Posts Tagged: notes

Notes are the musical notation representing a fixed pitch. While the word strictly refers to the physical notation of a pitch, it’s more commonly used to refer to both the pitch and the notation.

Notes are named after the first seven letters in the alphabet — A, B, C, D, E, F, and G — and keep the same letter value as they are repeated up or down the keyboard or other musical instrument.

But since there are twelve notes in a diatonic scale, the seven notes can be altered. To get the extra five notes,we sharp notes(raise by a half-step) and flat notes (lower by a half-step); the sharped and flatted notes are the black keys on a piano. All notes can be altered this way, but a C flat is enharmonic with B, a white key, and B sharp is enharmonic with C — a white key.Likewise E sharp is enharmonic with F — also a white key, and of course F flat is enharmonic with E, a white key.

The types of notes and their values are based on the amount of time they take up in a song and are named in a hierarchy of values:

Breve

Minim

Crochet

Quaver

Demi-quaver

Demi-semi-quaver

Hemi-demi-semi-quaver

Whole notes (or breve notes) are four beats long (in common time, also known as 4/4 time), which is equal to one measure in 4/4 time. They are represented by a hollow, oval note with no stem.

Half notes (or minim notes) are half of a whole note, or two beats. They are written as a hollow note with a stem that points up when placed below the middle of the staff, up when placed above it.

Quarter notes (or crochet notes) represent a quarter of a whole note, or one beat in 4/4 time. They are the most recognizable note: a solid black note with a stem.

Eighth notes (or quaver notes) are one-eighth of a whole note and are written exactly like a quarter note, but with a flag attached to the stem. When more than one eighth note is placed side by side, a solid beam connects the adjacent notes.

Sixteenth notes (or demi-quaver notes) are one-sixteenth of a whole note and represented as an eighth note with two flags or two solid beams.

Thirty-second (demi-semi-quaver) and sixty-fourth notes (hemi-demi-semi-quaver) represent the section of a whole note indicated by their names; they are drawn as eighth or sixteenth notes with an additional flags.

It’s also important to mention that the value of a note can be changed by adding a dot. Dotted notes represent the value of the original note, plus one half. For instance, dotted half notes are held for three beats, dotted quarter notes for a beat and one half, and so on.

In addition to musical notes, there are also musical rests which are signs of silence. They have the same time values as their corresponding notes, and when interspersed with notes of varying time values create different kinds of rhythms.

All together, they spell music.

A “minim” is a musical note that is widely used in piano sheet music. In fact, it’s used in all sheet music for all musical instruments.

The minim has a hollow non-coloured oval shape with a stem on the right or left side depending on where on the staff it is written. When the minim is written higher up the staff or above the middle line, the stem will be written on the left side of the oval and pointing downwards. If it is below the middle line then the stem is written on the right side and pointing upwards. There are no hard and fast rules regarding this and ultimately whether to write the stem on left or right will be more for neatness and also to leave room for chord symbols and lyrics.

The minim is also referred to as a half note yet its musical time value is two beats. This is because the minim or half note should be referenced to the semibreve, which is worth four beats. Half of four equals two; the minim is worth two beats and is also half the value of a semibreve, hence the name half note.

An important reference note to all others, is the semibreve. A semibreve is also known as a whole note. Using simple fractions you can work out what different types of notes are called. We have already explained half notes, next would be quarter notes then eight notes and so on.

Also related to the minim is the minim rest or half rest. This is a musical silence worth two beats. A half rest is written as a small black rectangular box, which sits on the middle line of the staff.

Another relation to the minim is the dotted minim or dotted half note, which is worth three beats. It’s useful to know that a dot written on the right side of any musical note, increases that’s notes value by half as much again. So in the minims case, half of two equals one, add the one to the minims value of two, two plus one equals three.

Even though notes such as the minim, which we now know, can be referred to as a half note, it is useful to know the actual name of the note. The smallest note value in modern music is a sixty fourth note called a “hemidemsemiquaver” and the highest note value is called a “breve” which is worth eight beats and is not used anymore. Which is just as well or it would confuse things even more.

