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Mike!Rogers’!

Ear!Training!Academy!

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Introduction to Shaped Notes By Mike Rogers

Since the introduction of the music staff in the early 11th century, various note shapes have played an important role in interpreting music. In the early stages of staff notation, note shapes (usually diamonds, squares and rectangles) were used to denote rhythmic proportions and carried no pitch connotations—pitch was designated only by the position of a note on the staff regardless of the note head shape. Below is an example of 15th-century French shaped-note notation.

For several centuries, rhythmic notation via note shapes and note shape groupings continued to be developed and eventually morphed into the system most widely used today in which rhythm is expressed via stems, flags, dots, and open or closed note heads, with round note heads prevailing regardless of rhythm or pitch. As round note heads became the norm in the 17th century and note heads were no longer used to communicate rhythmic values via shapes, it was only a matter of time before someone would consider the possibility of using note head shapes to denote pitch as an aid for singers performing without instrumental accompaniment. This evolution occurred in the early 19th century in the United States. Although note head shapes held no pitch connotations for many centuries, the idea of using certain syllables as an aid in singing the scale tones is as old as the staff itself. The first to introduce such a system was Guido of Arezzo (who also invented the modern staff) circa 1030. Guido was an Italian monk who taught children to sing using the system now commonly referred to as “solmization” (named from two syllables in his system, sol and mi). Using a hymn to St. John, Guido took the initial syllable from the beginning of each phrase of the Latin text and extracted these six syllables from the hymn to create a method for learning the sound of the intervallic pattern created by the adjacent pitches C,D,E,F,G,A. The hymn Ut Queant Laxis (in modern notation) with translation is provided below.

Trans. “In order that your servants may freely resound the wonders of your deeds, remove all stain of guilt from their unclean lips, Saint John.”

Introduction

3!

Guido’s solmization syllables indicated the sound of the scale by synchronizing each pitch with its own unique syllable. Notice how the beginning of each phrase ascends by one note on the staff (ut = C, re = D, mi = E, etc.) Guido’s system accommodated a six-note scale (the seven-note scale was not fully developed until the 17th century) and, as seen above, consisted of the following syllables: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. These syllables originally corresponded to the pitches C, D, E, F, G, and A. Soon afterward, ut became “transposable” and was also often used to designate the pitches F or G. As ut moved, the other syllables moved with it. With these three six-note scales (known as “hexachords”) and their corresponding solmization syllables set as a foundation, singers were meticulously taught how to “mutate” from one hexachord to another, as was often necessary in interpreting a single song. This system dominated singing instruction in the western world for the next 600 years. Below is a chart of the three Guidonian hexachords and the manner in which they overlapped within the 11th century pitch system (G at the bottom of the bass clef up to fourth-line D in the treble clef).1

As music began to move from a six-note scale to a seven-note scale in the late 16th century, Guido’s solmization system was adapted to accommodate this change with the addition of si as the seventh ascending pitch (taken from the last two words of the text of the original hymn—Sancte Iohannes). In addition, ut was replaced by do in most countries by the mid 16th century, probably because of the desired vowel ending. As Guido’s system entered the United States from England in the 18th century, it came in the following ascending form: fa, sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi. This seven-note solmization system used only four of Guido’s original syllables that were repeated within the scale. In some songbooks, the first letter of these syllables was written on a staff (replacing the notes themselves), instructing singers how to interpret the sounds of the song in regard to pitch. ________________________ 1. Note that the pitch B may be either B-natural or B-flat in this system depending on the hexachord (B mi = B-natural, while B fa = B-flat). Also note that all of the letters are of Roman origin except the one denoting the lowest pitch—the Greek letter “gamma.” This, the lowest note in the system, was properly referred to as “gamma ut.” From this note designation, the entire system became known as the “gamut,” a word that also found its way into the English language with a broader, non-musical meaning.

Introduction

4!

