How To Read Music & Notation - Amusing Music Theory Ch 1-1: Pitch

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Amusing Music Theory - Written by @Yan_Dura
Chapter 1-1: Pitch


Index


  • 1.1 - Keyboard Notation
  • 1.2 - Musical Alphabet
  • 1.3 - The Staff
  • 1.4 - Clefs
  • 1.5 - Treble Clef Notation
  • 1.6 - Bass Clef Notation
  • 1.7 - Grand Staff Notation



1.1 - Keyboard Notation





Pitch, which can be defined by the height of the sound measured in frequency, can be easily related to the keyboard. The chart above demonstrates the keyboard in about seven octaves. An Octave, referred to as an Octave Register, is the distance of eight between two notes of the same name (Ex: the distance between C4 and C5 on the keyboard above is an octave).



C4, often called Middle C, is the note C in the fourth octave. Middle C is a good reference point for identifying notes in relation to C4. Each white note above C4 will continue to be distinguished as the fourth octave (Ex: C4-D4-E4-F4-G4-A4-B4-C5 and so on into the fifth octave) until the note reaches C5. The opposite is true when going below C4, because once the note step down it becomes apart of the lower octave. So from C4 it would continue as such: C4-B3-A3-G3-F3-E3-D3-C3, continuing downward into the second octave.




1.2 - Musical Alphabet

Alphabet / Mode


C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C / Ionian

D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D / Dorian

E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E / Phrygian

F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F / Lydian

G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G / Mixolydian

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A / Aeolian

B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B / Locrian





The Musical Alphabet is a designation of letters (A through G) to label and refer to relative pitch, beginning on C. Traditionally the ordering of the Musical Alphabet is labeled according to the chart above, referred to as Modes. This will be expanded upon in a later lesson.




1.3 - The Staff


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The Staff is a collection of five parallel lines, and four spaces,used to organize music notes. It is used to assign and depict pitch designation. It can also be extended upward or downward, surpassing the five-line limit, through the use of Ledger Lines.




Ledger Lines can be used to extend the staff, indefinitely. It is common practice that whenever a note is added above of below the staff, all the previous ledger lines leading up to the highest or lowest note should be accounted for.

1.4 - Clefs




Clefs
are symbols at the beginning of the staff that indicate which letter of the Musical Alphabet is assigned to which lines and spaces on the staff. The staves above show the most common clefs used, with the location of C4 (Middle C) being identified on each stave.
Treble Clef is referred to as the G Clef for the fact that the line that goes through the curl of the clef is the note G.
Alto Clef and Tenor Clef are both referenced as the C Clef for their designation of the location of C4 (Middle C). This pitch can be found on the line passing through the center of the clef.
Bass Clef is referred to as the F Clef for the reason that the note F passes through the dots of the clef.

1.5 -
Treble Clef Notation





The image above shows the names of notes on the staff, using the Treble Clef. The top half of the image labels the spaces of the staff. This can be remembered through the acronym F-A-C-E, which can be read from bottom to top of the spaces.




The second half of the image shows the designation of notes to the lines on the staff. From bottom to top they read E-G-B-D-F, which can be remembered through the use of a saying: Every Good Boy Does Fine /or/ Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. This is merely preference and techniques to aid in comprehension and memorization at an early level of the learning process.


1.6 - Bass Clef Notation



Bass Clef Notation is similar to that of the Treble Clef. In this case, though, the notes are all shifted down a 3rd, which changes the phrases used for memorizing the notes. The top half of the image above shows the notes assigned to the spaces of a staff using a Bass Clef. From bottom to top it reads A-C-E-G, which translates to the saying: All Cows Eat Grass.
The bottom system represents the notes per each line of the staff. From the bottom to top it reads G-B-D-F-A. The sayings Good Boys Do Fine Always /or/ Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always. Again, these are just methods to help a beginner to remember such a vast amount of information.

1.7 - Grand Staff Notation




The Grand Staff (shown above) uses both the Treble and Bass Clefs simultaneously, connected by a a brace, which is the { bracket symbol on the left. The Grand Staff is usually employed to notate keyboard or choral music. Ledger Lines can still be used to extend either one of the staves.
 

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