Music Notation Fundamentals

Musical Keys (Clefs)

These are signs that indicate the location of musical notes on the staff. The keys are named after the notes G, F, and C, and are placed on staff lines.

• G clef on the 2nd line → Highest register.
• C clef on the 1st line → Acute register
• C clef on the 2nd line → Higher average register
• C clef on the 3rd line → Middle register
• C clef on the 4th line → Lower average register
• F clef on the 3rd line → Heavy medium register
• F clef on the 4th line → Lowest register.

The distance between the keys, starting with the highest, is a third down.

The G clef on the 2nd line indicates that the note G is on the 2nd line of the staff (and so on).

Alterations

These are signs that are placed before notes and modify their intonation. There are 5 alterations:

• The sharp (#) raises the sound of a note by a semitone.
• The double sharp (x) raises the intonation of a note by 2 semitones.
• The flat (b) lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone.
• The double flat (bb) lowers the pitch of a note by two semitones.
• The natural sign (♮) removes the effect of previous alterations.

Fixed Alterations (Key Signature)

These alterations appear at the beginning of the score, below and above the clef and time signature. These alterations are known as the key signature.

Accidental Alterations

These may appear on notes that are not affected by the key signature. They are changes we make to notes arbitrarily. When you alter a note, notes at the same pitch and in the same bar are automatically altered.

Fermata (Calderon)

This is a sign placed below or above a note, prolonging its duration. The fermata may also appear placed over a rest or a bar line.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the organization of pulses and accents over time. Concepts covered by musical rhythm include:

• Duration of sound: figures, rests, and signs of extension.
• Meter: subdivision of time. Binary, ternary, and quaternary meters.
• Tempo: Speed of the music.

Each dance has a rhythmic pattern, which is a rhythmic pattern of 1 or 2 bars that recurs during all or most of the song. What varies are only the notes.

Melody

A series of successive sounds that have musical coherence, or the melody is a sequence of notes that form a singable musical line. The melody of a composition can be analyzed by the following elements:

• Range: small or large, according to the notes it covers.
• Melodic Design: leaps or steps.
• Directionality: rising, falling, or undulating.
• Form: development of a motif, symmetrical phrases, etc.
• Relationship with the text: syllabic or melismatic.

Music-Text Relationship

• A melody is syllabic when each syllable corresponds to one note.
• A melody is melismatic when one syllable corresponds to more than one note.
• A melody is ornamented if it contains melismas.