Index

Introduction 01
Letters on the White keys 02
The Stave 03
Note Heads and Stems 04
The Treble Clef and Bass Clef 05
Treble Clef Tracing Exercise 06
Bass Clef Tracing Exercise 07
Middle C 08
Notes on the Treble Clef and Bass Clef 09
Note Values 11
Rests 12
Match the following 13
Let’s Count the Beats 14
Time Signature 15
Bar and Bar lines 17
Rhythm Clapping Exercises 19
Dynamics 20
Tempo 23
Upbeat and Downbeat 24
Let’s Analyse 25
Introduction to Curved Lines 26
The Grand Staff 27
Steps and Skips 28
Intervals 29
Triads 32
Similar and Contrary Motion 33
D.C Al Fine 34
Ritardando 35
Accents 36
Repeat with two endings 38
Staccato 39
Articulation Marks 40
 Introduction

• Rhythm:

• Melody:

• Pitch:

• Harmony:

• Tempo:

• Dynamics:

• Mood:

1
 Letters on the white keys

• These alphabets are then on loop and repeat along the

keyboard.

2
 The Stave

Music is usually written on a set of five lines called a stave.

The note-heads ( ) are drawn on the stave.

• Write a note-head on every line.

• Write a note-head on the 1st space, 3rd line, 5th line, 4th space and 2nd space.

3
 Note heads and stems

Note head

Stem

General rule:

• If the note head is below the third line, the stem will go up.
• If the note head is on the third line the stem can go either up or down.
• If the note it is above the third line this time goes down.

* Remember :
Put the stems on the left for high notes and on the right for low notes.

• Add a stem to each note head.

4
The Treble Clef and Bass Clef

The treble clef is used for high-

pitched sounds, and is usually
played with the right hand.

It is also known as the G clef.

The bass clef is used for low pitch sounds,

and is usually played with the left hand.

It is also known as the G clef.

5
Treble Clef Tracing Exercises
Steps to draw

6
Bass Clef Tracing Exercises
Steps to draw

7
 Middle C

It is the C in the middle of the keyboard.

In the treble clef it is written as-

In the bass clef it is written as-

The middle C on the treble clef is usually played

with the right hand, and the middle C on the bass
clef is usually played with the left hand.

• Write a middle C on the treble clef.

• Write a middle C on the bass clef.

8
Notes on the Treble Clef
and Bass Clef

• Name the following notes:

9
• Find the words:

10
 Note Values
Each note lasts for a certain length of time.

Note Name Duration

Semibreve / Whole note 4 beats

Minim / Half note 2 beats

Crotchet / Quarter note 1 beat

Quaver / Eighth note 1/2 beat

• Write 3 minim D’s and 2 semibreve E’s.

• Write 4 quavers on C, beamed together in two’s.

11
 Rests
Each silence within music lasts for a certain length of time.
It is called a rest.

Rest Name Duration

Semibreve / Whole rest 4 beats

Minim / Half rest 2 beats

Crotchet / Quarter rest 1 beat

Quaver / Eighth rest 1/2 beat

• Draw 3 whole rests.

• Draw 4 half rests and 2 quarter rests.

12
Match the following

1 beat

4 beats

2 beats

1/2
beat

1 beat

1/2 beat

2 beats

4 beats

13
Let’s count the beats

14
 Time Signature

There is a time signature at the beginning of the music.

4 It means 4 beats in a bar.

4
3 It means 3 beats in a bar.
4
2 It means 2 beats in a bar.
4

15
16
 Bars and Barlines
• Beats are equally divided into bars, with a bar line at the end of
each bar.

• Bars are sometimes numbered at the beginning of each line of

music.

• A double bar line, also known as the end line is located at the
end of the piece/ song. It denotes its end.

• Write the correct time signatures:

17
• Fill the following bars with beats:

2
4

3
4

4
4

18
Rhythm Clapping Exercises

19
 Dynamics

It tells low loudly or softly to play.

