Notation

The method of recording music is called notation.

In the process of historical development, various notation methods have been produced due to the different contents and needs of music. For example, it is the guqin score for guqin, the gong and drum score for gongs and drums, as well as the five-line score, simplified music score and Gongchi score that are widely used in our country.

Although various notation methods are constantly improving in their development, so far, there is no notation method in the world that can record music perfectly. For example, subtle differences in pitch, intensity, and speed, as well as the playing methods of many decorative sounds, all require specific analysis and processing by performers based on their different understandings.

Correct notation is very important for both creation and performance. Everyone who studies music should have a good grasp of notation, especially for those who study composition, it is even more important. The meaning of

Basic music theory - clef

As mentioned before, the higher the position of the note on the staff, the higher the sound, and conversely, the lower the position of the note, the lower the sound. The lower, but how much higher? How much lower? But can't be sure. To determine the pitch of a note on the staff, it must be marked with a clef. This kind of clef is recorded on a certain line of the staff, so that this line has a fixed tone grade name and height, and it also determines the tone grade names and heights on other lines or spaces.

There are three commonly used clefs:

The G clef represents a group of small letters "g", which is recorded on the second line of the staff and is called the treble clef; The one on the line is called the old French treble clef.

The F clef represents the small group of f, which is recorded on the fourth line of the staff, and is called the bass clef; in addition, the one recorded on the fifth line is called the double bass clef.

The C clef represents a group of small letters called c, which can be recorded on any line of the staff.

The C clef currently used is the C three-line clef (alto clef) used by alto violins and sometimes trombones. The C clef (tenor clef) is used by cellos, bassoons and trombones. Other C clefs are generally less commonly used.

The purpose of using many clefs is to avoid too many lines and make writing and reading music more convenient.

Various clefs can be used individually or connected together, such as the large clef composed of high and bass clefs.

Basic music theory - grouping of notes

As mentioned before, the fifty-two white keys on the piano repeatedly use seven basic note class names. Therefore, in the note sequence There are many sounds with the same name in Chinese. In order to distinguish the sounds with the same name but different pitches, we divide the sound sequence into many "groups".

The group in the center of the sound column is called a small group, and its sound level mark is represented by lowercase letters and the number 1 on the upper right, such as c1d1e1, etc.

The groups higher than the first group of small characters are named in order: the second group of small characters, the third group of small characters, the fourth group of small characters, and the fifth group of small characters.

The marks of the second group of small characters are represented by lowercase letters and the number 2 in the upper right corner, such as c2d2e2, etc. The other groups follow suit.

The groups lower than the group of small characters are named small group, group of large characters, group of large characters and group two of large characters.

The symbols for each sound of the small character group are represented by lowercase letters without numbers, such as cde, etc.

Large character groups are marked with uppercase letters without numbers, such as CDE, etc.

A group of large characters is marked with capital letters and the number 1 in the lower right corner, such as C1D1E1, etc.

The second group of large characters is marked with capital letters and the number 2 in the lower right corner, such as A2B2, etc.

Basic music theory - Twelve Equal Temperament

The temperament that divides the octave into twelve equal parts - semitones - is called Twelve Equal Temperament.

The law of twelve equals was proposed as early as ancient Greece, but it was not scientifically calculated. The first person in the world to formulate the twelve equal temperaments based on mathematics was the great musician Zhu Zai (Tuyu) of the Ming Dynasty in my country (1854).

A semitone is the smallest pitch distance in the twelve equal temperament structure. The distance between two tones is equal to two semitones and is called a whole tone. There are twelve semitones in the octave, which is six whole tones.

In the middle of the basic tone levels of the tone sequence, except for E to F and B to C, which are semitones, the distance between the other two adjacent tones is a whole tone.

On the piano, two adjacent keys (including black keys) form a semitone, and two notes separated by one key form a whole tone.

