Chapter 2:Rhythm and Pitch

Musical

Notation

Key Terms

Notes

Rests

Dotted notes

Dotted rests

Ties

Slurs

Legato

Staccato

Triplet

Time signatures

Staff

Ledger lines

Clefs

Naturals

Key signatures

Scores

Notation

Many cultures notate, or write down, their music in some way

Notation uses a complex set of symbols to represent pitch, duration, dynamics, expression, and so on

Even if you cannot read music, a basic knowledge of musical notation can help you follow along and understand concepts more easily

Pitch and Time

Just as on a graph:Pitch measured vertically, from low to high

Time measured horizontally, from left to right

Rhythmic Notation

Note valuesNote values express duration of notes•Durations are relative and proportional •A whole note equals two half notes; a half note

equals two quarter notes; and so on•Names based on fractions of whole note (half,

quarter, eighth, etc.)•Actual duration depends on tempo

White notes are longer than black notesThe more flags or beams, the shorter

Note Values

Flags and Beams

Flags and beams group together short notes within a beat

They make rhythms easier to read

Rests

Represent the silences between notes or phrases

Each note value has a corresponding rest, a silence of equal duration

Short rests have flags that correspond to the flags and beams of short notes

Rest Values

Dotted Rhythms

A dot placed after (to the right of) a note or rest makes it half again as long (150% of original)

Dotted rhythms mix longer dotted notes with shorter undotted notes

Ties

Any two or more notes (same pitch!) can be tied together to make one long duration

Legato

SlursLook like ties, but they connect two or more different pitches

Indicate that the performer must move smoothly from one note to the next, with no gap in the sound

Staccato

Staccato DotsDots placed above or below note heads indicate that the notes should be played staccato, in a detached manner

Musicians often play a staccato quarter note as if it were an eighth note followed by an eighth rest

Triplets

Notes normally divide into two or four equal parts

Triplets can be used to divide a note into three equal parts

Three notes are bracketed together and/or marked with the number 3•Quarter note = two eighth notes = three eighth-

note triplets

Meter

MeasuresBasic time unit chosen for a piece of music

Vertical bar lines separate one measure from the next

Measures are normally equal in length

Meter

Time signaturesFound on the staff at the beginning of the piece

Top number = number of beats in each measure

Bottom number = note value of the beat

Pitch Notation

Seven letter names (ABCDEFG) assigned to seven original pitches of diatonic scale

Letter names re-used in every octave

Octaves often distinguished by numbers (c1 or c2) or prime marks (A’ or A”)

Middle C (c1) is just left of the middle of the keyboard, under the maker’s name

The Staff

To specify exact pitches, notes are placed on a five-lined staff

Notes can be placed on a line or in the spaces between lines

Ledger lines temporarily extend the number of lines in a staff when higher or lower notes are needed

Clefs

Clef signs at the beginning of each staff identify a reference pitch (G clef or F clef)

Clefs enable musicians to quickly identify specific pitches on any line or space

Most common are treble clef (G clef) and bass clef (F clef)

Clefs

Middle C is first ledger line above bass clef and first ledger line below treble clef•Since these clefs hardly overlap, they are often

used together to notate a maximum span of pitches

Clefs

Piano music brackets treble and bass clefs together in a grand staff

With ledger lines, the grand staff can be used to notate every pitch on the piano keyboard

Sharps and Flats

Letter names identify the white keys on the piano keyboard

Sharps and flats are required to identify the black keys

In music notation, we write sharps and flats just to the left of a note head

In written prose or when speaking, we say the letter name first (C sharp or B flat)

Sharps and Flats

Sharps

To find a sharped note on the keyboard:•First find the white key for the letter name•Then find the key just above it (to the right!)•C sharp is the black key just above C• (B sharp is the white key just above B!)

Flats

To find a flatted note on the keyboard:•First find the white key for the letter name•Then find the key just below it (to the left!)•B flat is the black key just below B• (C flat is the white key just below C!)

Naturals

Naturals are used to cancel a sharp or a flat (to revert to the white key)

They are used when a sharped or flatted note is followed by a “normal” version of the same note

(Bar lines automatically cancel added sharps or flats)

Key Signatures

Most scales consistently use certain sharps or flats throughout a piece

Writing in those sharps or flats every time they appear takes time and adds clutter

Instead, composers put them in a key signature, found just after the clef at the beginning of each staff

Key Signatures

These two tunes sound the same, but the version with a key signature:

Looks nicer than the version without:

Scores

Music for a melody instrument (violin, trumpet, etc.) is written on a single staff

Scores

Music for keyboard instruments is written on two staves: one for each hand

Scores

Music for two or more instruments and/or voices is written in scores

Scores contain the music for every voice and instrument (every part) in a given piece

Parts are lined up vertically

In general, high sounding instruments go on top, low ones on the bottom

Scores

Scores can be simple, with just a few parts:

Or more complex (next slide):

Scores