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The course consists of two parts of around 20 short lessons each, covering all the basics, from note names, scales and basic rhythms to chords.
Lessons can be done individually, in modules of just a few lessons at a time, or as a complete course. Most lessons only take around 10 minutes to read and, for lessons that include exercises, less than an hour to complete.
Music Theory De-mystified Free Basic Music Theory Course starts from scratch. It assumes nothing. The theory taught applies to all genres and styles: it is equally relevant to popular and classical music.
Hear it and see it for yourself!
There is an emphasis on listening and understanding. Lessons are amply illustrated with audio and diagrams as well as music notation.
No rules, just explanations. Descriptions are clear and concise and every major point is demonstrated: no need to take it on faith.
Lessons contain clear How-to sections complete with examples and exercises.
Lessons on scales, intervals, timing and rhythm include practical exercises designed to develop basic musicianship skills.
Music Theory De-mystified also contains various related posts including a growing series of tips and hacks as well as investigative articles about how music works.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
Voicing
The notes of a chord can be used more than once, at different octaves or in unison. They can also be played in any pitch order, not just as listed in the content.
The following are all a C major chord:
Arranging the notes of chords into a specific pitch order is called voicing.
There are many possible ways to voice a chord but the difference in character is often minimal. It’s not uncommon for chord parts to leave much of that detail up to the player, rather than write down the exact order of the notes. Chord charts are a good example of this approach.
However, there is one aspect of voicing that has an obvious impact on how the chord sounds, and that is the lowest note. It’s one detail that we should be able to describe, even in a chord chart.
Inversions Of Triads
The most significant note in how a chord is voiced is the lowest note. The lowest note in a chord is called the bass note, even if it’s not particularly low.
The bass note has more influence in the character of the chord than the higher notes.
When the root note is lowest, we say the chord is in root position
When the 3rd is lowest, the chord is in 1st inversion
When the 5th is lowest, the chord is in 2nd inversion
The easiest way to change the inversion of a triad is to take the lowest note and put it up an octave.
Let’s look at a major triad, C major.
You can spot which inversion a triad is in by looking at the intervals from note to note.
in root position we have a Major 3rd, then a minor 3rd
In 1st inversion we have a minor 3rd, then a perfect 4th
In 2nd inversion we have a perfect 4th then a major 3rd
Inversions of Minor Triads
Now let’s look at a minor triad, for example C minor.
The degrees are the same as the inversions of a major triad. Only the quality of the 3rds is different.
in root position we have a minor 3rd, then a Major 3rd
In 1st inversion we have a Major 3rd, then a perfect 4th
In 2nd inversion we have a perfect 4th then a minor 3rd
If the notes are written on a stave, you can spot the inversion for both major and minor triads by just counting scale notes (degrees).
Here are the same inversions as notes on a stave.
In the above examples the notes were written in their default pitch order, as consecutive notes in the triad. Often, the notes will be in a different order: the notes of a chord can be in any pitch order. Notes can be in different octaves, even multiple octaves.
For inversions, we ignore all of that detail. The only thing that affects the inversion is the bass note. If the bass note is the same then the chord is in the same inversion.
The bass note determines the inversion, regardless of the order of the higher notes.
The following C major chords are all in 1st inversion:
How To Name A Chord And Its Inversion
You can work out the name and inversion of a triad by its content. That is, by removing any extra octaves and listing the notes in triad order. Once the content is listed in order, the inversion is easily seen by looking at the intervals from note to note.
Method:
Name each note in the chord, excluding octaves
Write the content in triad order, lowest note first
Name the intervals between consecutive notes in the content
Match the order of the intervals to a chord inversion; either root position, 1st inversion or 2nd inversion
Name the root note, based on the pattern of intervals in the previous step
Name the chord and it’s inversion
Example:
The notes in the example and exercises below are played slightly arpeggiated so you can hear the individual notes more clearly.
From low to high, the notes are E C# A E A
The content, from the lowest note up and in triad order, is E A C#
E-A = perfect 4th, A-C# = Major 3rd
perfect 4th + Major 3rd is the pattern of a major chord in 2nd inversion
In 2nd inversion, the root note is the middle note (the upper note of the perfect 4th) = A
A major 2nd inversion
Try These … 1
The following chords are major or minor triads. There are no key signatures so you can’t assume they’re C major or A minor chords…
Name each chord and state its inversion (root position, 1st inversion or 2nd inversion).
