LadyDpiano: Clef

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Beginner Music Steps: Clefs and Time Signatures

Tuesday Teaching: Clefs and Time Signatures l LadyDpiano.com

Clefs

A clef is a symbol that sits at the beginning of every staff of music that you look at. A staff contains five lines and four spaces. How do you know where the note A or the note C is? The missing element needed is the clef. The clef defines what notes go where functioning a lot like a map. Placing a treble clef at the start of the staff defines the lines and spaces with note names.

The treble clef circles around the note G. This is why it's commonly called the G clef. As for the notes, there is an important pattern. Look at the lowest line, which is designated E. Follow the musical alphabet to find where the next note is. The F is in the space just above the E. The staff ascends in this fashion - line, then space, then line - as it cycles through the musical alphabet (A-B-B-D-E-F-G).

Even though you may understand the notes on both clefs, the only way to get proficient is to read other clefs as often as you can. Set aside a few minutes a day to look at other clefs so you can easily identify their notes. Since clefs define notes, you can almost think of being able to read in many clefs as a kind of musical literacy.

The bass clef is a different clef than the treble and identifies not only different note names but also notes in different ranges. The bass clef is used for instruments that have a lower pitch, like a bass guitar. Even though the bass clef sits on the same five-line staff, it defines very different note names. Many musicians read treble clef because it is the most common clef. Because of this, too many musicians have a greater difficulty reading bass clef than reading treble clef. In order to progress your understanding of theory, you will need to be adept at reading all clefs.

Moveable "C" Clefs

The last type of clef is called the C clef. Typically, you see this clef associated with the viola because it's the most common instrument that reads in that clef; however, more instruments than just the viola read it. When the C-clef is used with the viola, it is called the alto clef. Thankfully, this clef is very easy to read because the symbol for the C clef has two semicircles that curve into the middle of the staff and basically "point" toward the middle line, which is a C. It's not just any C, it's middle C.

Alto Clef

Since this is a movable clef, you can place the clef anywhere you want, and whatever lines its two semicircles point to become middle C. Some very old choral music uses a different movable C clef for each part (tenor clef, alto clef, and soprano clef). Just as long as you know that the clef always points toward middle C, you will be able to decipher the notes in this clef.

Point to Consider

When notes use ledger lines that are extremely high or extremely low, they can be difficult to read; it's much easier to read notes that sit in the staff you are reading. Using different clefs allows you to move the location of middle C in such a way that the majority of your notes are in and around the staff.

Time

Time is a fundamental aspect of music theory that is often left out of the formal music theory study. Time has more to it than just measures counting beats and bars. Time can dictate the feel and flow of a piece, and even harmony has a rhythm to it, aptly called "harmonic rhythm."

Time Signatures

Music is divided into bars, also called measures, for reading convenience and for musical purposes. Most music adheres to a meter, and that affects the phrasing of the melody. If you don't have a lot of experience with reading, rhythm can be a very difficult concept to grasp.

The most standard time signature is 4/4 time, which is also called "common time" and is abbreviated by this symbol c.

Common time looks like a fraction and it signifies two things. First, the top number 4 means that every measure will have four beats in it. The bottom number 4 indicates what note value will receive the beat; in this case, 4 stands for a quarter note. So common time breaks up each measure into four beats, as a quarter note receives one beat. You can, of course, further divide the measure into as many small parts as you feel like, but in the end, it must add up to four beats.

So, I just wanted to introduce you to a few "Beginner Music Steps" for Tuesday Teaching with LadyD!

For more Beginner Music Steps, visit:

Wheels On The Bus

Beginner Piano Lessons

Beginner Steps To Success

Beginner Corner: Ledger Lines

Discover how to play by ear. Over 20 chapters in the 300pg Course Book

Blessings,

-- LadyD

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Five Building Blocks of Music

5 Building Blocks of Music

Beginner's Corner

I was observing my three-year-old grandson playing with his wooden blocks and watching him turn these blocks into some beautiful buildings. I thought about how books are structured with letters, words and punctuation marks that turn into stories.

When I teach children how to read sheet music, they learn that music has its own symbols. It is not all about music notes but there are signs and symbols to learn as well.

Here are five basic signs to learn.