Basic music theory--temperament

The absolutely accurate height of each note in the musical sound system and its mutual relationship are called temperament. Rhythm is formed in the long-term development of musical practice and becomes the basis for determining modal pitch. In the process of historical development, various methods have been used to determine the height of each tone in the musical sound system. The main and well-known ones are "pure temperament", "intergenerational temperament of fifths" and "twelve-degree temperament". Three types of "law of averages". What is currently widely used by countries around the world is the "law of twelve equals". However, "pure rhythm" and "law of fifth degrees" continue to have an influence and are of great significance in musical life.

Introduction to sound levels

A sound level is each sound in the musical sound system, which has two basic levels and variations. The former has seven independent names in the musical sound system. The sound produced by the white keys on the piano keyboard is consistent with the basic tone level. The latter is obtained by raising or lowering the basic pitch level.

The names of basic sound levels are marked in two ways: alphabetical system and singing system:

Alphabetic system: c, d, e, f, g, a, b < /p>

Singing various systems: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, xi

The pitch level referred to in the current domestic amateur music basic knowledge examination is the modal pitch level. Each note in the modal scale is called a modal scale. The tonic note in each scale is also the I note in the modal scale. The tonic of each modal scale is different but the marking is always with the tonic as level I.

do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, xi, do

Example: C natural major notation:

la, xi, do, re, mi, fa, sol, la

a natural minor notation: i ii iii iv v vi vii i

Major scales are marked with uppercase letters, minor scales are marked with lowercase letters .

Practice tips:

1. Play the standard tones to listen to the main chord and tonic. After listening to the main chord and tonic correctly, you can determine that the question you are doing should be What mode.

2. Play the modal tone in the question and use the debugging scale determined in the first step to determine the scale of the modal tone.

Music theory knowledge - sound and pitch

Sound is produced due to the vibration of objects. There are many sounds in nature that can be felt by our human hearing, but not all sounds can be used as music materials. The sounds used in music are specially selected by people in order to express their lives, thoughts and feelings during the long-term production struggle and class struggle. These sounds are composed into a fixed system to express musical ideas and shape musical images.

Sound has four properties: pitch, strength, length, and timbre.

The pitch of the sound is determined by the number of times (frequency) the object vibrates within a certain period of time. The more vibrations, the higher the sound; the less vibrations, the lower the sound.

The length of the sound is determined by the difference in duration of the sound. If the duration of the sound is long, the sound will be long; if the duration of the sound is short, the sound will be short.

The strength of a sound is determined by the amplitude (the amplitude of the vibration range of the sound). If the amplitude is large, the sound will be strong; if the amplitude is small, the sound will be weak.

The timbre is different due to the nature and shape of the pronunciation body and the number of overtones.

The above four properties of sound are all very important in musical performance, but the pitch and length of the sound are of even greater significance. Take the song "Socialism is Good" as an example. No matter you sing it with a human voice or play it with an instrument, sing it quietly or sing it loudly, although the intensity and timbre of the sound have changed, it is still easy to identify. This melody. However, if the pitch or value of the song is changed, the musical image will be seriously damaged immediately. Therefore, whether creating, playing or singing, special attention should be paid to pitch and value.

Due to the regularity and irregularity of the vibration state of sound, sound is divided into two categories: musical sound and noise. Music is mainly used in musical sounds, but noise is also an indispensable component of musical performance.

In Chinese folk music, the use of noise has quite rich expressive capabilities.

For example, in opera music, percussion instruments, in conjunction with other means of artistic expression, play an extremely obvious role in shaping characters and expressing various thoughts and emotions. This is a very distinctive part of world music culture and is worthy of We research and learn well.

Music theory knowledge - range and range

There are two types of range: the total range and the range of individual voices or musical instruments.

The total range refers to the total range of the tone sequence, that is, the distance from its lowest bass to the highest pitch (C2-c5).

The range of an individual voice or musical instrument refers to that part of the entire range that can be reached. For example, the range of a piano is A2-c5.