The first to introduce note shapes that correspond to the sounds of the solmization syllables were William Little and William Smith in The Easy Instructor (Philadelphia, 1801). Little and Smith used the Guidonian syllables prevailing in the U.S. at that time (fa, sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi) in replicating the seven-note scale and created four note shapes that corresponded with the four different syllables. From this model, the tradition commonly referred to today as “Sacred Harp” was born.2 The first music book to gain wide acceptance in employing seven distinct note shapes was Jesse B. Aikin’s The Christian Minstrel (Philadelphia, 1846). His book implemented Little and Smith’s four note shapes and added three new ones. The solmization syllables he used represented the expanded version of Guido’s original system (i.e., implementing the added seventh note to the previous Guidonian hexachord) and consisted of the following: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si. Aikin’s shaped-note system gained wide acceptance and was used extensively in the 20th century in publishing hymnals in the South, although the seventh syllable si was often called ti. Today, variations of Guido’s solmization syllables and Smith, Little, and Aikin’s shaped notes are used throughout the world to facilitate learning the sounds of the scale without relying on instruments to provide a pitch base. This book continues a long tradition of solmization implementation and employs a variation of Aikin’s system—the only differences being the solmization syllables ti instead of si for scale degree seven and so instead of sol on the fifth scale degree for a desired vowel ending. The do is moveable, i.e., it may be attached to any line or space on the staff, and always designates tonic (scale degree one) in the major mode.3 You will notice as you examine the exercises and songs that as do moves to a different position on the staff for each song, the other shaped notes move accordingly with it (re is always the next line or space above do, mi follows re, etc.) If you are not already trained in reading round notes, learning the note shapes and the relative sounds they represent via solmization syllables will accelerate your ability to hear and accurately reproduce the pitches of the scale. There is indeed something distinctly beautiful about the purity of unaccompanied human voices blending harmoniously for the purpose of praising the one who created the very voices themselves. There is also something very beautiful about a servant of God working to improve his musical gifts. When we continue working to develop our gifts into usable talents, we glorify the giver of the gift, and in this way we honor Him. He is worthy of our best efforts in all areas of our lives, and music is certainly no exception. May the Lord bless you as you continue to improve your singing skills for His glory. May everything that has the breath of life praise the Lord! He is worthy! ________________________ 2. The fa,sol,la,fa,sol,la,mi,fa “Sacred Harp” tradition actually represents a combination of two Guidonian hexachords with “mutations” to combine them. For example, in a song spanning the octave CDEFGABC, the first three ascending pitches (CDE) might be called fa-sol-la from the G hexachord. Then the singer mutates to the C hexachord and sings the next three notes (FGA) fa-sol-la. Finally, the singer mutates back to the G hexachord for the final two ascending pitches (BC), calling them mi-fa. This is the way Medieval and Renaissance singers were trained to mutate between hexachords, and the “Sacred Harp” tradition represents one of the possible Guidonian mutation choices for a song spanning the CDEFGABC octave, and applies it today to all major keys. Another way for a singer trained in Guidonian hexachordal mutation to interpret a song spanning the CDEFGABC octave was simply to begin on ut (since C was one of the three ut choices) and continue as follows: ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la-mi-fa. Remember that unlike today, neither ut nor any other solmization syllable originally had any fixed relationship to scale degree or key—rather the syllables merely served to designate whole-step and half-step relationships between pitches, and more than one mutation option was often possible in determining hexachordal application (and corresponding solmization syllables) within a song. 3. In the minor mode, la becomes tonic (scale degree one), ti becomes scale degree two, do becomes scale degree three, etc.

Section(1*(Pitch!!In modern traditional notated music, written characters called “notes” are used to represent musical sounds. Notes generally can have up to three parts—the head, stem, and flag(s). The head, stem, and flag indicate how long a note lasts. !

In shaped-note music (as discussed in the historical background), the note head also indicates how high or low to sing in relationship to the other notes. This book implements Aikin’s system, and thus each of the seven distinct pitches of the scale have a unique shape (and corresponding solmization syllable) to help guide us in singing the correct pitch. Below are the seven note shapes arranged in sequential, ascending order with the lowest note repeated at the top.

When sung in sequential order either up or down, these notes constitute a scale. The word “scale” comes from the Italian word “scala,” meaning “ladder.” As we sing the scale, the sounds go up and down in pitch just as if you were going up and down a ladder. The following chart illustrates the shaped-note system employed in this book (seven shapes in ascending order with the bottom note repeated at the top), their corresponding solmization syllables, and their relationships to the different scale degrees in the major mode. These solmization syllables (and current common pronunciations) were popularized in the 20th Century Rodgers and Hammerstein production The Sound of Music.

