Scribd
Upload
11 views9 pages

Notation Handout 1

Uploaded by

tcts5n6vw4
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
11 views9 pages

Notation Handout 1

Uploaded by

tcts5n6vw4
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

MANNING’S SCHOOL

MUSIC THEORY – 7th Grade {Ms.Bryan}

Hey class! You wanna hear a joke about corona? Well guess what? Not all of us
will get it. Lol!

MUSICAL NOTATION

In the days before audio recording and playback, music was often written out as a
means of preserving and communicating it. To do this, a system of notation was
developed that gives musicians the information they need to play music as the
composer intended it. The musical term ‘Notation’ means the manner in which sounds
are written.

In Europe the monks of medieval times, Middle Ages, were the first to write sounds, and
to indicate their pitch by using horizontal lines. Today’s system of notating music on a
staff traces back to Guido d’Arezzo, an Italian Benedictine monk who lived from
approximately 991 to 1035 A.D. He is credited to creating the four line staff. On this
staff diamond-shaped notes, and other symbols indicating groups of sounds called
‘neumes’. See Ex.1 below.

Ex.1
Before the staff was introduced, this was what music looked like.

Pretty confusing huh? Well, these squiggles (above the words) are also called neumes,
designed to jog the monks memory on what to sing while they performed. This was really hard,
because it was not accurate, you would actually need to have an aural understanding of what it
sounds like BEFORE performing. His system helped with the pitches but needed improvement
on the rhythm. In music, rhythm is just as important and the pitch.

Guido is also credited for creating the musical scale (do re mi fa sol la ti do).

After a while, the use of the staff or ‘stave’ (same thing) constantly changed, using as many as 8
lines to indicate the pitch of sounds. The five line staff was found to be the easiest to read and it
is what we still use today!
Before we dive into reading music, we need to understand
the importance of a few elements, seen as the
roadmap/framework of understanding how to read music.

The Staff/stave
A staff is a set of five lines and four spaces on which notes are written to indicate their pitch.

NOTE: the lines and spaces are numbered from the bottom.
Clefs
The word ‘clef ’ is a French word meaning ‘key’. The clef identifies one line of the staff and gives
it a pitch name.

The two most popular and widely used clefs are the TREBLE AND BASS CLEFS.

Other clefs you might come across are known as the Alto clef and the Tenor clef known as the
C CLEFS.

The Treble Clef or (G- Clef)


The treble clef sign evolved from the gothic letter G and used to show the pitch of notes
representing medium to high sounds, usually ranging from the note called middle C and up to
the higher notes.

This clef identifies the second line of the staff as G. This staff is mostly used by instruments with
high pitches.
Mnemonic to remember the treble clef

Lines: E G B D F

Every Good Boy Does Fine

Spaces: F A C E

It spells face! lol

The Bass Clef or (F – Clef)


The bass clef sign evolved from the gothic letter F. It is used to show the pitch of notes
representing medium to low sounds, usually ranging from the note called middle C and down to
the lower notes.

This clef identifies the fourth line of the staff as F. This staff is mostly used by instruments with
low pitches.
Mnemonic to remember the Bass clef

Lines: G B D F A

Great Big Dogs From Africa

Spaces: A C E G

All Cows Eat Grass


The C clefs
The C Clef is a movable clef. The C Clef establish specific pitches for Middle C. The simplest
reason to use it is to avoid needing to use ledger lines (ledger lines are small lines placed above
or below the staff as an extension of that staff). See Ex.1 pg 9.

Two common C clefs are the ALTO and TENOR clefs.

The alto clef places middle C the 3rd line and the tenor clef places middle C on the 4th line.

Ex.1
The Grand Staff
The grand staff consists of the notes on the Treble and Bass Staves. These two staves are
joined together by a brace or bracket at the beginning.

This staff is used for instruments that can play low to high sounds, for example, the piano, the
harp and the organ.

The grand staff was developed from the ancient eleven line staff. The middle line was used for
the note called middle C.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy