RUDIMENTS OF MUSIC Musical sounds are expressed by characters called notes, which are written on and in the spaces between five parallel lines called the staff F==] The lines and spaces are ‘counted from the bottom upwards. Lines Spaces E @ B D ee F A c E As the staff is not of sufficient extension to express all the sounds in music, LEDGER lines are added above and below it when required. Notes with ledger lines above the staff. i i 2 # # Note with ledger line. i a 2 £ + _ ES | a B c D z r @ 3 + The notes are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, viz: A,B,C,D,E, i y land they are distinguished by their position on the staff, In Banjo music the Treble, or G clef, is used to establish their names, It is placed on the second line Consequently the note on that line is called G, or the Clef note. + Names of all the other notes can be ascertained by taking them alphabetically in ascending from the Clef note, and by reversing the order of the alphabet in descending from it. a Ascending from the Clef Note. |, gp @ #f £ £ Descending from the Clef Note. & = et == = 3 j A BCDEFGABCDEFGA ai FoeDe¢e ‘The student will observe that notes of the same name occur several times, but always in a different position on the staff. EXERCISE IN READING NOTES er te, ight MCMXX by W@ ©, Stahl. Ingernptional, Copyright Secured.”FOr sixteen sixtoonth notess .. Character and Value of the Notes, Rests, Etc. ‘As musical sounds may be long or short, their duration or value is indicated by a par- ticular form of note. 7 The longest sound is designated by this character @ , which is called a whole note, the duration or time of which is determined by counting four. A cound continued but half as long, that is, while counting two, is expressed by a fai/ted ‘The duration of a quarter note @, is but one count. Aneighth note Py is only half as long (in time) as a quarter note. A sixteenth xote #) is,half as long as an eighth. A thirty second note #', is balf as long as a sixteenth. F When several eighth, sixteenth or thirty-second notes follow in succession they are ! usually connected by bars placed across their stems, as shown in the following table: TABLE OF THE NOTES AND THEIR PROPORTIONS One whole note... Is equal to two half notes Or four quarter notes... Or eight eighth rote Or thirtyntwo thirty-second not The Division of Music Music is divided into equal parts by bars. The music between Measure Measure two bars is called a measure. ———=$—| Bar Bar Bar TIME In the various figures used to indicate time, the upper figure indicates the number, and the lower figure the ind of notes in each measure. = EEE EES EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS DEGREES OF TIME. + out 12 8 4 12 8 4 te s4 2 2 8 4 1% 2 34