The sound range is a part of the sound range, and there are three types: treble range, midrange range, and bass range.

In the entire vocal range, the small character group, the small character group 1 and the small character group 2 belong to the middle range. The three groups of small characters, the four groups and the five groups of small characters belong to the high-pitched area, while the large group, group one and two of large characters belong to the low-pitched area.

The division of the sound zones of various human voices and various musical instruments is often inconsistent. For example, the high range of the bass is the low range of the alto.

The characteristic timbre of each sound zone plays an important role in musical performance. The high-pitched area is generally crisp, loud, and sharp, while the low-pitched area often feels thick and bulky.

Music theory knowledge - a brief discussion of simplified musical notation

Digression: This does not seem to be as convenient as five lines~~~

Simplified musical notation is a notation method. Because it is simple, clear and easy to understand, it is very convenient in notating and reading music, so it is widely spread in our country.

Simplified musical notation has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. For example, memorizing ensemble chorus is not as clear visually as staff music, and memorizing piano music is almost impossible. In the past, some people thought that simplified musical notation was simple and unscientific, thus denying its important role in real music life. That was wrong. It should be acknowledged that simplified musical notation has made a significant contribution to the popularization and promotion of music. For a long time to come, simplified musical notation will continue to play its positive role in serving socialist cultural undertakings.

The creation and development process of simplified musical notation cannot be accurately introduced due to the lack of relevant materials. France's Galin (1786-1821) and Chevey (1804-1864); Britain's Granville (1785-1867) and Galvin (1816-1880) have all done research and development on the simplified musical notation system. tidy. Our country's simplified musical notation was introduced from Japan. This system is different from Schevey's system. According to the Chevey system, short lines for eighth notes and sixteenth notes are added above the notes.

However, when Japanese musical notation came to my country, especially in the ten years after liberation, it has undergone many changes and developments. Now I will only give a brief introduction to the current musical notation as follows.

In the simplified musical notation system, the relative height of a sound is represented by seven Arabic numerals. The relationship between these tones is that except for 3 4 and 7 i which are semitones, the others are all whole tones.

Tag: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 i

Singing method: do ri mi fa sol la si do

Add a small dot above the note , which means singing an octave higher, adding two dots means two octaves higher; conversely, adding a dot below means singing an octave lower, adding two dots means two octaves lower.

To accurately represent the absolute height of the note, key signature markings must also be used. The key signature is represented by 1=F, 1=G...etc.

In order to avoid adding too many dots above or below the notes, in chorus and ensemble scores, the method of moving up or down an octave is often used to record the low or high parts. For example: tenor, bass, pipa, and low Hu are notated in a higher octave; bangdi and banhu are notated in a lower octave, etc.

The length of the sound is represented by adding a dash behind or below the note.

Dots are also used in the simplified musical notation system. But only up to the quarter note; longer notes, such as half notes and whole notes, continue to be represented by adding dashes.

Dotted whole note: 1- - - - -

Dotted half note: 1- -

Dotted quarter note: 1.

Dotted eighth note: 1.

Dotted sixteenth note: 1.

The basic symbol indicating the rest of the note is 0. To indicate rests of different lengths, increase the number of zeros and add a dot to the right of the zeros. The commonly used rests are as follows:

Full rest: 0 0 0 0 Dotted full rest: 0 0 0 0 0 0

Bipart rest: 0 0 Dotted bipartite rest: 0 0 0

Fourth rest: 0 Dotted fourth rest: 0.

Eighth rest: 0 Dotted eighth rest: 0.

Sixteen Minute rest: 0. Dotted sixteenth minute rest: 0.

Thirty-second minute rest: 0 (add three horizontal lines below) Dotted thirty-second rest: 0 (add three horizontal lines below)

For rests that last several measures, long rest numbers can be used. Written within a measure, the number above indicates the number of rest measures.

