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Musical Bits And Pieces For Non-Musicians
STAFF
Musical NOTES are written on a row of five lines—like birds
sitting on telegraph wires. The set of lines is called a STAFF
(sometimes pronounced ‘stave’).
Some notes sit ON a line. Others sit in a SPACE between lines.
NOTE
When notes are too high or too low for the normal five lines,
extra lines can be added above or below the staff to
accommodate them. These are called LEDGER LINES, and
they are just wide enough to fit one note.
LEDGER LINE
At the beginning of each staff is a symbol that tells you
whether the notes on the staff are for a high or low voice or
instrument. The symbol is called a CLEF. The two most
common are the TREBLE CLEF (for high notes/voices) and
the BASS CLEF (for low ones).
TREBLE CLEF
BASS CLEF
NOTES are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Each one has its
own slot on the STAFF. Which slot each note occupies depends on whether there is a TREBLE CLEF
or a BASS CLEF at the beginning of the STAFF.
When there is a TREBLE CLEFF at the
beginning the notes are named like this:
On the lines
In the spaces
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
A way of remembering the notes on the lines: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. The notes in the
spaces spell the word FACE.
When there is a BASS CLEFF at the
beginning the notes are named like this:
On the lines
In the spaces
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
A way of remembering the notes on the lines: Grizzly Bears Don’t Fly Aeroplanes. Remember the
notes in the spaces with All Cows Eat Grass.
The upper STAFF (marked with a TREBLE CLEF) and the lower one (marked with a BASS CLEF) are
closely related. To understand how, imagine this 11-line STAFF:
If we now knock out the middle line we end up with two lots of five—the
two normal STAFFS. The note on the LEDGER LINE between them is
called, for obvious reasons, MIDDLE C.
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Musical NOTES are drawn in different ways, and the style tells you a note’s DURATION, that is, how
long it should be held on when played or sung. There are five common ones, and in the following
graphics each note is half the length of the one to its left:
The longest note in regular use is called a
SEMIBRIEVE. It has a white centre and no STEM
(stick at the side).
SEMIBRIEVE
The MINIM is half as long as a SEMIBRIEVE. It has a
white centre and also a STEM. Two MINIMS last the
same length of time as one SEMIBRIEVE.
MINIM
The CROTCHET is half as long as a MINIM. It is solid
black and has a STEM. Two CROTCHETS last the same
length of time as one MINIM, and four of them the
same length of time as one SEMIBRIEVE.
CROTCHET
The QUAVER is half as long as a CROTCHET. It is solid
black and has a STEM. It also has a flag or tail. Two
QUAVERS last the same length of time as one
CROTCHET. Four of them equal the length of one
MINIM and eight of them equal one SEMIBRIEVE.
QUAVER
The SEMIQUAVER is half as long as a QUAVER. It is
solid black and has a STEM. It also has a double flag
or tail. Two SEMIQUAVERS last the same length of
time as one QUAVER. Four of them equal the length of
one CROTCHET, eight of them equal one MINIM and
sixteen equal one SEMIBRIEVE.
In summary, then, this is how the various notes relate to each other in terms of their relative
duration:
When two or more FLAGGED notes of the
same type are next to each other on the
STAFF, the flags or tails are often combined
into a BEAM, like this:
is written as…
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Vertical lines cross the STAFF at regular
intervals. These are called BAR LINES and
they divide the STAFF into BARS
(sometimes called MEASURES). The first
bar on each line may be numbered to help
you find your way around the piece.
Each BAR in a piece of music has the same
number of BEATS in it. How many of them
there are, and their DURATION, is shown by
the TIME SIGNATURE at the beginning of
the piece. A TIME SIGNATURE has two
numbers, one above the other:
BAR NUMBER
16
Between these lines
is one BAR
BAR LINE
BAR LINE
TIME SIGNATURE
FOUR-FOUR TIME
THREE-FOUR TIME
SIX-EIGHT TIME
The bottom number is the type of note that represents one beat:
2 = a MINIM
4 = a CROTCHET
8 = a QUAVER
The top number is how many of those notes are in each BAR. So a 4/4 TIME SIGNATURE means there
are four CROTCHETS in each bar; 6/8 means there are six QUAVERS in each bar; 3/2 means there
are three MINIMS in each bar, and so on.
Sometimes a composer wants to indicate a REST. A
REST is when, for a certain duration, the instrument
or singer should be silent. The picture shows the
rests and their equivalent notes.
So the middle one in the picture is a period of
silence the same length as a CROTCHET. It is
therefore called a CROTCHET REST.
Sometimes a composer needs to lengthen a note and will do it
by placing a DOT after the note. Such notes are called DOTTED
NOTES.
NORMAL CROTCHET
The dot lengthens the note by half its length. So a dotted
CROTCHET lasts as long as a CROTCHET plus a QUAVER.
DOTTED CROTCHET
Another way a note can be lengthened is by
using a TIE. This is a curved line linking two
notes of the same PITCH. In this case the
second note is not played separately, but the
first note is held on for the duration of the two
notes.
TIE
These two pieces will sound exactly the same
A TIE must not be confused with a SLUR. A
SLUR is also a curved line, but it does not hug
the notes so closely, and indicates that the
enclosed notes should be played or sung
without separation, i.e. with no break between.