Scale Shaped Solmization Degree Note Syllable

5!

estem

head

flag

!@

#$

%^

&!

!

@ # !$ !

% !

^ !

& !

! !

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 Do (pronounced “doe”)

Do (pronounced “doe”)

Re (pronounced “ray” or “reh”) !

Mi (pronounced “mee”) !

Fa (pronounced “fah” like “fawn”)

So (pronounced “sew”) !

La (pronounced “lah” like “lawn”) !

Ti (pronounced “tee”) !

! !

Section 1- Pitch

6!

The distance between any two musical tones is known as an interval. The two most basic intervals in our music are the half step (the smallest interval) and the whole step (a combination of two half steps). The scale that begins on do is known as the major scale, and always contains the following intervals between successive pitches: !

!!Theoretically, the scale may extend infinitely in either direction (high and low). As the notes go higher and lower, the scale simply repeats itself. !

!Learning the sound of the scale is most quickly accomplished in the beginning stages by playing the scale on an instrument while simultaneously singing the solmization syllables. If you have access to a piano and would like to practice singing the scale (which is highly encouraged), first locate a grouping of two black keys—there are several from which to choose. The white key to the immediate left of any two black keys may be called do, and you can build the rest of the scale accordingly above and below do (see diagram below). Using that specified white key as do, you may now practice singing the scale up and down using only the white keys of the piano. If the notes are too high or too low for your voice, just move to a higher or lower do and start again. Getting the sound of the scale in your head, especially at the beginning stages, is vital to being able to sing a melody at sight without the aid of a musical instrument to help you. !You may also use the following diagram to practice your part (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) to church songs at home on the piano from any shaped-note songbook that uses Aikin’s seven shapes.

!The$white$key$to$the$immediate$left$of$a$group$of$two$black$keys$may$be$called$“Do”!

!@

# $%

^& !

Whole Step

Whole Step

Whole Step

Whole Step

Whole Step

Half Step

Half Step

% ^& 1

@ #$ %

^ &1 @

# $%

$

etc.

etc.

Scale repeats and

continues indefinitely

both directions

! @ # $ % ^ & ! @ # $ % ^ & ! @ # $ % ^ & !&^

Do Do Do Dotwo black two black two black

Section 1- Pitch

7!

Musical notes are written on a staff (“staves” pl.). The musical staff is composed of 5 lines and 4 enclosed spaces (along with one space above and one below the staff). !

!!A clef sign will appear at the far left side of every staff. There are two clefs in common practice; the treble clef !

!!and the bass clef (pronounced “base” clef). !

!!When these two staves are connected by a brace (as is common in church songs), they together are known as the Grand Staff (Sometimes referred to as the “Great Staff”). The Grand Staff, read from left to right, one time across the page, is referred to separately as a system. There may be several systems per page. !!!

!!!!!The higher a note is in the Grand Staff, the higher the pitch will be. Conversely, the lower the note is, the lower the pitch will be. !!

!

System!

Grand!Staff! Brace!

Higher!

Lower!

Section 1- Pitch

8!

If the notes in a particular song need to be extended above or below the staff, small segments of staff lines are added called ledger lines. !

!!!In the Grand Staff there is one ledger line connecting the treble and bass clef staves resulting in a smooth transition of the scale as it flows continuously from one staff to the next. !!!

!!Even though only one ledger line is needed to connect the staves in the grand staff, if the bass clef voice needs to go several notes higher than the staff, it is written in ledger lines rather than going into the next staff. The same is true of the treble voice. !!!!

!!!Typically, congregational church songs are arranged for four different vocal parts, namely soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. These parts are sung simultaneously and the notes are written on top of each other (see example below). The soprano part is sung by women with high voices (or anyone wanting to sing the melody). The alto part is sung by women with low voices. The tenor part is sung by men with high voices, and the bass part is sung by men with low voices. When looking at a Grand Staff, the soprano and alto parts are written in the treble clef while the tenor and bass parts are written in the bass clef.

