Download 4/4 TIME - Introduction to Music Theory

Friday, September 14, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
during class
 Treble
clef (G clef) note names
 Bass clef (F clef) note names
 The grand staff
 Rhythm identification; note values
 2/4, 3/4, & 4/4 time
 Measures/bar lines/double bar lines
 Musical math
 Fill in missing beats (notes & rests)
 Writing beats under pitches
 Dots
 Slurs/Ties
 “Balanced musical equations”
 Repeats signs & 1st and 2nd endings
 Stems, flags, & beams
 Dynamic, Tempo, Articulation symbols
meanings
 D.C., D.S., Coda, & Fine
 Sharps, flats, & naturals (accidentals)
 Enharmonic notes
 Half steps & whole steps
 Tetrachords
 Major scale construction
&

Music is written on a STAFF.
• 5 lines with 4 spaces in between
Music NOTES are oval–shaped symbols that are
placed on the lines and in the spaces. They
represent musical sounds, called PITCHES.
 The lines of the staff are numbered from bottom
to top (1–5).
 The spaces between the lines are also numbered
from bottom to top (1–4)
 If notes appear higher on the staff, they sound
higher (of course!). If notes appear lower on the
staff, they sound lower (seriously!).

 Music
notes are named after the first seven
letters of the alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, G).
 CLEF signs help to organize music on the
staff so notes can be easily read.
 The TREBLE CLEF is used for notes in the
higher pitch range.
 The TREBLE CLEF is also called the G CLEF
because is evolved from a stylized letter G.
 The curl on the treble clef circles the line on
which the note G is placed. This G is above
MIDDLE C (the C nearest the middle of the
keyboard.
In the treble staff, the names of the notes on
the lines (from bottom to top) are: E, G, B, D,
F.
 The names in the spaces from bottom to top
are: F, A, C, E.

 The
BASS CLEF (pronounced “base”) is
used for notes in the lower pitch ranges.
 The BASS CLEF is also called the F CLEF
because it has evolved from a stylized
letter F.
 The two dots of the bass clef surround the
line on which the note F is placed. This F
is below middle C.
 In
the bass staff, the names of the notes
on the lines (from bottom to top) are: G, B,
D, F, A.
 The names in the spaces from bottom to
top are: A, C, E, G.
 When
the treble and bass staffs are
connected by a brace and a line, they
combine to form a GRAND STAFF.
 LEDGER
LINES are short lines which are
added to extend the range of the staff
when notes are too low or too high to be
written on the staff.
 The notes in the middle range of the staff
are: B, C, and D. They can be written on
ledger lines in both the treble and bass
staffs.
 More
than one LEDGER LINE may be
added to extend the lower and upper
ranges of the GRAND STAFF.
 The next higher notes on the treble staff
are: G, A, B, & C.
 The next lower notes of the bass staff are:
F, E, D, C
 Remember, the musical alphabet goes up
as pitches go up and down as pitches go
down.
 While
the placement of notes on the staff
indicates the pitch, the DURATION of the
note (how long the note is held) is
determined by the NOTE VALUE.
 A WHOLE NOTE is drawn with an open
oval.
 Two HALF NOTES equal the duration of
one whole note.
 Four QUARTER NOTEs equal the duration
of 2 half notes or 1 whole note.
 STEMS
extend downward on the left side
when the note appears on or above the
3rd line of the staff.
 STEMS extend upward on the right side
when the note appears below the 3rd line
of the staff.
 The STEM LENGTH should continue to
the space or line with the same letter
name, above or below.
 Music
is not only made up of sounds, but
also the silence between sounds. The
duration of musical silence is determined
by the value of the REST.
 A WHOLE REST means to rest for an
entire measure.
 A HALF REST is equal to half of a whole
rest.
 A QUARTER REST is equal to one quarter
of a whole rest.
 A WHOLE
REST hangs down from the 4th
line.
 A HALF REST sits on top of the 3rd line (it
looks like a top hat).
 In 4/4 time:
• Whole rests = 4 beats
• Half rests = 2 beats
• Quarter rests = 1 beat
 Music
is divided into equal parts by BAR
LINES.
 The area between two bar lines is called
a MEASURE or a BAR.
 A DOUBLE BAR is written at the end of a
piece of music. It is made up of one thin
and one thick line, with the thick line
always on the outside.
 On a GRAND STAFF, the bar lines and the
double bar pass through the entire staff.
 The TIME
SIGNATURE appears at the
beginning of a piece of music
immediately after the clef sign.
 A TIME SIGNATURE contains two
numbers, one above the other.
 The upper number tells how many beats
(or counts) are in each measure.
 The lower numbers tells what type of
notes receives one beat.
 In
4/4 time, the top number means there are
4 beats in each measure.
 In 4/4 time, the bottom number means that
the quarter is receiving one beat.
 4/4 time is also called “common time.”
 In
4/4 time, a QUARTER NOTE is equal to
one beat.
 In 4/4 time, a HALF NOTE is equal to two
beats.
 In 4/4 time, a WHOLE NOTE is equal to four
beats.
 In
2/4 time, the top number means there are 2
beats in each measure.
 In 2/4 time, the bottom number means that the
quarter is receiving one beat.
 In
2/4 time, a QUARTER NOTE is equal to one
beat.
 In 2/4 time, a HALF NOTE is equal to two beats.
 In 2/4 time, a WHOLE REST is used for a full
measure of rest, even if there are only 2 beats
in each measure.
 A HALF REST and a WHOLE NOTE are never
used in 2/4 time.
 In
3/4 time, the top number means there are 3
beats in each measure.
 In 3/4 time, the bottom number means that the
quarter is receiving one beat.
 In
3/4 time, a QUARTER NOTE is equal to one
beat.
 In 3/4 time, a HALF NOTE is equal to two beats.
 In 3/4 time, a WHOLE REST is used for a full
measure of rest, even if there are only 3 beats
in each measure.
 A HALF REST and a WHOLE NOTE are never
used in 3/4 time.
 The
use of a dot in music notation dates
back at least to the 10th Century, although
the exact amount of augmentation is
disputed.
 A dot after a note increases its duration by
half of the original value.
 EXAMPLE: half note
• In 4/4 & 3/4 time, a half note is usually worth 2 beats.
• If you add a dot after a half note, the dot is worth 1
beat (half of 2 is 1).
• Adding that dot to the half note gives it a new value
of 3 (2+1=3).





