Music Theory - Note Reading

A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four spaces.

Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet (A B C D E F G).

A clef is a musical symbol placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the letter names of the lines and spaces. The two main clefs are the treble and the bass:

A grand staff is a combination of both the treble and bass clefs connected by a vertical line on the left side of the staves (plural staffs).

Ledger Li es are an extensi n of t e staff. They are additional lines both above and below whi h are parallel to the staff. Each ledger line contains one note.

Note Values
Each note has a specific duration.

Meter
Meter is the regular recurring pattern of strong and weak beats of equal duration; also known as time. The meter or time signature in a musical composition is indicated by a fraction, and located at the beginning of a piece of music. The lower number of the fraction tells what kind of note receiv es one beat. The upper number tells how many beats are in a measure. In Western music there are two types of meter, simple and compoud. In simple meter the upper number is either 2, 3, or 4. Each beat is subdivided by two.

In compound meter the upper number is either 6,9, or 12. Each beat is a dotted note and subdivided into groups of three beats.

THE STAFF,CLEFS, AND LEDGER LINES

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The staff is the foundation upon which notes are drawn.

The modern staff comprises five lines and four spaces.

Every line or space on the staff represents a white key on the keyboard.

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Clefs assign individual notes to certain lines or spaces. Two clefs are normally used: The Treble and Bass clefs.

First, we will discuss the Treble Clef (also called the G Clef).

The staff line which the clef wraps around (shown in red) is known as G. Any note placed on this line becomes G.

The note on the space above G is A. (Remember, there is not an H note).

The note on the line above A is B.

This process continues.

Uh-oh. We just ran out of room to place notes, what happens now?

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Ledger Lines will solve our dilemma. A ledger line is a small line that extends the staff when we run out of room.

With the ledger line drawn, we can place the A.

Next, lets discuss the Bass Clef (also called the F Clef).

The staff line in between the two dots of the clef is F.

We can now fill the rest of the staff with notes.

Finally, we will discuss the Grand Staff, a theoretical staff consisting of eleven lines.

Watch what happens when we eliminate the middle line we end up with two regular staffs.

By adding a Treble Clef to the top staff and a Bass Clef to the bottom staff, we can see the relationship between the two staffs.

Notice how the two clefs are joined by the C (shown in red).

This C is commonly called middle C since it corresponds to the middle staff line on the Grand Staff.

NOTE DURATION

The length of time that a note is played is called its note duration, which is determined by the type of note.

The whole note has the longest note duration in modern music.

The half note has half the duration of a whole note.

Two half notes occupy the same amount of time as one whole note.

The quarter note is a fourth (or a quarter) of a whole note.

Four quarter notes occupy the same amount of time as one whole note. Two quarter notes equal the duration of a half note.

Notes smaller in duration than a quarter note have flags. Each flag halves the value of a note.

An eighth note has one flag.

Therefore, two eighth notes occupy the same amount of time as one quarter note.

A sixteenth note has two flags, halving the value again.

Two sixteenth notes equal the duration of an eighth note.

Four sixteenth notes occupy the same amount of time as one quarter note.

Although it is possible to have notes with three or more flags, they are seldomly used.

This chart displays the relationship of all five note types discussed in this lesson.

MEASURES AND TIMES DURATION

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ertical black bars called bar lines divide the staff into measures. This staff has been split into two measures.

Time signatures define the amount and type of notes that each measure contains. The first measure is in 4/4 time and the second measure is in 3/4 time.

The first measure (4/4) contains four quarter notes.

The second measure (3/4) contains three quarter notes.

Next, we will discuss non-quarter-note time signatures.

6/8 time contains six eighth notes.

3/2 time contains three half notes.

This chart displays all of the time signatures that we discussed.

REST DURATION
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Rests represent periods of silence in a measure. Each type of rest shares a duration with a certain type of note.

For example, both a quarter rest and a quarter note occupy the same amount of time.

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While the note would make a sound, the rest is silent. To demonstrate this, let's fill a measure of 4/4 time with quarter notes. When played, all four notes sound.

Next, we will replace the second quarter note with a quarter rest.

When played, the second beat is now silent.

Next, let's discuss the other types of rests.

A whole rest occupies the same amount of time as a whole note.

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It is drawn as a box descending from the fourth staff line. A half rest occupies the same amount of time as a half note.

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It is drawn as a box ascending from the middle staff line. Like notes, rests can have flags.

With one flag, an eighth rest has the same duration as an eighth note.

With two flags, a sixteenth rest has the same duration as a sixteenth note.

Although rarer, rests can have three or more flags.

Use this chart for reference to rest duration.

DOTS AND TIES

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Augmentation dots and tenuto ties are two types of markings used to alter a note's duration.

A dot increases duration by one half.

Since an eighth note is half the duration of a quarter note, we will substitute it for the 1/2 symbol.

As you can see, a dotted quarter note is equal to a quarter note plus an eighth note. A dotted quarter can also equal three eighth notes.

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Ties merge multiple notes of the same pitch. They are used to let the duration of a note travel across barriers (such as the measure line in this example).

The fourth and fifth notes are now combined.

If the measure line were not there, we could have written a half note instead.

Use this chart for reference to augmentation dots.

STEP AND ACCIDENTAL

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A half step is the distance from one key on the keyboard to the next adjacent key. Key 1 to Key 2 is a half step since they are next to each other.

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A half step is not always from a white key to a black key. In this example, Key 1 and Key 2 are still next to each other.

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A whole step is the same distance as two half steps. Key 1 to Key 3 is a whole step.

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Key 1 to Key 2 is the first half step. Key 2 to Key 3 is the second half step. An accidental is a sign used to raise or lower the pitch of a note. The first accidentals that we will discuss are the flat and the sharp.

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The flat lowers a note by a half step while the sharp raises a note by a half step. When typing, you can use a # to represent a sharp and a b to represent a flat. Let's examine the black key in between C and D.

This key could be called C-sharp since it is a half step above C.

It could also be called D-flat since it is a half step below D .

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Another example would be E and F. E could also be called F-flat since it is half step below F.

Likewise, F could be called E-sharp .

Whenever a certain pitch has multiple names, it is called an enharmonic spelling. Next, let's discuss the double flat and the double sharp.

While flats and sharps alter a note by a half step, the double flat and double sharp alter a note by a whole step. When typing, you can use a x to represent a double sharp and a bb to represent a double flat.

For example, both D and E-double-flat have the same pitch since you can reach D by going a whole step (or two half steps) down from E.

D also sounds the same as C-double-sharp since it is a whole step above C.

Finally, a natural cancels out any accidental and returns a note to its original white key.

We will learn more about naturals in an upcoming lesson.