0
Music Theory
Harmony and rhythm. Voice leading and cadences. Music theory can be a complex subject. Ask anything you need to know about it here.
858 Questions
What does a tremble clef look like?
First of all, it is a treble clef, not tremble. It looks like a straight line up and down with a curly cue wrapped around it. Similar to &.
A perfect octave is one note to its counterpart (example C to C, Eb to Eb), eight steps up or down the scale. It may be easier to envision an octave on a piano from C to C, but it can start anywhere on any scale. While it can start on C, it certainly does not always start there.
Although scales are octaves the standard official octave or octave per se does start at C. You would think it would start at A. Why this is is because of a mnemonic. Musician and music educator Guido d'Arezzo in the 11th century (who probably also invented the musical staff) made a mnemonic based on the 1st stroph of the Hymn to St. John by Paulus Diaconus which started with the Latin word Ut , which means "that", and was the C note, which became the name for it and was later renamed Do. (However, it might be that the origin is Arabic, from the Darar Mussafalat, which goes dal, ra, mim, fa, sad, lam, ta). The D'Arezzo solmization as it is sometimes called had only 6 notes and the si was added in the 18th century, but the ti is often used instead. The full octave was the now familiar ut re mi fa sol la si ut, except for the ut now being do. Previous to d'Arezzo the notes were designated A-G, A corresponding to la, B to si, etc, this system is also still used today. It is also because the Ionian mode has become our major scale, which starts at C, and has only natural notes (the Aeolian mode has become our minor scale, which starts at A, and has only natural notes, too; both modes were invented by Glareanus in the 16th century). As well, the lowest possible audible frequency (16 Hz) is C (C0 in scientific pitch notation). However, there is no definite exact lowest audile frequency as it is often said to be 20 Hz which would be at E0 and is sometimes said to be 15 Hz which is at B0. The maximum is 20,000 Hz so the range is about 10 octaves. This is a great question and has been asked before on this website and Answers Yahoo but with the wrong answers in those cases.
Where is a sharp or flat sign placed in relation to the notehead?
Sharps and flats are always on the left of the note.
When are pairs of chords not cadences?
Cadences only occur at the end of phrases, so a pair of chords in the middle of a phrase is not a cadence, it's just part of the progression.
Why do conductors conduct with their right hand?
Possibly because they're right handed. Most people use both though.
What is the happiest song ever?
The happiest song ever is probably Joy of Living by Wiklund.
Answer
I would say the 1920s music-hall song by Charles Jolly, called The Laughing Policeman. The laughing is quite infectious, and would bring a smile to anyones face.
How many flats and sharps are there in C D G and E major?
C major - No sharps or flats
D major- 2 sharps (F,C)
G major- 1 sharp (F)
E major- 4 sharps (F,C,G,D)
How do you memorize base clef notes?
In ascending order, the line notes are G, B, D, F, and A. The spaces then are A, C, E, and G. The best way to remember it is through repetition and practice.
What is it called when you change the name of a note without changing its pitch?
Two notes that sound the same in pitch but have different names are 'enharmonically equivalent'. E.g. F# and Gb sound the same but they are written differently.
How can different notes or pitches be produced?
A tone generator function or software synthesizer plug-in can be used to generate specific frequencies or notes.
What lines are added to staff to extend the range?
Those little lines above or below a music staff are called ledger lines.
Why does a perfect note when reduced by half step becomes a diminished interval?
It's a perfect interval that is called a diminished interval when reduced by half step; there is no such thing as a perfect note. Minor intervals are also called diminished intervals when reduced by half step. If you listen to a perfect fourth and a diminished fourth, for example, they clearly have very different sounds, so they need different names.
What is the sguiggly line on the left side of a note in music mean?
If it's next to a chord (it usually is), it means to arpeggiate the chord. Instead of playing all the notes together at once, you would quickly "roll up" through the notes quickly. Basically, building the chord from bottom up, but fast.
What is the musical expression for spiky and smooth?
Spiky, or short, is often referred to as staccato in musical terms. Legato is the correct name for smooth. There are many more musical synonyms which can be used for these 2 words, but legato and staccato are the most commonly used.
Why does a viola need its own clef?
It reads alto clef because the range is a little too low to stay in treble, but goes too high to play in bass.
What are the solfége syllables?
The solfége syllables (solfeggio, IT) are syllables assigned to the notes of the scale.
The origin of the syllabic identification of pitch goes back to Guido d'Arezzo, a monk who was assigned to the job of teaching younger monks their chants. At this time (Guido lived from somewhere around 992 to after 1033AD) memorization of chants was done aurally, with no mnemonic system. Guido is believed by some to have composed a hymn, with each succeeding half-line starting on a rising step of the scale. The words of the hymn were:
Ut queant laxis
resonare fibris,
Mira gestorum
famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti
labii reatum,
Sancte Iohannes.
