A blog about music theory demystified. Music theory and notation made simple. A holistic approach to understanding music theory. Free basic music theory lessons. Online music theory books.
The contrast of loud and soft (quiet) is important in shaping a performance.
Dynamics is the musical term for how a musician varies loudness. When printed, dynamics are written below the stave with symbols and words in bolditalics.
In a score, each part can have its own dynamics, whereas tempo/character markings apply to the whole score. As with character and tempo markings, symbols are based on Italian words.
The following list shows the most commonly used dynamics. The default dynamic, when nothing is written, is mf (mezzo forte), or moderately loud.
Dynamics Flyover
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We have already looked at tempo: the ability to play in varying tempi, speed up or slow down while playing, or play freely, with totally flexible timing.
Overall tempo within a section of music is indicated by a metronome marking indicating the tempo in beats per minute (bpm). As we have seen in previous chapters, this is usually written as the note value representing 1 beat in the time signature followed by = and a metronome number.
Other terms and symbols are used to indicate changes in tempo within a piece. The list below is of the more common of these.
The dashed line following terms which indicate gradual tempo change extends over the number of bars or beats over which the change occurs. Tempo markings that describe an overall tempo are listed in Character Markings And Their Tempo Ranges.
Tempo Change Flyover
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These are usually descriptive words and can appear in a variety of languages including English. The Italian names are prevalent in Classical music, but in Jazz they’re usually English. Other genres often use the language of their origin.
Character markings appear above the start of the first stave on the first page, where metronome markings are also written, in Bold type.
We associate Italian character names with tempo, largely because metronomes attach tempo ranges to them, but it’s more about the character than the tempo. The ranges are quite wide, though, and it’s likely that, to achieve the appropriate character, the tempo will end up within the suggested range.
The list below lists the more common tempo markings. Other variations add –issimo to the end of the word to intensify the meaning (Larghissimo means extremely slow, Prestissimo means extremely fast), or –ino or –etto to soften the meaning (Allegretto is slightly slower than Allegro).
If the piece is to be played at a specific tempo, a metronome marking can be written after a character name.
*At the lowest tempi it becomes difficult to count the beats accurately without counting the ”ands”, the next shorter note value. For more on this, please visit 20. How To Read Rhythms 1.
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.
For convenience I will assume that a crotchet equals 1 beat. This is the case in time signatures of X/4, such as 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 etc. In these time signatures we have note values for 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1 1/2, 2, 3 and 4 beats. Including double-dotted notes we can add 1 3/4 and 3 1/2 beats.
But what if we want to have a note longer than a bar? Or a note that’s 2 1/2 beats long? Or a note that’s starts before a barline but continues after it?
Ties
A tie is a curved line joining two consecutive notes of the same pitch, resulting in a continuous note of their combined length.
For instance, 2 minims joined by a tie sound like a semibreve.
If you want to join more than 2 notes together, such as when a note is several bars long, use a tie between each pair.
Here are a few examples:
For longer notes, the same length note may need to be broken up differently depending on the time signature. Here is a 9-beat long note in 4/4 and 3/4:
Ties are written opposite the stem.
If the stems go above the notehead, ties are written underneath the note.
If the stems go below the notehead, ties are written above the note.
NOTE: Tied notes must be of the same pitch!
Slurs Are Not Ties
You may have seen curved lines joining notes of different pitch, or encompassing several notes. These are not ties! They are called slurs and are used as an expression mark meaning legato, to play smoothly, without break or emphasis.
*Some common expression markings can be found in Beginner’s Tips (coming soon).
A tie can occur inside a slur.
Try These…
Write the following note lengths, using multiple note values and ties as necessary:
3 and a half beats
2 and a quarter beats
7 beats in 4/4
6 and a half beats in 4/4
6 and a half beats in 3/4
10 and three quarter beats in 4/4
Answers at the end of this post.
Beaming and the Time Signature Hierarchy
Short notes are beamed in groups of 1 beat (in X/4, quavers can also be beamed in groups of 1 strong beat). A beam always runs from the start of a beat to the end of that beat.
Beams never run across a beat. The idea is that, in a passage of short notes, you can see at a glance where the beats fall because of the way the notes are beamed.
If a note starts partway through one beat and carries over to the 2nd beat, it should be written as two shorter notes, one at the end of one beat and one at the start of the next beat, and joined with a tie.
This enables the reader to see where the beats fall, including when that’s part-way through a note. Wrongly beamed notes make the music very difficult to read!
Note:
Rhythms with notes that cross the beat, such as the previous example and those following, are not very easy to play compared to the rhythms we’ve already learnt.
When notes are split up correctly and joined with ties, we can see when a beat falls part-way through a note. This makes it possible to learn such new rhythms by zooming in and counting quavers. (If it’s still hard to play, we can zoom in twice and count each semiquaver as a beat, as explained in the previous lesson).
