By Guest Blogger Duane.

Over the years I have been a piano teacher I have had many people call or write me and ask me something like this:

“I play by ear, or by chords, but lots of music doesn’t have chord symbols written in — how do I know what chord to play when?”

“Our hymn book doesn’t tell which chords to use — how can I know what to play?”

“I read music but don’t have a clue what chords are being used. How can I know what they are?”

What do you do if you want to play a song using chords instead of the written sheet music notes, but the song doesn’t have any chord symbols printed — symbols such as Cm7, G13, B+, D dim7, etc.?

There’s a logic behind every note written in music, & you can learn to understand that logic, and therefore understand music. If you can read music to some degree but don’t “see through” the written music — don’t understand what you are seeing — it is now very possible that you can put on your “chord glasses” that good “chord detectives” wear to see through all that mass of black printed notes on a white page of sheet music to quickly understand what chords are being used and the “family logic” behind it all.

The “family logic” is this: In every key there are certain chords which are organic to that key — “family members”, so to speak. For example, in the key of F the 3 most used chords are F, Bb and C. In the key of G the most used chords are G, C, and D. In the key of Eb the most used chords are Eb, Ab, and Bb. Do you see a pattern here?

Chords are based on scales, and the chords which are used the most in any key are built on the 1st degree of the scale, the 4th degree of the scale, and the 5th degree of the scale. They are identified by using the Roman numerals I, IV, and V.

So the most used chords in any key are the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord. They are the primary chords, and they are all major. They occur way more than other chords. The next most used chords are the ii chord, the iv chord, and the iii chord — all minor chords.

Just knowing these simple facts gives a musician a giant advantage when learning or playing a song. If he or she knows the most likely chords that are going to occur in a song, based on the key of the song, then they can scrape together other evidence quickly to build an air-tight case that they know the chords of that song.

For example, let’s take two musicians about to play from a piece of sheet music. Both read music, but only one knows chords and music theory. The first musician looks at the notes and sees a Bb in the bass clef as the first note, a Eb in the bass clef in the second measure, a Bb in the 3rd measure, an F in the fourth measure, and so on. He can play what he sees, but nothing else, because he doesn’t grasp the fact that the first few measure have given away the fact that the primary chords have been outlined.

The second musician looks at the same music, but with “X-ray eyes”. He sees through the same notes into the chord structure behind the scenes.

The first musician is tied to the written music and limited to the notes printed on the sheet music, while the second musician has the best of both worlds: he can read the music and play it as it is written, but he can also add chords and fills and come out with a much bigger, more interesting arrangement than the first musician.

The benefits of becoming a chord detective are many:

It allows a musician to immediately identify what key a song is in…

It allows a musician to know POSITIVELY which chords are most likely to occur in each song…

It allows a musician to look at the first measure and the last measure and immediately know the harmonic form of any song…

Plus:

It works in any key — major or minor…

It works with any kind of hymn or gospel song…

It works by releasing a musician from being “tied to the written music”…

It works by allowing a musician to add chords of his or her own…

The bottom line is this: knowing chords and music theory allows a “chord detective” to develop “see through eyes” that immediately perceive the structure of a song and then allow that musician to use both the written score and any fillers or improvisations he or she desires to add to a song.

For more information on becoming a “Chord Detective”, please go to “How To Become a “Chord Detective” & See Through The Notes Into The Chords!” In addition, a series of 101 free email lessons from Duane on the various aspects of piano chords & runs & fills is available at “Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions!”

Other Related posts:

1. Learn How to Read Piano Sheet Music
2. How to Read Sheet Music

By Guest Blogger GK Eckert

One of the first things on your list of handy tools to buy — after buying your main instrument — should be a metronome. This little tool cannot be overrated. I’ve gone through many over the years, but if you truly take care of them, they can last a long time and help you tremendously.

Just a comment here about the type of metronome to buy. I have found that the old traditional metronomes, the ones you have to wind up, are not as durable as the newer ones. Myself, I quite prefer the ones that have a deeper clicking sound , as opposed to those that have a higher pinging noise. I find those can get to be very annoying after awhile. So, do keep that in mind when choosing your metronome.

One of the things I find most beginners doing, besides playing their notes choppy, is not keeping a steady tempo. When you don’t keep an even tempo or give notes their proper value, a song is unrecognizable.

