This article simply and clearly presents the basic information about such basics that every guitarist needs. musical literacy, How notes and note durations, measures and time signatures in music, musical rhythm and tempo, strong and weak beats of a musical bar, syncope and beat.
Notes in music. Note durations
In fact, each note is a separate sound that you get when you press a guitar string against the fretboard and hit it with a pick or finger ( , more on that). Comparing a piece of music with a story, one can compare the notes with the letters that make it up. Gammas consist of a certain sequence of notes, in particular the mega-popular one, and. Notes have their own duration - the length of the sound in time. IN this moment development of civilization by the main durations of notes, known to mankind are: whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note. Also, but infrequently, there are thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes.
Note duration is calculated as follows:
Imagine an apple. In its original form, it is a whole note. Cutting it into two equal parts, we get two half notes, cutting each of the halves - four quarter notes. In turn, quarter note halves are eighth notes, and eighth notes are sixteenth notes. The same goes for musical breaks- breaks in sound. Let's represent this graphically.
The main thing you should learn is that two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes and sixteen sixteenth notes have the same duration as one whole note.
Notes with a dot. Tied notes
Even if you have not yet seen such options for recording the duration of notes, you cannot do without them, especially since there is nothing complicated about them.
A dotted note continues the duration for half of its original sound.
Tie notes require you to simply glue their total length together. By the way, it is the "leagues" in musical notation that denote such guitar playing techniques as.
Measures and time signatures in music
Any piece of music consists of measures separated by vertical lines.
Imagine a staircase at the entrance. We consider each span of it as a measure, each step as a note or chord. Actually size, it is customary to consider the number of steps in each span. Pretty simple, right? Being the foundation musical rhythm, the time signature contains the same number of note-steps of a certain duration in each measure-span. Usually, the time signature is indicated at the beginning of the piece.
4/4 (four quarters) is the simplest and, at the same time, the most popular in all types of music. Two fours means that the duration of each measure is equal to the duration of four quarter notes. How to count the rhythm, you ask? With even beats at a specific tempo piece of music. In this case, four hits, for example, a foot on the floor, for each beat. Next, we will look at the rhythm count in more detail.
Rhythm and tempo in music. Finding and keeping the rhythm
First, don't confuse rhythm with tempo. Rhythm, given size means the number of beats per measure, while the tempo controls their speed. The easiest way to learn to keep the rhythm is to use a metronome. This device is inexpensive, and will serve you faithfully. You can also start using it right now on our website, independently setting the required size and tempo.
Strong and weak beats in music
Each individual measure, consisting of notes, is divided into beats. Remember the count of the duration of the notes: 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and. So, counting the cycles in this way, we will get strong beats on 1,2,3, and weak beats on “and”. Actually, the metronome counts down strong beats.
So that you do not get confused, all information about the shares is indicated in the size. The upper number, the numerator, if so more clearly indicates the number of strong parts, the lower, the denominator - their duration. Also, in musical notation, strong beats are often indicated by the sign " > » above or below the note.
Syncopation and upbeat in music
Syncopation, and in the common people - a shift, is called the transfer of stress from a strong beat to a weak one. Using syncopation correctly, you can give your music an interesting and unusual sound, which is especially true for metal and jazz music.
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Zatakt in music means skipping a strong beat and introducing vocals or any of the group's instruments on a weak beat of the bar.
Let's sum up some results:
1. Notes and pauses form musical measures, of which each piece of music in turn consists. Types of notes and pauses by duration: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second and sixty-fourth.
2. The rhythm of the song is determined by the size, and the speed of the performance is determined by the tempo.
3. The simplest and most popular size in contemporary music is the size 4/4 (four quarters).
4. The number and duration of strong beats of a musical measure is determined by the size. The strong beat is counted by a kick or a metronome and coincides with the rhythm of the work. The use of weak beats of a measure means syncopation or an out-of-measure.
Until we meet again, friends!
Size. Kinds of size
What is the size of a piece of music? How to diversify the "pulse" of music?
This section contains information about types of time signature.
Recall: the musical size (see dictionary) is the number of beats of a certain duration that form a beat.
Simple sizes.
Consist of a simple, indivisible number of shares. There are two-part and three-part.
Consider each type of simple size separately.
