MELODIC NOTATION · MELODIC NOTATION UNIT TWO . This is the equivalence between Latin and English notation: ... As we said in the last lesson, rhythm consists of a series of beats

MELODIC NOTATION

UNIT TWO

This is the equivalence between Latin and English notation:

Music is written in a graph of five lines and four spaces called a staff:

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Notes that extend above or below the staff use ledger lines:

Normally, notes of lower pitch are written in bass clef. The clef changes the pitch of the notes, this is its function.

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These are the names of the notes on a keyboard in treble clef:

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INTERVALS I An interval in music is the distance between two notes. A half step is the smallest distance between two keys on the piano. It is also the smallest interval commonly used in western music. A whole step is a combination of two half steps side by side on the keyboard. A whole step on the piano can be between two white keys, two black keys or a black and white key.

Notate that half steps are always located between E-F and B-C

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SHARPS, FLATS AND NATURALS

Placing a sharp in front of a note raises the pitch a half step.

Placing a flat in front of a note lowers the pitch a half step.

A natural placed before a note cancels the effect a flat or a sharp has until the next bar.

Sharps or flats placed immediately to the right of the clef sign are called the Key signature. They indicate the scale we are in. These symbols affect every note named by the sharps or flats for the entire song. When sharps or flats appear in a key signature it is no longer necessary to place them next to each individual note.

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Keyboards are tuned in a way that there is half step between each key.

Enharmonic notes: Notes that sound the same but have different names.

For example: C# and Db.

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RHYTHM

UNIT THREE

Beat is a steady, recurring pulse.

Sometimes beat can be strong an accented, and it´s almost impossible not to tap our toe or get up and dance to it. Other times

is gently repetitious. We normally say that music has a strong rhythm or a soft rhythm.

As we said in the last lesson, rhythm consists of a series of beats which often has regular stresses.

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Observe these rhythmic patterns: DUPLE METRE The strong beats come at regular intervals, every two beats. TRIPLE METRE Here the strong beats come every three beats.

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We express this regularity through the time signature. The strong beat is the first beat of each bar. Meter is the number of beats in

a measure. Four beats per bar create a quadruple meter.

Observe some terms related to rhythm in a score:

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Time signatures are located at the beginning of the score. They are written using two numbers: - The top number tells you how many beats there are in each bar. The first beat is always the strongest one. - The bottom number tells you the note that lasts a beat. (See the correspondence between notes and numbers in next page). Normally it´s number 4 which means each beat is a quarter long.

2 3 4 4 4 4

2 BEATS IN A BAR

3 BEATS IN A BAR

4 BEATS IN A BAR

EACH BEAT IS ONE QUARTER

LONG

EACH BEAT IS ONE QUARTER

LONG

EACH BEAT IS ONE QUARTER

LONG

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Notes and rests represent the length of a sound or a silence.

They are represented by numbers in time signatures:

NOTE NAME REST Nº

1

2

4

8

16

WHOLE NOTE

HALF NOTE

QUARTER NOTE

EIGHT NOTE

SIXTEENTH NOTE

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Normally we conduct time signatures by following the movements below with one of our hands:

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The length of notes and rests depends on the bottom number of the time signature. The number four designates that the note lasting one beat is the quarter note, but it can be another note if the number changes. Observe these examples:

There are also kinds of time signatures that divide each beat in three, time signatures that combine duple and triple metre, etc. There is even music, like Gregorian Chant, that has no time signature because its rhythm is free! The notes, rests and time signatures we have practiced in this unit will allow us to read a wide range of popular music pieces. On the next pages you have an example applied to a basic drum set rhythm. 15

Observe the elements of a DRUM SET:

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Each element of the drum set has a place in the staff:

Observe how is written a simple rock rhythm using musical language:

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Snare Open Bass Hit-Hat Drum

The tempo is the speed of the music

METRONOME

A mechanical or electrical instrument

that makes repeated clicking sounds at an

adjustable pace, used

for marking rhythm, esp. in practicing

music.

ITALIAN ENGLISH BEATS PER MINUTE

Largo Very slow 40-60

Adagio Slow 66-76

Andante A bit slow 76-108

Moderato Moderate

speed

108-120

Allegro A bit fast 120-168

Vivace Fast 168-180

Presto Very fast 180-200

Tempo is Italian for “time”. In a lot of music the instructions for how fast to play are written in Italian as well. Here are some of the words you´re most likely to come across:

Tempo instruction: This sign means that the music has a tempo of 90 beats per minute.

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These words tell you how to vary the speed.

This an example of how it is used in a score:

TÉRMINO ITALIANO ABBREVIATION MEANING

Accelerando Accel. Speding up

Rallentando Rall. Slowing down

A tempo Back to the original pace

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By combining all these musical elements related to tempo and rhythm, as well as others we will discover later on, we can create a

specific emotional atmosphere throughout the music.