I remember a fellow that came to me for lessons when I was living and teaching in Yellowknife, NWT. He played the correct notes but his timing was all over the place. He didn’t give notes their proper value and didn’t keep an even tempo. By using a metronome and guiding him to the importance of note values, I had him playing better in just a few lessons.

His mother remarked to me with almost a surprise in her voice, “we actually recognized what he was playing!”

That’s how important a metronome is. That’s the difference it can make. I don’t insist that every student get one, but I encourage it and I certainly use it in the lessons! I usually make a game of it too. It can be great fun, as you see your score increasing session by session. In the example above, I was able to make that much difference in my student’s performance just by using the metronome in his lessons. Just think what could be done by using it at home too.

Without proper note value and without even tempo, it’s simply not music.

Professional musicians know the value of the metronome. Recording musicians very often — almost always in fact — use what is commonly referred to as a ‘click track’ or just simply a “click”. That is simply a metronome that is clicking away while they play, to keep them in time; playing their music evenly and steadily.

So, if the professionals use it, don’t you think it’s highly important for a beginner! Most definitely. By using a metronome you can learn quickly to play with a beautiful even tempo, and that will make your music sound and feel better.

Gail Karen (G.K.) Eckert is a vocalist, musician, songwriter and teacher. She founded Musikhaus Studio of Creativity in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada in 1987 and continues to guide students through the crucial steps of learning to sing. She believes that anyone can learn to sing, given the proper guidance and encouragement. She also believes that singing your music your way is not only a fun past time but is also crucial to self expression and well being.

To get your more free tips http://www.YourMusicYourWay.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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To read basic sheet music is not difficult once you have mastered the odd and peculiar looking notes and symbols and understand exactly what they mean.

Did you notice the notes are written on a set of five horizontal lines? This is known as a staff. The vertical lines placed at intervals on the staff are used to divide the music into measures. Each measure contains several notes and the name of the note is determined by the horizontal line it is placed on or between. So, let’s start at the bottom line and work upwards on each line. On the treble clef these notes are E, G, B, D, F., easily remembered by the little rhyme, Every Good Boy Deserves Favor. The notes found in the spaces between the lines are F, A, C, E which no doubt you have spotted, spells the word face.

On the left-hand side at the beginning of the music there is a clef sign, either a treble clef where the notes are usually higher in tone or bass clef where the notes are lower. The clef dictates which octave the notes are to be played in. Alongside the clef you fill find two numbers written as a fraction and this is the time signature of the music and how many beats should be played to the measure.

The sharps or flats of the key the music is played in are shown in the key signature which is also near to the clef. Sometimes, if it is just an odd note here or there to be played sharp or flat the symbol will be alongside the note itself. A b sign means a flat while a # symbol means a sharp and both of these are written against the notes required to be changed.

The notes are best described as such –
* A hollow oval called a semibreve. This is a whole note lasting for four beats or a measure.
* A hollow oval with a stem is called a minim. This note takes two beats.
* A solid oval with a stem is called a crotchet and lasts for one beat.
* A black oval with a stem and flag is known as a quaver and last for half a beat.
* A black oval with a stem and two flags is called a semiquaver and takes just a quarter of a beat.
A note followed by a dot increases the value of the beat for that note.

Each of the notes has a matching rest.
* The semibreve rest looks is a small black oblong sitting on top of a line.
* The minim rest is identical but sits under the line.
* The crochet rest looks is the sign of a curly vertical line.
* The quaver rest looks like a vertically slanted line with a black circle on the top left with a loop.
* The semiquaver rest is similar to the quaver rest but with two black circles attached.

Crochets, quavers and semiquavers are often attached to one another by one or two lines going across the stems. The stems of the notes can point upwards or downwards depending on whether they are above or below the center line on the staff. If the notes are joined by a curved line then only the first note is picked out but the count of the other notes is included.

These are just some guidelines for the beginner but there are many opportunities available on the Internet and in books showing many diagrams on how to read sheet music whatever your chosen instrument.

Other Related posts:

1. Sheet Music Theory – Simple and Compound Time Signatures
2. Music Chords: How To Become a “Chord Detective” And See Into The Music!

By Guest Blogger Victor Epand

After learning simple music theory such as the different types of notes and what the stave, time signature and clef symbols are you are then ready to delve further into learning about the different types of time that are found in music. Put simply the three types are simple, compound and irregular times. Simple time is the easiest to identify.

