Lecture 1 Pitch; Dynamics and Articulation; Melody
Musical Language
Music is a language in and of itself. It contains symbols and markings to convey specific sounds that induce an emotional response from the listener. The language must be understood before any of the elements can be applied.
So what is musical language? Just as we have an alphabet to draw letters from to form words in our normal speech, music uses an alphabet to convey messages through sound. This alphabet contains 7 letters:
A B C D E F G
As you will see, these letters become known as Pitches when attached to other symbols in the language of music.
Pitch Defined
What is pitch? It is the frequency at which a given sound vibrates. (The higher the pitch the faster the vibration; the lower the pitch the slower the vibration) The placement of notes on a particular line or space on the staff will determine pitch name.
The Staff and Clef Signs
A staff consists of 5 lines and 4 spaces and looks like this:
Musical Language
Music is a language in and of itself. It contains symbols and markings to convey specific sounds that induce an emotional response from the listener. The language must be understood before any of the elements can be applied.
So what is musical language? Just as we have an alphabet to draw letters from to form words in our normal speech, music uses an alphabet to convey messages through sound. This alphabet contains 7 letters:
A B C D E F G
As you will see, these letters become known as Pitches when attached to other symbols in the language of music.
Pitch Defined
What is pitch? It is the frequency at which a given sound vibrates. (The higher the pitch the faster the vibration; the lower the pitch the slower the vibration) The placement of notes on a particular line or space on the staff will determine pitch name.
The Staff and Clef Signs
A staff consists of 5 lines and 4 spaces and looks like this:
Each line and space will be assigned one of the letter names from the musical alphabet. How do we know what letter names should be assigned? We must add something called a Clef sign.
There are 7 Clef signs used in the musical language. We will only concern ourselves with 2 of the 7:
Treble clef also known as Violin clef, is used on the second line of the staff and indicates that the second line is G. This clef is used for high pitched instruments like piano, flute and violin
Bass clef: also known as F clef, is used on the fourth line of the staff and indicates that the note written on the fourth line is F. This clef is used for low pitched instruments such as piano, cello and double bass.
Here are a few examples:
There are 7 Clef signs used in the musical language. We will only concern ourselves with 2 of the 7:
Treble clef also known as Violin clef, is used on the second line of the staff and indicates that the second line is G. This clef is used for high pitched instruments like piano, flute and violin
Bass clef: also known as F clef, is used on the fourth line of the staff and indicates that the note written on the fourth line is F. This clef is used for low pitched instruments such as piano, cello and double bass.
Here are a few examples:
The Keyboard
The piano or electric keyboard is a helpful tool when leaning the theory behind music. By using a keyboard, you will be able to see the concepts of musical sound. Such concepts include intervals, scales, and chords, all of which will be covered in this course. Let's begin by taking a look at the piano keyboard.
A piano keyboard has a total of 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black. The black keys are in groups of two and three. Beginning at the extreme left of the keyboard the white key pitches are ABCDEFG, repeating in sequence 7 times on a full keyboard. Each one of these sequences is known as an Octave. An Octave in music refers to the a set of 8 consecutive pitches. All octaves will start and end with the same pitch. For example, C to C is an octave. If you count out the pitches you would find: C D E F G A B C. Remember, the musical alphabet is continuously repeating itself. Once you hit G the pattern of A B C D E F G repeats.
The piano or electric keyboard is a helpful tool when leaning the theory behind music. By using a keyboard, you will be able to see the concepts of musical sound. Such concepts include intervals, scales, and chords, all of which will be covered in this course. Let's begin by taking a look at the piano keyboard.
A piano keyboard has a total of 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black. The black keys are in groups of two and three. Beginning at the extreme left of the keyboard the white key pitches are ABCDEFG, repeating in sequence 7 times on a full keyboard. Each one of these sequences is known as an Octave. An Octave in music refers to the a set of 8 consecutive pitches. All octaves will start and end with the same pitch. For example, C to C is an octave. If you count out the pitches you would find: C D E F G A B C. Remember, the musical alphabet is continuously repeating itself. Once you hit G the pattern of A B C D E F G repeats.