A “quaver” is a written musical note found in sheet music. This musical note is used by all musicians and for all musical instruments.

The quaver is written as a black-coloured oval shape with a stem on the right or left side depending on where on the staff it is written. At the end of the stem, there is a tail. This tail can be written in various ways. It can be curly, making its way back to the oval shape or it can be straight and shorter, almost like a tick. If more than one quaver is written so they appear next to each other then instead of having tails they will be joined together by a line called a beam.

When the quaver is written above the middle line on the staff, the stem will be written on the left side and the tail will be written on the right side of the stem always making its way back to the black coloured oval. When written below the middle line on the staff the stem will be on the right side and the tail will again be written on the right side.

The quaver is also known as an eighth note and its musical time value is half a beat. This is because the quaver or eighth note should be referenced to the semibreve, which is worth four beats. Using simple mathematics, we can work out the value of the quaver. Use this formula:

Divide the semibreve (four) by the eighth note (eight) to get the eighth note value (half)

All musical notes use the semibreve as a reference note. A semibreve is also known as a whole note. Using simple fractions you can work out what different types of notes are called. We have already explained eighth notes, using the above formula you can work out note values for quarter notes and half notes.

Also related to the quaver is the quaver rest or eighth rest. This is a musical silence worth half a beat.

Another relation to the quaver is the dotted quaver or dotted eighth note, which is worth three quarters of a beat. A dot written on the right side of any musical note increases that notes value by half as much again. So for the quaver, half of half equals a quarter, add the quarter to the quavers value of a half to get three quarters of a beat.

A “semiquaver” can be found as a written musical note in sheet music. This musical note is used in all types of sheet music for all musical instruments.

The semiquaver looks like a black-coloured oval shape with a stem on the right or left side depending on where on the musical staff it is written. At the end of the stem, there are two tails. These tails can be written in various ways. They can be curly, and they can be straight and shorter, almost like a couple of ticks. If more than one semiquaver is written so they appear next to each other then instead of having tails they are joined together by a lines called beams.

When the semiquaver is written above the middle line on the staff, the stem is written on the left side and the tails are written on the right side of the stem always curving back to the black coloured oval. When written below the middle line, the stem is written on the right side and the tails will again be written on the right side.

The semiquaver is also known as a sixteenth note and its time value is a quarter of a beat. The semiquaver or sixteenth note like all other musical notes should be referenced to the semibreve, which is worth four beats. Using simple maths, we can check that we have the correct value of the semiquaver.

Divide the semibreve (four) by the sixteenth note (sixteen) to get the sixteenth note value (quarter). 4/16 = 1/4

As stated above, all musical notes use the semibreve as a reference note. A semibreve is also known as a whole note. Using simple fractions you can work out what different types of notes are worth. We have already explained sixteenth notes, using the above formula you can work out note values for eighth notes, quarter notes and half notes.

Also related to the semiquaver is the semiquaver rest or sixteenth rest. This is a musical silence worth a quarter of a beat.

Another relation to the semiquaver is the dotted semiquaver or dotted sixteenth note, which is worth three eighths of a beat. A dot written on the right side of any musical note increases that notes value by half as much again. So for the semiquaver, half of a quarter equals an eighth, add the eighth to the semiquavers value of a quarter to get three eighths of a beat.

Music is an art which is produced by either plucking or beating. These instruments are very fragile and needs to be handled carefully. If you are a beginner then take guidance from your teacher before buying the instrument. Another important factor while buying the instrument from the shop is requesting the sales man to play the instrument. If he refuses to play then never buy from that shop. These instruments are worth investing for lifetime. It is only worth when you buy a good quality instrument. The price of this instrument varies depending upon their features. Now you can buy the instrument from online. You can always opt for the second hand instrument if your budget is really very tight. Before buying ask the reason for selling. Few notes on drums and guitars are listed below:

Drums:

One of the important instruments in music art is the drums. It is said that the drums are being played from a long time. These are played with hand or stick. You can find many varieties of drums in the market. They are electronic drum, acoustic drum etc… The beginner set contains five pieces. You can add more pieces once you are major in this art.

