Music Theory

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老师早安

一转眼，假期就要结束了！老师及同学们都收拾好心情准备上课了没？

童话公主

We wish you a Merry Christmas Song

Joy To The World

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Sharps, Flats and Naturals

Semitones and Whole Tones

Frog in the Middle

Music Lessons - Rhythm and Note Values

Quarter Note - Music Concept Song

Notes

Lines and spaces

Three Bears

The Family Song

Shaping and Volume of Music

Shaping and Volume of Music

For music to have some real feeling and expression it must be shaped.

Lagu Tiga Kupang

Basic Counting, Part 2:

Let's introduce a mixed example.

The quarter note is obviously beat 1 because from the time sig you know there are 4 quarter notes per measure. You also already know one half note = 2 quarter notes therefore the half note must be beats 2 and 3. Finally, you know that two eighth notes = 1 quarter note so they must be the "4 +".

When many different kinds of notes are intermingled, it starts to become tricky to count. Musicians will sometimes subdivide the notes so the counting flows more easily. Let's use the above example, but this time sub divides it.

Here every note in the measure is subdivided into 8th notes thus making it a lot more "fluid" to count. It’s pretty easy to understand too... one quarter note is two 8th notes, so it gets "1 +". The half note is really four eighth notes so it get "2 + 3 +". And the each 8th note get a half so one is "4" and the other is the "and" of 4.

Here would also be a good place to throw in a few examples with rests. These will just show the counting and will not explain them. Just think of the rests in terms of their corresponding notes and you'll have no problem!

Basic Counting:

One of the most obvious questions is how musicians know when to play. Well, it’s easy. They learn to count the beats.

First let us present you with this.

1 whole note = 2 half notes = 4 quarter notes = 8 eighth notes = 16 sixteenth notes.
Keep that in mind while looking at these examples.

Let’s start with this example.

First off, looking at the time signature you know that there are 4 quarter notes per measure.

In the first measure the whole note gets all the beats (1, 2, 3 and 4) because 1 whole note = 4 quarter notes, and there are a total of 4 quarter notes per measure.

In the second example, each half note gets 2 beats because 2 quarter notes = 1 half note.

In the third example, each quarter note gets its own beat because there are 4 quarter notes per measure (time sig).

Let's intermingle the 2 quarter notes and a half note.

The half note get the first 2 beats, and each quarter its own beat. This makes sense because the 4/4 time signature means there is 4 quarter notes per measure. 2 quarter notes + 1 half note (which is really 2 quarters) = 4 quarter notes, the total number of quarter notes for that measure (time sig).

Lets add in the eighth notes.

In this example there is something new. The + sign. It just means "and". If you said 1 + 2 + ... out loud it would sound like this.

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

Each eight note is 1/2 of a quarter note, therefore it takes 2 eighth notes to equal 1 quarter note.
Think of it like this: the 1 and the "and" are both half of one quarter note and together they form 1 quarter note and from the time sig we know there are 4 quarters per measure.

This may seem a little confusing now, but all of the sudden it will click. You will hit yourself in the head and wonder how you never understood it.

I Believe 我相信

No matter what, you have to believe in yourself. Just like these two boys.
Take note of the lyrics too, very meaningful! ^O^

Bass Clef

Beams:

Before we move on let’s explore the beaming of notes. Connecting together the flags of eighth and sixteenth notes is called a beam. It simply means pairing up the notes so there isn’t a big long stream of individual notes. They would be hard to read, but instead, by grouping the notes they are much easier to read.

Compare the following:
8 eighth notes

8 sixteenth notes

Grouping provides a great way to easily read and recognize our rhythm pattern for these notes.

Rests:

     Our next symbol concept is the rest. The rest will represent when an instrument or beat is not played.
     So we will not strike a beat or beats when a rest appears. You get to relax and allow silence to be part of your rhythm. Silence is just as important as sound. It allows you add space and accents to your music. Keep this in mind when you listen to your music choices and see if you can find the rest points.

The rests:

These are the five basic rest symbols we use. So each note has an equal rest.

Dotted rests:
And for our dotted notes we have dotted rests. They are applied as with notes.

 

Letter Names for Notes

How to draw Treble Cleft

Musical Notation

Dotted Notes:

We need to add one more component to complete our basic rhythm symbols. That will be the dot shows applied. Add it directly behind the note and it becomes a dotted note. It means add half the value to the note. We will look at that in music math.