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Answers at the end of this post.
TIP: Shortcut For Finding the Root Note of a Triad
If you see two chord notes that are a perfect 5th apart, the lower note is the root note.
If you see two chord notes a perfect 4th apart, the upper note is the root note.
Inversions and Chord Symbols: Slash Notation
For chord charts, there’s an easy, concise way to describe the inversion of a chord in a chord symbol, called slash notation.
In slash notation, we write the chord name, then a forward slash followed by the name of the bass note.
For example, a C minor chord in 1st inversion has an Eb bass. This would be written as Cm/Eb
In a chord chart, it’s like having a bass line as well as the chords rolled into one part.
Note: When the chord is in root position we don’t use a slash note, as the bass note is already in the chord name.
Try These… 2
Write the following chords in slash notation:
Work out the name of the bass note
Write the chord symbol, then a forward slash, then the name of the bass note
A major chord in 1st inversion
E minor chord in 1st inversion
D major chord in 2nd inversion
F minor chord in 2nd inversion
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
Bar Numbers
Each complete bar has a bar number. In a printed part, the bar number is usually written at the start of each stave except the first. Some parts number every bar or every few bars. Others, especially parts for shorter pieces, don’t include bar numbers at all.
Bar numbers are useful in longer pieces to identify sections that need practice.
How Bar Numbers Are Counted
A barline signifies the end of the current bar (and the start of the next bar).
The first complete bar is Bar 1. Typically Bar 1 starts on the first note or rest after the time signature. Bar 2 starts after the first barline.
Upbeats/Pickup Bars
I say typically because it’s not unusual for a part to start a note or two before the beginning of the first bar, as a lead-in to the first strong beat.
An example of this is when a song lyric starts with a preposition, such as “in the town”, “by the light” etc. where the emphasis is on the noun, “town” or “light”.
Lyrics or not, lead-ins are quite common. Usually a lead-in is just one or two quick notes, but longer lead-ins are also possible.
A lead-in is formally called an anacrusis. In popular music it is called an upbeat or a pickup bar.
Personally, I find the term “pickup bar” confusing because it isn’t a complete bar.
A pickup bar/upbeat/anacrusis consists of one or more notes before the start of bar 1.
Looping The Loop
Note that in the above example the last bar is 3 beats long instead of 4.
If the piece were to repeat, the timing would add up to whole bars and provide a smooth transition into the repeat.
If a piece starts with a partial bar, then it should finish with another partial bar equal to the remainder of that bar.
How To Recognise An Upbeat
An upbeat is less than a bar long. If the length of all the notes and rests before the first barline is less than a whole bar, it is an upbeat.
Bar 1 is always a complete bar. Anything less than a complete bar is an upbeat, not bar 1.
How To Work Out When To Come In
Add up the length of the notes in the incomplete bar
Subtract it from a whole bar to work out where the first note starts
Imagine rests being written from the start of the bar to the first written note.
For example, if there is 1 beat worth of notes before the first barline and the piece is in 4/4, there are 3 unwritten beats (4-1=3): the first note is on beat 4. Imagine rests where beats 1, 2 and 3 would go.
Counting In
When starting a piece, it’s always good to count a bar at the intended tempo before starting to play. In an ensemble this is essential, so everyone can come in on time, but even for solo playing, it helps to establish the tempo and time signature in your mind before you start.
For a partial bar, count a complete bar followed by the unwritten part of the bar. This ensures that you can feel the rhythmic structure correctly.
A time signature has a hierarchy which is implicit in every bar (See 6. Time Signatures 1 – Simple Time and B8. Time Signatures 2: Compound Time). Beat 1 is the strongest part of a bar. By counting a whole bar plus the unwritten part of the pickup bar, it’s easier to feel where within the bar the upbeat starts.
Try These…
Rewrite these melodies with rests before the first note to make up a whole bar.
Count in 1 bar plus the rests and tap, clap or play the rhythm.
Answers at the end of this post.
Upbeats Within A Piece
Upbeats don’t just occur at the beginning of a piece. Any musical phrase can start before the first full bar of that phrase. To do this, there has to be enough room at the end of the previous bar to fit the upbeat in.