In simple time the top number will always be a 2,3 or 4 denoting that there will be that many beats per bar. This is very straight forward and is easy for beginning music students to pick up making it a good choice for beginner bands. The next type of time, compound, is also relatively easy to distinguish. It will be a number that is greater than four, but at the same time it must be divisible by three.

When you examine compound time you will notice that the notes will normally be grouped in threes. One example of this can be found in 6/8 time where you will find two groups of three eighth notes each. You can also find many different combinations of these. You might find two quarter notes and two eighth notes together in one bar or you might find two dotted quarter notes. You could also find a dotted half note.

While this may seem rather easy in and of itself it can be a bit tricky. If you were only counting the beats in slow music you would find it rather easy. Faster music can be a good deal harder however. It is much easier to just count the eighth note groups as if they were just one big beat. This means that in a rapidly moving piece of sheet music written in 6/8 time you would have two separate pulses.

The first one will be on the first of the eighth notes and will be a strong one. The second will be lighter and will hit on the fourth of the eighth notes. This will leave you with two countable beats for each bar. Each of these two beats will then be able to divide into three. This benefit to 6/8 time is what helps it to be an almost perfect marching tempo. As a matter of fact, many of the early 20th century military marches were written in this time signature.

Most of the time you will find 6/8 time described as having two dotted quarter notes per bar rather than having six eighth notes per bar. Some of the other compound time signatures include 12/8 and 9/8 time. In 12/8 time you will find four groups total. This means there would be four dotted quarter notes for each bar. In 9/8 time you will find three groups of three eighth notes which will be represented by three dotted quarter notes for each bar.

The last type of time is irregular time. The top number will always be higher than four but it must not be divisible by three. Some examples of irregular time signatures includes 7/4 and 5/8 time. Note that the top numbers are both higher than four but three will definitely not divide into them.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for guitars, drums, keyboards, teaching sheet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Musical scales are the basic building blocks of any form of music. This means that you can’t make music without incorporating some sort of scale. Even if you don’t really know what scale you’re using when doing an improvisation over a few chord patterns, you’re still doing a musical scale even though it’s only by ear. So if you’re just learning music theory, and you want to know why you need to have knowledge of musical scales, then continue reading this article to know what scales are and why they’re important.

Definition of Musical Scales

A musical scale is basically a group of notes that runs in either a downward or upward direction. It is used to form melodies, harmonies, and chords. It’s also used to represent every musical phrase and segments of any song. A scale is basically structured to form (or loop with) an octave (a spacing of 7 notes). This means that if your scale is C Major, then the notes would look like C-D-E-F-G-A-B (a total of 7 notes) and then back to the root note C, which is the 1st note, or 8th (which also completes the octave). For some people, all these letters and numbers won’t sound familiar. To put it in more basic terms that a lot folks would understand, the basic C-D-E-F-G-A-B Major scale (in the key of C) is simply the Sol-fa syllables (or solfeggio/solfege) Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do. There are other scales with different patterns, but since this is just the basics, that’ll do fine as an example for now.

Importance of Scales

There are many reasons why a musical scale is important. Some reasons even vary depending on a musician’s focus and priority. However, the ones that’ll be covered here will be the basic and most significant ones.

* A scale is basically the skeletal structure of a piece of music, wherein it acts as a guide to where the proper notes are. With scales, you can learn which notes are off, and which ones are correct.

* When you learn scales, you’ll find that you’ll be more knowledgeable in music composition and it can allow you to create a song in just under a few minutes due to the fact that you already know which notes would sound better. It reinforces your basic understanding of music theory while allowing you to quickly gain more experience.

* Learning scales is absolutely vital if you want to practice your ear. Music is 90 percent listening and understanding, and the rest is only a mere 10 percent. That’s why music teachers and tutors will often give you a basic scale for practicing so as to let your ears get used to the fundamental notes. The most common first scales are the basic Major, Minor, and Pentatonic scales.

* When you’re learning an instrument, whether it’s a guitar, flute, or a piano, scales are the best tools to incorporate into your practice sessions. Your fingers will basically be more adept as your skill increases with every scale you learn. This is basically called muscle memory. You’ll definitely be glad that you worked hard at those scales in the end.

* Scales are the best practice tools for improvisation. When you’ve studied and practiced enough scales, you’ll find that you can easily run through a song with a good improv (short for improvisation, or impromptu freestyle) on your preferred instrument.