If the note to be dotted is on a space, the dot also goes
on the space, while if the note is on a line, the dot goes
on the space above (this also goes for notes on ledger
lines).
The dots on dotted notes, which are located to the right
of the note, are not to be confused with the dots which
indicate staccato articulation, which are located above
or below the note.
Theoretically, any note value can be dotted, as
can rests of any value. If the rest is in its normal
position, dots are always placed in third staff space
from the bottom.
Dots can be used across bar lines.
More than one dot may be added; each dot adds half of
the duration added by the previous dot.
 A TIE
joins two notes of the same pitch by
a curved line over or under the notes.
 Each note joined by a tie is held for its
full value but only the first note is played
or sung.
 The tied note’s value is added to the
value of the first note.
 A tie should always be written on the
opposite side of the note stems.
A SLUR smoothly connects two or more notes of
different pitches by a curved line over or under
the notes.
 With a slur, there is no break in sound between
pitches.
 A slur is sometimes also referred to as LEGATO
singing or playing. (More on this later…)
 When all the stems are in the same direction, the
slur is written on the opposite side from that of
the stems. When stem direction is mixed, the slur
is written above the notes.

 When
you add a stem to a quarter note, it
becomes an eighth note.
 Two or more eighth notes are connected
by a beam.
 In 2/4, 3/4, & 4/4 time, an eighth note is
equal to one–half count.
 Two eighth notes equal 1 quarter note.
 Four eighth notes equal 1 half note.
 Eight eighth notes equal 1 whole note.
 Eighth
notes can be drawn as:
• a single quarter note with a flag attached to the
stem
• with a beam/in pairs
• with a beam/in fours
 An
eighth rest is equal to half the value of
a quarter rest.
 In 2/4, 3/4, & 4/4 time, an eighth rest is
equal to one–half count of rest.
 Two eighth rests equal 1 quarter rest.
 Four eighth rests equal 1 half rest.
 Eight eighth rests
equal 1 whole rest.
 Notes
or rests that fall on numbers (1, 2, 3,
4, etc.) are considered on the beat
(downbeat).
 Notes or rests that fall on the “&” are
considered off the beat (upbeat).
1 &
 
2

&

3

&

4

&

 Remember: a
dot increases a note by half
of the note’s original value.
 In 2/4, 3/4, & 4/4 time, a quarter note
receives one beat. Because a dot
following a quarter note increases its
duration by ½ beat, the value of a dotted
quarter note is 1½ beats.
 A dotted quarter note is almost always
followed by an eighth note.
 A dotted quarter note = 3 eighth notes.
 Two
dots placed before a double bar
indicate a REPEAT SIGN. It means to go
back to the beginning and play or sing
the music again.
 Repeat signs sometimes appear in pairs
within a piece of music. The first repeat
sign will have two dots places after the
double bar. When you get to the second
repeat sign, return to the first repeat sign
at the beginning of the section.
 Another way to indicate a repeat is with
1st & 2nd endings. Play or sing through
the 1st ending to the repeat sign and then
go back to the beginning. When
repeating, skip the 1st ending and play or
sing to the 2nd ending.