Here's a closer look at 3 octaves on the keyboard.
Piano keyboard layout.
Piano keyboard layout.
Notice how the black keys are in groups of two and three. Also, notice the white key before each of the two sets of black keys. This will always be a C up or down the keyboard. Many people use this and F, found before the set of three black keys, as a landmark for finding their way around the keyboard.
Black Keys
Black keys on a piano get their names from the white keys that surround them. Take, for example, the pitches C and D. Notice there is a black key between the two. Two or more names may be given to this black key: C# or Db. Another example, would be the black key between A and B. This black key would be called A# or Bb.
(more on # sharps, b flats, and black keys will be given in Lecture 1.4 Intervals )
Black Keys
Black keys on a piano get their names from the white keys that surround them. Take, for example, the pitches C and D. Notice there is a black key between the two. Two or more names may be given to this black key: C# or Db. Another example, would be the black key between A and B. This black key would be called A# or Bb.
(more on # sharps, b flats, and black keys will be given in Lecture 1.4 Intervals )
The Notation of Music
Now that we know about the staff and clef signs, let's take it one step further. One of the most important features in the language of music are notes and their respective values.
Notes consist of one or more of the following:
Notehead
Stem
Flag or flags
Beams
Now that we know about the staff and clef signs, let's take it one step further. One of the most important features in the language of music are notes and their respective values.
Notes consist of one or more of the following:
Notehead
Stem
Flag or flags
Beams
Notice that any note placed below the middle line has its stem facing up on the right. Notes placed above the middle line have stems facing down on the left.
If a note falls on the middle line it can go either way.
Certain kinds of notes may be beamed together or written as single pitches. If written as single notes a flag would be used. Beams and flags are found on eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, sixty-fourth etc., type notes.
If a note falls on the middle line it can go either way.
Certain kinds of notes may be beamed together or written as single pitches. If written as single notes a flag would be used. Beams and flags are found on eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, sixty-fourth etc., type notes.
Notes on the Staff
Although the musical alphabet consists of only 7 letters, these letters repeat themselves forward and backward on a staff.
ABCDEFGABCEDFGABCDEFGABCDEFG
First, here are the notes on a G clef:
Remember, the names of the lines and spaces for this staff are
determined by the clef sign.
Although the musical alphabet consists of only 7 letters, these letters repeat themselves forward and backward on a staff.
ABCDEFGABCEDFGABCDEFGABCDEFG
First, here are the notes on a G clef:
Remember, the names of the lines and spaces for this staff are
determined by the clef sign.
When using the Grand Staff we have to add something called Ledger lines. These type lines extend the staff up or down in either clef.
One thing to keep in mind about the staff: We always read from the bottom up!
You may have heard the saying, "Every Good Boy Does Fine" or "F A C E" face. These sayings pertain to the lines and spaces of the Treble clef...from the bottom up.
You may have heard the saying, "Every Good Boy Does Fine" or "F A C E" face. These sayings pertain to the lines and spaces of the Treble clef...from the bottom up.
Here are some popular sayings for the Bass or F clef:
These sayings are used to help you remember the line and space names for both the Treble and Bass clefs
Octave in Music
One octave in music means you are moving 8 notes from one letter name up or down to the next same letter name as shown in the example below.
One octave in music means you are moving 8 notes from one letter name up or down to the next same letter name as shown in the example below.
If you move up or down to the second time the same letter appears you would be moving two octaves and so forth. The example uses letter C but any letter may be used.
D to D = 1 octave
E to E = 1 octave
etc.
The Octave Sign
The octave sign is a notational device that helps the reader more easily spell out notes on a staff. At times, ledger lines will extend high above or well below the staff making the music difficult to read. By applying octave signs we can keep the notes of a composition close to the staff.