Ledger$lines$ Ledger$line$

Ledger$line$

The$note$on$this$ledger$line$allows$the$scale$to$connect$between$staves$

Treble$and$Bass$notes$identical$

Section 1- Pitch

9!

!!Music written on a staff is separated into equally divided sections of time called measures. Measures are defined by bar lines. !!!!

!!A double bar indicates the ending of a song. !

!!A phrase bar indicates the ending of a musical phrase, and often separates the verse from the chorus of a song. !!!

!

Soprano$ Alto$

!Tenor$

Bass$

Measure$ Measure$ Measure$ Measure$

Bar$line$ Bar$line$Bar$line$

Phrase$bar$

Double$bar$

Section 1- Pitch

10!

A sharp ( ) raises the pitch of any note immediately following it by one half step and its effect lasts until the next bar line. !!!

!

In the same way, a flat ( b) lowers the pitch of any note immediately following it by one half step.

!!

!!!Notes that are found without any sharp or flat alterations are said to be diatonic. Conversely, notes that have been altered by sharps or flats are said to be chromatic. As notes are altered chromatically (with a sharp or flat), not only does their pitch change, but their solfege name also changes. Remember that these are Italian pronunciations, so apply the following: i = “ee” (as in “bee”); e = “ay” (as in “day”); a = “ah” (as in “ball”). !!

!!

Sharp$“So”!(Still)$sharp$“So”$

Flat$“Ti”!

#

Section 1- Pitch

11!

A natural sign (!!) cancels a sharp or flat.!!!!

!!

!Although uncommon, it is possible to have a double flat ( ) or double sharp ( ). In round note singing, the double flat lowers a pitch two half steps (or one whole step) while the double sharp raises a pitch two half steps (or one whole step). In shaped-note singing, however, the double flat and double sharp will generally be treated simply as a regular flat or sharp, adjusting the pitch one half step. See the examples below. !!

!!!!

!!A sharp, double sharp, flat, double flat, or natural sign that occurs within a song (as in the above examples) is called an accidental.

“Fi”$ “Fa”$“Me”$ “Mi”$

n

bb ‹

“Le”$ (Still)$“Le”$

“Li”!

Ex.!1!Double!Flat!

Ex.!2!Double!Sharp!

Section 1- Pitch

12!

Often, there are sharps or flats that appear at the beginning of the song and continue to appear at the beginning of each system. These are not accidentals. This is called the key signature. !

!The purpose of the key signature is to designate the position of “Do” on the staff for any particular song. Notice in the following examples how the “Do” moves to a different location on the staff as the key signatures change (and how the rest of the scale moves up or down with it). !

!

!

!

Key$Signature$

Accidental$

Ex.!1!

Ex.!2!

Ex.!3!

Section 1- Pitch

13!

Sharps or flats found in the key signature serve a very different purpose than the “accidental” sharps and flats found within the song. As seen above, key signature sharps or flats merely function to designate the location of “Do” for that song. They do not alter the sound of the notes in our solmization scale at all (except to move the whole scale higher or lower as a unit). In other words, “Do” has a specific positioning on the staff for each key signature but it does not affect the sound of the scale. On the other hand, sharps or flats found within the song (accidentals) actually alter the pitch of notes that are sung within a particular measure. When a natural sign occurs in a measure without any other sharps or flats, the key signature will determine whether to raise or lower the note. If the natural sign occurs in a song with sharps in the key signature, then the natural sign will lower the pitch of the note it precedes. If there are flats in the key signature, then the natural sign will raise the pitch. !!!!

!!As long as you are singing without instruments, you need not worry much about the key signature at all. Its primary relevance will be to give you a general indication of how high or low to sing the song (i.e. the higher that “Do” is on the staff, the higher the song should be sung overall). Regardless of the different key signatures and “Do” positions, you can always practice your shaped-note songs on the piano as indicated in the previous piano diagram. When doing so, the sharped and flatted notes will be played on the “in-between” black keys. !

!