We can add the dot to the other notes as well, this means to add half as much to the value again.

Time Signature and the Music Notes Symbols

So this is an example of a time signature. Before I explain how it relates to beats and so on let me explain what it means. On the right side of the Treble Clef (which I had explained in the previous lesson). There is numbers, in this case its 4/4 which means each measure gets 4 beats and the quarter note gets the 1 count. To explain that more we will just focus on the top number for now which indicates how many beats are in one measure.

First, let me explain the different types of notes there are in musical literature.

These are the five basic note symbols we use in most of the music and rhythms we will play.

So following the time signature that we are at (4/4) lets break down the measures.

1. Whole notes means 1 note in 1 measure
2. Half notes means 2 notes in 1 measure
3. Quarter notes means 4 notes in 1 measure
4. Eighth notes means 8 notes in 1 measure
5. Sixteenth notes means 16 notes in 1 measure.

Ok so we can go on forever with this but you should get the math now. Moving on, now that you see what the top part of the time signature means let’s look at the bottom which should be a little easier to pick up. Long story short each note is given a number value like so:

1. whole notes =1
2. half notes =2
3. quarter notes=4
4. eighth notes=8
5. 16th notes=16

So if we change the time signature to 4/8 it means we get 4 notes per measure and the eight note is counted as 1. So anytime you see an eighth notes you just count it as 1, 2, 3, 4-new measure.

Now let’s see how this will relate to studio work or music writing. Now the base of any song is the beat of the song. Now usually we would just assume that it’s the drum pattern which is true in most cases but remember it is not limited to just drums. So without getting complicated let’s look at counting a simple beat. Now we will count a measure in quarter notes with a time signature in 4/4

Now the count will be 1234 then repeat.

So following that count we will use that basic beat on a typical high hat or cymbal. So tap the cymbal for every beat in that measure following that counting pattern. Next we will look at the bass which will be played on EVERY odd number so in this case 1 &3 and last the snare drum which will be played on all the even numbers 2&4.

Fun with music

Get more fun here:
http://www.classicsforkids.com/games/

http://www.sfskids.org/templates/musicLabF.asp?pageid=23

Edelweiss

We learned this song before. So come along and sing it out together.

Jalur Gemilang

Let's sing together!

The Easiest Way to Learn Chords On The Keyboard / Piano

Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) - Invisible Drum Kit

He sure is an excellence performer!

Olivia Ong

You and Me

Sometimes When We Touch

Notes of the Piano

Notes are named after letters. There’s a “musical alphabet” that’s quite a bit shorter than the English one. It starts at A and ends at G. Then it repeats. For example: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, etc.

The keys on a piano are white and black, and they each have letter names. The white keys which called seven naturals on the keyboard are C, D, E, F, G, A and B.

Collectively, these notes are called “naturals.” After the B, the scale repeats itself on the next C. This means you only have to memorize seven notes!

C-E Keyboard Layout:          F-B Keyboard Layout:

   

When these two combine, it becomes:      

It will keep on repeating like this for seven full times on an eighty-eight-key piano. 

Girls' generation-Mr.Taxi VS Super Junior-Mr.Simple

Come on, let’s move your body while watching the music videos.

Jess Lee- Listen

Proud of her! She was a champion in one of the famous singing competition in Taiwan.

How to Read Piano Notes?

To play the piano, you need to learn about 2 “clefs.” They are signs which basically tell you whether to play high notes or low notes. They are the Treble Clef and Bass Clef.

Usually, you play the notes in the treble clef with your right hand. These are the higher notes. Play the notes in the bass clef with your left hand. These are the lower notes.

Music is written on lines and spaces – this is called the staff. When going up through the musical alphabet (like A, B, C, D), you alternate line – space – line – space.

For example: A = line, B = space, C = line, D = space. This is for the notes that are right next to each other on the piano keyboard.

To learn where the notes are on the staff just by looking, you can learn some sayings. This is the easiest way to begin to read piano notes. Let’s start with the treble clef.

Spaces – Treble Clef

The letters for the spaces on the treble clef form a word: FACE. F is the lowest space on the treble clef, and E is the highest.

Lines – Treble Clef

The letters on the lines from lowest to highest are E G B D F. The saying that can use to remember this order is: “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.” Feel free to make up one that you like.