Playing notes that cross the beat is a form of syncopation. We’ll look at syncopation, including some basic exercises, in Part 2 of this course.
Longer Notes and Time Signatures
If a longer note starts before or after a beat, it, too, must be split up to show where the beats fall.
If we want a minim to start on, say, the 2nd semiquaver, we have to split it up into 3 parts to show where the beats fall. It may seem like a hassle but, as I mentioned earlier, indicating where the beats fall makes it so much easier to read and play.
Note: Due to common usage, a crotchet or dotted crotchet can start on any quaver but if it starts on the 2nd or 4th semiquaver (after a semiquaver or dotted quaver) you have to split it as above.
Try These…
Rewrite the following rhythms with correct beaming, splitting notes which fall across a beat and using ties where necessary:
Answers at the end of this post.
What’s Next?
This is the final lesson in Part 1 of my 2-part course in basic music theory.
Part 2 will commence later this year. In the meantime, here are a couple of suggestions for revision and follow-up.
Follow-up
Keep practising the musicianship exercises in this course (and similar exercises) until they are second nature. The abilities to sing or hum scales and intervals and to tap, clap or play rhythms are general skills useful for most instruments and genres.
These skills also help to connect notation and music theory to musical experience.
*Relevant lessons can be quickly found under the post category of Musicianship.
Visit the category Beginner’s Tips for extra posts on navigation signs, dynamics, tempo and expression markings.
Practise reading simple, well-known melodies in various keys in your preferred genre and clef.
Revision
Music Theory
Revisit the major musical concepts of modes, scales, and keys.
Become familiar with key signatures. Either learn them via a mnemonic or become quick at using key relationships to work them out.
Become familiar with key relationships: the cycle of 5ths (or at least how it works), relative major/minor and parallel major/minor.
Revisit major/minor/perfect interval names and how to name an interval.
Notation
Become familiar with the time signature hierarchy of 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.
Practice reading and writing 1-beat rhythms (down to semiquavers).
Write key signatures in their correct sequence.
Coming Soon… Part 2 of this 2-part course in basic music theory.
This will include harmonic and melodic minor, augmented/diminished intervals, major/minor/modal chords, 7th chords, syncopation, compound time and more.
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.
Congratulations!
You have completed Part 1 of Music Theory De-mystified basic music theory course. I hope you have enjoyed it.
Part 2 includes augmented/diminished intervals, compound time signatures, plenty of basic rhythm exercises, melodic and harmonic minors, major and minor chords and more.
Some parts, especially rhythmic parts but also short phrases in melodic parts such as riffs, have a bar which is repeated a number of times in succession. Rather than having to write the same notes out many times we can just write the notes for the first time, then use the musical equivalent of a ditto, the repeat bar.
As rhythms are often 2 or 4 bars long there is also a 2-bar repeat and a 4-bar repeat.
The first time, the content (of 1, 2 or 4 bars) is written in full. The bar repeat symbol is written in the bars or groups of bars over which the content should be repeated.
The number of bars of the bar repeat is reflected in the number of bars the symbol covers and the number of slashes in the symbol. As a courtesy, the number 2 or 4 is written above the 2- and 4-bar repeat bar symbol.
Optionally, every few repeats, a tally of the number of times the content is played so far (including the original written-out bar(s)) is indicated above the repeat bar. This helps keep track of which repeat bar we’re up to.
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Hi, I’m Erik Kowarski. Welcome to my blog! At any time, please feel free to comment. If you find my posts useful, please like and share them. You can also subscribe so you’ll be notified of new posts. To go straight to the latest post, scroll down.
In this blog I try where possible to look at music, or at least Western music, as a whole, rather than in terms of a specific genre; to explore the underlying principles and learn by observation rather than by a set of rules.
The posts are grouped into categories. On the Posts page there is a list of individual posts within each category, oldest first. This is particularly useful for Basic Music Theory Lessons as they should be done in numerical order.
Basic Music Theory Lessons is a 2-part course designed for beginners and self-taught musicians. Using clear explanations rather than rules it focuses on theory that applies broadly, across all genres. The emphasis is on learning by listening and observation.
The lessons can be done as a course, in small modules or as individual lessons.
If you’re a beginner, Basic Music Theory Lessons are the posts for you. Nothing is assumed, everything is explained from scratch. There are plenty of illustrations, audio clips and mini movies as well as practical tips and exercises. Every major point is backed by examples you can hear.
If you have a question, please post it as a comment and I will reply when I can.
Beginner’s Tips and Hacks
Beginner’s Tips offers some handy hacks and tips as well as lists for quick reference.