In the above example, the first phrase finishes before the end of the bar to make room for the upbeat of the second phrase.
Practising A Phrase With An Upbeat
If you want to practise a phrase which starts with an upbeat without having to play all the way from the start, treat it like it’s the start of the piece: count rests over the end of the previous phrase so you know which part of the bar you come in on.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
What Is Swing?
Swing refers to a particular rhythmic character which features prominently in many popular genres including blues, rock and jazz: that of “uneven halves”; pairs of quavers with the first quaver lengthened and the second one shortened.
In compound time we would write this as a crotchet plus a quaver; 2+1.
In some genres, compound time isn’t very popular as a form of music notation. For musicians with a firm upbringing in simple time, having to interpret a dotted crotchet as one beat goes against the grain.
We could write the same rhythm in x/4 as a triplet group, as discussed in the previous lesson, B10. Note Values 3: Triplets, but it makes the music look cluttered.
With Swing
Instead, we can use a shortcut.
We can write it in x/4 as pairs of quavers, with the term “swing”, “with swing” or “swung eighths” written at the start of the piece, next to the tempo or character marking.
The term ”swing” is equally used in text notation such as chord charts.
Note: Quavers are often beamed in groups of 4. These are played the same as if they’re beamed in pairs. Every odd quaver is lengthened and every even quaver shortened.
Swing notation only works when the beat is predominantly divided into the swing pattern. Occasional variations based on thirds of a beat can be written as triplet groups.
Alternatively, the score can be written in compound time.
Degrees Of Swing
I don’t mean a PHD in swing…
Swing, or lopsidedness, can be applied in varying degrees, from hardly any to a lot. There is no formal way to notate this: it depends on what’s authentic to a particular genre and on the player’s personal interpretation.
The default interpretation is as described, 2/3 of a beat for the first “quaver” of the pair and 1/3 of a beat for the second.
Extreme swing, typically 3/4 of a beat + 1/4 of a beat, is usually notated formally in simple time as a dotted quaver + a semiquaver.
Try These…
Re-write the following melodies with swing in compound time, using the appropriate time signature (hint: check how many beats are in a bar).
Tap, clap or play the rhythm of the melodies as you have written them.
Once you feel the rhythm, try reading the version with swing as you play/tap.
For example,
Answers at the end of this post.
Swing And Compound Time
Although it’s seldom written on the score, the concept of swing can also be applied to compound time.
The typical way of giving a group of 3 quavers swing is to lengthen the first and shorten the 2nd, just as in simple time. The remaining quaver is generally left as a normal quaver.
This can also be notated formally as follows:
As with swing in simple time, the degree of swing applied when not notated formally is subject to interpretation and can vary from subtle to blatant.
A subtle degree of this type of swing is often used in traditional folk tunes such as jigs.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
In B8. Time Signatures 2: Compound Time we saw that we can regularly divide a beat into thirds and sixths by using a time signature in compound time. But what if we just wanted the occasional beat in thirds while the rest of the piece contains half and quarter beats?
Triplets
In simple time, we can divide an individual beat into thirds by using triplets, in this case triplet quavers.
Triplets are indicated with a triplet sign; the number 3 written outside the beam.
In terms of duration,
1 crotchet = 2 normal quavers = 3 triplet quavers
It’s not just crotchets that can be divided into triplets: any standard note value (excluding dotted notes) can. If the note value is too long to use beams, a square bracket is used to indicate the grouping.
In general terms, 3 triplets of any note value are the same total length as two normal notes of that value. They equal one of the next longer note value.
Other Combinations
Any rhythm based on dividing a note into thirds rather than halves can be used within the triplet group, such as a triplet crotchet plus a triplet quaver or a series of triplet semiquavers.
Any rhythm in compound time can be written as triplet groups in simple time.
Note that because a triplet crotchet-quaver group has no beam, a square bracket is used to allow us to see where the beats are.
Sometimes square brackets are written over beamed triplets as well.
How To Play Triplets
When you first try to tap or play triplets in simple time, it’s often hard to keep them even.
The most common mistake is to play the first and second quavers too fast and the last one too slow, resulting in 2 semiquavers and a quaver. This has quite a different character.
Practise these rhythms made up of triplet groups. If you find them difficult, slow the tempo down.
Rewrite the rhythms in 12/8 (tip: each triplet is equal to 1 beat of compound time).