Pianissimo Very soft

Piano Soft

Mezzo piano Medium soft

Mezzo forte Medium loud

Forte Loud

Fortissimo Very loud

Crescendo Getting gradually

louder

Diminuendo Getting gradually

softer

20
• Match the following:

21
• Show that the music should be played softly initially and then
gradually get louder from bar two.

• Show that the music should be played very loud in the first bar, soft
in the second and medium loud in the third bar.

22
 Tempo

• It tells the player about the speed at which the music

should be played (how fast or slow).

• Tempo marks are usually put above the music at the

beginning of a piece.

Tempo Markings Meaning

Andante At a walking pace.

Moderato At a moderate pace.

Allegretto Fast

Allegro Very fast

Ritenuto (rit.) Getting gradually slower

23
Upbeat and Downbeat

When the music starts with the 1st beat, it’s called
downbeat. All the bars are complete and there are
no missing beats.

When the music starts with some missing beats, it

is called upbeat. The bar is incomplete.

24
Let’s Analyze

25
Introduction to Curved Lines

Tie Slur

• Ties in music connect • Slurs in music connect the

the heads of two heads of two different notes
similar notes using a using a curved line.
curved line.

• These two notes • Slur is a curved line

should be played as indicating to play
a single note for the legato, which means
duration equal to the to play smoothly and
sum of the notes. connected.

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 The Grand Staff

Play both hands together.

27
 Steps and Skips

When notes move from line to space or space to line, it is

called step-wise motion.

When notes move from line to line or space to space (thus

skipping a note), it is called skip-wise motion.

28
 Intervals

Interval in music refers to the distance between any two notes.

If the notes are separate, it is called a melodic interval.

If the notes are together, it is called a harmonic interval.

Melodic Interval

Harmonic Interval

29
 Intervals

* Remember: When counting intervals, always count up from

the bottom note.

30
• Name the following intervals:

31
 Triads

A chord or harmony of 3 notes is called a triad.

Blocked Triad
formed using harmonic interval of 3 notes.

Broken Triad
formed using melodic interval of 3 notes.

135 Triad

32
Similar and Contrary Motion

When move hands in the same direction it is called

similar motion.

When move hands in the opposite direction it is called

contrary motion.

33
 D.C. AL FINE

D.C. - Da Capo means repeat from the beginning

al means to the
fine means end

34
 Ritardando

Ritardando means to gradually slow down the tempo

(speed) of Music.

It is the transition of tempo from fast to slow.

35
 Accents

Accents are used when you want to give a note more

importance as compared to the others.

An accent is played by giving extra pressure on the note.

• Clap the accents:

36
• Sing the accents:

• Play the accents:

37
 Repeat with two endings

Sometimes a repeated section has two different endings. The first

time through you play the first ending and the second time
through you play the second ending.

In this particular example, we first play this song till the ending
one, see the repeat sign and go back to the beginning. After
going back to the beginning, we play the song again and then
we play it for the ending two. This time, we skip the first
ending and play the second ending instead.

38
 Staccato

A small dot is placed above or below the

note head. This indicates staccato.

It means to play the notes in a short, crisp and

detached manner.

Press and lift the finger quickly from the key to play a
staccato.

*Remember: Articulation marks are usually put close

to the note-heads.

39
 Articulation Marks

Articulation in music means the way we play the music.

Types of Articulation marks-

1. Legato: Play smoothly and connected. A slur indicates a legato.

2. Staccato: Play in a short, detached manner. A dot indicates a

staccato.

3. Accents: To play the marked notes very loudly or in an accented

manner.

40
• Let’s Play:

41
 Words of Wisdom
“I have always thought that a Pianist’s job is

to chase the beauties and colours of life.

Music can express the things that most of us

can’t. It’s a language that speaks when words

fail, and it has the power to inspire, to heal,

and to uplift the human spirit.”

-Van Cliburn

S.N.S.D.H

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