Double simple size.
The size at which the strong beats are evenly repeated through one weak beat is called a two-part. Those. strong beat, then weak beat, again strong, weak, etc. Examples of two-part sizes: 2/2, 2/4, 2/8.
Size 2/2 has its own name: alla breve (read: alla breve), as well as its own designation: .
Please note that one bar at this time signature contains two beats: the first beat is strong, the second is weak.
Tripartite simple size.
A measure in which strong beats are evenly repeated through two weak beats is called a tripartite. Examples of tripartite sizes: 3/2, 3/4, 3/8, 3/16.
Please note that one bar contains three beats: the first beat is strong, the second and third are weak.
Grouping durations.
In simple time signatures, the durations of the main beats should be separated from each other:
Figure 1. Duration grouping
There are exceptions, for example: if the measure contains notes of the same duration, then they can be grouped; size 3/8 allows the merging of the main beats.
Complicated sizes.
Complex dimensions are obtained by merging two or more simple homogeneous dimensions. For example, the size 4/4 can be thought of as a fusion of two simple sizes 2/4 and 2/4.
- Quadruple complex sizes: 4/2, 4/4, 4/8.
- Six-part complex sizes: 6/4, 6/8, 6/16.
- Nine-part complex sizes: 9/4, 9/8, 9/16.
- Twelve-beat compound sizes: 12/8, 12/16.
The number of strong beats in a complex meter corresponds to the number of simple meter in its composition.
Relatively strong stakes.
The emphasis on the first beat of a complex meter is always stronger than the accents of the other beats, which is why the first beat is called a strong beat, and the rest of the strong beats - relatively strong stakes.
Figure 1. Strong and relatively strong beats
In the figure, we see a complex 4/4 size made up of two simple 2/4 sizes. Accent signs ">" denote notes that correspond to strong beats. The strong beat is underlined in red - it is the first in the measure, and in blue - the relatively strong beat.
Note: since the beat in our case is one quarter, both the red and blue lines underline the durations of one quarter to indicate the beat.
Please note: strong beats in a complex time signature are evenly spaced.
Grouping.
When grouping notes in a complex time signature, the notes that are part of a simple time signature are combined. If the measure contains a single note whose duration is equal to the duration of the measure, then you can:
- specify one note with a duration of one measure;
- specify individual notes for each simple time signature, joining them with a slur.
Mixed sizes.
Mixed sizes are obtained by merging two or more simple dissimilar sizes. For example, the size 5/4 can be thought of as a fusion of two simple sizes 2/4 and 3/4; and vice versa: as 3/4 and 2/4.
Most common mixed sizes:
- Five-part sizes: 5/4, 5/8.
- Seven-lobed sizes: 7/4, 7/8.
The number of strong parts in a mixed size corresponds to the number of simple sizes included in its composition. Let's go back to the 5/4 example: since it is formed by the fusion of two simple sizes, it has two strong beats.
In the first case, when the 5/4 time signature is formed by merging the 2/4 and 3/4 time signatures, the strong beats will be the first (the downbeat of the 2/4 time signature) and the third (the downbeat of the 3/4 time signature). Look at Figure 1, everything will become clear:
Figure 1. Mixed sizes
Strong beats in the figure are indicated by the symbol ">" (accent). The figure also shows the sizes 2/4 and 3/4, from which we got 5/4.
If we change the order of simple dimensions, i.e. first 3/4, and then 2/4, then we will shift the second strong beat from the third to the fourth (see Figure 2):
Figure 2. Mixed sizes
From the examples it can be seen how important the order of the simple sizes in the complex one is: it is he who determines the location of the strong parts. It is also clear that the downbeats are not evenly spaced.
Mixed size properties.
Due to the heterogeneity of simple sizes that make up a complex size, the following is observed:
- the order of the simple sizes that make up the mixed size is important. It is this order that sets the alternation of strong and relatively strong parts (note that there are cases of a change in the order of simple sizes in a complex one throughout the same work);
- the alternation of strong and relatively strong shares in the mixed size is uneven.
Mixed size designation.
Sometimes, for ease of reading, next to the indication of the main size of the work, the order of simple sizes is written in brackets:
Figure 3. Mixed size designation example
Grouping.