* In singing, basic Major or Minor scales can let you increase your vocal awareness and help you to be a bit more pitch-perfect in your performances. Other scales are also good at helping you to clearly define flats and sharp notes for use with improvisation, such as Chromatic or Melodic Minor scales.

* Scales are a good way to warm up before a performance. Although it’s recommended that you never overdo any sort of practice so as to avoid injuries (or stress), running some scales will often give you a boost of confidence right before a show.

Scales are definitely an important element in learning music theory. You’ll simply find it hard to understand some of the more advanced concepts of composing a song if you don’t have this basic knowledge. It strengthens your confidence in your performance of an instrument and allows you to quickly analyze and understand the musical structure of a song.

Other Related posts:

1. Important Piano Lesson – How to Play Scales!
2. The Most Important Elements of Music

Most people know what melody means. Some people even equate it with harmony itself. However, in the strictest musical sense, these are two very different things with very different purposes. If you want to learn what the difference between melody and harmony is, then read on for a basic introduction to two of the most important elements of music theory.

Differentiation

A melody is basically the one which dominates the whole musical phrases or sections of a song, while the harmony of a song is the one that’s used to complement the melody. Think of it this way: A melody is like your tee-shirt, and the harmony is the print, design, and colors of your shirt. However, this doesn’t mean that a plain melody without the harmony is boring in itself. Just think of how many shirts are ruined because of bad designs and colors. This means that a melody can be pleasant with or without a harmony. On the other hand, harmony is used to heighten the effect of a musical phrase/section. Think of how many good shirts look even better because of their cool print designs.

Melody: The Basics

To further understand what the technical differences are between a melody and a harmony, you have to understand what each one is first. As cited in the previous paragraph, a melody is the main series of notes that basically stand out. For example: the melody of a Happy Birthday song is easily recognizable. Its melody is simply the one that you sing (the lyrics). To choose another example (and to be a bit more technical), imagine a song in the key of C in a 4/4 measure. With this, a common example of a melody would be a series of notes that’s made up of C, D, E, G, A, G, and back to C, in that order.

Using Scales for Melody

Most musicians will recognize the previously mentioned group of notes as a pentatonic scale, in the key of C. Pentatonic scales are the most common group of notes that are used as a melody for a song. A musician can basically reorder these notes (or add some more) to form variations of the melody as the whole song progresses. The pentatonic scale is just one example; there’re certainly other scales out there that you can use to create melodies from, such as the basic Major Scale. In the key of C, the group of notes in the Major Scale would be C-D-E-F-G-A-B.

Harmony: The Basics

A song can still sound beautiful even without a harmony. However, if you really want to heighten the effect of particular sections of a song, then your best option is to use harmonies. Harmony is basically the complementary notes that you hear alongside the melody. Think of an A Cappella group of four people wherein they sing in different pitches (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass). Or, think of a high-pitched voice of a woman, and a lower-pitched voice of a man. Imagine both of them singing a song and complementing each other’s vocal parts. Duets like this are usually sung with harmonies, and not with octaves (octaves are just higher/lower forms of the same note, like lower-C to higher-C).

Scale Numbering

To use harmony, you only need some knowledge of scales to guide you. As mentioned before, you can use basic Major/Pentatonic Scales. The numbering system is useful in this method. The Major scale is always the reference to the numbering system of the notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B. Translated, they would be numbered as 1st (C-note), 2nd (D-note), 3rd (E-note), and so on. In the key of C, the number 1 is the C-note, and its other contrapuntal (or harmonic) notes would be the 3rd and 5th-notes (E and G).

Counterpoint

Though it’s basically defined a little differently, counterpoint is actually related to harmony. Always remember that the most common starting note to use as a harmony is its contrapuntal notes of 3rds and 5ths. There are other counterpoint species you can use, but these are the most basic. On a guitar, when you see the chord C9, that means that you must add a 9th-note (or 2nd-note) to emphasize a harmony or counterpoint within that section of the song. The harmonizing 9th-note is the same as the 2nd-note, by the way (key of C, with a contrapuntal D-note on the C-chord).

To sum it all up in basic terms, a harmony defines a melody. But a harmony, by itself, becomes a melody.

Other Related posts:

1. The Most Important Elements of Music
2. What are Scales and Why are they Important?

By Diana Christy

THE EARS and fingers feel orderliness in the arrangement of tunes long before we ourselves are conscious of any logical arrangement of the tones or the need to learn how to play scales. Since the ear player more or less feels his way along, rather than rationalizing it, he is able to progress far without any intellectual effort. The time comes, however, no matter how good he may be, when he reaches the limit of this easy development and his progress in music slows down or completely stops.

