CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY – I
SOUND
Sound is a sequence of pressure changes (compressions and expansions) in a medium, caused by a vibration that is transmitted in the form of sound waves.
A sound can be physically characterized by Frequency, Wavelength, Sound Pressure, Acoustic Power.
If the frequency is high the sound is treble.
If the frequency is lowered the sound is bass.
PULSE (BEAT)
It’s the beat of music. It is a series of constant pulsations, which are repeated every time interval.
TEMPO
The speed of the pulse or beat is called the tempo. It is the time interval between beats. The metronome is used to track the tempo.
ACCENT
Each beat can have a different intensity (accentuation).
RHYTHM
It is a flow of pulsations accentuated in a tempo (for example a strong and three loose pulses, a strong and three loose pulses, a strong and three loose pulses,… ..).
NOTE
It is a sound emitted by an instrument (or voice). Each note has a certain frequency, duration, speed and volume. From ancient times the names of the notes are: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si.
ENGLISH NOTATION
Do ……….C
Re ……… D
Mi ……… E
Fa ……… F
Sol ………G
La ……… A
Si ………..B
TONES AND SEMI-TONES
The relationship between the frequencies of two notes is fixed.
f.e. F (Do) / F (Re) is a Tone (more or less 5/9).
f.e. F (Mi) / F (Fa) is a Semi Tone (more or less 5/18).
Between all the notes there is the following relation:
Do- Tone -Re- Tone -Mi- STone -Fa- Tone –Sol- Tone -La- Tone -Si- STone – Do
that is: T-T-ST-T-T-T-ST.
SHARPS AND FLATS
Between two notes separated by a Tone, there is another note corresponding to a Semi Tone.
Between the C and the D is the sharp C (C #).
The F (C / F (C #) is an ST. The F (D) / F (C #) is an ST.
The C # is also called the flat D (D b). C # = D b.
So the notes and their relationships are:
C – ST – C# (o Db) – ST – D – ST – D# (o Eb) – ST –E
E – ST – F – ST – F# (o Gb) – ST – G – ST – G# (o Ab) – ST –A
A – ST – A# (o Bb) – ST – B – ST – C
The total of notes are 12.
They do not exist: E#, B#, Fb, Cb
OCTAVES
The notes are C, C #, D, …… ..B, B #. If we add an ST to the B # we have a note to which we say C again, but a C of a higher octave. In short, the notes are represented by a number indicating the octave.
C3 is a C of octave 3.
The frequency ratio between the same note of two consecutive octaves is 2.
F (C3) / F (C2) = 2.
DURATION
Depending on the duration of the notes are called; Whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, demisemiquaver, hemidemisemiquaver.
Each has half the time of the previous one.
If the Whole is 1 time. Half is 1/2. The Quarter is 1/4. The eighth 1/8.
The sixteenth 1/16. The spindle 1/32. The semifused 1/64.
The durations of the notes are also called by this relation. f.e. Quarter = 1/4.
TIME
It is a guideline for temporarily measuring the piece of music, it consists of n times the duration of a note. Expressed with two A / B numbers
A = times and B = duration of a note.
Examples:
4 times a Quarter (1/4) ………………. 4/4 (four-four time)
6 times a eighth (1/8) ………………. 6/8 (six-eigh time)
PHRASES
Several musically linked measures form a sentence.
TIMBRE
An instrument (or voice) when it emits a certain note also emits different additional sounds (harmonics), which make up the shape of the wave and in particular the attack, the fall and the resonance. This allows you to distinguish the instrument that issued the note.
SCALES
A scale is a series of notes used in a piece of music. A scale is formed from a note. There are 2 scales: major and minor.
The major scale has the following ratio of T and ST:
T-T-ST-T-T-T-ST
The minor scale has the following ratio of T and ST:
T-ST-T-T-ST-T-T
f.e..: D major scale: D, E, F #, G, A, B, C #, D
f.e..: minor D scale: D, E, F, G, A, A #, C, D
PENTAGRAM
It is a graphic notation of the notes in 5 horizontal lines, it also carries information of the scale and the time.
