Quarter Note = 1 count
A quarter note is all black with a
stem on it either going up or down. I call it our "stepping" note
because the note just steps and moves along. With 4/4 time, you would
have a measure of 4 quarter notes because one quarter note gets 1 count.
Remember music and math go together.
Half Note = 2 counts
A
half note is all white with a stem on it. When playing this kind of
note you would pause, like coming to a yellow traffic light. You would
play a half note, counting 1 & 2 &. With 4/4 time, you would
have 2 half notes in a measure to play because 2 + 2 = 4. Remember music
and math go together!
If you are not sure what a measure in
written music is, always remember that the notes placed between bar
lines is a measure. Bar lines divide music into measures. When looking
at a piece of music, go to the very end of a song and there you will
find a double bar line.
Repeat Dots (Repeat Sign)
The two
dots at the end of the piece are a repeat sign, meaning to play the song
from the beginning. Sometimes my students ask, "Oh, do I have to?" The
answer is "yes" because the composer intended for that section of music
to be played again! Another way to look at it is that you will not have
more pages to turn. Just play the first page again or perhaps it will be
just a few lines repeated. The repeat sign is a very valuable sign
indeed.
Whole Note = 4 counts
A whole note is a white note,
too but it does not have a stem on it. I call it our doughnut note. Some
of my students call it a "hamburger" note! When you see a whole note,
you must hold the note down and count, 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
It is just like coming to a red light and making a full stop.
Dotted Half Note = 3 counts
A
dot after a note adds half the value of the note. So, you now have 2 + 1
= 3 beats. You hold the note down and count, 1 & 2 & 3 &.
Now,
the cool thing is that every type of music note has a corresponding
rest. A rest sign means "do not play" like a rest area. Sometimes it
means get your hand ready in position and move up, yet still do not play
a note, just rest! Examples of some rests are:
Quarter Rest
It looks like a "Z" and a quarter rest gets 1 count.
Half Rest
It looks like a black top hat. A half rest gets 2 counts or beats of silence. A half rest sits above the third line.
Whole Rest
Looks like an upside down black top hat. The whole rest hangs below the fourth line. It gets 4 counts or beats of silence.
Each measure in 4/4 time has notes and rests adding up to 4 counts.
Time Signature
The
time signature is the two numbers written at the beginning of a piece.
The top number tells how many beats are in each measure. The bottom
number tells what kind of note gets one beat.
2 means two beats in each measure
4 means the quarter note receives one beat or count.
3 means three beats in each measure.
4 means the quarter note gets one beat.
4 means four beats in each measure
4 means the quarter note gets one beat.
Practice Directions
1. Clap and count the rhythm aloud.
2. Play and say the name of notes aloud.
3. Play and count the rhythm aloud.
Tempo is the speed of any piece of music. Just
like driving a car and seeing the 45 M.P.H. speed sign, it is the same
for Tempo words in music.
At the very top left hand corner, on the
beginning page of your sheet music, you will often see a word that
tells you how fast or how slow to play a particular song. Sometimes you
will be asked to slow down your speed of playing in a particular
passage.
Usually you will find that these tempo words are written
in Italian. Here are some of the more common Italian words you will
discover in music. It does help to memorize most of these words. Having
flash cards to quiz yourself is a very good idea.
Slow Tempo Marks:
Adagio (play with ease)
Largo (very slow and broad)
Lento (very slow)
Grave (heavy and solemn)
Medium Tempo Marks:
Andante (a moderate, graceful, walking tempo)
Andantino (a little slower than andante)
Moderato (a moderate tempo)
Molto (very)
Larghetto (somewhat slow)
Fast Tempo Marks:
Allegretto (lively and quick but a little slower than Allegro))
Allegro (cheerful, fast and quick)
Vivace (lively and brisk)
Presto (very fast)
Prestissimo (very, very fast)
Right in the middle of a piece,
you will see that the composer has decided he wants you to slow down.
Look for a new tempo marking at the very beginning of a new section.
Here's what to look for.
Gradually Getting Faster:
Accelerando (becoming gradually faster and abbreviated
accel.)
Stringendo (quickening)
Gradually Getting Slower:
Ritardando (becoming gradually slower and abbreviated
rit.)
Ritenuto (held back)
Rallentando (becoming gradually slower)
Rattenuto (holding back and slowing down)
When you slow down
at the end of a phrase of music or a particular section of a
composition, you will notice at the start of the next section a new
word, a tempo. This means to go back to the original tempo. It is like
slowing down while driving a car because you see a sign that says,
"Speed Reduced Ahead.", and then going back up to the regular speed
limit once again.
Now your piano practice sounds playful and
energetic while observing accelerando. Sometimes your moderato walking
tempo sounds smooth dance-like. Time completely changes within a song
all because you changed speed when playing the piano. The pace of a
piece of music becomes alive because you have observed tempo marks with
expression. Well done.
6/8 Time Signature
This time signature can be a bit tricky to play at first. When you first learn to read music, the time signature usually has a 4 on the bottom: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4. This means that a quarter note gets counted as 1 beat.
When you see a time signature with an 8 on the bottom like 6/8, this means that an eighth note is counted as 1 beat and there are six eighth notes in each measure.
When you look at some music, you will notice that six eighth notes are grouped together into two groups of three eighth notes.
Things to watch out for in 6/8:
The three notes in 6/8 are not triplets but eighth notes.
This time signature will often feel like the music has two strong beats instead of six. We often feel a strong beat for each group of three eighth notes.
Sometimes you see the triplet sign situated on top of the first measure of a song. Most often it follows the indication of style such as swing, boogie-woogie, big band, rock-a-ballad, funky shuffle, slow blues, back-beat, be-bop, dixieland, twelve-eight feel, jazz-waltz, salsa, soft-shoe, country, gospel-waltz, bounce, jump or groove tempo.
These eighth-notes are sometimes called rolled eighths. If you have a rhythm machine handy, set it to swing, rock-ballad, whatever. Make sure your beat-box has a setting that goes (1-2-3, 2-2-3, 3-2-3, 4-2-3) or a variation of that beat. Set the tempo to 82 (Andante). Once you have mastered that tempo, just increase the tempo.
- Practice: Left Hand Chords with Single Right Hand Notes
C/C, D, E
G7/F, G, A, B
C/C, C, B, A
G7/G, F, E, D
C/C
G7/G
Db/Db, Eb, F
Ab7/Gb, Ab, Bb, C
Db/Db, Db, C, Bb
Ab/Ab, G, F, Eb
Db/Db
Ab7/Ab
D/D, E, F#
A7/G, A, B, C#
D/D, D, C#, B
A7/A, G, F#, E
D/D
A7/A
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