! @ # $ % ^ & !b b b b b

#! #@ #$ #% #̂

@ # % ^ &

Sharps

Flats

Because$of$the$flats$in$the$key$signature,$the$natural$sign$raises$the$“Fa”$to$“Fi”$$

Section(2*(Rhythm((Simple(Time)((Music can be defined as “organized sounds that occur in time”. When music is sounding, it generally provides a steady, internal pulse, known as the beat. Beats in music are what prompt us to tap our feet, clap our hands, or demonstrate a variety of other body movements. Music in which the beat is divided into two equal parts is said to be in simple time. Rhythm is the way that notes are grouped in relation to the beats. Tempo refers to how fast or slow the beat is moving. As a reminder from Section 1, remember that notes have a note head, sometimes a stem, and sometimes one or more flags.

We already learned that the note head has a shape that tells us how high or low to sing. The note head, (depending on whether it is filled in or not), can also tell us how long to hold out that particular note. Likewise, the stem and flag also give us information as to how long a note will last. Remember that just as notes are grouped into rhythms, rhythms are grouped together filling measures. And, as mentioned in Section 1, measures are separated by bar lines. The most common note assigned to get one full beat in music is the quarter note. The quarter note consists of a filled in note head, and a stem.

!Music counting is an activity by which one learns to interpret rhythmic figures. As we learn the individual types of notes, it is important that we understand how to apply a counting system to them as well. Quarter notes are usually counted one per beat and each is assigned a sequential number beginning with the number “1”. At the beginning of each measure, we will always start over with the number “1” again. (The arrows designate the tapping of the foot with the beat). !!

!!

14!

qstem

head

Quarter Note

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

15!

The eighth note is exactly half the value of the quarter note. It consists of a note head, stem and one flag. When two eighth notes are grouped together, their individual flags are sometimes represented by a single beam. !

When the quarter note is the “beat note”, it takes two eighth notes to equal one beat. If there are several in succession, the eighth note on the beat is counted as a number (just as the quarter notes), and the eighth note between the beats is counted with the word “and.”!!!!!

!!The sixteenth note is exactly one fourth the value of the quarter note. It consists of a note head, stem and two flags. When two or more sixteenth notes are grouped together, their individual flags are sometimes represented by a double beam. !!

!

& b — œ ‚ — – —

Beamed Eighth Notes

estem

head

Eighth Note

Flag

Beamed Sixteenth Notes

xstem

head

Sixteenth Note

Two Flags &

###— ‚ œ – œ ‚ —

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

16!

Also notice in the above example that some of the stems are turned up and some are turned down. This does not change the timing in any way. Music composers and publishers have certain rules as to when the stems should go up and when they should go down. For our purposes, we need not worry about that. When the quarter note is the “beat note,” it takes four sixteenth notes to equal one beat. If there are several in succession, the note on the beat is counted as a number (just as the quarter note); the note exactly between the beats is counted with the word “and”; the note immediately following the beat is counted “e” (with a long vowel sound, as if saying the name of the letter “e”); and the note following the “and” is counted “a” (pronounced with a short vowel sound, as in the word “August”). !!!!

!!The half note is double the value of the quarter note. It consists of a note head (not filled in), and a stem (no flag). !!

!

hstem

head

Half Note

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

17!

When the quarter note is the “beat note”, then the half note sustains for two full beats. It is counted by saying the beat on which it begins (1, 2, 3, etc), and sustaining that sound for the duration of the note. !!!

!!!!When dealing with money, we know that it takes four quarters or two half dollars to equal a whole dollar. In music, it takes four quarter notes or two half notes to equal a whole note. The whole note consists of a note head (not filled in), no stem, and no flag. !

!When the quarter note is the “beat note”, then the whole note sustains for four full beats. It is counted by saying the beat on which it begins (1, 2, 3, etc), and sustaining that sound for the duration of the note.

!!!

!!!

wNote head only (no stem or flag)

Whole Note

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

18!

In the following chart, note the following: the beats are always counted with a number; the beginning of each measure always begins with the number one; the point directly between the beats is always “and.” !!!!

!!

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

19!

The following “note tree” shows a breakdown of the relationships between the different kinds of notes.

! All notes also have a corresponding rest of equal value. !