1. The Grand Staff

2. The Clef

3. The Key Signature

4. Time Signature

5. Bar Lines and Measures

The Grand Staff has five lines and four spaces in the Treble Clef, which the notes written on the staff. The notes for the right hand are usually written on the top of the staff and the notes for the left hand are on the bottom staff, with 5 lines and 4 spaces. When you begin learning to read notes that are on the Grand staff, I call this the right hand shaking hands with the left hand, you'll see that both staffs are connected with a bar line and bracket. We call this the Grand Staff. Now your sheet music will have 10 lines and 8 spaces.

Here's what the dictionary says:

The Clef is the symbol at the beginning of each staff. It tells you what each note is. In the G Clef or some call it Treble Clef, the second line from the bottom is the G note. Sometimes I refer to it as a kitty sitting on the fence and it's tail wraps around the G line.

The F or Bass Clef looks like a backwards C with two dots on either side of the F line. The F is the second line from the top. You can figure out all the other notes from there. The notes written in the bass clef are played with your left hand.

The Key Signature is always at the beginning of each line of music and you will often see sharps or flats written on the staff. They tell you which notes are always sharp or flat in the music.

Time Signature has two numbers, one on the top and one on the bottom. It looks like a fraction in mathematics without the line. It is one number on top of the other. The top number tells you how many beats there will be in each measure, and the bottom number shows you what kind of note is the beat and gets one count.

Bar lines are thin pencil-like lines that divide a measure from the next one. There is usually a double bar line at the end of a piece. A double bar line, that has two dots before it is called a repeat sign. This tells you to play part of the music again. You can find a repeat sign at the end of the first line of music, somewhere in the middle of the song or at the end. Look for it. You'll want to play the verses of a song and repeat the chorus, too.

Now the measures in music is the space between the bar lines. Each measure has the same number of beats. Many times you will notice that measures are numbered and this helps group player performing a duet or for a conductor to regroup all the instruments to begin playing at measure nine. Indeed, it is fun to learn the building blocks of music.

One of the best theory books I recommend and I mean it's a huge one in learning lots of music principles is 300pg Course Book. Be sure and use a pencil with this one because you'll be filling in lots of blanks for future reference and quick recall for some answers.

All the best and keep practicing!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Beginner's Corner: Ledger Lines

Ledger line example (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ledger Lines

Sometimes the five lines of the treble clef and the five lines of the bass clef are
not enough to write down all the notes a composer wants to use.

The really low and really high notes go above or below the staff, but they can't
just hang in empty space. To make room for notes that don't fit on the staff musicians
use ledger lines.

They are short lines stacked above or below the regular lines of each staff. Think of
ledger lines as additional steps above or below the staff. A definition and picture is
demonstrated at http://www.thefreedictionary.com

By adding the staff, ledger lines provide means for indicating pitches either higher or
lower than the limits of the five-line staff.

A note on the space above or the space below the staff does not require a ledger line.
So, at times a musical sounds may be either higher or lower than those pitches represented
by lines and spaces of the staff. The means of writing such pitches are provided by ledger lines.

I think it's probably a good idea to learn how to read ledger lines, especially for those high
octave endings and low bass tone endings. A foundation for learning the staff, clefs and ledger
lines can be found at http://www.8notes.com

In the above photo, the higher note is called "High C" but no, it's not the highest C
on the piano. Remember that the line notes, starting with the first line, is E, G, B, D, F.
Therefore, the first ledger line is A and the note sitting on the 2nd line is C.

Now, the lower note is resting on the A line. The first line is Middle C and counting the music alphabet backwards we arrive at A. I think one of the coolest photos to explain all this theory
can be found at http://www.dummies.com

For more additional online information regarding ledger lines, visit http://www.tedvieira.com/onlinelessons/sightreading101

Photo Credit: Susanparadis.wordpress.com

A very valuable print out to use for testing yourself and students is the use of flash cards.
Some great ones can be found, here

Ledger lines in different languages are called:

linea aggiunta (It)
ligne ajoutée / supplémentaire (Fr)
Hilfslinie (Ger)

They are important to learn how to read them and where to play those note on the piano,
especially when you see the octave sign, 8va (meaning a note or section will be played an
octave higher.)

You may be interested in the Gospel Music Training Center, visit gmtc

Have a great week ahead!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Music Symbols and Vocabulary

note (Photo credit: S@Z)

In addition to my ongoing posts that you can read online or receive by email, perhaps you've also subscribed to my monthly newsletters. Yes, I must confess to you that I missed October due to visits with my grandchildren but I'm sure I'll be able to make up for it in the future. But did you know about the Fun&Free tab on my website? I didn't want you to miss out on all the games you can play for free. Here's some more learning resources, available to you for free online... happy learning!