Answers at the end of this post.
Swapping Between Quavers And Triplets
Before being able to freely swap between quavers and triplets,
Practise each rhythm separately to a metronome at a medium-slow tempo, say around 80bpm.
Once you feel fully settled, try 4 beats of each, then 2.
Eventually you will be able to alternate at will.
The trick to learning rhythms is repetition. Play each rhythm till you can do it instinctively.
Any rhythm, even a simple one, needs to be so familiar that you can remember it by its character or feel, rather than having to figure it out from scratch every time you play it.
Avoiding Clutter
Triplet signs, especially those with brackets, make the music look unusually cluttered. This is fine for the odd triplet in the midst of normal note values but these common groupings could easily be the main rhythm of the piece. Imagine a whole piece written in triplets!
Pieces which predominantly use triplets are either written in compound time or by using a shortcut which we’ll look at in the next lesson.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
The standard note values make it easy to to indicate lengths of half or quarter of a beat. This suits some rhythms but not all. Many others are based on dividing a beat into thirds.
Dividing A Beat Into Thirds
Rhythms based on 1/3 beat subdivisions have a slightly more lelaxed feel compared to semiquavers; they sound a little less intense…
That’s not to say that these rhythms can’t be powerful and driving!
*
Compound Time
So how can we divide a beat into thirds of a beat when the standard note value symbols are based on halves?
We do this by using a symbol for 1 beat which naturally has 1/3 beat subdivisions, the dotted crotchet.
A dotted crotchet is the same length as 3 quavers.
In simple time we count beats and half beats as ”1-and 2-and” etc.
In compound time we count ”1-and-a 2-and-a” etc.
Time Signatures With A Dotted Crotchet Beat
To make a beat which naturally divides into thirds, we want the dotted crotchet, not the crotchet, to be the symbol for 1 beat. So how do we distill this into a fraction name?
A dotted crotchet = a crotchet + a quaver. As a fraction, that’s 1/4 + 1/8 = 3/8. The dotted crotchet is a 3/8 note.
Time signatures are written as the number of beats in a bar x the note value for 1 beat.
A bar of 2 dotted crotchet beats is 2 x 3/8 = 6/8
A bar of 3 dotted crotchet beats is 3 x 3/8 = 9/8
A bar of 4 dotted crotchet beats is 4 x 3/8 = 12/8
And so on…
Review: Time Signatures In Simple Time
Time signatures are fractions. In simple time, the upper note, the numerator, represents the number of beats in a bar and the lower note, the denominator, represents the name of the note value which represents 1 beat.
Split up, a time signature in simple time looks like this:
3/4 = 3 x 1/4 note (crotchet) beats per bar
Other note values can also be used to represent 1 beat. For example,
4/8 = 4 x 1/8 note (quaver) beats per bar 2/2 = 2 x 1/2 note (minim) beats per bar
Reserved Time Signatures
When we see a time signature like 6/8 we would normally assume that there are 6 beats in the bar, each of which is a quaver (1/8 note). However, 6/8 and higher multiples of 3/8 (not 3/8 itself) are reserved for music which requires a dotted crotchet beat.
These time signatures aren’t what they appear to be; they need to be broken down to be understood. Appropriately, they are collectively known as compound time.
It takes a little while to get used to reading music in compound time. We’re so used to seeing a crotchet as 1 beat that it’s hard not to think of a dotted crotchet as 1 1/2 beats…
The trick for reading compound time is to think of each dotted crotchet as a fast bar of 3. More on this later…
Hierarchy Of Compound Time
Bars have strong and weak beats. This is true for both simple and compound time. The only difference is whether a beat naturally divides into halves or thirds.
Below are the hierarchies of strong and weak points in 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8.
How To Read And Play Compound Time
In simple time, we can make a piece easier to learn by slowing it to half the tempo and counting every half-beat as a beat. For a reminder, please visit 3. Beats, Tempo and Timing.
In compound time, the same method would have us slow down to 1/3 of the tempo so each quaver can be counted as a beat. Practically, we don’t need to slow down quite so much, but the principle is the same.
Think of each dotted crotchet grouping as a miniature bar of 3 quaver beats, a bar of 3/8. Three beats per bar at a fast tempo is familiar to many as a waltz. If you know what a fast waltz feels like, you’re well on the way… if not, practice each dotted crotchet’s worth of notes as a separate bar of 3 until you feel the rhythm.
