Written music has an architecture all its own. Musical notes sit on a staff. This staff consists of five lines and four spaces. Piano music utilizes two staves: the Treble Clef and the Bass Clef.
The Treble Clef consists of notes in the upper part of the piano keyboard, and the Bass Clef consists of notes in the lower part of the piano keyboard. Music for instruments such as the trumpet uses only the Treble Clef, with additional notes written just above or just below the staff. There are also Tenor and Alto Clefs, which accommodate written notes for a host of other instruments.
There are only seven notes in all of music. Of course, myriad combinations of these notes give us the vast array of music we have available to us today. These combinations of notes will continue to provide us with new music in the future as well. These notes are seven letters from the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G; what musicians and composers do with seven notes is what makes music so beautiful.
On a sheet of music, the Treble Clef has a figure at the beginning of the staff. This figure indicates where line "G" is, on the second line from the bottom of the staff.
Once you know where line "G" is, you can figure out the names of the other spaces and lines. The Bass Clef has a figure at the beginning of its staff. This figure indicates where line "F" is, on the second line from the top of this staff. Again, you can figure out the other notes, where they sit on the Bass Clef, because you have a starting point with line "F".
You can play musical notes individually as single successive notes, or you can play them in unison as a chord. Notes do not all look alike on a musical staff. Some have stems attached to them. Some have what look like little flags on them. Some notes are solid black, while others are clear ovals.
These different characteristic of a musical note represent its value. The value helps a music reader determine the duration of a note, how much time it should take up in a piece of music.
Written music also includes the use of "rests." These rests are of a different shape than music notes, and they indicate intervals of silence in music. A musician needs to know where pauses in their playing need to occur and for how long these pauses must be.
These are the fundamentals to know when you want to begin a study of music reading. From there you will come to understand time signatures, rhythm, tempo, and phrasing and articulation markings. However, learning those seven notes and the music staff is the first step. After that, it's full speed ahead to greater musical enjoyment.
Then again, perhaps music simply offers an escape from tensions of an increasingly pressurized society.
Too often, however, the repertory of the traditional theory programs strikes you as arcane, foreign (literally), and unrelated to the music that commands your day-to-day attention.
This situation has been a long time brewing, and it often leads students to question the relevance of music theory to their personal musical goals.
The result is a fundamental disconnect, and if students are not reachable, then they are not teachable.
An adult piano lesson program should attempt to bridge that disconnect by engaging YOU on a familiar ground (though music that surrounds YOUR daily life) and leading YOU toward the body of art music that comprises your heritage.
Part of this effort entails a recognition that popular music and jazz can be vehicles for conveying music of what traditional theory teaches and that apart from its own intrinsic merit that repertory can serve as a conduit to other musical styles.
WHY MUSIC THEORY?
Music has probably always come easily to you. I mean, you could always sing a Nursery Rhyme in tune when you were a child... you're lucky!
If it has, then you probably have difficulty understanding how utterly mysterious it can be to others, that can't sing in tune.
The fact is that the special mix of physical and mental attributes that translate into musical talent is a fit given to relatively few of the more than six billion inhabitants of this planet.
It makes you a member of a special group that sees and hears in music the things most others do not. Your decision to further you study of music indicates your desire to express yourself creatively.
MUSIC ENGAGES US PHYSICALLY
Music engages us physically (muscle memory and coordination are necessary to sing or to play an instrument) and mentally (we read music, we memorize it - we feel it).
Music theory aims to deepen our mental involvement. That's necessary because to communicate all that YOU hear and FEEL in music, YOU need to understand it on may levels. A deeper and broader understanding will make you a more effective player.
MUSIC ENGAGES US EMOTIONALLY
Just remember, that human emotions are translated into musical motion. Our bodies express these internal feelings through posture, gestures, and movements of various kinds.
Some are automatic, spontaneous and others are the result of thought or will.
What is the first instrument that must be trained in music?
Both Duane Shinn & Ronald Worthy are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Duane Shinn has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars, Music and Keyboard Synthesizer. Duane Shinn is the author of the popular online newsletter on piano chords, available free at . Duane Shinn's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.
Ronald Worthy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Keyboard Synthesizer, Drumming Lessons. Ron Worthy is a Music Educator, Songwriter and Performer. To learn go to: ,. Ronald Worthy's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.