Mixed time signatures are grouped in the same way as complex time signatures. Due to the heterogeneity of simple sizes, rhythm groups uneven.
Variable sizes
In music, it happens that the size changes within one piece. In this case, the product is said to have a variable size. Let's look at an example from which everything will become clear:
Figure 1. Variable dimensions
Initially, the size of the piece is set to 3/4. Starting from the 3rd measure, the time signature changes to 5/4. And in the 6th measure, the time signature returns to the original (3/4). This piece has a variable size.
As a repetition, please note: the work has reprises, triplets, sharps. In the penultimate bar above the closing sign of the reprise, “3x” is written - this obliges you to play this passage 3 times, and not 2, as usual.
Results.
You took note that the size can be simple, complex, mixed. In the course of the work, the size may change. This is called variable sizing. You also learned more about note grouping and accents.
You are a beginner musician, and you are happy to master musical notation, but you have problems with parsing the next piece of music and the correct score? Nothing, whoever has a question will always find an answer.
The unit of account when reading any piece of musical music is the duration. Note duration is not a definite constant that depends on time - it cannot be measured in seconds. The duration of notes can only be represented in relation to the durations of other notes, and the same work can be played faster or slower, but in both cases sound correct. But how to learn how to count notes correctly and easily?
Note duration table
In order to determine the duration, you just need to look at the denominator of the note signature indicated in this specific work. Size is a sequence of repeated beats that divide time into equal intervals (shares). So, if the size is 4/4, the duration is four, 6/8 - the duration is eight. However, this rule may be violated if one of these sizes is used: 2/2, 3/2, etc. In this case, very often not half, but a quarter is taken as the unit of account.
But before we move on to the score, let's still figure out what the notes of various styles mean. The shape of the notes themselves tells the musician how long and with what frequency to play a sound of a given pitch in a specific time signature. Below is a table of note durations and rests.
And one more picture for more clarity.
The fragmentation of notes does not end there, and the sixteenth is followed by the thirty-second, followed by the sixty-fourth, one hundred and twenty-eighth, two hundred and fifty-sixth. But the notes presented in the table above are the most common.
Note with a dot
By adding a dot or dots, the duration of a particular note can be extended. One dot increases the duration of a note by one and a half times, two dots - by 1.75 times, three dots - by 1.875 times.
In addition to the point, the duration of a note can be increased by a tie. Such a note is two identical notes of the same pitch connected by a slur. In this case, only the first note is played, and the second is fused with it.
How to count notes?
If you do not know how to count notes correctly, then you will never be able to play an unfamiliar piece from the notes correctly. I will not describe the theory for a long time, but with a clear example I will show how it is convenient to count notes in various sizes, for this I chose excerpts from several pieces of music recorded in various sizes and signed the correct score, where you can see how to count notes using clear examples in sizes: 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8 and 6/8. This method of counting is the most convenient for me, but if you have another one, share it with readers in the comments.
4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time signatures in music
The size of a musical piece of music can be seen at its very beginning, while the numerator of the fraction indicates the number of beats in the bar, and the denominator indicates the duration by which these same beats are expressed.
How to calculate size 4/4
The 4/4 time signature is one of the most common musical time signatures. Size C is equivalent to size 4/4. This size consists of four beats, with each beat being equal in duration to a quarter (fourth note). Below are examples of invoices.
How to calculate size 3/4
The size 3/4 consists of three shares, each share is equal to a quarter (fourth note).
How to calculate size 2/4
In this case, the duration is four, but we are counting to two. (One and two and; one yes and yes, two yes and yes). The size 2/4 consists of two shares, each of which is equal in duration to a quarter.
Or here is a slightly more complicated version below (you can click on the image and it will enlarge). In this case, we count not just for “one and two and”, but for “one yes and yes two yes and yes”.
Size 6/8 in music, how to count?
The 6/8 time signature is made up of six beats, and each beat is equal to an eighth note. Count to six: one, two, three, four, five, six.
To begin with, everything, a little later I will write a continuation, where I will analyze other sizes. If the article was useful to you, put Like!
We have come to a very important topic - the size of a piece of music. Before we talk about size, let's clarify one more concept that we have not met before.