Acoustic drums:

This needs regular tuning and cleaning. These are very loud and needs a sound proof door for practicing. These are generally used for stage show. If not well kept there is a chance of getting damage and the maintenance of this is pretty high. The sounds cannot be adjusted. These are cheaper than other drum sets. The drum head is made out of plastic here. You can adjust the sound even if the plastic head is worn out a little.

Electronic drums:

The drum head of this drum is made out of rubber. Once the rubber is worn out there is no choice but to replace the instrument. The sound produce by this worn rubber will also sound different. These are lot more expensive than others. You can adjust the volume of this set manually. The maintenance of this is very less.

Guitars:

These instruments are plucked with hand or with pick. These are brought according to the comfort and height of a person. These instruments are divided into many categories.

I    Acoustic guitar:

Generally you find steel strings over here. These are heavy than other because it produces more tension. So it needs heavier wood for balancing. These are generally used in country or folk music. These doesn’t have amplifier but can be attached. The sound produces here are for a small audience.

II    Electronic guitar:

In this the vibration is converted into electric current. The volume of this is really very low. This requires amplifier for loud sound. These are seen in pop and rock music.

III    Classical guitar:

It is other wise known as Spanish guitar. These have nylon instead of steel. These are loud enough that they don’t need amplifiers. They are used in Latin and classical music.

The guitar is probably the easiest musical instrument to learn. It is also one of the most beloved musical instruments that man has ever known. It’s a very compact musical instrument and it is also a very versatile one. There is one thing about guitars that tells you why any person, who has an appreciation for music deeply values its form and composition. That is the fact that you can never be lonely if you have a guitar and if you know how to play a tune on it.

Learn guitar easy with a few pointers to remember. First of all, you really need to have your own guitar. It is one thing not to own one’s personal musical keyboard when one wants to learn how to play the piano or the organ, but a person will find it very hard to learn guitar easy if this person does not have his own instrument to practice on or to learn with. You can always borrow your friend’s guitar or a relative’s guitar if you can’t afford to have your own guitar, at present. So this first tip shouldn’t really be a problem for beginners. The next thing that you have to do is to determine if you want to learn classical guitar or modern guitar. With classical guitar, you will have to learn how to read formal music sheets as the guitar techniques that you will encounter will be presented to you in a rather formal way. For modern guitar methods, you will be learning how to play a tune on a guitar through the help of chords and these musical chords are also known as musical chord progressions. For many reasons, people tend to learn guitar easy when they use instructional books and manuals which teach you to play guitar using the different types of guitar chords and the types of guitar chord progressions. One of the reasons behind this can be attributed to the eagerness of people to learn how to strum on the guitar. Whereas for people who would really like to learn how to play this instrument because they would like to distinctly make use of most of the guitar notes, these people are more comfortable with formal classical lessons. You see, it is often a misconception that the world’s greatest composers did not create classical music for guitars. Well, it is not true that the world of guitar belongs to this world’s rock bands. Some great composers like Mozart and Handel created music for guitars and if you are someone who would like to learn Mozart for guitar, you can say that you are interested in classical guitar lessons.

Here is a tip for those of you who would like to learn guitar easy or those who want to play classical guitar. You need to familiarize yourself with formal musical notation first. Ask someone to teach you how to locate these notes on the fingerboard of a guitar. Afterwards, you’ll have no trouble, as a beginning guitarist. You’ll see; you’ll have no trouble at all.

Learn about the importance of timing in a rock and roll setting in this free video clip.

Expert: Craig Dockery
Bio: Craig Dockery is an accomplished musician and graphics artist. Craig plays multiple instruments and has played in many bands. Currently he is the front man for indie darlings, The Vinyltones.
Filmmaker: matt senatore

Duration : 0:2:51

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