a tie. The second show a slur.
Articulation
Staccato - Means to play the note very
short and detatched.
Accent - Means to hit the note harder
and louder.
Marcato - Almost a combination of
staccato and accent, provides a sharp sound.
Tenuto - Hold the note for its full
value.
Sforzando - A sudden, strong accent.
Fermata - Hold the note longer,
approximately twice its value, or until conducted to stop.
Dynamics
This symbol is pianissimo, it means
play very softly.
This symbol is piano, it means play
softly.
This symbol is mezzo piano, it means
play moderately soft.
This symbol is mezzo forte, it means
play moderately loud.
This symbol is forte, it means play
loudly.
This symbol is fortissimo, it means
play very loudly.
Also abbreviated Cresc. or written in
as crescendo. This sign is the crescendo sign, it means gradually
become louder.
Also abbreviated as Decresc. or written
as decrescendo, dim., or diminuendo. This sign is decrescendo, it
means gradually become softer.
Repeats
These are the begin and end repeat
signs. When you reach the second, go back to the first and repeat
the music. These are often accompanied by first, second and even
third endings.
This is a directional marking. It means
'Del Signo'. When you see this in music, you must go to the sign
(below). This marking may also be accompanied by 'al coda' or 'al
fine'. These mean 'Go to the sign, from there go to the coda' and
'Go to the sign, from there go to the end' respectively. Essentially
these are big repeat signs.
This is the sign. From here you play to
the coda or the end or wherever the Del Signo directs you.
This is the coda sign. It marks when to
go to the special ending, or coda. Usually you won't go to the coda
until after a D.S. al coda.
Time Signatures
The time signatures (also called meter
signatures) tell the musician how many beats per measure there are,
and what kind of note gets the beat.
The top number determines how many
beats there are per measure. The bottom number tells what kind of
note gets the beat. In this example, 4/4 time, there are 4 beats per
measure, and the quarter note (bottom 4) gets the beat. In 3/4 time,
the quarter note would still get the beat, but there would only be 3
beats in a measure. In 6/8 time, the eigth note gets the beat, and
there are 6 beats to a measure.
The pulse (or
meter) is the driving beat in music that we march, feel, dance, clap
and conduct to. First find the beat that seems the strongest, then
try tapping along to it. Eventually you should be able to tap along
with the music, and you will have found the pulse. Listen to the
bass line and the rhythm section, as often they play with the puls