Once you can feel character of each beat of 3/8 as a simple 3-beat rhythm, you can start to speed up the tempo a bit until each bar of 3/8 feels like a beat in the overall time signature.
For example,
Zoom in a little. Think of each beat as a bar of 3.
It may look more familiar if we rewrite it as 3/4. Simply double each note value.
If you’re familiar with simple rhythms in 3/4, you’ll be able to play them at the tempo of a fast waltz.
Tap, clap or play along:
3/8 has the same beat structure as 3/4, it just looks different. Just count quavers as beats instead of crotchets…
Once you’re used to the character, increase the tempo until it’s quite fast, say 180 bpm.
As you speed up, you’ll start to feel each group of 3/8 as a single beat.
Once you feel the character of the whole rhythm, you can increase the tempo further if needed.
In the next lesson we will look at some common rhythms in compound time.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe.
* Audio extract from Another Hopeless Situation by Erik Kowarski
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
Note: This lesson looks at how very high and very low notes are written in music notation. When note pitches are written as text, their exact pitch is indicated by octave numbers. For more on text notation and octave numbering, including some examples and exercises, please visit Text Notation: Pitch And Octave Numbering.
Pitch Ranges Of Instruments
The piano keyboard spans over seven octaves, yet the great stave, the treble clef and bass clef combined, only covers about four octaves, even if we use a couple of ledger lines.
Most instruments only read one stave, yet the issue is the same. Treble instruments often have an extended range of high notes, well above the top of the treble clef. Many bass instruments have a lower range which extends well below the bottom of the bass clef. (For more on pitch ranges of different instruments, please visit Pitch Ranges).
Sure, it’s possible to use more ledger lines to increase the range, but lots of ledger lines are hard to read and take up a lot of space outside the stave. It looks even scarier when there’s a whole passage of notes with several ledger lines.
Octave Signs
When there are several very high notes on the treble clef, we can write them one octave lower and add an octave sign above the first note, followed by a dotted line which extends over the affected passage. A small bar at the end of the dotted line indicates the end of the octave sign.
For very low notes on the bass clef, we write the passage one octave higher. The octave sign, dotted line and bar appear below the affected notes.
Note:
The exact point at which you start and finish an octave sign is up to the writer: it’s okay to have some notes with a couple of ledger lines.
Octave signs can start and finish anywhere in a bar.
Octave signs are seldom used for a single note. They work best when covering several notes or more.
8va and 8vb extend the range of the great stave from over 4 octaves to over 6; even more when combined with the use of a couple of extra ledger lines.
High Octave, Low Octave
Notice a subtle difference in the two signs: the octave up sign is 8va and the octave down sign is 8vb.
8va stands for ottava alta which is Italian for a high octave
8vb stands for ottava bassa, meaning a low octave
I think of these as:
8va is an octave above what’s written
8vb is an octave below what’s written
Alternatively, you can just write 8 in either case.
Need to go even higher or lower? You can use the 2-octave up or 2-octave down sign.
15ma means 2 octaves up
15mb means 2 octaves down
If you wondering why the sign for 2 octaves is 15 rather than 16, it’s because, when counting intervals between one and two octaves, one letter is counted twice. For more on large interval names, please visit How To Name Intervals Larger Than 1 Octave.
What if we want to write very high notes in the bass clef?
This is less common, as bass instruments tend to have a limited treble range, just as treble instruments tend to have a limited bass range. However, for instruments with an extended range such as synthesisers, both octave signs can be used in either clef.
The great stave is considered as a single stave, so in piano music, 8va is only used on the treble clef and 8vb only on the bass clef.
Clef Changes
Another method of changing the displayed pitch of notes is to temporarily change clefs. Like octave signs, these are best used for passages of several notes or more.
Admittedly, this approach suits keyboard players best, as they are well versed in reading both treble and bass clefs. For readers of a single clef, octave below signs may be preferable.
Changing Clefs
In the bass clef, switch to the treble clef for very high notes. The bass clef stays in effect until the next treble clef. No dotted line is needed.
Like octave signs, clef changes can occur anywhere in a bar.
In the treble clef you can switch to the bass clef for very low notes.
