build on our Session 1 experience of note durations

instrument independent

apply theory in practical workshops

phased, comfortable approach

“play” not “work”

structured creativity

OK, let’s go....

April 12, 2023 - 1

Session 2 - Pitch

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Perfect pitch definition....

notes represent the pitch & relative duration of a musical sound

pitch (wave frequency) – how high or low the note is

duration – period of time the note is played or held

notes identified by modern English alphabetical letters A, B, C, D, E, F & G as well as sharps (#) & flats (b) – the black notes on keyboard

notes are displayed on musical staffs or staves

notes are presented in “bars” or “measures”

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Lets visit those bars.... April 12, 2023 - 2

Notes Revisited

all staffs are of 5 lines & four spaces

bars are separated by single or double “bar lines”

double bar lines of same width represent the end of a “section” of music (e.g. intro, verse)

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Don’t stay too long at the end of a bar… April 12, 2023 - 3

The Staff (revisited)

• double bar lines with thicker line at right represent the end of the entire musical piece.

Semibreve (an egg) = 4 beats

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Of course you remember these…… April 12, 2023 - 4

Note Duration Review

Minim (egg on a stick) = 2 beats

Crotchet (black egg on a stick) = 1 beat

Quaver ( black egg on a stick & 1 flag) = 1/2 beat

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Silences are essential in improvising….. April 12, 2023 - 5

Rest Review

musical silences also have defined durations, called “Rests”,

Semibreve = 4 beats

Play Symbol Rest Symbol

Minim = 2 beats

Crotchet = 1 beat

Quaver = 1/2 beat

a notes’ pitch is referenced by how far up or down the staff it is located, - higher up equals higher pitch!

notes can also be displayed above or below the staff – on additional “ledger lines”

we only use 5 lines to support optimal pitch recognition (sight efficiency)

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We can train our eyes as well as our ears! April 12, 2023 - 6

Up The Staff

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Don’t have your music upside down..... April 12, 2023 - 7

Pitch Examples

bar lines

sharps & flats

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Ah – harmony at last..... April 12, 2023 - 8

More Pitch Examples

ledger lines

multiple notes

not all instruments can use the same staff mapping (5 string bass vs piccolo) as the note range is far too wide

the Clef (French for “key”) sign at the start of each line of music tells us how the staff is mapped (which line or space means which specific note)

using the correct clef means that most notes are either on the staff or “fence”, or not far above or below it, therefore making it easier to identify the pitch of the notes (without referring to too many ledger lines)

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Different instruments may use different Clefs... April 12, 2023 - 9

Staff Notes

remember that lines that are used above or below the staff are called “ledger lines” – these are used to display notes that are higher or lower than those provided by the 5 lines & 4 spaces

there are 3 Clefs…..

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Don’t be confused by Clef Richards… April 12, 2023 - 10

Clefs

G Clef or Treble Clef

C Clef

F Clef or Bass Clef

piano music typically uses 2 sets of staff – the treble clef (right hand) – known as “the Grand Staff”

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No, not mouth organs! April 12, 2023 - 11

Clefs & Piano

& below it, but joined, is the Bass Clef for the left hand

full size harps also use this convention

6 string guitar, steel guitar etc typically use the treble clef

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But what about the drummer? April 12, 2023 - 12

Clefs & Guitar

bass guitarists typically use music mapped to the bass clef

all work in this Course will use the Treble or G clef

it is called the G Clef as its “tail” indicates the note G on the second line up from the bottom of the staff

all other notes will be mapped from this “G”

C – Alto Clef, mainly used for Viola & Alto Trombone, placed on the third line of the Staff

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From the Bar to the TAB..... April 12, 2023 - 13

Other Clefs

C – Tenor Clef – for upper ranges of Bassoon, Cello & Euphonium, placed on the 4th line of the Staff

Neutral Clef – also called the “Percussion Clef”, is different in that each line or space refers to a specific percussion instrument which has no precise pitch

TAB – used for guitars & other stringed instruments, staff lines may vary & represent the strings of the instrument.

12 different notes

7 Alphabet characters A, B, C, D, E, F, G plus another 5 “ring ins” – known as incidentals, the sharps &/or flats

alphabet characters are the white notes on the piano, the incidentals (sharps & flats) are the black notes

each note repeats itself when its frequency is doubled or halved

octave numbers (Scientific Pitch Notation) can also be used to identify which octave a note is in (A3, A4 etc) – not required when represented on the Staff

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Most musicians have never seen a $100 note.... April 12, 2023 - 14

Note Names

a Sharp is represented by “ # “ (hash sign)

a Flat is represented by “b” (small b)

here we go with sharps… A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#

here we go with flats… A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab

obviously some notes can be called more than 1 name!!!

