Basic definition of what note duration is

Note duration is something that people who learn metaphors and Western medicine understand. So do you know some knowledge about note duration? Below is the definition of note duration that I bring to you, welcome to read!

Definition of note duration

In a musical work, only by adding the time signature can we know what the time signature is. What note is used as one beat. Now take the ? beat as an example (that is, a quarter note is a beat, and each measure 4 has a duration of two quarter notes). Example 1 Music theory textbooks tell us: "V" is a beat. It makes us understand that do is the first half of the first beat, re is the second half of the beat; mi is the first half of the second beat, and fa is the second half of the beat.

(1) Whole note

This hollow white note is called a "whole note". It is the big brother of the note family. The duration of other notes is shorter than it and must be based on it. Divide it into two halves.

(2) Half note

This white note with a body (scientific name is Fugan) is called "half note". It is only half the length of a whole note, (it is equal to 1/2 the duration of a whole note)

(3) Quarter note

This black-faced note is called "quarter note" ". It's half a note smaller than a half note. (It is equal to the duration of 1/4 of the whole note)

(4) Eighth note

This black-faced note has a tail, it is called "eighth note" Less than half a quarter note. (It is equal to the duration of 1/8 of the whole note)

(5) Sixteenth note

This black-faced note has two tails. It is called "sixteenth note" note". It's half a note smaller than an eighth note. (It is equal to the duration of 1/16 of a whole note)

(6) Thirty-second note

This note with three tails is called "thirty-second note". It's half the size of a sixteenth note. (It is equal to the duration of 1/32 of the whole note)

(7) Sixty-fourth note

The black note with four tails is called "sixty-fourth note" ". It is half of a "thirty-second note." (It is equal to the duration of 1/64 of a whole note)

Introduction to Newham notation for note duration

Newham notation uses horizontal lines as the standard and is represented by symbols The pitch of the sound can be displayed, but the length of the sound value cannot be displayed. From the 7th century onwards, this notation began to appear in the Catholic Church in Europe. Initially, only one line was used to represent the F pitch. What should be additionally mentioned here is that religion has played a great contribution to the development of European music. __'s religious music developed greatly in the Middle Ages. People at that time generally believed that holy music could convey God's revelations to people, and at the same time, it could also express believers' reverence, praise and prayers for God. Religious activities at that time were generally combined with music. Religious music is the source of European art music. Before the 18th century, European music was mainly church music, and church music was mainly chants. When I was performing in Vienna, I visited the local St. Stephen's Cathedral, and there was a religious ceremony going on there, including hymns. The sound was extremely pure, and it really gave me a heavenly feeling. Medieval chants were monophonic and had no fixed beat. The characteristic of Newm notation was that it could record the pitch but not the rhythm, which was very suitable for church music at that time. By the 13th century, chants were sometimes expressed in rhythmic mode (English: rhythmic mode). This type of music already had multiple parts with different rhythms, but it still did not use the shape of the note to express the time of the note like modern notes. value.

Around 1250, Franco of Cologne (English: Franco of Cologne; a priest) invented quantitative notation, using different notes to express changes in duration. In his In this method, the relationship between various note durations is not fixed, usually 3:1. And in the 13th century, 3:1 was the most mainstream ratio.

In 1320, Frenchman Philippe de Vitry set a ratio of 2:1 in his book "Ars nova" and made it equal to 3:1. 1 ratio has the same status.

With the further development of music, it is obvious that the original Newm notation can no longer meet the needs. After hundreds of years of development, Newm notation gradually developed from one line to four lines. Specify the pitches as d, f, a, and c, and draw the f line in red and the c line in yellow. This is also the origin of the later treble and bass clefs in the staff. In the 13th century, someone finally added another wire to the four wires, so that five wires were truly available. This notation is the predecessor of staff notation.

The quantitative notation method was invented by a missionary in Cologne in the 13th century. This is a notation that uses notes, rests and other symbols to strictly specify the length of sounds. It is a supplement and enrichment to Newm notation. Around 1450, the notes were painted in black and were called measured black symbols. Later, hollow notes were used, also known as measured white symbols. This notation was used in the West until about the 17th century.

The staff has been fully developed on the basis of the first two. By the 17th century, it had been gradually perfected and widely used. In the 18th century, it began to take shape and is still in use today. Staff notation absorbs and synthesizes the essence of various notation methods in European history. It is a notation method that has been developed over a long period of thousands of years and has brought together the talents of many musicians for more than a thousand years.

Introduction to the musical notation of note durations

The musical notation was introduced to China relatively early, probably in the middle and late Ming Dynasty with the spread of Western missionaries. The earliest detailed record of the staff is the sequel to "Lü Lu Zhengyi" in the Qing Dynasty, which describes the staff, scales, roll calls, etc. "Lv Lu Zhengyi" is a music encyclopedia compiled in the Qing Dynasty of my country with the main content of music rhythm. This book was compiled by imperial decree from the Kangxi to Qianlong periods, and was divided into an upper part, a lower part, and a sequel. Later, a later part was added. The fact that the relevant content of the staff can appear in such a classic compiled by the royal family also illustrates the use of the staff in China at that time. Later, with the further development and spread of Western music in China, staff notation became more and more popular in China.

At present, staff notation has become a common notation method in the music industry. Whether it is China or France, whether it is Brazil or Russia, a large number of music documents are recorded, published and disseminated using staffs. Therefore, even amateurs should learn some knowledge about the use of musical notation.

Note duration does not represent the absolute duration of a note, but is used to give people an idea of ??its relative duration to other notes. The duration of each note in the table below is twice as long as the next note.