Symbols and Vocabulary

1. Tempo and Dynamics
Leo's Barnyard Baton

2. Recognize Music Symbols
MusicDarts1

3. Match Music Symbols
Dso Kids Music Match

4. Key Signature Flash Cards
Musicards

Musical Notation

1. Piano Keys and Staff
Funbrain The Piano Player

2. Music Theory Flash Cards
Music note flashcards

3. Intervals
Interval_flashcards

4. Chords
Triad_flashcards

5. Treble Clef Notes
Notename

6. Recognize Staff Spaces
FREE TrebleSpaces-Practice

7. Steps and Skips
http://www.musiclearningcommunity.com/

8. Whack-A-Note
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org

More Online Music Games

http://www.agame.com

pbskids.org

http://www.musicgames.net

I really enjoyed the piano playing on this video. What do you think?

You may be interested in Jermaine Griggs 4 Free Videos

Have fun with these online music games and let me know which ones are beneficial to you.

Best,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Order of Sharps and Flats on the Staff

Key signature in C-sharp-major and a-sharp-minor

Image via Wikipedia The accidentals of the key signatures are placed on the staff in the same order of appearance as in the circle of fifths. For sharp keys the first sharp appears on the F line (5th line, counting from bottom to top line) of the treble clef and on 4th line (counting bottom to top) of the bass clef.

This sharp applies to any F in the musical composition whether on the same lines or on any other locations, and this same principle is observed for any other sharps (or flats) of the key signature. The sharps progress in an orderly arrangement from left to right. For quick identification of a major key in a signature of sharps, the keynote occupies that staff degree immediately above the last sharp.

C Major and Sharp Key Signatures

Key of C = no sharps and flats
Key of G = 1 sharp (F#)
Key of D = 2 sharps (F#, C#)
Key of A = 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)
Key of E = 4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)
Key of B = 5 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#)
Key of F# = 6 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, B#)

For quick identification of a major key in a signature of two or more flats, the keynote is identical with the penultimate (next-to-last) flat.

C Major and Flat Key Signatures

Key of C = no sharps or flats
Key of F = 1 flat (Bb)
Key of Bb = 2 flats (Bb, Eb)
Key of Eb = 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)
Key of Ab = 4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db)
Key of Db = 5 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb)
Key of Gb = 6 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb)
Key of Cb = 7 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb)

The key signature may now be used to identify the key. When it is known that the music is in a major key, the number of sharps or flats in the signature will indicate the name of that major key. For example, when the key is major, four sharps always indicates the key of E.

Exercise: Constructing the Circle of Fifths for Major Keys

Construct from memory the circle of fifths for major keys. You should be able to draw the circle on paper or at the board in one minute.

Exercise: Write the correct major key name according to the number of sharps or flats given.

Exercise: Write the correct number of sharps or flats for the given major key.

Much music commonly performed today (including most music of the 17th-19th centuries) is based on either one of two scale patterns: the major scale and the minor scale. Music is said to be in major when the pitches used can be arranged in alphabetical order with a resulting major scale pattern.

In Joy to the World, the first line of the melody already assumes the pattern of the D Major Scale.

Here's the melody line of the right hand:

(D, C#, B,A, G, F#, E, D)

Joy to the World in Bb Major Scale

(Bb, A, G, F, Eb, D, C, Bb)

So, the key signature is a group of accidentals found on the staff at the beginning of a composition. This group consists of the accidentals used in the scale of the composition and when the music uses a major or minor scale, the signature can be used to identify the key of the composition. the key signature is placed before the time signature.

By extracting the accidentals from each major scale in this way, we can find the number and names of sharps or flats for each major key, and the key signature for each. Remember that including C (no sharps and no flats), there are fifteen major keys, just as there are fifteen locations of the major scale.

A common way of illustrating the order of key signatures, with the numbers of accidentals in each, is through the circle of fifths. (our previous lesson)

If you can read simple treble-clef melody notes,
you can play your favorite popular songs using
"Play Piano With Fake Book" system.

Master the following:
*Can't Help Falling In Love
*Smoke Gets In Your Eye
*Never on Sunday
*Edelweiss
*Chariots of Fire and more
Using "Play Piano With Fake Book"

Best,
-- LadyD

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King