Tact
If you look at any notes, you can see that with a certain frequency they meet a vertical line. Look here:
It's called a bar line. What is located between two such features is called a beat. That, in fact, is all we need to know about tact.
Size
The meter indicates the rhythm performed music. It is indicated by numbers next to the key:
(It is read: “four quarters”, “three quarters”, “six eighths”, etc.). The top number indicates the number of beats in each measure. The bottom number is the note duration of each count. This is if it's smart.
Let's explain it simply with an example. Let's say the duration is ¾. The top number, that is, in this case, a three, means that there will be three beats in each measure. That is, you need to count like this: one-two-three | one-two-three | one-two-three | one-two-three ... ”and so on until the work ends. The bottom number - in our case, the number 4 - means that there is one quarter note for each count. To put it quite simply, the ¾ time signature means that three pieces of quarter notes “fit” into one measure. Or three quarter notes, whichever you prefer.
Sizes can be simple and complex, two-part and three-part.
For convenience, we will consider in detail different kinds sizes (by active links, you can go to articles on our site with detailed description all sizes).
GOALS:
- Know the correspondence of durations and sizes.
- Know what durations exist, the difference between notes and pauses from each other in sound and writing.
- Know how to imitate note durations and rests with claps. Know how to count with your foot and out loud.
- Know the definition of Time signature (2/4, 3/4, 4/4) and its designation on musical staff.
- Know the correspondence of durations and musical time signatures in a measure.
Notes and their recording
Musical sounds are recorded using notes. Musical signs (notes) consist of the following parts:
1 - checkbox; 2 - calm; 3 - head
Depending on the duration of the note, the head can be empty or filled, flags
there may be several, calm and flags may be absent. Note head position
relative to the rulers of the staff, determines the pitch, and the relative position of the notes -
the order in which they are executed.
When the stem is present, it is directed up (from the right side of the note head) or down (from the left side, excluding the long note). In most cases, the stem is directed downwards if the note head is on or above the center line of the staff, and upwards otherwise. The flag is always drawn to the right of the stem.
When two or more notes that normally have flags (eighth notes and shorter) occur in succession, the flags can be replaced by edges (bridges, ties). The number of bindings is equal to the number of flags for ungrouped notes. Notes are usually connected with edges only if they appear on the same beat in a bar.
Note durations
Any musical sound can be not only high or low, but also long or short. And this property of sound is called duration. The duration of a note is not associated with any generally accepted durations (for example, a second, etc.), its length is considered only within specific composition, based on its pace, which the author chose.
Consider the designation of note durations and pauses in music. The table shows audio examples of the score, in which metronome counts as quarters.
Metronome (Greek μέτρον - measure, νόμος - law) - a device that marks short periods of time with uniform beats
If there is no metronome, then the score is kept by foot. When the sock moves down (touching the floor), the numbers (1,2,3,4) are counted; when the sock is raised, it is considered "I".
In the audio example, the metronome indicates only strong beats (numbers -1,2,3,4).
Share - elementary unit musical meter(similar to the common second, but its value may vary depending on the tempo musical composition). This unit is most often taken as 1 quarter note.
There are not so many main durations. This:
Whole - considered the longest duration, it is an ordinary circle or, if you like, an oval, an ellipse, empty inside - not filled in.
half is a duration that is exactly two times shorter than an integer. A half duration looks almost the same as a whole duration, only the head is not as fat, and it also has a calmness.
quarter is a duration that is half the length of a half note. And if you compare it with a whole note, then it will be four times shorter (after all, a quarter is 1/4 of the whole). A quarter note is necessarily shaded and it also has a calm, like a half note.
eighth– an eighth note is twice as short as a quarter note, four times as short as a half note, and eight pieces of eighth notes are needed to fill the time of one whole note (because an eighth note is 1/8 of a whole note. It differs from a quarter note Eighths often like to gather in groups of two or four, then all the tails are connected and form one common "roof" (edge).
sixteenth- twice as short as an eighth, four times as short as a quarter, and to fill a whole note, 16 such notes are needed. According to his writing, appearance this duration is very similar to the eighth, only there are two flags. Sixteenths like to gather in companies of four (sometimes two, of course), and they are connected by as many as two ribs.
When the "eighth" or "sixteenth" are not in an even group (2 or 4 notes each), then the stand-alone eighth is written like this: and the sixteenth like this:. 
