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"Reading Music" by Leslie390
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===================Reading Music
Beginner's Edition
===================
Written by: Leslie
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-------------------Table of Contents
-------------------Page 6: Treble and Bass Clef
Page 12: Note Values
Page 17: Reading Signatures
Page 20: Sharps and Flats
Page 26: Dynamics
Page 29: Articulation
Page 33: Tempo
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Dedication:
I dedicate this book to Donald Trump, because he is the savior of America.
*Eagle screeches as guns go off afar*
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Side Notes:
There's a lot more about music to know, but this book provides you with the basics that you need to know. Sorry for any typos, I really didn't proof read. Hope you enjoy the book!
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Suggestions:
When starting to write music, I suggest starting with the key of C, so you have more flexibility with your music and learn basic chord structure. This key is the most commonly used.
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-------------------Chapter One: Treble and Bass Clef
-------------------
All music is written on a staff. There are a variety of Clefs that music can be written in, but in this book we will be only mentioning Treble and Bass Clef.
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Treble Clef
All music is written on a staff, the lines that you see on music. All staffs have 5 lines and 4 spaces.
In Treble Clef, the order of the notes are as follows. E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F.
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In order to remember the order of the notes, there are acronyms available.
For the notes on the lines, you can use Every Good Boy Does Fine (E G B D F,) for the spaces, you can use the acronym FACE. Also note, that not all notes will be found on the
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staff. Some notes will be above or belove it, on or below ledger lines.
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Bass Clef
Bass clef has all of the properties of other clefs, but the notes are located on different lines and sound lower. The bass clef exists so that notes far below the treble clef can be read.
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When reading bass clef, use the acronym Great Big Dogs Fight Animals (G B D F and A) for the lines, and All Cows Eat Grass (A C E, and G) for the spaces.
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-------------------Chapter 2: Note Values
-------------------
Notes can be different lengths. The four basic note lengths are whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes.
In 4/4 time, whole notes are 4 beats,
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half notes are 2 beats, quarter notes are 1 beat, and eighth notes are 1/2 a beat.
There are also rests, periods of time where notes are not playing. They work the same as notes. There are whole rests that look like upside-down hats, half rests
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that look like top hats, quarter rests that look like sharp backwards 3's, and eighth rests that look like curvy sevens.
In addition to their actual values, you can add a dot to rests and notes. These dots add half of the note's value to itself.
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For example:
Whole Note: You cannot make them dotted, the maximum amount of beats in a measure is 4.
Half Notes:
2 beats+1beat=3 bts.
Quarter Notes:
1 beat+.5 beat= 1.5
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Eighth Notes:
.5 beat+.25 beat=.75 b
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-------------------Chapter 3: Reading Signatures
-------------------
In music there are two signatures at the beginning of each system (group of staffs.) These two are the time signature and key signature.
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The time signature tells you how many beats are in a measure and what note gets the beat. In 4/4 time, there are 4 beats in a measure and the quarter note gets the beat. In 3/4 time, the quarter note still gets the beat, but there are only 3 beats in
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each measure.
Key signatures tell you what key you're in. Before continuing on key signatures, you should probably learn about sharps and flats. ----->
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-------------------Sharps and Flats
-------------------
Sharps and flats are what make notes half a step higher or lower in pitch (respectively.)
Sharps look like # signs, and flats look like italic lowercase b's.
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Sometimes, there will be naturals written in music that have a note designated as flat. When this happens, there will be a sign similar to a rectangle next to the note. Whenever there is a pitch change in the music, it is called an accidental.
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Now we can talk about Key Signatures. After the Clef, you will see either a series of sharps or flats. These mean that every note that belongs to that sharp or flat will be so throughout the piece, unless designated otherwise by an accidental.
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To know what notes will be sharp or flat, you need to know the order of the flats and sharps. For sharps, you can use the acronym Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds (F C G D A E and B.) For flats it would be BEADGCF, like bead and
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greatest common factor (yea I know it's weird, but that's how I learned it and it works pretty well.)
The amount of sharps or flats also tells you what key you're in. The 6 most basic keys are the key of C (no # or b,) key of D,
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(2 #s,) key of G (1#,) key of Bb (1 b,) key of Eb (2 b's,) and the key of A (3 #'s.) Knowing the key isn't necessary for writing music, but it can help when creating chords or just knowing the root note.
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===================Chapter 4: Dynamics
===================
Dynamics are pretty simple. It's how loud or soft an instrument plays. Dynamics range from Pianissimo to Fortississimo (Very soft to very loud.)
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Dynamics:
ppp- pianisissimo
pp- pianissimo
p-piano
mp-mezo piano
mf-mezo forte
f-forte
ff-fortissimo
fff-fortisissimo
fp or fz- fortepiano, play loudly then get
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loud quickly.
Decresendo- gradually becoming lower in volume, signified by >.
Cresendo- gradually becoming higher in volume, signified by <.
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===================Chapter 5: Articulation
===================
Articulation is how you play a note.
There are things called ties/slurs. They connect notes together. Ties connect the same notes together, adding their note values
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together. Slurs connect different notes, removing the space inbetween notes. They look like a big line either above or below the staff.
Tinuto/Legato- This makes the note sound long. It looks like a short underline _.
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Staccato- This makes the note very short. It looks like a dot right below or above the note. Do not confuse this for a dotted note.
Accent- Emphasizes the note, looks like a > above the note.
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Marcato- A staccato accent, looks like a ^ above the note.
Trills- Makes the note quaver, looks like ~~ above the notes.
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===================Chapter 6: Tempo
===================
This is the final chapter of the book! Tempo is the speed at which you play, and this can be altered throughout the piece.
Tempos are numbers, ranging anywhere from the tens to hundreds.
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If you'd like to change a tempo during the song, you can do it instantly by writing so, like Tempo: 88, or, by doing it gradually by accelerating (becoming faster, or using a roluntando (becoming slower.)
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Thanks for Reading!
Hopefully you've learned a thing or two. If you need any further information, just give me a call!
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+++++++++++++++++++-------------------
-Leslie