Mood is the overall feel of a piece

It is indicated at the beginning of the piece using Italian terms. There can be as many terms as different emotions can exist: giocoso (playful, humorous), trionfale (triumphant), dolce (soft and sweet), energico (energetic), amoroso (loving), etc.

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INTERVALS AND SCALES

UNIT FIVE

INTERVALS II

An interval is the gap or distance between two notes and it has two parts to its name: a number and a description.

For example: Third Major interval

The number tells you how many notes the interval covers.

When two notes are the same interval it is called a prime, or unison. An interval of eight notes is called an octave:

You get the number by counting up

the staff from the bottom note to the top note, including the bottom and top notes in your counting. We can find second intervals, thirds, fourths, fifths and so on.

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3 notes 4 notes

1 2 3 1 2 3 4

3rd. 4th.

The description (major, minor, perfect, etc…) tells you how the interval sounds and the number of half and whole steps it contains.

Name of the interval Distance

Mayor second Whole step (two half steps)

Minor second Half step

Second augmented Step and a half

Between B and

C there´s a

minor second interval.

Between bE and F

there´s a major

second interval.

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MAJOR SCALE

A scale is a set of pitches in an arrangement of whole and half steps. The word scale comes from the Italian word scala, meaning ladder. The pitches of a scale are arranged from lowest to highest, (ascending) or highest to lowest (descending).

One of the most common and familiar scales is the major scale. It has seven notes.

The major scale uses a specific arrangement of half and whole steps to give it its distinctive bright and cheery sound. It follows the sequence of intervals below.

2nd major – 2nd major – 2nd minor – 2nd major – 2nd major – 2nd major- 2nd minor

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Whole step

Half

Step

Whole step

Whole step

Whole step

Whole step

Half

Step

MINOR SCALES

Minor scales sound completely different from mayor scales because they´ve got a different half-whole pattern and it produces a melancholic mood. There are three types of minor scales. This is the pattern of the harmonic minor scale:

It follows the next pattern of intervals:

2nd mayor – 2nd minor – 2nd mayor – 2nd mayor – 2nd minor – *2nd augmented – 2nd

minor

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Whole step

Half Step

Whole step

Whole step

Half

Step

Step and a half

Half

Step

Our musical system has fifteen mayor scales and fifteen minor scales. In fact there are just two sonorities (major and minor mode) that can start from any note.

The first note of the scale is the tonic and gives the scale its name. The rest of the notes have to follow the patterns that we have explained.

These are all the key signatures (sharps or flats of each scale) you can find in our musical system:

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SCALE DEGREE NAMES

Each of the seven notes of the scale has a name:

Some degrees are more important than others and have special harmonic functions. For example, the first degree, the tonic , is the sound centre where the music starts and finishes, melodically and harmonically. Dominant and subdominant contrast and alternate with the tonic creating movement and sound tension to build the musical discourse. Main cadences are based on the dominant and the subdominant. We´ll study this point later on.

On C major scale, for instance, G is dominant note and F is subdominant.

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This musical system called Tonality was consolidated during the seventeenth century and has let the musical discourse become longer and more complex by changing from one key (scales) to another within the same musical piece.

To change from one key to another is called a modulation. We use this technique in classical but also in pop and rock music to create certain sound effects or to repeat a bit of music with a different sonority.

Normally we modulate to the closest keys, which are the relative minor/major scale or Key signatures with one more or one less sharp or flat.

Close keys keep a relation of fifths (five notes included in the bottom and the top note). The fifth note of a scale is the dominant but also the tonic of the next scale. That´s why we use a lot the dominant chord as a pivot to change to the next key.

Observe that minor keys are step and a half (three half steps) under the tonic of their relative keys.

Pay attention to the relation of fifths in the “Circle of fifths” on the next page.

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CIRCLE

OF FIFTHS

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TIMBRE, DYNAMICS AND ARTICULATION

UNIT SIX

Every instrument has its own timbre, just like every person has a unique and personal voice.

Timbre is the type of sound that different instruments make. It´s also known as tone colour. Physically, timbre is the quality the harmonics (sound waves) confer to the main frequency (the lowest wave that an instrument generates). Those harmonics generate variations in the main wave.

Harmonics are produced because all the parts of the instrument vibrate. In the case of the human voice, bones from our faces, thorax and cranium vibrate. The arrangement of these bones varies for everyone, which is why G note sounds different from one person to the next.

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ELEMENTS OF THE TIMBRE

-Different instruments produce vibrations in different ways. For example, on a string instrument the bow is drawn across the string to make it vibrate. On a brass instrument the vibrations are produced when the player “buzzes” their lips

- The size and material of the instrument alter the timbre as well – e.g. a cello has a different timbre than a violin because it´s bigger, and wooden flutes sound different from metal ones.