Few ear players progress beyond this point; it is too tedious for them to begin anew with the rational theory of music and develop it to the level which they have attained in performance with so little effort. Those who learn to play by note carry more or less of this theory right along with them as they improve their performance. Their playing is both developed and limited by intellectual manipulation.

The most efficient way of learning to play an instrument obviously lies somewhere between the two. So it is necessary to learn how to play scales. That is, the ear player should rely upon his ear as far as possible; but at the same time he should be conscious of the relationships which he is hearing and should use his knowledge when his ear fails. How valuable this ability is will be apparent to the reader if he will take the trouble to understand the system of scales.

Tonic

The basis of all the music which the ear player is likely to attempt is in a certain key; it gets its effect largely from the relation of the tones to the tonic or basic keynote. You have probably already attempted many tunes in different keys. In order to gain facility in doing this, it is well worth while to practice how to play scales. This should not be continued to a point where it becomes drudgery; but playing scales is fun and makes progress in learning new tunes much faster.

Half-steps

The piano is constructed in the key of C. That is, if you play all the white keys on the piano, you are playing the scale of C. Begin on C and play up or down the next seven tones and you will recognize the familiar scale. The characteristic of the major scale is that the half-steps come between 3 and 4, and 7 and 8, where there is no black key. All the other intervals are whole steps. Thus, the C scale runs:

C D E F G A B C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

½ 1/2

Flats and Sharps

When a tune requires other notes than those in the scale, we call these tones “accidentals.” When the tone is lowered and uses the black key to the left, it is called a flat; when the tone is raised and uses the black key to the right, it is called a sharp. Thus, G# and Ab are the same key. All the scales except C, however, require the use of one or more black keys. These keys are not considered accidentals then, since they belong to the scale; instead, if the b or # is removed, the tone is considered an accidental, since it is foreign to that scale. Now, if we play the scale of D, it will run:

D E F# G A B C# D

Notice that the scale of D has two sharps: F# and C#.

Now you know how to play scales and can play scales beginning on any note you wish. Do not figure them out by steps and half-steps but trust to the ear to tell you what the next note will be. You will find that the ear soon develops a fine discrimination and is able to determine whether the next tone is a half or a whole step. It is of the utmost importance that you let the ear do the work; only by this procedure are the scales helpful in your ear playing.

Learning how to play scales is an important step in your training as a player of music.

More Tips & Tricks on Playing Piano Scales!

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Visit Our Website: http://www.freepianomusic.net

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A chord progression is basically a group of chords that you use to create music. It is usually utilized with the intention of moving towards a definite goal in order to establish a basic tonality. Tonality is a form of musical system that’s centered on a tonic (or based around a root note of a Major scale). If you want to learn more about chord progressions, then this article will function as a basic overview.

A Technical Definition

As suggested in the introduction above, the basic definition of a chord progression is that it is a series of chords that’s founded on one Major Root note. However, to be more precise, chords which are organized to form a song is what’s called a progression and it basically follows a Major or Minor scale. For example: in the key of C, its Major scale is C-D-E-F-G-A-B and numbered in the classical tradition of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7.

The Numbering Method

Traditionalists basically use roman numerals instead of the one mentioned above (i.e., I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII). However, this article will use a more modern approach. The first note (1) would be the C, which is also the root note. Following this, 2-3-4-5 would be D-E-F-G. In this numbering method, when a piece is asked to fill in a fifth chord in the key of C (or C Major Scale), that means that you have to provide the G chord. All chord progressions follow this basic number method as a guide on which chords you should pick when choosing a musical piece that’s centered on a Major scale tonality.

Rules & Patterns

In the chord progression of a Major scale, the numbering method is usually followed by some rules that you need to remember every time when creating a musical piece. A C Major scale of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 is actually patterned as Major (1), Minor (2), Minor (3), Major (4), Major (5), Minor (6), and Minor (7). So that would mean that a C Major scale’s chord progression would be C Major, D Minor, E Minor, F Major, G Major, A Minor, and B Minor. Think of it in this way: 1M (capital letter M means Major), 2m (small letter m means Minor), 3m, 4M, 5M, 6m, and 7m. To better remember if the spacing of each number/note is either a whole step (in guitar, that means two frets higher) or a half step upwards (one fret higher in guitar terms), always put in mind that the numbers 1-2-3-5-6 are whole steps, while 4 and 7 are half steps (semitones).

