Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo Musical Terms At times, there are

2 different names used for the same musical elements. The terminology used among musicians in N. America and other parts of the world may be different from terms used traditionally in the UK. Below are some of the main alternative terms.
Quarter Note Eighth Note Sixteenth Note Thirty-second Note Whole Step Half Step Staff Treble Clef Bass Clef Measures Keynote Leger Line Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti = = = = = = = = = = = = Note Names = = = = = = = Crotchet Quaver Semiquaver Demisemiquaver Whole Tone Semitone Stave G Clef F Clef Bars Tonic Ledger Line C D E F G A B

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo A. THE STAFF & ITS PARTS i. Staff defined as the foundation on which notes are drawn; it is comprised of 5 lines and 4 spaces, each of which corresponds to a certain pitch

ii. Clefs symbols written on a staff to assign a particular pitch to a certain line or space; the most commonly used clefs are: a) G-Clef/Treble Clef

*notice that the line around which the G-Clef wraps is assigned to the G (Sol) note; b) F-Clef/Bass Clef

*notice that the line in between the 2 dots of F-Clef is assigned to the F (Fa) note; iii. Ledger Lines lines drawn above or below the staff to extend it

iv. Grand Staff a theoretical staff made up of 11 lines; when the middle line is removed, 2 staffs are left, the top staff containing the treble clef, and the bottom staff containing the bass clef. This shows us the relationship between the 2 clefs.

The Grand Staff & Relationship between Treble & Bass Clefs

The Grand Staff as it appears in written scores.

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo *Notice that the pitch assigned to the theoretical middle line is C. For this reason, it is also called Middle C

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo B. NOTES & RESTS i. Note - a symbol representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

Parts of a note: ii. Rest - a mark in a musical score representing a pause/silence of a certain duration a) Notes and their corresponding Rests

American System Whole Note/ Whole Rest

Note Symbol

British System Semibreve/ Semibreve Rest

Rest Symbol

Half Note/ Half Rest

Minim/ Minim Rest

Quarter Note/ Quarter Rest

Crotchet/ Crotchet Rest *note that the symbol in the left is more commonly used.

Eighth Note/ Eighth Rest

Quaver/ Quaver Rest

Sixteenth Note/ Sixteenth Rest

Semiquaver/ Semiquaver Rest

TIPS FOR WRITING NOTES: *Be careful when writing notes on a staff. Make sure the note head either has the line running through the middle (if the note is on a line), or filling up the space between 2 lines

as shown:

*Note Stems are drawn going up on the right side of the note head if the note is below the middle line of the staff, and down on the left if it is above the middle line.

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo ** Beamed notes are an exception to this rule. The direction of the stem depends on the note furthest from the middle line.

C. ACCIDENTALS i. Accidental raises or lowers the pitch of a given note on the staff within a measure; in subsequent measures, the note returns to it's original pitch

*When writing accidentals on a staff, make sure that the symbol is in the same space or on the same line as the note it affects.

d) Double Flat lowers a note by 2 half steps e) Double Sharp raises a note by 2 half steps

a) Sharp ( # ) - raises a note by a half step b) Flat ( b ) - lowers a note by a half step c) Natural ( n ) - cancels a previous accidental

*Accidentals are written before the note they affect. They only affect notes within a bar. Example:

*Notes that are tied from one measure to the next are affected by accidentals. Any notes that aren't are not affected. Example:

D. BARS, MEASURES & TIME SIGNATURE i. Barline a line used to divide music into equally timed spaces; a double barline is used to mark the end of a section (thin barlines), or the end of a piece of music (thick barlines)

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo ii. Bar/Measure the space between barlines

iii. Time Signature/Meter (also spelled metre) used to specify how long a bar is; time signatures are defined by 2 numbers as seen below:

The time signature resembles a fraction, where the upper number indicates the number of beats in a measure, and the lower number indicates the note length for each beat as a fraction of a whole note. For example, in the above illustration, the 1st bar has a 4/4 time signature. This means that each bar is made up of 4 beats, each beat being equal to 1 quarter note. Simple Time Signature Time signatures where each beat is represented by a quarter note and is divisible by 2; most common simple time signatures are 2/4 , 3/4 , & 4/4 4/4 time signature is also called Common Time and may be indicated by a

symbol; a 2/2 time signature is also called Cut

Time and may be indicated by a C symbol Compound time Signature Time signatures where each beat is represented by a dotted quarter note and is divisible by 3; some examples of compound time signatures are 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8

E. RHYTHM i. Note Values Below is a chart illustrating the different kinds of notes and their relationship to one another in terms of value:

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo

Below is a list of note values/duration in terms of their number of beats: = 4 beats = 2 beats = beats = beats

= 1 beat Note: Flagged notes (eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, etc), when written, are often beamed together to clearly show how they are grouped according to beats. Beats 1 & 2, and beats 3 & 4 may be joined, but never beats 2 & 3. II. Triplet is a note value that divides beats into 3 equal parts, as opposed to the usual duplets which divide each beat into 2; Triplets are usually denoted using a slur or bracket with a number 3 as shown below:

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo The following table shows the how beats can be divided into DUPLETS and TRIPLETS

III. Syncopation a musical rhythm accenting a weak beat as opposed to the usual down beat rhythm. Also called off-beat, a syncopated note can be a note played between beats (where there is a rest on the down beat), or an accent (e.g. longer note) placed in unexpected places. Examples:

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo Practical Exercise: Basic Counting In order to play and execute notes correctly, it is necessary to develop a good sense of rhythm or pulse. One way to practice and develop this is through clapping exercises: Part 1: Tap your foot in a steady 4/4 time counting 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, etc.. Make sure the beat is even and consistent. You may use a metronome at a comfortable speed to help you. You have now set your TEMPO for this exercise. Part 2: Once you have become comfortable with your tempo, you may proceed with the next step clapping note values. In 4/4 time, we know that each beat is equal to one quarter note. Knowing this, we can see that a whole note is made up of 4 quarter notes, and therefore must be held for 4 beats; a half note is made up of 2 quarter notes and is held for 2 beats, and so on. With this in mind, we can clap the value of the different kinds of notes starting from the top of the note value tree going down to the bottom. When clapping, the hands are held together to hold a note, and brought apart to end a note. Below is a table showing the note value tree along with a guide on how to count the beats on each type of note. Clap each note's rhythm going up and down the tree. 1-2-3-4 1-2 3-4

1 2 3 4

1-n 2-n 3-n 4-n 1-n-a 2-n-a 3-n-a 4 - n-a

1-e-n-a 2-e-n-a 3-e-n-a 4-e-n-a

Part 3: Try mixing up different kinds of notes: compose your own rhythms and clap them out. Use a combination of different note values, experiment with dotted notes, ties and different rests, try using syncopated values. Listen to your favorite songs and try to write down the rhythm of the melody. There are endless ways to sharpen your sense of rhythm. Experiment and have fun!

Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo

G. Performance Directions Aside from the elements of notation such as pitch & rhythm in a score (notated music/sheet music), other instructions can also be found which relate to how a piece or song is to be performed. These may refer to volume, speed, expression and others. i. Tempo literally translated, means time; this refers to the speed at which a piece is to be performed. In Popular music, the most commonly used indication is to specify the number of beats per minute (bpm), which is sometimes referred to as a metronome marking. Example: q = 90 this means that there are 90 quarter note beats per minute ii. Dynamics indicates how quietly or loudly a piece is to be played or performed; here are some common examples and their meanings: Symbol Meaning Italian Term p pp P mf f ff Cresc. Or gradually becoming louder Decresc./Dim. Or gradually becoming softer sf / sfz Decrescendo/Diminuendo Crescendo Soft Very soft Moderately soft Moderately loud Loud Very loud piano pianissimo Mezzo piano Mezzo forte forte Fortissimo

(literally) forced: sudden Sforzando loudness accentuating a note TIP: Sometimes the hairpin symbols for cresc. & decresc. Are accompanied by other dynamic markings such as mp and f on a cresc. Hairpin to give a more specific direction. iii. Articulation indicate how a note should be played a) Staccato indicated by a dot above or below the note head; notes with a

staccato marking are to be played short and detached b) Tenuto indicated by a straight line above or below the note head; notes with tenuto markings are to be played for the notes full value where it is

leaned on slightly c) Marcato indicated by a V on its side above or below the note head; notes with marcato markings are to be played with a stress or accent on the

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Rudiments of Music: Basic Music Theory Prepared by: Joan Louise Malgapo note. d) Legato/Slurs a curved line joining 2 or more notes of different pitches into a phrase is called a slur. Notes that have been slurred are to be played as smoothly as possible with no accents. This way of playing is

called LEGATO, which means connected e) Fermata also known as a pause mark;indicates that a note or chord is to

be held for an unspecified amount of time; the length of the pause is determined by the performer iv. Navigation a) Multi-bar rests in a score, a bar rest is indicated by a whole rest. If the rest lasts longer than one bar, a multi-bar rest may be used. It is indicated by a horizontal line drawn through the bar with the number of silent bars written above it:

b) Repeats Repeat Marks sometimes in a piece, certain sections are to be

repeated. Repeat Marks are used to indicate these. These are double barlines with 2 dots on either side of the middle line. D.C. - abbreviation for Da Capo, which means from the beginning D.S. - abbreviation of Dal Segno, which means from the sign (%) Coda the equivalent of an outro or ending section of a piece of music; D.S. al Fine means from the sign until the word Fine (end) D.C al Fine means from the beginning until the word Fine (end) D.C al Coda means from the beginning, then play the coda D.S. al Coda means from the sign, then play the coda; The symbol used ot indicate from where the performer should go to the coda is

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