Try These…
The exercises below involve both the treble and bass clef. If you only read one or the other, the illustration at the top of the post may help…
Ledger lines involve careful counting. These exercises are good examples of how octave signs and clef changes make reading easier.
Note: The “answers” supplied at the end of this post are not the only option of where to start and finish the octave signs or clef changes. As stated earlier, this is a subjective choice: a few ledger lines are acceptable in standard music notation.
A) Rewrite the following passages using octave signs
B) Rewrite the following passages using either octave signs or temporary clefs
Answers at the end of this post.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a growing series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
Note: Students who solely use text notation can skip this lesson. Text notation seldom uses key signatures so sharps and flats are written after every instance of a note. In text notation, accidentals are indistinguishable from notes in the key which have a sharp or flat.
What Is An Accidental?
The term accidental has two meanings.
An accidental is a general term for a sign affecting the pitch of a note, such as a sharp, flat or natural sign.
Within a key, an accidental is the term for a note that has been sharpened or flattened, so that it’s no longer part of the key. Sharps or flats that are part of the key signature are not considered to be accidentals. The following refers to how accidentals are used within the context of a key signature.
Unlike key signatures, accidentals only last within a bar and they are only applicable to the same octave: if the same note is used more than once in a bar, at the same octave, the accidental is only written for the first one.
The exception to this is that accidentals aren’t used in the middle of a tie, even if the tie crosses a barline. This is because tied notes are considered to be a single, longer note.
An accidental only lasts till the next barline.
An accidental only applies to a single note pitch. The same note at another octave requires it’s own accidental.
An accidental lasts the full length of a note, including tied notes. No accidental is used within a tie, even if it crosses a barline.
Courtesy Accidentals
An accidental lasts until the end of a bar. In the next bar, the note automatically reverts back to the key signature. As a reminder, this can be indicated by a courtesy accidental.
An example of this is the descending 7th and 6th notes in the melodic minor examples from the previous lesson, B3. Melodic And Harmonic Minor.
Courtesy accidentals, also known as cautionary accidentals, are sometimes written in parentheses () to indicate that each is only a reminder that a note is restored to the key signature.
Although not strictly necessary, it’s common practice to include courtesy accidentals. Whether or not you use parentheses is a matter of personal choice.
Example
The example below is in G melodic minor, requiring E natural and F# as accidentals when the melody ascends.
Accidental is only used at the beginning of a tied note, even if it crosses a bar.
Courtesy accidental because there is an F# in the previous bar, even though, as the end of a tied note, it is not written (see point 1).
Accidental is used for the first instance of each octave of a note within a bar.
Accidental is only used for the first instance of a note within a bar.
Courtesy accidental even though it’s in the key signature, because it was sharpened in the previous bar.
Ties And Slurs
A tie is a curved line that joins 2 notes of the same pitch to produce one longer note. It is placed adjacent to the notehead, opposite the stem.
A slur is a curved line that joins 2 (or more) notes of different pitches to indicate legato; full-length notes that are not articulated separately within the slur. It is placed adjacent to the notehead, opposite the stem.
Ties and slurs look the same. The only difference between a tie and a slur over 2 notes is the pitch.
Note: if the tied note is within a slur, the tie is always written closest to the notehead.
What if we wanted a slur to join a sharpened note at the end of a bar with its un-sharpened version at the start of the next bar? How can we distinguish this from a sharpened note tied over the barline?
In this case, the slurred note would receive a courtesy accidental, whereas there’s never an accidental within a tie.
Try These…
In the short melodies below, every note that’s sharpened is written with an accidental. Cross out any accidentals that shouldn’t be written and add any courtesy accidentals (or if you prefer, rewrite the exercises with the correct use of accidentals).
For example,
The answers, at the end of this post, show courtesy accidentals in parentheses. Parentheses are optional.
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This post is one of a growing series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
A time signature has an inherent hierarchy of strong and weak points within the bar. Syncopation is the emphasis of weak parts of the time signature. This introduces a dynamic interaction between the time signature’s implied rhythm and the rhythm of the part; a sense of going “against the grain”.
The Back Beat
The simplest form of syncopation is to emphasise the weak beats instead of the strong beats. The classic example of this can be found in many popular music genres since the advent of rock & roll; the snare drum playing the “back beat”, emphasising beats 2 and 4 in a 4-beat bar.
