Lesson One

Learning the basics; notes, pitch and rhythmic value.

Notes

You will find that, all notes will be on, or nearby, a staff. A staff is composed of five lines, and four spaces, equally spaced. Each of the lines and spaces represent a different pitch. (The pitch is indicated by its position on the staff)

Pitch

A symbol called a clef shows which pitches appear on a staff. Music uses A LOT of clefs, but this is the one we are learning about; the treble clef, or the G clef.

A treble clef staff makes the lines and spaces have the following pitches:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Lines: E (mi), G (so), B (ti), D (re) and F (fa)

Spaces: F (fa), A (la), C (do) and E (mi)

Leger Lines

Since there are a lot more pitches than we can fit on five lines and four spaces, there are extras, called leger lines which are used to extend the staff.

Rhythmic Value

The rhythmic value will let you know how many beats the note will last. Usually, a quarter note lasts one beat, a half note lasts two beats, and a whole note equals four beats. After that it’s just like fractions.

Measures (or Bars)

The notes on a staff are divided into measures (or “bars”) to aid you in keeping track of exactly where you are in the song. (Measures can be considered like the periods, commas, and capital letters of music!)

Time Signatures

A time signature, or meter, shows you how many beats are going to appear in each measure. It usually contains two numbers. The top number indicates how many beats will be in each measure; the bottom number tells what type of note will equal one beat.