About Transposition

In transposing a Major scale’s chord progression, it’s important to note that the same pattern applies to the numbering method. If a key is transposed from C to D, then you should consider D as the Major Root note (a whole step upwards). The 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 pattern is then translated as D-E-F#-G-A-B-C in this transposition. To be precise with the correct minor and major rules, the pattern would then be DM, Em, F#m, GM, AM, Bm, and C#m. In transposition, chord progressions can still follow the basic number method so long as you’re aware of how many whole/half steps you’re going to make to achieve the correct transposition.

Basic Progressions

Classical music is sometimes filled with many chord progressions. With modern music, it’s actually a lot simpler. You can basically get away with only 2 or 3 chords when creating a song. Some songs even incorporate a mere 1 chord. However, the most common chord progression nowadays is only about 3 chords. Using the numbering method, the pattern would look like 1M-4M-5M. Nowhere is this pattern more prominent than in today’s blues and rock music. The idea that only 2 or 3 chords could be used on a song seemed ridiculous before. But as with everything that concerns music, it’s all about enjoyment.

Evolution

People nowadays certainly lean more towards rhythmic patterns than complicated chord progressions. However, that doesn’t mean that 5 chords on a song are no longer applicable. It just means that music is an evolutionary process that has no specific destination. Who knows? Maybe in the future, people will lean more towards a legato trend than actual rhythmic/dynamic patterns or chord progressions. Nobody is entirely sure, but one thing’s for certain, things will work out fine and chord progressions will always be there.

Other Related posts:

1. The Difference between Melody and Harmony
2. Music Chords: How To Become a “Chord Detective” And See Into The Music!

Rhythm and dynamics may be two different things, but both of them play a part in affecting the mood of a song. Sometimes, the structure of a song is made up of a myriad of varying rhythms and gradually transforming dynamics that it can represent and even heighten the emotional reaction of any person listening to the piece. If you want to know how rhythm and dynamics contribute to the overall mood of music, then read on.

Rhythm

In order for you to understand how rhythm can affect a certain musical mood, it’s important to know what it is first. Rhythm is basically a musical piece’s measurement variation of its length and accentuation. In simple terms, a rhythm is simply the timing of how notes are played. It is what drives the whole essence of a musical piece to either simplicity or complication, depending on what the composer had in mind for the song. In other words, rhythm is an element of a musical piece that helps define it from other musical pieces. Along with the variation of notes and pitches, rhythm can distinguish a song so as to affect a certain mood.

Technical Understanding of Rhythm

The above paragraph may make it sound like it’s nearly the same as the definition of a beat; but in all actuality, it’s really quite different. A beat is basically the time unit of a musical piece (e.g. 3/4 beat is 1-2-3 repetitively; 4/4 is 1-2-3-4) while rhythm is a pattern of how the notes are placed within a series of beats (for example in a 4/4 beat: notes are placed in usually every 1st count of the 1-2-3-4 repetitions but you can add another note within every 3rd or 4th count). When rhythm is used to repeat a certain melody, it affects the whole mood of a song.

Dynamics

In music, dynamics is basically defined as the execution level of notes in rhythms or whole segments. In its original definition, dynamics mainly referred to the volume of a note (or series of notes). As time progressed, it evolved to incorporate various styles of playing notes such as staccato, legato, as well as velocity. Here’s a definition of some various styles of dynamics.

* Staccato is a style of playing a note wherein it’s basically cut short and separated with another short note that follows it. A musician can execute this style of note-playing over a series of patterns or randomizing and displacing them at different sections of a song. Coupled with a good rhythm, staccato can be used to build up a mood that heightens the effect of a succeeding melody (like a chorus or refrain).

* Legato is basically the style of tying two notes together wherein there is almost no noticeable gap. In contrast to staccato, which has a break, a legato is a prolonged note that follows another one. A legato can be used to heighten the purpose of a melody or to prolong a certain emotion (through the sustaining of residual overtones) that a previous segment conveyed. Used in tandem with a rhythm that suits it, it can greatly affect the mood of a musical piece from upbeat to downbeat, or vice versa.