!!

w

h h

q qq q

e e e e e e e e

xx x xx x x x x x x x x x x x

w

h

q

e

x

!Ó

Œ

"

Whole

Half

Quarter

Eighth

Sixteenth

Note Value Corresponding Rest

‰

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

20!

Notes can be grouped together in a variety of different rhythms, making it sometimes a bit challenging to figure them out. There are, however, some difficult yet common groupings with which one should be familiar. One common grouping is an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes. It is shown below with the counting underneath. !!

!!Another common grouping is two sixteenth notes followed by an eighth note. It is shown below with the counting underneath. Compare the following rhythm to the one above. !!

!!So far, all of our counting examples have started with beat “one,” i.e. the beginning of a measure. And while the beginning of a measure will always be counted with the number “one,” not all songs start at the beginning of a measure. Sometimes songs begin with an incomplete measure. The notes in these introductory, partial measures are called pickup notes. !!!

!!In counting pickup notes, we simply decide how many beats are in each measure and then figure out the counting of the pickup note(s). In the above example, there are three beats in each measure, and the quarter note is the beat note. The two eighth notes that begin the song are equivalent to one quarter note, and they act as the ending notes of an incomplete measure. In this case the pickup notes begin on beat three of the incomplete opening measure. !!

!!

pickup$notes$

3$beats$ 3$beats$ 3$beats$ 3$beats$

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

21!

Pick up notes are understood to be the ending notes in an incomplete measure and may occur on any beat or part of the beat. In most cases, the pickup note(s) will combine with the ending notes in the final measure of the song to form one complete measure. A tie is a curved line that “connects” two notes of the some pitch, elongating the sound by adding the two note values together. When counting a tie, simply extend the sound of the starting note. !

!!!A dot after a note increases its value by one half.

!There are three common rhythmic figures using dots that you should learn: !!

!!!!!

!!!!!!

!!!

w

h

q

e x

w hh

q

q

e

e

=

=

=

=

+

+

+

+

.

.

.

.

=! =!

=! =!

1! (2)!&! 1!Q! &!un!

1!(e)!(&)!!a! 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!a!

=! =!1!(2!!3)! 4! 1QuQun!4!

1.)!

2.)!

3.)!

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

22!

Although rare, two dots after a note increases the note value by one half plus one fourth.

!!A triplet is a group of three notes sung in the time of two. Eighth note triplets divide one beat into 3 equal parts (instead of dividing the beat in half, as do regular eighth notes). Quarter note triplets have a value of two full beats, dividing them into three equal parts. Triplets are notated with the number “3”, and are counted using the number of the beat on which they begin, followed by the syllables “la” “li”. !!!!!

!!While the quarter note is usually assigned as the “beat note”, there are times when it is not. Actually, any note can be assigned as the beat note. Also, measures may contain more or less than four beats. (All of the previous examples were four-beat measures with the quarter note as the beat note). Compare the examples below. Each measure contains only three beats, and they all use a different note value as the beat note. Each example will sound identical to the listener regardless of the notational differences. !! !Quarter!note!as!beat!note:!!

!!

w

h

q

e x

w hh

q

q

e

e

=

=

=

=

+

+

+

+

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

q

e

x

+

+

+

+ xj

Eighth$note$triplets$equal$one$beat$of$music$

Quarter$note$triplets$equal$two$beats$of$music$

Section 2- Rhythm (Simple Time)

23!

!Eighth!note!as!beat!note:!!

!!Half!note!as!beat!note:!!

!!!!Below are some more counting examples (four beats per measure) with various notes assigned as the beat note. !Quarter!note!as!beat!note!!!!

!!!Half!note!as!beat!note!!!!

!!Eighth!note!as!beat!note!!!!

(

Section(3*(Rhythm((Compound(Time)(!You learned in Section 2 that the quarter note usually receives one beat, although any note may actually be assigned as the beat note. The notes assigned to the beat in Section 2 (quarter note, eighth note, half note) all have one thing in common- they are all divisible by two. In other words, they may be divided exactly in half (one quarter note divides into two eighth notes, one eighth note divides into two sixteenth notes, etc.) As noted in the beginning of Section 2, music with a beat note divisible by two is said to be in “simple” time. In this lesson, we will learn to count music in which the beat is divided into three equal parts (rather than two). When the beat note is divisible into three equal parts it is said to be in compound time. The difference between simple and compound time is illustrated in the following pair of lyrics: !!