Music Theory De-mystified
Music Theory De-mystified, aka The De-mystified Files, is a series of brief investigations into what makes music theory tick. A very basic understanding of music theory is assumed, such as note names, key signatures and basic interval names. Although I still endeavour to explain related background information, the posts would get too long and with too many detours if I followed every back story. Instead, I try to look at one unusual aspect of music theory and provide some context.
Musicianship
A list of all posts which contain musicianship/ear training exercises. These include timing, rhythm, singing scales, pitching intervals, recognising notes in a triad and more.
Musings
Musings is a forum for discussion. The posts are my personal thoughts and observations- you might agree or disagree with my views. I would love to receive your comments.
The Interval-Singing Project
A survey looking for different intervals used at the start of popular songs in various genres. The aim is to build a database of familiar songs containing each interval, as a learning aid for singing intervals. The database will be available free to subscribers.
The Theory Of Practice
Tips on practice technique.
Please like and share my posts. If you have any questions, please leave them as a comment and I’ll reply as soon as I can.
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 Length
In 3. Beats, Tempo And Timing we saw that the length of a note is counted in beats, and that the length of a beat is determined by the tempo. For instance, when the tempo is 60 bpm (beats per minute), 1 beat is 1 second long: for a tempo of 120 bpm, 1 beat is 1/2 second long. Notes can be any length, from a number of beats to a fraction of a beat.
Note Values
Although we count in beats, not all notes are a beat, or even a whole number of beats, in length. Some are longer, some shorter.
The symbols for note length are called note values. How we interpret these symbols depends on the time signature. Time signatures are a subject for a later post, but let me say for now that the most popular time signature, common time, as well as several others, use the crotchet (quarter note) to represent one beat. For the rest of this post I will refer to a crotchet as 1 beat.
Tempo markings often include the note value which represents 1 beat. When a crotchet = 1 beat, a tempo of 60 bpm is indicated as follows:
60 crotchet beats per minute
Funny Names
There is both an English and an American name for each note value. The American name is a fraction based on a whole note equaling the number 1 (1 = whole). The next shorter shorter note is half its length and is called a half note, etc. The “1” refers to 1 bar in the most common time signature of all, 4/4, which has 4 beats per bar.
The English names are old-fashioned names meaning various degrees of “short”, harking back to the original Medieval runes and the gradual evolution of note symbols since.
On the whole I will be using the English names to avoid confusion between a half note and half a beat, etc. However, I recommend learning the American names as well: note values as fractions are the key to interpreting time signatures. In the table below, I have listed both names.
Table of Note Values
The following table lists the most common note values from longest to shortest. The “Usual Length” column shows the length in beats in common time.
Regardless of time signature, the note values are always proportional to each other. Each note value in the table always equals two of the note value below it. A semibreve = 2 minims, a minim = 2 crotchets etc.
The longest note value is called a semibreve because originally there was an even longer note, the breve. The breve is seldom used these days because, at 8 beats long, most time signatures don’t have bars long enough to be able to fit a breve within a bar.
Don’t be daunted by all these symbols. Just focus on the note values that are 1 beat or longer to start with; the ones bordered in green. It’s much easier to add beats together to play longer notes than to divide a beat into halves or quarters. Later you can include quavers, and eventually, semiquavers. Demisemiquavers are much less common.
Stem direction
All but the longest note values have a stem. The stems in the above tables are shown as extending upward from the notehead.
In 2. Notes On a Stave: Pitch we saw that on a stave, the stem’s position and direction depends on where the notehead sits on the stave.
Notes which are on or above the middle line of the stave have their stems on the left of the notehead, extending down.
Notes below the middle line of the stave have their stems on the right of the notehead, extending up.
Tails and beams are always at the outer end of the stem.
Tails and Beams
Notes shorter than a crotchet have a tail. The shorter the note, the more lines make up the tail. When there are several short notes in succession, their tails are joined together to form a beam. Beams generally join the notes in 1-beat groups such as 2 quavers, 4 semiquavers etc. This allows us to see which notes are on the beats, making the music easier to follow. It’s also a cleaner, less cluttered look.
The exception is quavers/ eighth notes, which can be joined together in one-, two- or even three-beat groups.
Below is an example of the different note values, with the shorter notes beamed in groups. In this example the quavers are beamed in groups of 2 beats (4 quavers).
The vertical lines, called barlines, occur every 4 beats, as in the time signature 4/4. In 4/4, a semibreve lasts for 1 bar.
As you listen, you will hear a metronome tick at 80 bpm and repeated notes of the different note values played over it. The use of different note pitches is just for listening convenience.
Notice that the demisemiquavers have only their outer tail beamed in whole beats: the inner tails are beamed in half-beats. This is a popular convention for an even cleaner look but not necessary. Some publishers beam all demisemiquaver tails in whole beats.
Dotted Notes
A note can be any length. For example, we may want a note to last for 3 beats rather than 2 or 4 beats. One option is to use a dotted note.