- Timbre can change depending on the strength you use to play an instrument (dynamics) or the way you play it (articulation).

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TIMBRE FAMILIES: we group instruments by

the way they produce vibration

They can all be modified by using microphones with effects, amplifiers and equalizers.

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS:

crystalline and light sounds

(piccolo and flutes), nasal and opaque

sounds (oboe)

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS: it is a jumble drawer; it

contents very different sounds. Compare a bell

with a bass drum!

STRINGS INSTRUMENTS:

warm sounds (viola), incisive sounds (violin), dark, smooth

sounds (cello and double bass)

SYNTHESISED SOUNDS: imitate the

rest of the instruments,

record and alter

sounding materials from the real world

(samples), or create new sounds

BRASS INSTRUMENTS:

bright and metallic

sounds (trumpets and trombones),

big and deep sounds (horns and

tubes)

HUMAN VOICES: they have a large

variety of touches

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Modern symphony orchestras have four sections of instruments: Strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.

The sections always sit in the same places for acoustic reasons.

The loudest instruments –

the percussion – go right

at the back

The conductor stands at the front, facing the orchestra

The strings are the quietest. They go at the front so they aren´t drowned out.

The woodwind go behind the strings

The brass go behind the woodwind

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DYNAMICS

Music that was all played at the same volume would be pretty dull.

Dynamic markings tell you how loud or quietly to play.

To get a variety of different volumes you can use these symbols:

The markings go underneath the stave

pp p mf f ff

pianissimo piano mezzoforte forte fortissimo

very quiet quiet fairly loud loud very loud

crescendo Diminuendo

Getting louder Getting quieter

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ARTICULATION

Articulation tells you how much to separate the notes.

In theory all the notes of a bar should add up to one continuous sound but actually there are tiny gaps between them.

If you exaggerate the gaps you get a staccato effect.

If you smooth the gaps out,

the notes sound slurred.

A breath mark: It´s a comma placed above the staff at the ends of the musical phrases. It directs the performer of the music to take a breathe.

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MUSICAL FORM

UNIT EIGHT

The musical form is the structure or time frame upon which

music is developed.

Basic principles Basic principles

of formal

composition.

Repetition Repetition

Contrast Contrast

Music needs repetition to be understood and remembered, but too much repetition could lead to boredom or tiredness. Therefore, music also needs to combine different things or add new stuff. It needs to create contrast. The beauty comes from finding the balance between repetition and contrast.

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Musical form is normally based on the melodies of a composition and the connections between them.

To analyse musical form we assign each melody a letter. If the same melody appears again we repeat it, and if we hear something new we assign it a new letter.

Melody 1 A

Melody 2 B

Etc.

You´ll see the diagrams of the most common forms of western music.

Later on you´ll have an explanation of each of them.

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Strophic Form or Ballad

Binary form

Ternary form

Rondo

The same section of music is repeated over and over again

with virtually no changes.

Consists of two different musical phrases or sections that are usually repeated.

Consists of three phrases or sections in which the third one is usually the repetition of the

first one.

A piece of music in which a

refrain is repeated between new musical ideas.

Theme and variations

A piece that starts with one tune and then change it in different ways.

Verse-Chorus

Structure

The structure goes verse-chorus-verse-chorus and so on.

12-bars blues

It repeats the same melody twice (the call) with slight variations, followed by a new melody (the response).

COMMON FORMS

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STROPHIC FORM

In a strophic song each verse has the same tune; the same section of music is repeated over and over again with virtually no changes.

Strophic form is used in Classical, folk, blues and pop music.

The music for each verse is the same

but the lyrics change in every verse.

Hymns or romances are good examples of this.

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BINARY FORM

Binary form has two sections, and each one is repeated twice.

It´s usually used for Baroque dances, e.g. borrée, menuet, gavotte, sarabande and gigue.

The two sections should sound different (to contrast).

The contrast is often made by modulating to related keys:

Pieces in a minor key usually modulate to the relative major, e.g. A

minor to C major.

Pieces in a major key usually modulate to the dominant key (V), e.g.

C major to G major.

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12-BAR BLUES STRUCTURE

(CALL AND RESPONSE )

In a 12-bar blues structure the usual pattern of a call and response is slightly modified by adding a variation of A. The result is this: A- A1- B:

4 bars 4 bars 4 bars

A

CALL

A1 - CALL WITH

VARIATION

B RESPONSE

I I I I IV IV I I V IV I V/I

Pattern of chords in a 12-bar blues

Call and response is an old, simple musical structure. It takes place between either two groups of musicians or between a leader and the rest of the

group. One group (or the leader) plays or sings a short phrase, this is the call. It´s answered by the other group, this is the response.

This pattern is

very popular in blues and pop music.

This pattern is

very popular in blues and pop music.

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