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The C Major scale & all C chords

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Pop-up keyboard On this page: Notes and rests reference Time signature and beat Music styles and improvising

 

Notes and rests reference Fig. 30. Position of the notes on the treble and bass ledgers (the grand staff) The C key, marked in red, corresponds to the middle C on the keyboard. The shown notes span six octaves. Fig. 31. Note and rest values The figure shows the time value of the notes and rests. A dot after a note adds 1/2 of its time value, a second dot adds 1/2 of the time value of the dot before, and so on. The sharp or flat sign is only shown next to a note if it is not already indicated by the key signature, and in this case it is valid throughout the measure (until the next bar line). Vertical bar lines divide the staff into measures. The "natural" sign abolishes any sharp or flat given earlier for that note (also valid throughout the measure). English note names: Breve Double whole note Semibreve Whole note Minim Half note Crotchet Quarter note Quaver Eighth note Semiquaver   Sixteenth note

 

Time signature and beat The time signature (also known as "meter signature"), shown on the staff next to the key signature, specifies how many beats are in each measure (or bar) and what note value gets one beat. the upper number indicates how many beats there are in a measure (how you count while playing) the lower number indicates the note value which gets one beat (the "beat unit") The most common simple time signatures are 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4. The 4 at the bottom indicates that the beat unit is the quarter note. For example, 3/4 means three quarter-note beats (count to three) per measure, and 4/4 means that there are four beats (count to four) to the measure, with the quarter note getting one beat. The meter of a piece of music is the repetitive arrangement of strong and weak pulses in the rhythm. The following table shows how to count (or tap) to keep the rhythm with different time signatures.The number (shown on the green background) is the strong pulse - to be emphasized when counting. Fig. 32.   How to count the beats in a measure Meter Count Example Time Signature Duple Simple 1  &   2  & 2/4 - 2/2 - 2/8 Triple Simple 1  &   2  &   3  & 3/4 - 3/2 - 3/8 Quadruple Simple 1  &   2  &   3  &   4  & 4/4 - 4/2 - 4/8 Duple Compound 1 & a 2 & a 6/8 - 6/2 - 6/4 - 6/16 Triple Compound 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 9/8 - 9/2 - 9/4 - 9/16 Quadruple Compound   1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a   12/8 Somtimes the following symbols are used: 2/2 :      4/4 :      In the last three "Compound" cases, of course you can count to 6, 9 or 12 respectively, instead of the shown, just put emphasis on beat 1, 4, 7, and 10. Duple refers to two beats per measure Triple refers to three beats per measure Quadruple refers to four beats per measure Fig. 33.           Simple states that each of the beats can be divided into two notes. In compound meter the beats are divided into three notes, see Fig. 33. All compound meters will have some dotted note as its beat. Examples: Below are examples of music with different time signatures. The right hand plays all the notes in the C scale, and the left hand plays the principal chords (C, F and G). The examples are constructed in the way so that the left hand plays the number of beats, with the type of note, that the time signature indicates. (As you can see in Fig. 33 above, it does not necessarily have to be like that). At the same metronome setting (here 120 bpm) the pieces with eights notes sound faster than the ones with fourths or half notes. Listen to the difference in the beat. Fig. 34.   2/2 :   2/4 :   3/4 :   4/4 :   6/4 :   3/8 :   6/8 :    9/8 : An odd meter (less common) contains both simple an compound beats in a measure, the order does not matter (e.g. 5/8, 7/8, 8/8, 10/8, 11/8).

Music styles and improvising Different styles of music have different rhythms. Here are some examples of left hand blues and boogie woogie styles, all with the time signature 4/4. You can use any chord you want, and play it in any rhythm you want as a left-hand theme. In the examples below, the "themes" are progressed from I to IV and V (tonic, subdominant, and dominant) in a typical twelve bar blues pattern which goes like this: I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I. Some right hand riffs have been added. Example a. uses 5th, 6th and 7th. Ex. b. uses the 5th and 6th. Ex. c. uses minor/major triad. Ex. d. the 5th/6th, and Ex. e. the 3rd, 5th, #5 and 6th. Feel free to make up a "theme" from any of the chords shown in Fig. 3-9. Fig. 35.   To see which keys are being played in these pieces, get VanBascos MIDI-player. Improvising: Starting with the left hand and adding the right hand. Try this aproach: Choose a chord you like and play the keys with the left hand in a specific succession and rhythm to create a "theme", (see Fig. 35). Progress the "theme" to other scale degrees (see Fig. 17 and listen to the examples in Fig. 35). When you are familiar with the left hand theme and progressions, then add single keys or chords with the right hand, first at the down beats (the strong pulses in the rhythm), and as you get better also between the beats. The allowed right hand keys are always within the scale that the left hand is currently playing. See also Yoke's video lesson on improvisation. Here a sound example of doing such a combination. Try to copy the left hand, then add right hand sounds. Starting with the right hand and adding the left hand. Make a simple melody with the right hand (compose yourself, or play a song you know). Use the principles of adding left hand chords to the right hand, see the table of harmonising chords in Fig. 18, and the examples in Harmonising songs. As you get better, introduce chord variations instead of using only triads. You can "analyse" MIDI files in VanBascos MIDI-player (free download). With this program you can see which keys are being played on a keyboard, and you can change the speed.

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