Je-sus, Lord of all cre-a-tion, we will wor-ship You!!

Je-sus the Sav-ior is God, let us wor-ship His name!

Because church songs are musical settings of poetic text, the way that words are naturally accented will be represented in the musical notes. The lines under the various word syllables above represent the natural accent of the speech rhythm. In music, these underlined words represent the beginning of each beat. In the first example, the accent falls on every other syllable, and the beat is divided in half (two syllables per beat). This is simple time. In the second example, the accent falls on every third syllable, and the beat is divided into three equal parts. This is compound time. If we assign eighth notes to the individual syllables in the first example, they would be grouped in pairs, and the music might look like this: !!!

!!!As you can see in the above example, because of the natural accent pattern of the words the individual syllables to which we assigned eighth notes fall naturally into groups of two (though they will not always be beamed). Each pair of eighth notes combine to designate the quarter note as the beat note. And because the quarter note is divisible into two eighth notes, the above musical example is in simple time.

24!

Q Q Q !

Q Q Q Q

beat$

beat$note$

Section 3- Rhythm (Compound Time)

25!

!Now let’s deal with the second line of poetic text. !!

Je-sus the Sav-ior is God, let us wor-ship His name! !!If we assign eighth notes to the individual syllables in this example, the beat note would be a dotted quarter note (three eighth notes added together), and the music might look like this: !

!!

!!!!The above musical example is in compound time because the beat is divided into three parts. Notice that the subdivisions of the beat, the three eighth notes, may be combined to designate the dotted quarter note as the beat note. In fact, because the beat note in compound time will always be the sum of three other notes, the beat note will always be dotted. !!!!!!!!!Just as any note may be the beat note in simple time, any dotted note may be the beat note in compound time. Let’s look at the second line of text again, and assign each individual syllable a quarter note, which will make the beat note a dotted half note (three quarter notes added together). !!

!!! Although any dotted note may be the beat note, the dotted quarter note is by far the most common in compound time. Because of this, we will deal exclusively with this note as the beat note for the remainder of this lesson as we learn to count compound time.

!

Q .! Q .! Q .! Q .! Q .!

beat$

beat$note$

q q q h e e e q x x x e

+! +! =!+! +! =!+! +! =!

.!

.!

.!

!

H .! H .! H .! H .! H .!

beat$

beat$note$

Section 3- Rhythm (Compound Time)

26!

The way we will count rhythms in compound time is the same way that we counted triplets in simple time. See the example below. !!!

!!Notice that we added bar lines to the previous example, designating two beats (two dotted quarter notes) per measure. Just as in simple time however, the number of beats per measure in songs with compound time will vary from song to song. See the examples below. !!Two!beats!per!measure!!!!

!!Three!beats!per!measure!!

!!!

!!Four!beats!per!measure!!!

!

(Pickup$notes)$

Section 3- Rhythm (Compound Time)

27!

There are two common rhythmic figures in compound time with which you should be familiar: !!

!!

!!!Also remember that in compound time, the dotted quarter note is the beat note. Consequently, the dotted half note receives two beats (two dotted quarter notes added together). Below are more examples for you to study. !!Two!beats!per!measure!(with!eighth!note!beaming)!!!!

!!!Three!beats!per!measure!(without!eighth!note!beaming)!!!!

!!!Four!beats!per!measure!(with!eighth!note!beaming)!!!!

!

1.)!

2.)!

=!

=! =!

=!

Section(4*(Melodic(Exercises((

!!

28!

Section 4- Melodic Exercises

29!

!!

!!!!!

Section 4- Melodic Exercises

30!

!!

!

Section 4- Melodic Exercises

31!

!

!

Section(5*(Duets(!!

!!!!!!32!

Section 5- Duets

33!

!

!!

Section(6*(Tonal(Indexing((

((

34!

I(Scream,(U(Scream,(We(ALL(Scream(for(.(.(.(Key(Signatures!!(

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!

35

!

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!

36!