Sounds that have only length but no certain height are represented by an X mark, and the length of the sound is marked by adding a dash behind or below the X.

There is no clef problem in the simplified musical notation system. Its pitch is represented by notes and key signatures.

The time signature in simplified music notation is the same as the staff notation. It is marked with fractions. It is recorded together with the key signature at the lower left of the music name. The key signature is recorded first and the time signature is followed. To the lower right of the music title is the name of the songwriter.

Tempo markings and expression terms are noted above the beginning of the first line of music.

In multi-voice notation, the bar lines are mostly separated, and each voice is recorded separately. However, the bar lines of some instrumental music are connected according to the grouping of instruments. Whether separated or not, the bar lines of each voice must be aligned up and down.

When notating music, pay attention to the spatial distance of the notes, so that the distance between bars and bars and beats is roughly equal. If there are few notes in one beat, write them loosely; if there are many notes, write them tighter. For notes less than a quarter note, the bass point is recorded below the dash.

The rules for combining the pitch values ??in the simplified musical notation system are basically the same as those in staff notation. It's just that in polybeats, there is no need to represent one note for the entire measure, but slurs are used to group the notes into single beats and connect them together.

The combination method of rests is the same as mentioned above. Of course, there is no need to use connecting lines.

The legato mark is marked above the note, using open brackets and the number indicating the legato.

Transposition in simplified musical notation is very simple, just change the key signature. For example, when a piece of music in the key of C major needs to be moved up a major second, just change 1=C to 1=D.

In simplified musical notation, there are only three types of diacritical marks: sharp (#), flat (b) and negative. The double sharp (×) and double flat (bb) are not used.

In the simplified notation system, longer and definite modulations are not marked with temporary diacritical marks, but with the key signature after the modulation.

The decorative note marks, omission marks, dynamics marks, and speed marks used in staff notation are basically applicable to simplified notation.

In order to avoid confusion between the dots representing staccato and the high-pitched points, staccato is represented by ▽ or ▼ in the musical notation.

The grace note is marked with a small sixteenth note or eighteenth note, written in the upper left or upper right of the main note, and connected to the decorated main note with a connecting line.

The intro, transition, and ending are the same as the staff, marked with small notes, and some are also enclosed in brackets.

When writing chords, the short horizontal lines under the notes are only recorded under the lowest bass.

As for the notation method of simplified musical notation, there is currently no relatively complete system. The above discussion is only the most common knowledge in simplified musical notation, which is very incomplete.

Music theory knowledge-natural semitone and natural whole tone

A semitone composed of two adjacent tone levels is called a natural semitone. Natural semitones can be formed from basic pitch levels, varying pitch levels, or basic pitch levels and varying pitch levels.

The whole tone formed by two adjacent tone levels is called a natural whole tone.

Natural whole tones, like natural semitones, can be formed from basic tone levels, varying tone levels, or varying tone levels from basic tone levels.

A semitone composed of two different forms of the same pitch is called a modified semitone. Variation semitones can be formed from basic pitches and varying pitches, or from varying pitches.

A whole tone composed of two different forms of the same tone level or separated by one tone level is called a changing whole tone. A modified whole tone can be formed by a basic tone level and a changing tone level, or it can also be formed by a changing tone level and a changing tone level.

Natural semitone and modified semitone, natural whole tone and modified whole tone are two semitones and whole tones with completely different properties and should not be confused.

A semitone composed of two adjacent pitch levels is called a natural semitone. Natural semitones can be formed from basic pitch levels, varying pitch levels, or basic pitch levels and varying pitch levels.

The whole tone formed by two adjacent tone levels is called a natural whole tone. Natural whole tones, like natural semitones, can be formed from the basic tone level, the varying tone level, or the basic tone level changing the tone level.

A semitone composed of two different forms of the same pitch is called a modified semitone. Variation semitones can be formed from basic pitches and varying pitches, or from varying pitches.