The Italian language factors into musical notation in
many ways.
The words to describe tempo, dynamics, and
articulation are traditionally in Italian and number
into the hundreds.
When the practice of specifying a particular tempo
or volume evolved during the Renaissance period
(1400–1600), Italy was the center of musical
learning. As many musicians came to study music
practices in Italy, they carried such advanced
practices back to their own countries, still using
Italian terminology.
Centuries later, Italian remains the universal musical
language for tempo, dynamics, articulations, and
other music terminology.
 Dynamics
= volume
 From softest to loudest:
• pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff
 From loudest to softest:
• ff, f, mf, mp, p, pp
 Crescendo = gradually get louder
 Decrescendo = gradually get softer
 Decrescendo is the same as diminuendo
 Tempo
 From
= speed
slowest to fastest:
• largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro,
vivace
 From fastest to slowest:
• vivace, allegro, moderato, andante, adagio,
largo
 Ritardando = gradually slower (rit.)
 Accelerando = gradually faster (accel.)
 Articulation
= the manner in which a
note is played or sung
 Staccato = short and detached
 Legato = smooth and connected
 Accent = play/sing a note louder and
with emphasis
 Sforzando = a sudden, strong accent
 Tenuto = hold the note for its full value
 Fermata = Hold the note longer than its
normal value
 Da
Capo (D.C.) = repeat from the
beginning
 Dal Segno (D.S.) = repeat from “the sign”
 Fine = THE END!
 Coda = An added ending
 An
accidental is a symbol that alters the
pitch of a given note.
 The most common accidentals are:
• Flats
• Sharps
• Naturals
 Other
accidentals include:
• Double flats
• Double sharps

Flats, sharps, and naturals are called “accidentals”.

Flats lower the pitch of a note (by one ½ step).

Sharps raise the pitch of a note (by one ½ step).

A natural sign cancels out a previous sharp or flat.


An accidental sign affects the notes written on the
line or space following it for that measure ONLY!
A bar line cancels accidentals from the previous
measure, unless a note is tied across the bar line.
 The
FLAT sign (b) before a notes lowers the
pitch of that note by one half step.
 When speaking of flatted notes, the word
“flat” comes after the letter name, (ex. A
flat). However, in written music, the flat sign
comes before the note.
 When a flat sign is attached to a line note,
the flat is centered on the line.
 When a flat sign is attached to a space note,
the flat is centered in the space.
 A flat is in effect for an entire measure.
 The
SHARP sign (#) before a notes raises
the pitch of that note by one half step.
 When speaking of sharped notes, the word
“sharp” comes after the letter name, (ex. C
sharp). However, in written music, the sharp
sign comes before the note.
 When a sharp sign is attached to a line note,
the sharp is centered on the line.
 When a sharp sign is attached to a space
note, the sharp is centered in the space.
 A sharp is in effect for an entire measure.
 The
NATURAL sign before a note cancels a
previous sharp or flat.
 When speaking of natural notes, the word
“natural” comes after the letter name, (ex. B
natural). However, in written music, the
natural sign comes before the note.
 When a natural sign is attached to a line note,
the natural is centered on the line.
 When a natural sign is attached to a space
note, the natural is centered in the space.
 A natural is in effect for an entire measure.
 The
distance from any key on the
keyboard to the very next hey above or
below is a HALF STEP.
 The distance from any key to the key two
keys above or below is a WHOLE STEP.
 When ASCEDNDING from one key to the
next on the piano, use sharps (C – C#).
 When DESCENDING from one key to the
next on the piano, use flats (D – Db).
 Notes
that sound the same but are written
differently are called ENHARMONIC
notes.
 The
enharmonic note for E if Fb.
 The enharmonic note for F is E#.
 The
enharmonic note for B is Cb.
 The enharmonic note for C is B#.
 The
word TETRA means four.
A
TETRACHORD is a series of four notes
having a pattern of:
• whole step, whole step, half step
 A G tetrachord would
• G (W) A (W) B (H) C
be:
 A C tetrachord would
• C (W) D (W) E (H) F
be:
A MAJOR SCALE consists of eight notes:
• two tetrachords joined by a whole step
• W W H W W W H
 Each scale begins and ends on the same note,
called the keynote or TONIC.
 The tones of a scale are also called the DEGREES
or steps of a scale.
 The are eight (8) scale degrees in a major scale.
 In a major scale, half steps occur between scales
degrees 3 & 4 and 7 & 8.

• 1 (W) 2 (W) 3 (H) 4 (W) 5 (W) 6 (W) 7 (H) 8
WW HWWW H
 jeopardylabs.com/play/intro-to-music-
theory-unit-1-review