The staff is the basis of written music. It is what the notes are presented on. It consists of 5 lines with four spaces between them. A simple, unadorned staff is shown below.

This is the treble staff. The treble clef (the large fancy symbol to the far left) shows the musician that the staff is treble. Since it curls around the G line, it is also called a G clef. The treble staff begins with the first line as E. Each successive space and line is the next letter in the musical alphabet. The staff ends with the last line as an F. Many mnemonic devices exist to help a person remember which line and space is which. One of the most common phrases to remember the names of the lines is: Every Good Boy Does Fine. (Also popular is Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday). To remember the spaces, just remember that they spell FACE starting from the bottom.

This is a C clef. The C clef can move on the staff, and the center of the symbol is always over C. Depending on where it is, it is given different names. The note beside each clef is C. These clefs are used very infrequently.

 
Notes are centered on the lines or in the spaces between the lines. Stems on notes above the middle line trail down from the left of the note. Stems on notes below the middle line stick up on the right of the note. Stems on notes on the line usually go down except when adjacent notes have flags that go up. Note stems are usually one octave (eight successive lines and spaces) long. When two melodies occupy the same staff, the stems for the notes in one melody are written up and the stems for notes in the other are written down.

Ledger Lines

 
 


Ledger lines extend above and below the staff, allowing for higher or lower notes to be shown than would otherwise fit on the staff. These lines follow the same musical alphabet pattern as the staff does. Think of them as just extra lines and spaces on the end of the staff.

The stems of notes on ledger lines extend either up or down towards the middle line.

 
This graphic shows a heirarchy of note values.

At the top is a whole note (1). A half note is half the duration of a whole note, so a whole note is equal to two half notes (2). Likewise, half notes are worth two quarter notes (3). Quarter notes are worth two eighth notes (4), and eighth notes are worth two sixteenth notes (5).


 
Sixteenth notes (right) and eighth notes (left) may also look like this. Single sixteenth and eighth notes have flags, many sixteenth and eighth notes combine flags into connecting bars.


 
Sixteenth notes and eighth notes may also combine together. the combination looks like this picture to the left.


Dotted Notes

 


A dot beside a note increases its duration by half its original value. For example, half notes, in 4/4 time, are worth 2 beats. When a dot is placed next to the half note, the duration is increased by one (one being half of the original duration of two) and the resulting duration is three beats. The curved line in the picture above is a tie. Ties connect notes that are the same pitch together to create a sustained note.


Rests

 

 
Rests are simply places where the musician does not play. Rests have equivalent values to corresponding notes of duration. Thus, there is a whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, etc., just like normal notes. Rests are always located in the same vertical position.


Accidentals

Accidentals modify the pitch of a note by increasing or decreasing it by one half step. Accidentals stay in effect for all notes of the same pitch for the rest of the measure. Accidentals in the very beginning of the music are key signatures.


 
Flats (left side of the picture) lower the pitch of the note by one half step.
Sharps (right side of picture) raise the pitch of the note by one half step.


 
Naturals cancel out any previous sharps or flats. The pitch returns to normal.


Ties and Slurs

Ties and slurs connect two or more notes together. Ties connect notes of the same pitch, forming essentialy one longer note. Slurs smoothly connect notes of different pitch. This means to play the notes without breaks. The first set of notes above exhibit a tie. The second show a slur.


Articulation

Staccato - Means to play the note very short and detatched.


 
Accent - Means to hit the note harder and louder.


 
Marcato - Almost a combination of staccato and accent, provides a sharp sound.


 
Tenuto - Hold the note for its full value.


 
Sforzando - A sudden, strong accent.


 
Fermata - Hold the note longer, approximately twice its value, or until conducted to stop.


Dynamics

This symbol is pianissimo, it means play very softly.


 
This symbol is piano, it means play softly.


 
This symbol is mezzo piano, it means play moderately soft.


 
This symbol is mezzo forte, it means play moderately loud.


 
This symbol is forte, it means play loudly.


 
This symbol is fortissimo, it means play very loudly.


 
Also abbreviated Cresc. or written in as crescendo. This sign is the crescendo sign, it means gradually become louder.


 
Also abbreviated as Decresc. or written as decrescendo, dim., or diminuendo. This sign is decrescendo, it means gradually become softer.


Repeats

 
These are the begin and end repeat signs. When you reach the second, go back to the first and repeat the music. These are often accompanied by first, second and even third endings.


