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Why Elementary Rudiments of Music?

Elementary Rudiments of Music is an introduction to another language,

the rich and often strange language of music. Music theory is an extremely
important piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding and
playing music well, yet many musicians struggle to give it adequate time
and attention. After all, making music and learning to play instruments
is the fun part.

This language that is used to by all Western Instruments. Whether you’re

a student or a teacher, try to spare your time to understand and follow to
overcome frustration and difficulty in learning music.

What’s Inside?

The Elementary Rudiments of Music is divided into several Parts, and in

each Part are several chapters. Between some of the Parts lies, stand-alone
sections giving more information on aspects of music other than theory
by the facilitator.

Chapters:

Each chapter is fairly short and contains detailed information on one or

two topics. When an important term appears for the first time, it is in bold
& Italics, to help you do the review at the end of each chapter in a simpler
way.

Chapter Reviews:

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At the end of each chapter is a brief review covering the topics in each
chapter. The reviews are generally very short to understand and to answer
in short time.

Chapter 2: Music Alphabet | Staff | Lines & Spaces [Review]

Learning music theory is much like learning a language. In the musical

alphabet, the sounds that we make are called “notes,” and each note is
represented by a letter. There are only 7 letters – or notes – in the musical
alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. In Music C is the first alphabet and B the
seventh.

The Staff: Music is written on staff (plural staves) which is five horizontal
parallel lines. The five lines create four spaces between them.

How to Read Music

Music is written on a STAFF which has 5 lines and 4 spaces. Music is
read from left to right just like you would read a book. Where the note
is on the staff tells you how high it is or how low it is in pitch. The note

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can be on a line or a space. Each line of the staff has a letter name that
goes with it. The musical alphabet goes from A to G. The Music Staff

Notes on a Line

Remember them by learning: The notes on the LINE conveniently Every Good Boy Does Fine

F
D
B
G
E
Notes on a Space
Remember them by learning: The notes on the SPACES conveniently

spell the word FACE

4Th E
3 C
2nd Space
A
1st Space
F
Ledger Lines: When a note goes beyond the range of the staff (higher or lower), small
horizontal lines are used to show the notes above or below the staff, which represent
the high pitch and the low.

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Bar Lines / Double Bar Lines: The single Bar Lines are vertical lines which
divide the music into equal intervals of Time. The Double Bar Line marks
the end of a section, or end of a song. It has a regular-sized line in addition
to a thicker line close by to the right placed at the end of music.

Measure: The area between two bar lines is called a Measure. The musical
composition is divided into equal portions, - called Measures or Bars, by
short lines drawn across the staff which is also called Bars. Measures are
divided into equal parts called “beats”.

A double Bar is placed at the end of each strain of music.

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Double Bar Line

1. Whole Note [Semibreve]

2. Half Note [Minim]
3. Quarter Note [Crotchet]
4. Eighth Note [Quaver]
5. Sixteenth Note [Semi Quaver]
6. Thirty second Note [Demi semi Quaver]

A REST is a sign used to designate a period of silence. This period of silence will be
of the same duration of time as the note to which it corresponds.

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Types of Rests

Music is made up of sound and silence. The notes tell you when to
play and the rests tell you when not to play.
WHOLE REST HALF REST QUARTER REST EIGHTH REST

4 Beats 2 Beats 1 Beat ½ Beat

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DOTTED NOTES

A DOT following a note changes the rhythmic value of the note. DOTS
add one half of whatever note value they are attached to

6 3 1 1/2
Beats Beats Beats
(4+2) (2+1) (1+1/2)

DOTTED WHOLE NOTE DOTTED HALF NOTE DOTTED QUARTER NOTE

A SEVENTH CHORD is a combination of FOUR

notes played together.

