AR-Group

We have seen that a flag halves the value of a quarter note, and a double flag halves it again to a quarter of a quarter note.   More flags are added to reduce the duration of the note, by a further half for each flag added.
In printed music scores, if you have a long series of these shorter notes, it becomes difficult to know just how many there are, because our eyes and brain have to assimilate that information.    Because we are busy playing the music, and as multi-tasking (which we are already doing with 3 keyboards, and many other buttons to operate, etc.,) is not everybody's forte, we need a simpler way to depict them.

The common practice is to use Beams.

Here is a picture to explain Beams to you:



For  these first 2 measures, (that is the section you see between the vertical lines), are equal in value, but the third section is in fact only half a measure.
The double flags on the notes in the 3rd measure, make these half the value of those in the 2nd measure.
So the notes in measure 1 total a count of 4, as does measure 2, while measure 3 has only a count of 2, and is therefore incomplete, musically.
What I want you to notice, is how you can see that the beams (those solid black horizontal lines joining those shorter notes together) are much easier to 'read', when the notes are placed in groups as in the lower clef.     


In the next Reply we'll take a rest  .....   literally

Peter

We can Lengthen Notes. 

The first way is to add a dot behind the note, as shown in the first line of music in this picture:



A dot after any note, adds another half of that note's value, or duration, to it.

e.g.     A    dotted Half Note     would equal  a   Half Note + Quarter Note    for its total duration.
         Equally a     dotted Quarter Note      would equal  a   Quarter Note + Eighth Note    for its total duration.


A second method to extend a note's length is to use a Tie, which you will see in the second line of music in the picture above.

These are used to extend a note into the next measure, or measures.    You can make these notes as long as you like, covering several measures.    I will explain measures in subsequent Replies.

So    2 or more notes Tied Together     should be held for as long as the value of each of those notes together.   They should be played as if they are one long note and not sounded individually.     Don't forget that ties are commonly used to signify held notes that cross measures .... which are normally called Bars.   

It is legitimate to use dotted notes with ties, of course, should the need arise.

In the next Reply we look at two important extra areas.       

The Beat and Meter, which is what you tap your foot to,  or clap along with, when listening to many songs.

The Measures that we conveniently divide music into are often called Bars.

Peter

In order to play any music, you need to know its Beat or Meter.

This is what you use to clap to a specific tune, or tap your foot to,  etc.

In musical scores the meter is presented in a similar fashion to a fraction,  (Remember fractions?)   it has a top number and a bottom number.    This is called the Time Signature.

Here is one example:



You will see that immediately after the Treble Clef, there is a  4  on top of a  4.

The top number tells us how many beats there are in each measure.    A measure is that section of the staff between each vertical line.    These are normally called Bars and the vertical lines are referred to as Bar Lines.

The bottom number tells us the note vale for a single beat - you remember, the pulse your foot taps at, while listening to the music.

So in the example above, namely     4/4   it means there are 4 beats per bar  and that every quarter note gets one beat.

Notice that there are not 4 notes in every bar (yes I know there are only 2 bars).
There  are 4    BEATS    in every bar.   The second bar has 2 quarter notes and 1 half note, so counting the beat, even just in your mind is crucial to getting the rhythm right.

Try counting along with the 4/4 example,    1, 2, 3, 4.
You may be able to recognise the tune.     If you can't, your grandchildren will help you!   
Sorry, No prizes for getting it right.

In the next Reply we'll look at a different Time Signature.

Peter

Here is another Time Signature:



This also reveals something else that we will often come across, and we need to be aware of it.

First this is designated     3/4   Time. 

It means there are (Top Number) 3 beats per bar,   and
(Bottom Number)  that every quarter note gets one beat.

This is very often referred to as a waltz.       You can hear yourself singing    1, 2, 3

Notice again that there are not necessarily 3 notes in every bar,  but every bar must have 3 BEATS.


I have used this particular example to draw your attention to another couple of very important facts.

We have already realised that every bar must contain the same number of beats for that time signature.   These can be made up of notes and/or rests.   Each bar must be complete and have its full count of beats, which may be different value notes or rests.

It is also common for the First beat of the bar to be dominant or carry an emphasis. 

                               That is  1,    2,3,4       or        1,     2,3         etc

If you recognise this tune and sing it from note one, you will realise that the emphasis is on the second note, then the fifth note and every third beat after that.

To achieve that emphasis the composer adds a bar line after the first note, then in line with the Time Signature, every third beat after that.   
This is a simple way to maintain the emphasis on the first note of each bar, where the composer wishes it to come in the melody line.

As a result, when you get to the very end, the last partial bar will contain the residue of what was in that very first (in this case - one note) bar.

Even in this 2 plus 2 portions of a bar demonstration, you will see that the rules have been obeyed, because...

There are 3 beats in the middle 2 bars      and

the first and last partial bars add up together to a total of 3 beats.

This is very common, so it is important to understand what is happening, and why.

In music you must obey the 'mathematical' rules at all times.


In theory you can write music scores with many different Time Signatures, but the most common are:
2/2          3/2          4/2

2/4          3/4          4/4

2/8          3/8          4/8          6/8


One further issue, is to realise that the Time Signature may change at certain points midway through the music score.    The composer simply puts a new Time Signature on the staff, but it will always be at the Beginning of a Bar.

In the next Reply we look at Tempo.

Peter

The next thing we need to look at is the Scales.

A Scale is made up of 8 consecutive notes and if we take our first example of the Key of C Major, which is written on the staff like this:



You will see that it is composed of the notes.....