Each note value can have a dot beside it, to the right. The dot adds half the length of the note value: the dotted note is one and a half times the length of the note without the dot. Effectively, the dot represents the note value directly below the note in the note value table above. For example, a dotted minim (3 beats) = a minim (2 beats) plus a crotchet (1 beat).
The best way to get used to note values is to try to play some written music; notation means nothing until you try to play what you see. Start with something simple such as a children’s song or a melody that you’re very familiar with. If that seems too difficult, please visit my earlier post, 3. Beats, Tempo and Timing, which has some simple timing exercises that might provide a good starting point.
For more, see 7. Rest Values, How To Count Rests. In upcoming posts I hope to provide more information on note length, time signatures and rhythm.
Please feel welcome to like, comment or to share this post. If you have any questions, pleased leave them as a comment and I will respond as soon as I can. If you enjoy my posts and would like to be kept up to date, please subscribe.
The movie is taken from Music Theory De-mystified, my upcoming music theory e-book, due to be released in 2023.
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.
Structure
When we listen to music, we can generally “follow the music”: we have a sense of where we are within the piece. This is because, other than ambient music, much of what we recognise as music has a structure. Let’s zoom in on a piece from the outside…
Most pieces are made up of sections. In a popular work a typical section might be a verse, chorus or bridge. A classical work might have large-scale sections called movements as well as smaller sections within a movement such as exposition, development and recapitulation.
Within each section, the music is made up of phrases. In the language of music, phrases are the equivalent of phrases in speech. Question marks, full stops and commas all have their musical equivalent.
In music, each phrase is typically made up of a number of bars. Bars provide a way of dividing a phrase up into manageable chunks that we can see and hear.
In Western music culture we seem to be attracted to the number 4. Phrases in many genres are often 4 bars long. In a typical 4-bar phrase, we can feel the phrase get started in the first bar and arrive at a note or chord in the 4th bar. Please note that this is a very general statement for illustration purposes: music is certainly not restricted to phrases of 4 bars, or even of a whole number of bars. Overall, though, many melodies are made up of 4-bar phrases.
Bars
Each bar is made up of a number of beats. Usually all the bars in a section have the same number of beats (but again this isn’t always the case). The boundary between one bar and the next is marked by a vertical line through the stave called a barline. Barlines are convenient markers to help navigate through the notes. Without barlines it would be easy to get lost when trying to read music.
The following example has bars which are 4 beats long:
Bars aren’t just visual: they form part of the structure of the music. Not only can we count the number of bars in a phrase, but we can count the number of beats in a bar. The beats are a reference for where we are in a bar, just as bars are a reference for where we are in a phrase.
A bar can be any number of beats in length but if a bar is too long we feel the need to mentally divide it into smaller chunks. Bars are easiest to feel when they have a small number of beats. Most typically, bars are made up of 2, 3 or 4 beats.
The first beat of a bar has an implied emphasis. This can be articulated in the music by making the note on the first beat of each bar stronger/louder. Even when the music is intended to be played smoothly and evenly, musicians tend to “play” that emphasis in their mind as they count.
Counting in bars and beats
Being able to count or tap to the music in beats and bars is an essential skill for the aspiring musician. In the previous post, 3. Beats, Tempo and Timing, we looked at some basic counting exercises. There we counted to 2, so there were 2 beats in each bar.
Try This…
As a quick exercise, listen to a piece of music you enjoy and tap where you feel the beats might go. Once you settle into the tempo, try counting “1,2”, then “1,2,3” then “1,2,3,4” and see which of these seems to fit the structure of the phrases. As you count, emphasise “1” a little.
If the piece has a rhythmic accompaniment, beat 1 might be emphasised by one or more of the accompanying instruments. For instance, in a typical rock song, the bass drum plays the first beat of the bar. Even without such accompaniment, the right number of beats per bar will “make sense” and fit the phrases, whereas the wrong number will, at times, feel out of step.
As 4 is two lots of 2, the difference between counting to 2 and to 4 isn’t always obvious, but counting to 3 feels quite different than 2 or 4.
Example
Below is the audio only for two simple melodies. One has 2 beats per bar, the other has 3. Listen to both and count “1,2” or “1,2,3”. See if you can tell which is which… (the answer is at the end of this post).
NOTE: Both melodies are at a medium-fast tempo but the tempo is slightly different for each. For each melody, listen first and tap along to the tempo. Only start counting when you feel that you’ve settled in to the tempo.
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 like, comment or to share this post. If you have any questions, pleased leave them as a comment and I will respond as soon as I can. If you enjoy my posts and would like to be kept up to date, please subscribe.
Parts of this post, including the movie above, are taken from Music Theory De-mystified, my upcoming music theory e-book, due to be released late 2023.
