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Notation
The Staff
A set of five horizontal lines and four spaces, on
which note symbols are placed to indicate their
pitch.
Letter Names
*The pitches are referred to
by the first seven letters of
the alphabet
Clefs
•
A clef is a symbol placed at the beginning of a
line of music that establishes the letter names of
the lines and spaces of the staff
*Treble Clef
*Bass Clef
*C Clef
Treble Clef
a.k.a the G clef
f
g
a
b
c
d
e
f
Lines = Every Good Boy Does Fine
Space= FACE
Bass Clef
• a.k.a the F clef
Lines = Great Big Dogs Fight Animals
Space= All Cows Eat Grass
Leger Lines
• Go beyond the limit of the staff
C Clef
The C clefs are a set of movable clefs that designate middle c
Where the “intendish”
part is, that’s middle C
Octave Identification
<- Standard
• Alternate system of octave identification: Each octave is numbered beginning
with A0 for the lowest 3 notes on the piano extending go C8 for the highest note
Accidentals
• Symbols that are placed to the left of the note heads to indicate the
raising or lowering of a pitch
#:
Sharp – raises pitch by a half step
: Flat – lowers pitch by a half step
: Natural – cancels previous accidental
: Double Flat- lowers pitch 2 half steps
: Double Sharp – raises pitch 2 half steps
Intervals
•
•
•
•
The relationship between two tones
½ is the smallest
Count the note you start on and the one you finish on
Take the key you’re in into consideration
Ex. The interval between C and E is a major third
The interval between A and F is a minor sixth
Enharmonic Equivalents
• Tones that have the same pitch but different names
• ex. F and E#
•
C# and Db
Notation Duration
The Tie
•
A curved line that connects two adjacent notes of the same pitch into a single sound with a duration
equal to the sum of both note values
The Dot
• A dot lengthens the note by half its value
• A double dot lengthens the note by half the value of the
second dot
Meter
• Recurring patterns of strong and weak beats
• Indicated by meter signature
(Time Signature)
•Top number = number of beats in a
measure
*Bottom number = what type of note
gets one beat
The C stands for
common time which
means 4/4
Compound Meter
• Each pulse is a dotted note which is divided into groups of
three parts.
6/8 , 9/8, 12/8
Asymmetrical Meters
• When the pulse cannot be divided into equal groups
5/4, 5/8, 7/4, 7/8
Syncopation
• If a part of the measure that is usually unstressed is accented
Dynamics
• Indicate the general volume or level of intensity
Sudden accent on a single
note or chord
Crescendo (cres.) to gradually get louder
Decrescendo (decres) gradually get softer
Direction of Notes
• If the note is above the middle line the stem goes down
• If the note is below the middle line the stem goes up
• When the note is in the middle the stem generally goes down except when the
notes around it are opposite.
• When notes are on leger lines the stems extend to the middle line
Beams
•
When a note is connected by beams the beams are slanted to cross no more than one line of the
staff
•
When two melodies share the same staff the beams and stems go in the opposite direction
•
Group the beats together to make reading the music easier