A similar effect can be achieved on any instrument by accenting the weak beats. Below is an example of a quaver rhythm, first with accents on the strong beats, then on the weak beats.
Tap, clap or play along to the following rhythms:
Playing Off The Beat
The back beat is only syncopation in the broadest sense. The term syncopation typically refers to emphasising weak parts within the beat a rather than just the weak beats.
The most common example of syncopation within the beat is to emphasise the 2nd quaver of each beat, the “off-beats” or “and”s, instead of the beat itself.
The following example of a bar of quavers uses accents, first to emphasise each beat, then to emphasise each off-beat quaver. Listen to the rhythms then tap, clap or play along:
Listen again and this time, only tap on the accented notes.
Syncopation adds excitement to a rhythm. Even in rhythms which are largely on the beat, the odd syncopated moment adds life to a part.
In the drum rhythm below, there is a brief syncopation is in the second half of bars 2 and 4.
Ways To Syncopate
Syncopation can be achieved in 2 ways:
by emphasising a note or notes on a weak part of the bar as above, with an accent.
by de-emphasising a strong part of the bar, in particular by not playing a note there at all. This can be because there’s a rest or because the previous note is still sounding.
Note that when clapping or tapping, there is no audible difference between these two bars.
Zooming In
Syncopation doesn’t just refer to emphasising the off-beat quavers. A more aggressive version would be to syncopate by a semiquaver.
A couple of the rhythms we learnt in 20. How To Read Rhythms 1 had semiquaver syncopation within the beat, by not playing a note on the “and”, the 2nd quaver. We can see now why these felt harder to learn than the others… Here’s an example of a bar with these two rhythms. Tap or play along:
Once you’ve experienced it, syncopation feels quite “natural”. In many popular genres, singers seldom sing exactly on the beat, even if that’s how the melody is written. Instead, they instinctively apply a degree of syncopation so the melody doesn’t sound too rigid. Rhythmic players rely on syncopation to add dynamics and drive.
Learning To Syncopate
Like many rhythms, syncopation is best learnt initially using a metronome. The secret to being able to syncopate is to feel the beat – to know where the beat (or strong beat) is, and then to know what relationship your note has to the beat.
Some musicians find it easy to tap the beat with their foot while playing. If this works for you, then by all means tap instead of using a metronome. However, many find it awkward to tap on the beat while playing off the beat, especially when first learning a new rhythm.
Foot Tapping Tip: In simple time, use the action of lifting your toes between taps to represent the half-beats; the “and”s.
If the rhythm seems tricky, remember to slow down the tempo and zoom in, as discussed in 20. How To Read Rhythms 1.
Ultimately, once you know a rhythm well enough to be able to feel it, you will no longer need the metronome. Metronomes can become quite annoying over time(!) so it’s worth weaning yourself off it as soon as you can feel the rhythm properly.
Mixed rhythms
Many parts, rhythmic as well as melodic, have a degree of variation in their rhythm, often achieved by brief syncopations in between overall on-beat rhythms.
Try These…
Play the movies below and tap the rhythms with your hand on a bench top, or if you prefer, clap. Listen carefully to the metronome click so you remain aware of the beat…
Once you’ve learnt each rhythm, play it to a metronome at 60 bpm without the movie. Gradually increase the tempo to 100 bpm or more. You can play along to the following movies of the rhythms at 100 bpm to see how you went.
Being able to tap the beats with your foot while playing is a useful skill. Practice tapping the beats with your foot, together with the metronome, while playing or tapping/clapping the above rhythms with your hands. As you settle in, stop the metronome and try it by yourself.
Notation Tip
Rhythms are usually notated so that it’s clear to see where the beats are. For shorter notes, this is indicated by beaming. For longer notes, the note is split into shorter notes and joined by a tie (see 21. Note Values 2: Ties).
When crotchets fall halfway between beats, on the “and”s, they can be written as crotchets: it’s such a common occurrence that most musicians, once they see a crotchet after a single quaver or quaver rest, are familiar with this shortcut.
However, crotchets which are a semiquaver off the beat must be split and tied to show where the beats are, otherwise the music is too hard to follow.
In the correct example above we can see that the next note starts just after each beat. The position of each beat is clearly shown by the beaming.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date wth new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