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Most musicians are called by more than 1 name…April 12, 2023 - 15

Note Names (2)

an octave is the interval between a specific musical pitch (any note) & another pitch with half or double its frequency

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So now we know where “A” lives on the staff…….. April 12, 2023 - 16

Octaves

notes an octave apart will always have the same name

refers to a note that is in the middle of the tonal range for a specific instrument

for a full piano keyboard (88 keys) – this note is on the first ledger line below the staff in the treble clef

however on guitar “Middle C” is played 1 octave higher, first fret on the B string

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Used as a “pitch” reference point…. April 12, 2023 - 17

Middle C

the 440 Hz (A) is the fifth fret on the top E string of the guitar

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Does the # (hash) sign make you sharper? April 12, 2023 - 18

Note Names – Piano & Guitar

once again middle C is first fret on the second (B string) of the guitar, up an octave from the Piano “Middle C”

the G referred to by the “Treble Clef” is the third open string on the guitar (G string)

bottom (lowest) “E” string

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Don’t get your G strings confused… April 12, 2023 - 19

Guitar String Notes

“D” string “A” string

“G” string

“B” string

top “E” string

Lines – (from bottom line up) – E G B D F

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No sharps or flats here… yet…. April 12, 2023 - 20

Staff Line & Space Names

Spaces – (from bottom line up) – F A C E

all lines & spaces represent a specific note of a specific octave

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In a short time you will remember most of these…April 12, 2023 - 21

Note Names On The Staff

the note names move UP THE STAFF IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER & must include the accidentals (sharps & flats)

sharps (#) make a note a semitone (1 fret higher)

flats (b) make a note a semitone (1 fret) lower

as the treble clef tells us where “G” is & we know where “A” is we can easily map out the rest

let’s climb that fence

let’s make life easier but selecting just 1 name for each accidental……

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RESTS do not have Note Names, just duration values…

April 12, 2023 - 22

Note Names

Name Options Selection Result

A# or Bb Bb B Flat

C# or Db C# C Sharp

D# or Eb Eb E Flat

F# or Gb F# F Sharp

G# or Ab G# G Sharp

this is what our new 12 letter musical alphabet now looks like……

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Taking The “A Train”… April 12, 2023 - 23

Taking the "Note Name Ladder

A Bb

CC#

D Eb

E F F#

GG#

A

going up the staff from where “A” lives, one fret at a time

let’s start with just the actual lines & spaces on the staff itself

we can easily extend this to using ledger lines later

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See how the “G” matches up with the Clef tail? April 12, 2023 - 24

Staff Note Names

E GF#F

#

let’s keep moving up the staff…

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Sharp or Flat signs are always before the note… April 12, 2023 - 25

Staff Note Names (2)

G# BBbA

# b

over halfway already……

each note is 1 guitar fret or 1 piano key higher

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Can you hear the small note difference (A Semitone)April 12, 2023 - 26

Staff Note Names (3)

C EbDC#

#b

higher up the staff – the higher the note pitch

type of note displayed determines duration (how long to hold)

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To go any higher we need ledger lines… April 12, 2023 - 27

Staff Note Names (4)

E GF#F

#

same note name – but an octave apart

position on staff tells us which one to play

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“Oct”means 8, the 8 note names (A B C D E F G A)…April 12, 2023 - 28

Staff Notes - Octaves

E GGE

Semibreve (an egg) = 4 beats

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Of course you remember these…… April 12, 2023 - 29

Note Duration Review

Minim (egg on a stick) = 2 beats

Crotchet (black egg on a stick) = 1 beat

Quaver ( black egg on a stick & 1 flag) = 1/2 beat

for each of the 8 notes presented (ignore the rests they are being used to fill in each bar which must contain 4 beats) - write out…

note name (A, C# etc) type (e.g. crotchet) number of beats to hold (1, 4 etc)

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Too many drummers, too little time… April 12, 2023 - 30

Staff Notes – Exercise 1

for each of the 8 notes presented (ignore the rests they are being used to fill in each bar which must contain 4 beats) - write out…

note name (A, C# etc) type (e.g. crotchet) number of beats to hold (1, 4 etc)

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In time you will associate name & pitch automatically

April 12, 2023 - 31

Staff Notes – Exercise 2

for each of the 8 notes presented below, position correctly on the music paper staff) provided…

1. Crotchet - E2. Quaver – B3. Semibreve - Bb4. Semibreve - F5. Minim – F#6. Quaver – C7. Crotchet – G#8. Minim - D

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Some can have more than 1 answer… April 12, 2023 - 32

Staff Notes – Exercise 3

for each of the 8 notes presented below, position correctly on the music paper staff) provided, some are double or triple notes …

1. Crotchet – C E G2. Quaver – Eb3. Semibreve - Bb F4. Semibreve – E G# B5. Minim – D F#6. Quaver – Ab7. Crotchet – G Bb8. Minim – G E B

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Some can have more than 1 answer… April 12, 2023 - 33

Staff Notes – Exercise 4

we use the Treble Clef for our work

each line or space on the staff represents a specific note

higher up the staff, the higher the pitch

ledger lines support notes above or below the staff

notes with their frequency doubled or halved have the same

name but are an octave apart

we have given sharps & flats a single name

with a little effort we can identify the note type & its pitch

name on the staff

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Now we are ready to make some music… April 12, 2023 - 34

Session 2 - Summary