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A breve (or double whole note in US terminology) is worth the same as two semibreves
(whole notes). Draw an oval with two short vertical lines on each side of it.
2. The time signatures 3/2 and 6/4 are NOT the same.
Neither are 3/4 and 6/8.
Although 3/2 and 6/4 have the same overall number of notes per bar, they are stressed (and
therefore written) in a different way. 3/2 and 3/4 have three main beats per bar, but 6/4 and
6/8 have two main beats per bar.
3. The alto and tenor clefs are C clefs: they show you
where MIDDLE C is, not any old C!
Write out the notes so that you make a triad they should be stacked in thirds: A-C-Eb.
Make sure the piece is exactly 8 BARS LONG in total. With an upbeat, you will have 7
complete bars, an incomplete bar at the start, and an incomplete bar at the end.
Also add a starting dynamic under the first note (or above it, for a vocal composition).
Add slurs to quick notes (for instruments), and put them in the same way all through the
piece. Follow the main beat if you are not sure of another plan!
The beginning of a composition should always look something like this:
11. The only double reed instruments are the OBOE and
BASSOON.
You are tested on your knowledge of the standard orchestral instruments. The cor Anglais
also uses a double reed, but is not a standard instrument. The clarinet uses a single reed (as
does the saxophone, which is also not a standard orchestral instrument).
A Double Reed
The tenor voice uses either the bass clef (short score) or OCTAVE TREBLE
CLEF (open score).
The little 8 under the treble clef (see the image left) means that MIDDLE C is the one high
on the stave in a space the note in the image is middle C!
13. When writing SATB parts, make sure the note STEMS
are written the right way up.
In a short score (on 2 staves) the stems point up or down depending on the part.
The circled notes here show where the stems need to have their positions changed when you
rewrite the music.
It doesnt matter whether the piece is major or minor, the result will be the same. If we
assume this is actually E minor, then a 5th above E will produce B minor, which also has two
sharps.