* Velocity is the speed and volume at which a certain note travels. It’s basically defined in terms of how hard a key was pressed or how smoothly it can ascend or descend in volume. In short, it’s a style of playing wherein it affects the speed of a crescendo or a decrescendo. When used alongside a rhythmic pattern, the varying velocities of notes can heighten or smooth out the purpose of a particular rhythm to great effect.

Combinations

Musicians can also use other variations of styles such as a polyrhythm (two different rhythms that can enhance or contrast with each other to create a near-syncopated pattern) coupled with various combinations of dynamic styles. Also, you could employ a staccato-run that ends in a slow velocity of a legato-decrescendo to create various moods within a piece. The possibilities of creating new moods through discovering various patterns are endless.

Combined together, dynamics and rhythm can create a mood within a particular song that captures the attention of a listener. Much like how melodies and harmonies can shift and call your attention to a particular segment, rhythm and dynamics can greatly increase the purpose of a musical piece.

Other Related posts:

1. The Most Important Elements of Music
2. Chord Progression: An Overview

Understanding music theory is probably the best thing that any musician can give to himself. If you’ve learned to play an instrument by ear, then that’s an awesome accomplishment. But what makes a musician a complete one is not just through listening to the notes (though that in itself is the most important factor to being a musician); it is also about understanding what makes a certain piece of music work. This means that a musician must have a good grasp of the most important elements of music in order to truly become a complete musician.

Melody

Melody is the most basic element of a piece of music. Though a melody cannot exist without following a basic scale, a scale by itself cannot really be used to create music, simply because the music would sound too redundant if patterned in the order of scales. Rather, picking notes from within a particular scale and reordering them to fit a certain chord progression is the most common way to create a melody. In short, a melody is the end result of a scale. It is the most important aspect of making a particular music sound a lot more pleasing. Used in conjunction with rhythmic patterns, dynamics, and harmony, a melody’s original effect/purpose can be enhanced.

Scales

A scale is a group of notes that acts as a sort of skeletal structure for a piece of music. Without a basic knowledge of musical scales, a musician will find it hard to compose a piece of music simply because he/she wouldn’t know which notes or chords would fit and complement the entirety of a song. Knowledge of scales strengthens your understanding of basic music theory and is absolutely vital if you want to develop your ear.

Rhythm

A rhythm is a pattern or placement of sounds (notes, chords, percussions, etc) within a musical time. In a repetitive beat of 4/4 measure, the rhythm is structured around it and reorganized according to the composer’s preference. Having different patterns of a group of notes makes your melody sound even more pleasing to the ear, especially if it’s conjoined with dynamic styles of playing such as velocity, staccato, or legato variations. You could say that a rhythm is a series of a collection of parts of a beat. Much like how melody comes from scales, the rhythm also comes from the beat.

Beat

The beat is the most basic measurement of a piece of music. It connotes the tempo (speed or pace) of a song or a musical sequence. A beat is basically the counting of a measure wherein you would create patterns and grooves within its repetitions. For example: A 3/4 measure would be counted as 1-2-3 repetitively until the song ends (or when another measurement interjects). Likewise, a 4/4 measure would normally be counted as 1-2-3-4 repetitively too.

Harmony

Harmony is an element of music that complements sections (or large parts) of a melody. Though it is sometimes used as a contrapuntal series of notes (counterpoint), its basic usage is to heighten a melody’s purpose within a segment of a song. Think of harmony as the added features of a car. A car can look a lot cooler due to gold reams, gold bumpers, etc. That’s what harmony is; it makes a melody sound a lot cooler. Harmony basically comes from scales and sometimes starts as a contrapuntal 3rd or 5th note to the root note.

Dynamics

Dynamics is basically the volume of how each note is played within a rhythmic pattern. It is usually dependent of rhythm but it can also be interjected as a singular instance that repeats rarely. However, when it comes to rhythmic patterns, a frequent usage of the volume style is usually repeated after every other pattern (though that isn’t absolute). Dynamics also refers to the style of how each note is played. Staccato (a style of dynamics) is used to cut short the sound of a note (or a rhythmic pattern of notes). Legato, another style, is basically used as a way of prolonging notes so as there is no obvious gap in between the rhythmic note patterns.

Having a basic knowledge of these important elements of music can definitely increase your musical skills and allow you to truly become a complete musician. Though it’s not required for you to do an in-depth study of these elements (simply because you only need to have a good grasp of their concepts), it’s still a great idea.

Other Related posts:

1. How Rhythm and Dynamics Contribute to Musical Mood
2. The Difference between Melody and Harmony