Rudiments of Music Handout

1. Staff - consists of five lines and four spaces.

2. Treble clef or G-clef – begins on the G line or second line of the staff.
– Higher sounding notes.

▪ Lines – Every Good Boy Does Fine

▪ Spaces – F A C E

3. Bass clef or F-clef – begins on the F line or fourth line of the staff.
– Lower sounding notes.
▪ Lines – Good Boy Do Fine Always
▪ Spaces – All Cow Eat Grass

4. Grand Staff – A brace and a bar connect the G and F clefs.

5. Bar line – is a vertical line that divides the staff into measures.

6. Measure – it is the space between the two bar lines.

Rock-a-bye Baby has 8 measures.

 7. Double bar line - indicate the end of a song or composition.

8. Notes – is a musical symbol that indicates sound.

9. Rests – is a musical symbol that indicates silence.
Parts of a Note

Flag/hook
Stem

Note head

Kinds of Notes
Whole note
▪ Has an oval-shaped head without shade
▪ 4 beats
Half note
▪ Has an oval-shaped head with no shade but with a stem.
▪ 2 beats
Quarter note
▪ Has a shaded oval head with a stem.
▪ 1 beat
Eighth note
▪ Has a shaded oval head, a stem, and a flag.
▪ ½ beat
▪ Two eight notes may be written as .
Kinds of Rest
Whole rest
▪ Looks like a hat placed upside down
▪ 4 beats
Half rest
▪ Looks like a hat placed upright.
▪ 2 beats
Quarter rest
▪ Looks like a wavy line with a curved tail.
▪ 1 beat
Eighth rest
▪ Looks like a slanted line connected to a big dot on its left side.
½ beat
10. Dot – the dot adds half of the value of the note to itself

2 + 1= 3
11. Double Dots

+ + = 3 beats
1 1 1

+ + = 6 ½ beats

2 4 ½

+ + = 8 beats
6 1 1

+ + = 3 ¾ beats

2 ¾ 1
 12. Time Signature

Pitch Name So-fa syllables

C Do
D Re
E Mi
F Fa
G So/Sol
A La
B Ti
13. Ledger line

14. Key Signature - the arrangement of sharp or flat signs on particular lines and spaces of a
musical staff to indicate that the corresponding notes, in every octave, are to be consistently raised
(by sharps) or lowered (by flats) from their natural pitches.

Sharp (#)
▪ Go Down And Eat Breakfast For Carmen

4 steps downward, 5 steps upward

 Flats
▪ Fat Boys Eat Apple During Geometry Class

4 steps upward, 5 steps downward

15. Accidentals - are a note or pitch that is not part of the key signature that you’re playing in. These
notes are marked by using the sharp (♯), flat (♭), or natural (♮) signs.