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Contents |
Music Notation
There are seven natural notes in music these notes are A B C D E F G. These notes go on the staff. The staff looks like this:
All notes
These are the notes in music you have natural,flat and sharp notes. The notes repeat going from A-G.
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
The Staff
This is what goes on the staff:
- Clef
- Time Signature
- Bars
- Bar Lines
Clef
The Clef is the first symbol on the staff it tells the note names on the staff.
Time Signature
The time signature tells how many Beats go in a Bar.or measure. The most common time signature is 4/4 that would be 4 beats in 4 bars. This should not be confused with BPM
Bar
Tells the beats in a bar. Bars are separated by bar lines
Bar Lines
Bar lines are the lines you see on the Staff that go vertically. These separate the Bars.
Beat
Is the interval between notes in a bar. A metronome can be used to count beats.
Tablature
Tablature often called tab is a less complex way of music notation. Tab is represented by six or four lines representing the strings of the guitar or bass. As shown here:
Guitar Tab |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Bass Tab |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
The tablature tells what note to play by putting the fret number on the string so it would look like this:
If it is on the Internet and not in a book it would look like this:
|----------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------| |------0--2--3--3--2--0------| |---3--------------------3---| |----------------------------|
What's Shown
- What notes to play
- Accents
- What tuning the piece is in.
- Information on use of capos, effects, etc
- An indication of the rhythm of the piece but usually not the precise *length of each note.
What's Not Shown
- The note lengths of the notes
- Which fingers you use to fret notes
- Anything about picking and strumming.
Glossary
- Natural Note - A note which pitch has not been changed.
- Sharp Note - A note which the pitch has been raised 1/2 a step.
- Flat Note - A note which the pitch has been lowered 1/2 a step.
- Staff - Indicates how music should be played.
- Clef - Tells note names on staff.
- Time Signature - Tells beats per measure.
- BPM - Beats per minute