Notice that the lowest line – E – is followed by the lowest space –F.

Spaces - Bass Clef

Now for the bass clef. The sayings I use to remember the lines and spaces for the bass clef have to do with animals. For the spaces we can use the saying, “All Cows Eat Grass.”

Lines - Bass Clef

For the lines in the bass clef, we can use the saying, “Great Big Ducks Fly Away.”

Notes of the Black Piano Keys

Black piano keys are called accidentals, and they are just that: the sharps and flats of the piano.

On the keyboard, there are five black accidentals per octave. They can be either sharp or flat, and are named after the notes they modify:

·         Sharp (#)
A sharp makes a note a half step higher in pitch.
On the keyboard, a note’s sharp is the black key directly to its right.

·         Flat (b)
A flat makes a note a half step lower in pitch.
On the keyboard, a note’s flat is the black key directly to its left.

* Both examples point to the same black key. When notes go by more than one name, it’s called “enharmonic”.

Memorize the Notes on the Piano Keyboard:

1.  Identify the white keys individually, and practice naming them until you can find each note without counting from C.

2.  You don’t need to memorize each sharp and flat by name just yet, but remember how to locate them on the keyboard using the natural keys.

Singing Lessons: Vocal Warm Up Exercises

Lets learn together.

An Inrtoduction to the Malaysia Musical instruments

Sarawak Sapeh [ Borneo Lute ]

The sape is one of the string instruments from the lute family, which has a short neck. It is made from soft wood, usually the meranti's. The sape has quite an elongated body which is hollowed out and functions as a resonator. The shape of the body looks like a sampan and is often called 'the boat lute' in the west.

History

The sape is a traditional lute of many of the Orang Ulu or "upriver people", who live in the longhouses that line the rivers of Central Borneo. Sapes are carved from a single bole of wood; many modern instruments reach over a meter in length.  It is famous among the Kayan and Kenyah tribes of East Malaysia. It is used in entertainment and to accompany dances such as 'Datun Julud and 'Ngajat' (one of the warrior dances associated with headhunting according to legend). Originally ,sape strings were made from the Sago tree but now these have been replaced by nylon strings.

Tuning

One of the systems that are usually used is as follows:

String 1: Tune like the middle C of the piano

String 2: Tune like C one octave lower than middle C

String 3: Tune to A, a minor third below middle C

String 4: Tune to F, a perfect fourth above middle C

Playing

All the strings are plucked using the thumb and only one of the strings is used to play the melody. The rest of the strings function as drone strings, playing only open strings. The strings are fixed across the body, supported by a bridge which is movable, for tuning purposes.

Songs

The sape repertoire comprises songs like: Sambe Main Daton, Jempen Letoh,Kabun, Kelewah, Eng-tang Takoh and Nau-hu. The Kelewah is usually performed for the purpose of entertainment of the residents of the longhouse. The sape is usually played in a duet, playing in two registers, low and high. Sape music is best known through the works of the late, great Tusau Padan. The tradition of Sape at presenter mains in the good hands of Uchau Bilong and Mathew Ngau Jau.

Construction

Initially the sape was a fairly limited instrument with two strings, three strings and four strings. Its use was restricted to a form of ritualistic music to induce trance.  It gradually became a social instrument, used as accompaniment for dances and as a form of entertainment. Today, three, four or five-string instruments are used, with arrange of more than three octaves.

Application

Musically, the sape is a simple instrument.  One string carries the melody; the accompanying strings are struck rhythmically to produce a drone.  In practice, the music is quite complex, with much ornamentation and thematic variations. There are two common modes, one for the men's longhouse dance and the other for the woman's longhouse dance.  There also is a third rarely used mode.  Sape music is usually inspired by dreams; there are over 35 traditional pieces with many variations. The overall repertoire is slowly increasing.

For more information, please click here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/49932729/Pengenalan-alat-muzik

A Quick Introduction to Do Re Mi

List Of Music Styles and Genres of Music

LIST OF MUSIC STYLES:
Please refer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_styles

GENRES OF MUSIC:
1. Classical and art music traditions
  (European classical music, Religious)
2. Electronic
3. Folk
4. Popular
--a. Blues
--b. Country
--c. Hip hop
--d. Jazz
--e. Reggae --f. Rock (Heavy metal, Punk rock)
5. Traditional