C    D    E    F    G    A    B    C

You will notice that this scale begins with the Key Name's Note which in this case is C and also ends with another C.     This second C is 8 notes above the first one and that interval is called an Octave.    Every interval on the keyboard between 2 notes of the same name is also called an Octave.   

The C Scale is very important and therefore you need to practice it and become very familiar with it, because by knowing this, all the other major scales will start to fall into place for you.

Now each of these notes on the staff corresponds to a note on the keyboard.

The first C = the one on the short line below the staff is Middle C
It is called Middle C because that is the note found in the centre of a piano keyboard.   You can find this note on a piano by picking out the C nearest to the lock,  (If your piano has one - most do).

On your AR, this first C is the one in the centre of your Upper Keyboard, and is the same C as the one immediately below it on your Lower Keyboard.
So on the Upper Keyboard you have 2 Octaves either side of this C, but on the Lower Keyboard you have 3 Octaves to the left of it, and 1 to the right.

Now let us relate the notes on the staff to the notes on your AR.

Here is the C Major Scale on your music:



and here is the C Scale on your keyboard:



You will notice that in both cases the notes ascend and move to the right on both the staff and your keyboard, so that the pitch gets higher.

You need to become very familiar with reading the note on the score and recognising which note that is on your AR.   At first this may be tricky and initially you may find yourself counting the lines or spaces on the staff, by chanting "Every Good Boy Deserves Figs", but very quickly, it will become second nature.

Remember when you read, you do not consciously look at every individual letter but rapidly assimilate the whole word, or even phrase, before moving on to the next line.    This will be true for your 'reading music' as well.

But what about those Black Notes on your keyboard?
Well, we will look at that in my next Reply.

Peter

I understand, Hugh.

I learned to read music by playing the recorder at school, and though I could never play a key board until I was in my mid 50's, I could 'sight' read, and harmonise, so used to sing tenor......and still do, but a little more croakily nowadays.   I've done that for so long, that now I find it more natural to sing a harmony than the actual tune.

For learning to read music, there is no short cut, other than patiently linking the music score and the notes on the keyboard.

Take a close look at the last 2 pictures in the previous reply (the Scale of C in the music score, and the notes in the octave on the keyboard) and marry those 2 things together.   Play the scale, recognising the notes on the keyboard, while looking at the notes on the music score.   Vary going up and down the scale, then pick out notes at random, relating them together.  With persistent patience it will come, and you will master it.

We are never too old to learn.....they say!

Peter

They also say, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks!" - Hugh

I thought it might be helpful to step back a little and take a look at the keyboard layout.

For a piano or an organ middle C, which is represented on the Treble Clef stave, by that note on the extra line below the stave;



that is the first note on this piece of music, and is in the middle of the instrument.   For the AR this is the note in line with your naval on both the Keyboards.     Depending on the Voices selected, this note will sound different on each keyboard, but will have the same pitch, unless you have altered that setting for the Voice selected.    (You can make it one octave higher, or lower.)

The advice is then given to sit at your instrument so that the centre line of your body lines up with Middle C.


I have discovered (it wasn't difficult) that with many modern keyboards this is not the case.
Most have more notes above Middle C than below it, so to play it well you actually have to sit to one side of the centre.    Because of the marvels of modern electronics, they have effectively sawn off the left hand part of the keyboard, and generated those really deep notes by some clever wizardry, so as to make the keyboard more portable.

Again this is obvious, but all the notes to the right of Middle C gradually increase in pitch, in other words they sound higher up the scale, whereas those to the left sound lower in pitch.
In music as the notes ascend the stave, they go up in pitch, and vice versa.    All this helps you, as you learn to read music to appreciate that scores are logically laid out, as is your keyboard.


Now imagine if there were no black notes on your keyboard (pedalboard).    You would have no idea where you were, other than by trial and error.
You will notice that the black notes occur in sets of 2 and 3 alternating as you progress along the keyboard.
All the C notes are immediately to the left of a set of 2 black notes, like this:



Before written music was invented, people copied a tune by ear.    They heard it, generally sung by someone else, and then sung it to themselves committing it to memory.    Surprisingly, most of us can actually still do that, though I admit some are better at it than others.

Once musical instruments were invented, it wasn't so straightforward.   Because, although we can find a note with our voices fairly easily (there are a few exceptions), we do have trouble finding them on a keyboard or piano.   If you try this with a recorder, flute or violin, it really becomes an even bigger challenge.

However, if someone tells you the starting note, you can make a good go of it, but it is still more difficult than simply singing it.

That is why, notes had to be given names, and 'they', we don't know who, chose the first 7 letters of the alphabet, A to G.    7 because there are only 7 different white notes available, and they repeat themselves.

You make ask the obvious question, if the alphabet begins with A, why on a keyboard do we start with C?    I haven't the foggiest idea and as far as I know, neither does anyone else.
The good news is that we don't have to memorise every note on the organ.   That is because once you have understood the layout of the first seven white notes, they simply repeat themselves all over the keyboards.

We explore this further in the next Reply

Peter

Thank you, Andrew, for your helpful and knowledgable comments.
My father was a pianist and I realised many years ago that some pianos started on C and some on A.  (I cannot play a piano to save my life.)

When I wrote the above Reply, I was thinking more about why we start the first scale, or play the music score, by starting on the note C, rather than A.   The first thing most folk learn is the key of C, whether on the keyboard, or reading/writing it on the treble clef score.  (As opposed to starting on A.)  As you rightly say, probably because the key of C has no sharps or flats.

I suppose I was trying to be too clever, thinking that people new to music, would automatically think we should always start everything, with the first letter of the alphabet, to keep things logical.

Peter