Notation

The Staff

A set of five horizontal lines and four spaces, on which note symbols are placed to indicate their pitch.

Letter Names

*The pitches are referred to by the first seven letters of the alphabet

Clefs

• A clef is a symbol placed at the beginning of a line of music that establishes the letter names of the lines and spaces of the staff

*Treble Clef

*Bass Clef

*C Clef

Treble Clef

a.k.a the G clef

f g a b c d e f

Lines = Every Good Boy Does Fine

Space= FACE

Bass Clef• a.k.a the F clef

Lines = Great Big Dogs Fight Animals

Space= All Cows Eat Grass

Leger Lines

• Go beyond the limit of the staff

C Clef

The C clefs are a set of movable clefs that designate middle c

Where the “intendish” part is, that’s middle C

Octave Identification

• Alternate system of octave identification: Each octave is numbered beginning with A0 for the lowest 3 notes on the piano extending go C8 for the highest note

<- Standard

Accidentals

• Symbols that are placed to the left of the note heads to indicate the raising or lowering of a pitch

# : Sharp – raises pitch by a half step

: Natural – cancels previous accidental

: Flat – lowers pitch by a half step

: Double Flat- lowers pitch 2 half steps

: Double Sharp – raises pitch 2 half steps

Intervals• The relationship between two tones• ½ is the smallest• Count the note you start on and the one you

finish on• Take the key you’re in into consideration

Ex. The interval between C and E is a major third

The interval between A and F is a minor sixth

Enharmonic Equivalents

• Tones that have the same pitch but different names

• ex. F and E#• C# and Db

Notation Duration

The Tie

• A curved line that connects two adjacent notes of the same pitch into a single sound with a duration equal to the sum of both note values

The Dot

• A dot lengthens the note by half its value

• A double dot lengthens the note by half the value of the second dot

Meter• Recurring patterns of strong and weak

beats• Indicated by meter signature (Time Signature)

•Top number = number of beats in a measure

*Bottom number = what type of note gets one beat The C stands

for common time which means 4/4

Compound Meter

• Each pulse is a dotted note which is divided into groups of three parts.

6/8 , 9/8, 12/8

Asymmetrical Meters

• When the pulse cannot be divided into equal groups

5/4, 5/8, 7/4, 7/8

Syncopation

• If a part of the measure that is usually unstressed is accented

Dynamics

• Indicate the general volume or level of intensity

Crescendo (cres.) to gradually get louder

Decrescendo (decres) gradually get softer

Sudden accent on a single note or chord

Direction of Notes

• If the note is above the middle line the stem goes down

• If the note is below the middle line the stem goes up

• When the note is in the middle the stem generally goes down except when the notes around it are opposite.

• When notes are on leger lines the stems extend to the middle line

Beams

• When a note is connected by beams the beams are slanted to cross no more than one line of the staff

• When two melodies share the same staff the beams and stems go in the opposite direction

• Group the beats together to make reading the music easier