I have italicized and underlined the first syllable of each half-line (hemistich), which became the names of the notes: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. There are only six of them, and much of music theory for the next six centuries would be based on the hexachord, which is this string of six notes.
The Medieval and Renaissance music theory system named notes by a combination of syllables. This was created as an extension to the hexachord, to create an individual name for each note from Gamma, which would sit on the bottom line of our modern Grand Staff, to the note that now occupies the top line.
Here is a table of the notes, showing their hexachords:
G-E C-A F-D hard natural soft note name E5 E la -- -- Ela D5 D sol -- la Dlasol C5 C fa -- sol Csolfa B4 B mi -- -- Bmi Bb4 B -- -- fa Bfa A4 A re la mi Alamire G4 G ut sol re Gsolreut F4 F -- fa ut Ffaut E4 E la mi -- Elami D4 D sol re la Dlasolre C4 C fa ut sol Csolfaut B3 B mi -- -- Bmi Bb3 B -- -- fa Bfa A3 A re la mi Alamire G3 G ut sol re Gsolreut F3 F -- fa ut Ffaut E3 E la mi Elami D3 D sol re Dsolre C3 C fa ut Cfaut B2 B mi Bmi A2 A re AreG2 Gammaut Gammaut
The range of notes encompassed the entire range of usable male vocal notes, and the term Gamut (from Gam-Ut) is now used to describe the entire range of something. The name of each note comes from reading across the gam-ut, starting with the letter, then each syllable from the hexachords Gamma-ut (here spelled without the hyphen) is the lowest note in common usage, roughly the bottom of a Male bass voice range. e-la is the highest. (Latin sylables are pronounced separately, so "Csolfaut" is "C-sol-fa-ut", not kasolfowt.) There are three basic hexachords, starting from Gam-ut, C fa ut, and F fa ut. (ut in each case tells us that this is the first note of one of the hexachords.) The hexachord on G (G, A, B, C, D, E) was considered 'hard', the hexachord on C, natural, and that on F, soft. Each note has an individual name, so the octaves of C are C-fa-ut, C-sol-fa-ut, and C-sol-fa-ut. We have it much easier today!
In the 17th century, theorist Giovanni Battista Doni replaced "ut" with "Do" for singing (from his own family name) because of the more resonant sound provided by "o" over "uh". This has stuck in many countries, and is now considered the syllable for C, or for the tonic in "Moveable Do" systems.
In the 19th century, a seventh syllable was added for the 'leading tone', synthesized from the first letters of the last hemistich "Sancte Iohannes" (Medieval Church Latin lacking the "J" letter form): si. This was not immediately adopted, and though it is now considered part of the solfeggio, it is spelled ti, allowing the notes to be uniquely identified by the starting letter (i.e., avoiding the Sol/Si collision).
Some have added a system for indicating sharps and flats by changing the vowel in the syllable, as well, or by adding the word "sharp" or "flat" to the solfeg syllable.
The only possible letters that a note can be are ABCDEFG, they repeat in the same order no matter what clef or key you are in, the form of the note (natural, flat or sharp) can change but the order of the letters remains the same.
Another good way to help you remember note names is by associating words to the staff.
In treble clef all the notes from top to bottom on the spaces spell: FACE
In treble clef all the notes on the lines state the phrase: EGBDF (Every Good Boy Does Fine)
In bass clef all the notes on the spaces state the phrase: ACEG (All Cows Eat Grass)
In the bass clef all the notes on the lines state the phrase: GBDFA (Good Boys Do Fine Always)
The names of the solfege syllables will change depending on what key you are in.
ex. When in the key of C Major C = Do, D = Re, E = Mi, F = Fa, G = Sol,
A = la, B = Ti, C = Do.
When in the key of F major F = Do, G = Re, A = Mi, Bb (B flat) = Fa,
C = Sol, D = La, E = Ti, F = Do
etc...
Sight singing is a good way to start with music, not only does it help with pitch accuracy but it helps to memorize notes. You can sing the pitches on the solfege syllables or by using note names.
Also using staff paper with notes written out on it, with spaces underneath the staff to write in answers can help you test yourself on your memory.
This is just the basics, when you are ready to progress to key signatures and scales iI would recommend buying a theory book (I use Tonal Harmony) or trying to find a good theory tutor!
Improved answer:
To be able to determine which note is being played takes a skill that musicians call perfect pitch and it is not a talent everybody has. However there is a way of developing a concept called relative pitch. The way relative pitch works is that you have a pitch playing in your ear for a while (about a week). Then as you hear a note different from the note you remember hearing, you start humming the note you were "taught" and hum it. Eventually, you raise or lower your pitch until your pitch matches the one you hear. Then you count the number of half steps you moved and determine the note.
The solfege exercises, I don't know which one your talking about. The only one I know is the one that you sing:
12345 54321 1525354554321