 
This is a directional marking. It means 'Del Signo'. When you see this in music, you must go to the sign (below). This marking may also be accompanied by 'al coda' or 'al fine'. These mean 'Go to the sign, from there go to the coda' and 'Go to the sign, from there go to the end' respectively. Essentially these are big repeat signs.


 
This is the sign. From here you play to the coda or the end or wherever the Del Signo directs you.


 
This is the coda sign. It marks when to go to the special ending, or coda. Usually you won't go to the coda until after a D.S. al coda.


Time Signatures

The time signatures (also called meter signatures) tell the musician how many beats per measure there are, and what kind of note gets the beat.

 
 
The top number determines how many beats there are per measure. The bottom number tells what kind of note gets the beat. In this example, 4/4 time, there are 4 beats per measure, and the quarter note (bottom 4) gets the beat. In 3/4 time, the quarter note would still get the beat, but there would only be 3 beats in a measure. In 6/8 time, the eigth note gets the beat, and there are 6 beats to a measure.

The pulse (or meter) is the driving beat in music that we march, feel, dance, clap and conduct to. First find the beat that seems the strongest, then try tapping along to it. Eventually you should be able to tap along with the music, and you will have found the pulse. Listen to the bass line and the rhythm section, as often they play with the pulse.

Meter

A group of beats that are defined by patterns of strong and weak pulses is called meter. Meter can be felt or heard. It is when a strong accented beat (usually the ONE or first beat of the pattern) is followed by one or more weaker beats. An accent can be felt or heard. A sound can be emphasized, (or accented) by being held longer , by being higher in pitch than nearby notes or simply played stronger (or louder) than surrounding notes. The most straightforward way to play an accent is to alternate between one accented count and one unaccented count. A strong beat followed by a weak beat. ONE two, ONE two.This forms a recurring pattern in music. The two basic beat patterns or meters in music are duple and triple. An example of duple meter is a march, where the LEFT right  LEFT right, is best represented by STRONG weak, STRONG weak. An example of triple meter is a typical waltz, ONE two three, ONE two three or the tune to Clementine, OH my dar ling, OH my dar ling.

Duple Meter

ONE two ONE two etc.

Triple Meter

ONE two three  ONE two three etc.

Two additional meters found much less frequently in music, are compound meter and mixed meter. In compound meter you have more than one meter at the same time. For example a simultaneous occurrence of duple and triple. 1 2 3 4 5 6. In mixed meter, two opposing meters happening one right after another. For example Dave Brubeck's Take Five 1 2 3 4 5. Take Five is an example of a triple meter followed by a duple.

Compound Meter

ONE two three FOUR five six etc.

ONE  two  three  FOUR five etc.

Syncopation

One way composers and musicians spice up the rhythm and give the music a sense of surprise and uplift is by adding what is called syncopation. Syncopation is when a normally weak beat produces an emphasis. Syncopation is putting the accents off the beat. A lot of jazz syncopation puts the accents on the "ands" in-between the beats rather than putting the accent on either the strong or the weak beats. One two AND three four AND .

Straight meter Syncopation

ONE two THREE four one TWO three FOUR

Another way to think of it is:

Straight

NOTHing COULD be FINer THAN to BE in CAroLINa IN the MORning.

Syncopated:

noTHING could BE finER than TO be IN caROlinA in THE morning.

Tempo

The rate of speed at which a piece of music is to be played or sung is called tempo. Choosing the right tempo for a musical composition is one of the most important factors in making a work musical and meaningfully coherent. Traditional tempo marks are given in Italian and leave considerable freedom to the performer. They are as follows:

In a classical composition, up until the Romantic era (1828), tempos were often the titles for compositions or movements from larger works. Because tempo marks such as Allegro or Andante leave substantial room for variants of fast or moderately slow, a performer can be guided by a metronome. A metronome is a type of mechanical clock that beats time. It can pulse out various beats at exact divisions of time. It is calibrated for clicks per minute and depending on what setting it is placed it will beat time from 40 beats a minute to 208 beats. It was invented by Johannes Maelzel in 1813. Maelzel was a friend of Beethoven and he was one of the first important composers to place exact metronome marks in musical scores.

We associate fast tempos with energy, drive and excitement and we associate slow tempos with solemnity, lyricism or calmness. This is because of our standing heart beat is from 60 to 75 beats a minute. Any beat faster or slower than our heart beat we perceive as fast or slow.