A whole tone composed of two different forms of the same tone level or separated by one tone level is called a changing whole tone. A modified whole tone can be formed by a basic tone level and a changing tone level, or it can also be formed by a changing tone level and a changing tone level.

Natural semitones and modified semitones, natural whole tones and modified whole tones are two completely different semitones and whole tones and should not be confused

Music theory knowledge-diacritical marks

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The marks used to indicate raising or lowering the basic pitch level are called diacritical marks.

There are five types of diacritical marks:

1: The sharp sign (#) means to raise the basic tone level by a semitone.

2: Flat mark (b) means lowering the basic pitch level by a semitone.

3: The re-rising mark (×) means raising the basic tone level by two semitones (one whole tone).

4: The double flat mark (bb) means lowering the basic tone level by two semitones (one whole tone).

5: The restoration mark (ヰ) means to restore the sound that has been raised or lowered.

Diacritical marks can be recorded on the lines and spaces of the staff; they can be recorded in front of the notes and after the clef.

The diacritical mark recorded after the clef is called the key signature. Before changing the new key, it will take effect on all the sounds with the same phonetic name in the sequence. If you want to change the key signature in the middle of a piece of music, there may be three situations.

If the key signature change occurs at the beginning of a line of music, the key signature to be changed should be clearly written down at the end of the previous line of music, and the last bar line should be moved forward. , in order to write down the key signature of the new key.

1: Increase the number of original sharps or flats. At this time, just write the key signature of the new key to the right of the bar line where the key signature is changed.

2: Reduce the number of original sharps or flats. At this time, you need to restore the redundant diacritical marks to the left of the bar line where the key signature is changed. Write the key signature of the new key to the right of the bar line.

3: A sharp number changes to a flat number or a flat number changes to a sharp number. At this time, you need to restore the original diacritical marks on the left side of the bar line where the key signature is changed, and write the new key signature on the right side of the bar line.

A diacritical mark placed directly before a note is called an accidental. Accidentals are only valid for notes of the same pitch, and only to the nearest bar line. In multi-part music, accidentals are often only valid for one voice. In order to remind the abolition of the previously used accidental mark, sometimes another accidental mark is added after the bar line.

Music theory knowledge - enharmonic notes

Sounds with the same pitch but different meanings and notations are called enharmonic notes.

Equal tone is based on the twelve equal temperament, because it is possible to produce equal tone only when the semitones are equal.

Except for the two tone levels #G and bA, each of the other basic tone levels and modified tone levels may have more than two equal notes, and even its original *** has three. And bA and #G only have one enharmonic note, and even it itself has two.

Music Theory Knowledge - Staff

The five parallel horizontal lines used to record notes are called staff.

The five lines of the staff and the space formed by the five lines are calculated from the bottom up.

If the musical work is written on several lines of staff, then the several lines of staff must be connected with clefs.

The clef sign consists of two components: the starting line (the vertical line connecting several lines of staff) and the bracket (the bracket connecting several lines of staff).

The brackets are divided into two types: flowery and straight.

The curly lines are used for notation of piano, organ, accordion, harp, dulcimer, pipa and other musical instruments.

Straight brackets are used for notation of ensembles, choruses, and bands. In the score, straight brackets are used to connect the same instruments and divide them into complete or incomplete instrument groups. Sometimes auxiliary wires (flowered or straight) are added to the straight wires to connect instruments of the same type.

In the score, if the solo part only includes one or two lines of staff, only a starting line will be drawn on the left side without brackets.

In order to mark notes that are too high or too low, many short lines are added above or below the staff. These short lines are called plus lines. The ones above the staff are called upper plus lines, and the ones below are called lower plus lines. Wire.

The spaces created by adding lines are called added spaces. The added spaces above the staff are called upper spaces, and those below are called lower spaces.

The calculation method of the adding line and the adding space is: the upper adding line and the upper adding space are calculated from bottom to top, and the lower adding line and the lower adding space are calculated from top to bottom.