Music Literacy Notes 1

Music Literacy I

Musical Opposites

High and Low (pitches)

Do Re Mi  Fa    Sol    La Ti Do’

C D E   F    G   A      B  C

F G A   Bb    C   D      E  F

G A B   C    D   E      F# G

These notes create something called the diatonic scale.  It is made of a series of pitches arranged in whole steps and half steps.  The half steps are highlighted in yellow.

Loud and Quiet (Dynamics)

pppp ppp pp p mp mf f ff fff ffff

pianissimo (pp) - very quiet

piano (p) - quiet

mezzo piano(mp) - medium quiet

mezzo forte (mf) - medium loud

forte (f) - loud

fortissimo (ff) - very loud

crescendo decrescendo (diminuendo)

Short and Long Sounds (rhythm)

Choppy and Smooth (phrasing and articulation)

staccato- short and separated

legato- smooth and connected

phrase- a musical sentence; a section of music that is considered to be a complete musical idea

Fast and Slow (tempo)

In music, fast and slow beat is determined by something called tempo.  Tempo is a number that indicates how many beats per minute (BPM/mm) a musical composition is to be performed.  

• Larghissimo – very, very slow (19 BPM and under)
• Grave – slow and solemn (20–40 BPM)
• Lento – slowly (40–45 BPM)
• Largo – broadly (45–50 BPM)
• Larghetto – rather broadly (50–55 BPM)
• Adagio – slow and stately (literally, "at ease") (55–65 BPM)
• Adagietto – rather slow (65–69 BPM)
• Andante moderato – a bit slower than andante (69-72 BPM)
• Andante – at a walking pace (73–77 BPM)
• Andantino – slightly faster than andante (although in some cases it can be taken to mean slightly slower than andante) (78-83 BPM)
• Marcia moderato – moderately, in the manner of a march (83-85 BPM)
• Moderato – moderately (86–97 BPM)
• Allegretto – moderately quick (98–109 BPM)
• Allegro – fast, quickly and bright (109–132 BPM)
• Vivace – lively and fast (132-140 BPM) (quicker than allegro)
• Vivacissimo – very fast and lively (140-150 BPM)
• Allegrissimo – very fast (150-167 BPM)
• Presto – very fast (168–177 BPM)
• Prestissimo – extremely fast (178 BPM and over)

A metronome is a mechanical or digital device used to demonstrate tempo via a series of clicks or taps.

Performing: Together and Alone

solo- singing/playing by yourself

duet- two performers

trio- three

quartet- four

quintet- five

Unison- every performer performs the same material together at the same time, also known as monophony:

Homophony- singing or playing the same rhythms, but different pitches in a chord, like a church hymn:

Polyphony- many voices or instruments playing different material at the same time, still creating chordal harmony:

More on pitches...

Tonal Center and Key Signatures

Most music has a tonal center.  This is where the music comes from and goes to.  It is the pitch at which the music starts and stops (most of the time) and is focused on.  This concept is identified in the music as a KEY SIGNATURE.

The key signature identifies where the diatonic major (ionian) tonal center is.  Sharps (#) and flats (b) need to be added to maintain the relationships (spaces) between the diatonic pitches illustrated in the “High and Low” section of the notes.

There are 12 pitches- the tonal center could be any of the 12.

Think of the pitches as characters in a movie or TV show.  Different episodes focus on different characters.  The same is true for music- different pieces focus on different notes in the scale.  This affects how HIGH or LOW the piece is (this is known as the KEY of the piece)  or if piece focuses on a different pitch other than what is indicated by the key signature, the MODE changes.  There are seven modes based on the seven diatonic pitches:

Do- Ionian (Major tonic or natural major)

Re- Dorian (minor supertonic)

Mi- Phrygian (minor mediant)

Fa- Lydian (Major subdominant)

Sol- Mixolydian (Major dominant)

La- Aeolian (minor submediant or natural/relative minor)

Ti- Locrian (diminished leading tone) - this one is infrequently used and not considered a proper mode.

In Western music, these scale degrees could be on any absolute pitch, so “do” could be on A, B, C, D, E, F, G, or any sharp or flat derivation therein.  

Key signatures are often represented as a diagram known as the circle of fifths (or the circle of pain).  The circle starts at C and moves up by a fifth (first to G) or down by a fourth (first to F).  It is represented using a circle because it is a continuum, if you progress all the way through, you will eventually come back to where you started from, so to speak: