|
|
Contents: Start with Staffs
and Rhythm and ScalesAccidentals
You are already familiar with those notes represented by the white keys of the piano: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The black keys of the piano keyboard provide pitches in between these notes. These pitches are collectively called accidentals. They are more commonly called sharp notes or flat notes, depending on their musical context. The names of these notes are formed by adding a sharp sign (#)or flat sign (b) after the note letter name.
Sharps
Let's take a look at the sharp notes as they relate to a portion of the piano keyboard.
As you can see, each sharp key occurs just above the white key with the same letter name. Thus, the black note in between the C and D notes is labeled C#. Notice that no sharp occurs between the E and r keys, or between the $ and C keys. Here's the complete sequence of natural and sharp note names.
A-A#-B-C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#-A
The distance between each of these notes is called a half step. A sequence of half steps is called a chromatic scale. Let's take a look at the chromatic scale, beginning on Middle C, as notated on the staff in treble clef.
Take the time to memorize the position and name of each of the sharp notes as they appear on the keyboard and staff. Then try playing these scales on the piano, or on the instrument of your choice.
Sometimes the black keys of the piano are viewed as fiat notes rather than sharp notes. The reason for having two names for each of these notes will be clear when we discuss key signatures in the next section. For now, let's get to know the names of the fiat notes. Flat notes occur one note lower than the white key of the same letter name on the piano keyboard. The fiat sign appears after the letter name of the lowered white key to indicate the black-key name. Thus, the black-key note in between the C and D notes is labeled Db. No flat occurs between the E and F keys, or between the B and C keys.
Take the time to memorize the name and position of each of these flat notes as they appear on the keyboard and staff. Then try playing these scales on the piano, or on the instrument of your choice.
If a note appears with a sharp or fiat sign, all subsequent notes in the same position on the staff of that measure are also affected by that sign. Note that the barline cancels both sharp and fiat signs.
Naturals
A natural sign is placed before a note to cancel a sharp or fiat sign used previously with that note. Once a natural sign has been used, all subsequent notes in the same position on the staff in that measure are natural.
Some pieces contain both sharps and fiats. As a general rule, an accidental that leads up to a natural note is written as a sharp note-and an accidental that leads down to a natural note is written as a fiat note. This rule is illustrated in "Melancholy Baby."
Now test your ability to name musical notes by filling in the letter name for each note in the tunes below. Note the "unnecessary" natural in the last measure of the first example. Courtesy accidentals like this often appear as an aid to the reader.
Major Key Signatures
and Scales
So far, we've looked at sharp, fiat, and natural notes that are individually added to written music. These notes are called accidentals or altered notes. Many pieces of music require that certain notes be sharped or flatted as a general rule, The number of sharps or fiats that occur regularly in a piece of music determines the key. Rather than writing in a sharp or fiat sign every time one should occur, these signs are written in a key signature at the beginning of each staff.
Composers and arrangers place music in different keys to accommodate the needs of the particular ranges of the voices or instruments for which they are writing. Certain keys are easier to play on certain instruments. Using different keys for the individual sections or songs in a larger work-such as a symphony or a Broadway show-adds variety to a performance, This is important to remember if you are planning your own concert, or writing music for others to perform,
The Key of C Major
Most of the musical examples in the book so far have been written in the key of C major, which has no sharps or fiats. Thus, all the notes of the C major scale occur on the white keys of the piano keyboard. Once you under. stand the construction of the scale in the key of C major, you'll be able to build the scale and key signature for every other major key.
As you already know, the shortest distance between two notes, is called a half step. A whole step is the equivalent of two half-steps. Let's examine the pattern of whole steps and half steps in the C major scale.
Take the time to memorize this important pattern, because it is the blueprint for all other major scales: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Then sing or play the C major scale on the instrument of your choice.
The Sharp Keys
Once you are quite familiar with the step-by-step pattern of the C major scale, take a look at the G major scale. The notes of this scale are the building blocks for music in the key of G major. Notice that this scale requires an
F# note in order to follow the proper step-by-step pattern for major scales,
Since the F# note is a regular feature in the key of G major, it is represented in the key signature after the clef on every staff of the piece. This means that all notes that occur in the r position in the piece (unless otherwise marked) will be sharped-as in this excerpt from Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony."
Let's take a look at all of the major key signatures and corresponding scales that contain sharps, Although it is not necessary to include any sharp signs next to the notes of these scales, they are shown here in parentheses for your reference,
Here's a trick for identifying the major key represented by any key signature that contains sharps, Find the line or space position that is one half step higher than the position of the last sharp to the right in the key signature, This position names the major key, As you can see, this pattern is similar in both clefs,
The easiest way to memorize the order of the sharps as they appear in the key signatures is to examine the pattern of sharps in the key of C# major, which features all seven sharps,
Take a look at the distance between each consecutive sharp in the key signature of C# major, Stepping down the staff by lines and spaces, the second sharp (C#)is three note positions lower on the staff than the first sharp (F#), The third sharp (G#)is four positions higher on the staff than the second sharp (C#)-and the fourth sharp is three steps lower than the third,
In order to avoid placing the fifth sharp of the pattern
(A#) on a leger line above the staff, this note is moved down an octave to the A# that occurs in the second space of the staff, The last two sharps (E# and B#) return to the original pattern,
The Flat Keys
Now let's focus on the key signatures that contain fiats. Here's the r major scale, which features one fiat.
Here's a trick for identifying the major key represented by a key signature with fiats. Find the second to the last fiat of the key signature. Add a fiat to the letter name of that note position and you've got the name of the key. (You'll need to memorize the fact that one fiat indicates the key of F major,)
To understand the pattern of fiats, take a look at the distance between each consecutive fiat in the key signature of Cb major. Stepping up the staff by lines and spaces, the second fiat (Eb) is three note positions higher on the staff than the first fiat (Bb). The third fiat (Ab)is four positions lower on the staff than the second fiat (Eb)-the fourth fiat is three steps higher than the third, and so on,
Familiarize yourself with the pattern of fiats. Practice writing the seven fiats that make up the key signature of Cb major. Then test your ability to identify the major keys represented by key signatures that contain fiats by writing in the key names below.
Compound Time Signatures
You are already familiar with the simple time signatures, like 3/4 and 4/4. Compound time signatures obey the same rules as simple time signatures, but the rhythmic stresses they create in music are based upon beats that are always counted in multiples of three. The top number of a compound time signature is always a multiple of three to reflect this pattern of stress.
Let's look at the most common compound time signature to appear in written music, 6/8. As you can see, there are six beats to the measure, with an eighth note valued at one beat.
A stressed beat occurs every three eighth-note beats, providing two stresses in every measure, This pattern of stress is illustrated by boldface numbers in the first phrase of "The Irish Washerwoman,"
As with their "simple" counterparts, 3/4 and 4/4 time, the first stress in each measure of 9/8 and 12/8 time is generally the strongest, You may sometimes encounter complex time signatures--like 5/4, 5/8, 7/4, or 7/8-that call for unusual numbers of beats in each measure, These time signatures support different patterns of stress, 5/4 and 7/8 time are each illustrated below in typical patterns of stress,
You may find that a time signature changes in the middle of a piece to create an entirely new rhythm, This can be seen in the traditional carol "Here We Come A-Wassailing," At the beginning of the song's chorus, the timing changes from 6/8 to 4/4,
Contents: Start with Staffs
and Rhythm and Scales