Let's consider the account of various durations on the basis of a well-known melody. 
So far, we have considered durations that are multiples of two. There is another option for the designation of "fractional" durations.
Consider the figure (triplets are circled in red squares - more precisely, these are eighth triplets):
All notes are in eighth notes. The metronome counts in quarters.
Eighth triplets are three even eighths in one quarter.
In this case, when counting, “I” is not considered, since it falls between the shares and is difficult to count.
Let's look at one more example. Let's take sixteenths as a basis. The duration of the triplet will correspond to two sixteenths or one eighth, which is the same.
pauses
What musical signs are needed to show silence in a piece of music?
The silence of your voice or instrument (during the performance of the work) is called a pause. The duration of pauses is determined in the same way as for sounds (notes): it can be equal to a whole note, half note, quarter note, etc. Let's look at the notation of pauses: 
Here is an example of using pauses (there are no pauses in the original of this melody):
The same example, but without pauses:
The upper version sounds jerky because of the pauses, the lower one sounds smoother. Try to hear it.
By the way, pay attention to the fact that with the disappearance of pauses, the duration of the notes increased exactly by the length of the pause.
Time signature
Time signature (musical time signature) - the number of beats of a certain duration that form a measure.
Measures are designed specifically to help players keep track of where they are in the piece and play in the correct time signature. IN simple size it is in the measures that you can feel the true rhythm of the piece, even if you just look through musical notation without playing music. In simple time signature, the strong beat is always the first beat of each bar. This means that when you see a line like the one shown below, the rhythm is counted as follows: ONE two three four ONE two three four ONE two three four.
The length of a beat and the number of beats can vary. (2,4,6,8,16)
| Time signature | Pronunciation |
| 2/4 | two quarters |
| 3/4 | three quarters |
| 4/4 | four quarters |
| 6/8 | six eighths |
| 12/8 | twelve eighth |
There are more musical sizes than presented in the table. Their diversity was invented for conductors and composers, since a change in time signature changes not only the principle of counting, but also the nature of the music and the principle of playing the instrument. As part of the first stage of training, we are only interested in the score of music and the duration of notes, so we will only consider 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. We will return to the rest of the dimensions in the second stage of training.
Consider examples of counting in these musical sizes:
The illustrations in the examples are difficult to count by ear. The main thing is that you understand how many and what durations can be used in one size or another. Pay attention to the pauses of what duration are used in measures. It is necessary to calculate and make sure that in each measure the sum of the durations of notes and pauses corresponds to the musical time signature.
Size 4/4 (four quarters) consists of four beats, each of which is equal in duration to a quarter note.
Now for an example that looks more complicated, note that in triplets, "and" does not count.
Size 3/4 (three quarters). comprises three shares, each of which is equal in duration to a quarter note.
Here you will not see whole notes, because. A whole note does not fit in one measure.
Size 2/4 (two quarters). consists of two beats, each of which is equal in duration to a half note. Here, too, there are no whole notes.
Check yourself.
- What is the difference between a whole note and a quarter note in writing?
A whole note is written as an oval, and a quarter note with a filled head and a stem.
- What is the difference between a full pause and a half pause in writing?
A whole pause is written as a filled rectangle under the fourth line of the staff, and a half - on the third line.
- How is it different to record eighth notes individually and when they stand in several pieces?
Individually, eighth notes are written like quarter notes, but with a flag written to the right of the note. When there are several eighth notes next to each other, they are connected by one edge.
- How are the 8th and 16th pauses spelled?
- Clap eighths with counting out loud and counting with your foot.
- What do the numbers in the composition size mean?
The top number indicates the number of notes in a measure, the bottom number indicates the duration of these notes.
- Is it possible to use other durations in a measure, besides those that appear in the time signature?
- How many eighths are in one quarter? And how many eighths are triplets in one quarter? What is the difference between counting with a foot and aloud eighth and eighth triplets?
There are two eighth notes in a quarter. In counting, "and" is used when raising the leg.
When using an eighth triplet, three equal eighth notes are placed in a quarter. Do not use “and” in the account, since it would knock down an even score and it is inconvenient to count it.
- How many sixteenth notes can there be in one measure with a measure of 3/4