C D E F G A B C

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MAJOR SCALES : C MAJOR, G MAJOR, D MAJOR

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Clefs in general / Treble / Bass / Rhythm Clefs

A Clef is a symbol used at the beginning of a musical staff to tell the reader which letter name goes
with which line or space. Clef is a French word that means Key. There are several clefs: Treble Clef,
Bass Clef, rhythm Clef (also called the percussion clef)

G clef (Treble clef)

The centre of the spiral defines the line on which it rests as the pitch G
above middle C. Positioned here, it assigns G above middle C to
the second line from the bottom of the staff, and is referred to as the "treble
clef". This is the most commonly used clef in modern notation.
F clef (Bass clef)
The line between the dots in this clef denotes F below middle C.
Positioned here, it makes the second line from the top of the staff F below
middle C, and is called a "bass clef".

Neutral clef
Used for pitch less instruments, such as some of those used for percussion.
Each line can represent a specific percussion instrument within a set, such
as in a drum set.

Treble Clef

Measure
TOP NUMBER = How Many Beats in each Measure

= What Kind of Note Gets the Beat

BOTTOM NUMBER

Barline Double Bar Line

Time Signature

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Octave clef
Treble and bass clefs can also be modified by octave numbers. An eight
above or below the clef raises the intended pitch range by one octave
respectively. A treble clef with an eight below is the most commonly used,
typically used for guitar and similar instruments.

Tablature
For stringed instruments it is possible to notate tablature in place of
ordinary notes. In this case, a TAB sign is often written instead of a clef. The
number of lines of the staff is not necessarily five: one line is used for each
string of the instrument.

General Accidental Information / Sharps / Flats /Naturals

Accidentals appear in front of the note they alter. Adding the accidental after the note is a common
mistake that usually a lot of people make who are unfamiliar with writing music. Similarly the
accidental should be written on the same line or space as the note is alters.

The pitch of a note can be altered in two ways – slightly lowered, or slightly raised. This is shown
which appears in front of the note on the staff, and they’re called accidentals. There are three types
of accidentals: Sharps, Flats & Naturals.

A Sharp raises the pitch by half step, a Flat lowers the pitch by half step. Naturals are a little
different from sharps and flats. Natural sign cancels the effect of a previous sharp or flat, and is
used for this purpose only. A natural can either raise or lower the pitch of a note. If a natural
cancels a flat, it raises the pitch of a note by half step. If a natural cancels a sharp, it lowers the
pitch of the note by half step. So, a natural can be used with any note.

When an accidental is used at the beginning of a measure / bar, its effect lasts for the entire measure.

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A TIE : combines the rhythmic values of two notes and is represented by a curved line between
two notes of the same pitch. The first note is played for the duration of both notes and the second
note is not played.

1. 2.

Repeat Signs :
A REPEAT SIGN is a double bar line with two dots. It means to repeat a section of music. You would
repeat back to where a previous backwards repeat sign was or to the beginning of the song,
whichever comes first.

Repeat back from the beginning Repeat these two measures then proceed on

A slur :is a musical notation that informs the musician to play a sequence of two or more
notes without pausing in between notes, like slurring all the notes together.

In more technical terms, a slur means you should play the notes in legato. Legato is a
musical term that tells you how the composer originally intended the notes to be expressed.
In terms of legato, notes should be bound together and played smoothly.

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Legato
In music performance and notation, legato ([leˈɡaːto]; Italian for "tied together"; French lié; German gebunden)
indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition
from note to note with no intervening silence. Legato technique is required for slurred performance, but unlike
slurring (as that term is interpreted for some instruments), legato does not forbid rearticulation. Standard notation
indicates legato either with the word legato, or by a slur (a curved line) under notes that form one legato group.
Legato, like staccato, is a kind of articulation. There is an intermediate articulation called either mezzo staccato or
non-legato (sometimes referred to as "portato").

Staccato
Staccato ([stakˈkaːto]; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note
of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and
has appeared in music since at least 1676.

Slur
Two or more notes of the same or differing pitch can be slurred. When notes are slurred they will be played back
in a smooth and connected manner. The command for the slur is Notes: Slur and the quick key is the semicolon.

Tie
Two notes of the same pitch can be tied. When notes are tied, the first note will be played and held for the
duration of both notes. The command for the tie is Notes: Tied and the quick key is the slash.

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