The word ‘joy’ here is
sung over three notes
without breaking off.
SLUR
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SHARP sign
We have noticed how a note’s DURATION can be
extended by a half by using a DOT. We can also adjust
its PITCH by a half, i.e. move it either up or down by
half a note. This is done by using a SHARP or a FLAT.
A SHARP moves the pitch up half a note. A FLAT
moves it down half a note.
The second note is
half a note higher
than the first.
FLAT sign
The second note is
half a note lower
than the first.
You will often see a group of SHARP or FLAT signs at the beginning
of a STAFF. This group is the KEY SIGNATURE for the piece of
music. This is quite a complicated area of musical knowledge and
you don’t need to concern yourself with it at this stage.
KEY SIGNATURE
NATURAL sign
There is also a NATURAL sign, which brings a SHARP or FLAT note
back again to its normal, or NATURAL, level.
The note D
D sharp - half
a note higher
D natural - back
down to normal D
Many musical terms are written in and around the STAFF to guide the player or singer. Traditionally,
these are in the Italian language.
DYNAMICS are signs indicating how loud or soft the music should be played or sung. [‘Soft’ in Italian
is piano and ‘loud’ is forte. The instrument we call a piano is more correctly a pianoforte, that is, an
instrument that can vary the volume of the sounds it produces.]
The main DYNAMICS are as follows:
Dynamic
Notated
How Performed
pianissimo
pp
Very soft
piano
p
Soft
mezzo piano
mp
Moderately soft
mezzo forte
mf
Moderately loud
forte
f
Loud
fortissimo
ff
Very loud
Other terms indicate how to change from soft to loud and vice versa. These are concerned with
DYNAMIC VARIANCE. The main ones are as follows:
Term
Notated
How Performed
crescendo
cresc.
Gradually louder
diminuendo
dim.
Gradually softer
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Graphics are sometimes used for DYNAMIC VARIANCE instead of words, as follows:
= crescendo = getting louder
= diminuendo = getting softer
Various other symbols are used to indicate how a piece of music should be played or sung. Some of
the commonest—again with Italian names—are:
STACCATO. This is indicated by a dot below or above
the note (and not to be confused with a DOTTED NOTE,
where the dot is after the note to lengthen it).
A STACCATO note is played or sung very sharply, with a
break between it and the next note. In this example the first
three notes are STACCATO notes.
STACCATO DOT
FERMATA
FERMATA. This symbol, placed above the STAFF,
means that the note should be held on as long as the
conductor requires.
Other words and indicators are to do with the SECTIONS of a piece of music and the ORDER in which
they should be played and sung, or repeated. Again, these are in Italian and the most common ones are:
Name
Meaning
Coda
The Coda starts here [‘coda’ means a ‘tail’ at the end of the piece]
Segno
The sign/symbol to play/sing from [‘Segno’ means a ‘sign’ - see below]
Fine
(Pronounced ‘fin-ay’) Finish playing/singing here [‘Fine’ means ‘finish’]
To Coda
From here, go to the Coda
Da Capo (D.C.)
Play/sing from the beginning [‘Da capo’ means ‘from the beginning’]
D.C. al Coda
Play/sing from the beginning to the Coda
D.C. al Fine
Play/sing from the beginning to the Fine
Dal Segno (D.S.) From the sign - see below
D.S. al Coda
Play/sing from the sign to the Coda
D.S. al Fine
Play/sing from the sign to the Fine
SEGNO (sign) = The sign to play from when you are re-directed
by a Dal Segno instruction
= The first and second
times through,
play/sing from here.
= The third time through,
play/sing from here.
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Finally, here’s a reference list of yet more musical terms that you will meet from time to time:
Terms to do with TEMPO - Speed
(from very slow to very fast)
Term
Grave
Largo
Lento
Adagio
Larghetto
Andante
Andantino
Moderato
Allegretto
Allegro
Vivo
Vivace
Presto
Accelerando
Rallentando
Ritardando
A Tempo
Meaning
Very slow and solemn
Very slow and broad, with dignity
Very slow
Very slow and expressive
Not as slow as Largo but slower than Andante
Walking tempo: slowish but with a flowing movement
A little quicker than Andante
Medium speed: not fast, not slow
Light and cheerful, but not as fast as Allegro
‘Merry’, quick, lively, bright
Lively, brisk - usually with Allegro as Allegro Vivo
Vivacious; faster than Allegro
Very fast
Changes in Tempo
Gradually speeding up
Gradually slowing down
Back to the original tempo after a slowing-down
TEMPO (speed) can be indicated more scientifically by
saying how many beats per minute the piece should
progress at. The indicator usually looks like this:
BEATS PER MINUTE
Terms to do with STYLE
Agitato
Excitedly, with agitation
Animato
With animation; in a spirited manner
Appassionato
With intensity and depth of feeling
Con brio
With vigour
Grandioso
In a noble, elevated style
Legato
Smooth and connected, in a flowing manner
Maestoso
With majesty and grandeur
Scherzando
In a light, playful and sportive manner
Con spirito
With spirit or animation
Tenuto
Sustained for the full time-value
Tranquillo
With tranquility; quietly, restfully
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