The example below shows an octave sign above three pitches. The performer would play those pitches one octave higher than written.
D to D = 1 octave
E to E = 1 octave
etc.
The Octave Sign
The octave sign is a notational device that helps the reader more easily spell out notes on a staff. At times, ledger lines will extend high above or well below the staff making the music difficult to read. By applying octave signs we can keep the notes of a composition close to the staff.
The example below shows an octave sign above three pitches. The performer would play those pitches one octave higher than written.
This next example shows an octave sign placed in the bass clef. The performer would play these pitches one octave lower than written.
Octave Identification
Octave identification is an important system used when trying to identify a particular pitch in music. Suppose I asked you to play a C on the piano. If you remember, there are a total of 8 C's on an 88 key piano. Which one should you play? By using the Octave Identification system, you can easily determine which C I am requesting.
Here's how it works:
Beginning from the far left of the keyboard, we assign
each C a number from 1 - 8.
From left to right we then find: C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C 7 C8
Keep in mind, C4 refers to Middle C
Octave identification is an important system used when trying to identify a particular pitch in music. Suppose I asked you to play a C on the piano. If you remember, there are a total of 8 C's on an 88 key piano. Which one should you play? By using the Octave Identification system, you can easily determine which C I am requesting.
Here's how it works:
Beginning from the far left of the keyboard, we assign
each C a number from 1 - 8.
From left to right we then find: C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C 7 C8
Keep in mind, C4 refers to Middle C
Any pitch that falls between C1 and C2 would be referred to as number one. So, if I was refering to the first G on the keyboard, I would say G1. If I wanted the G above middle C I would say G4. Make sense?
Let's see how it looks on a staff.
Let's see how it looks on a staff.
Here are random notes on a Treble clef using Octave Identification
Here are some examples on the Bass clef:
The lowest three pitches on the piano, below C1 are:
Enharmonic Pitch
When two different letter names share the same pitch we call them Enharmonic Pitches. Remember when we discussed the black keys earlier in the lecture? We said that a single black key pitch can have more than one name: Ex. F# and Gb
This is also true for white keys when we use double sharps or double flats in music.
More will be discussed on this topic in the Interval and scale portions of the course.
When two different letter names share the same pitch we call them Enharmonic Pitches. Remember when we discussed the black keys earlier in the lecture? We said that a single black key pitch can have more than one name: Ex. F# and Gb
This is also true for white keys when we use double sharps or double flats in music.
More will be discussed on this topic in the Interval and scale portions of the course.
Dynamics and Articulations
Dynamics in Music
Music is much more than notes on a page. It has an emotional quality that can be expressed through degrees of loudness and softness. A composer must include his or her intent on how pitches in a piece of music should be conveyed. To do this, they use something called Dynamics.
Below is a list of standard dynamic words and symbols.
Dynamics in Music
Music is much more than notes on a page. It has an emotional quality that can be expressed through degrees of loudness and softness. A composer must include his or her intent on how pitches in a piece of music should be conveyed. To do this, they use something called Dynamics.
Below is a list of standard dynamic words and symbols.
Articulations
Equally important to dynamics are the articulations notated within a piece of music. Articulations refer to the way notes are grouped or phrased and the sensativity by which they are to be performed. Symbols and/or words may be used when written in a score. Here are a few examples:
accents >
legato long connected notes
staccato . short detached notes
marcato ^ marked or stressed
sforzando sudden strong accent
tenuto – held or sustained
The following link offers an example of how dynamics and articulations are used: Clementi Sonatina
Equally important to dynamics are the articulations notated within a piece of music. Articulations refer to the way notes are grouped or phrased and the sensativity by which they are to be performed. Symbols and/or words may be used when written in a score. Here are a few examples:
accents >
legato long connected notes
staccato . short detached notes
marcato ^ marked or stressed
sforzando sudden strong accent
tenuto – held or sustained
The following link offers an example of how dynamics and articulations are used: Clementi Sonatina