MUSIC THEORY

Hello! Today we will do a lesson on basic music theory. A number of musicians are frustrated with learning the theory of music and so they deviate from reading music. However, if individuals take time to understand the basic level in music theory, then they are on their way to read music properly. But it is important to note that time is important in every aspect of music and so, time is also needed when studying theory.

Ok! Let us begin!

There are several signs and symbols in music; however we will be looking at only two. They are musical notes and musical rests.

The sound that is played in music is represented by musical notes and silence that occurs in music is represented by musical rest. Because you cannot see the sound or silence physically with your eyes then written musical formulas and symbols are develop.

Yes, it is as simple as it sounds. When one sings or plays a musical instrument, they play or sing both short and long sounds. These short or long sounds are represented by different types of musical notes. The length of the sound and silence are determined by beats and so there are different types of notes and rest with different length in beats.

Lets us look at least four notes and four rests in this lesson.

Musical Notes

1.  The first note we will look at is the “Semibreve or Whole Note”.

The semibreve is the note with the longest length in sound. It indicates that the sound should be as long as 4 beats or 4 counts.

2.  The second note is the “Minim or Half Note”.

The minim is half the length in sound of the whole note. That is why it is called a half note. The minim indicates that the sound should be as long as 2 beats or 2 counts.

3.  The third note is the “Crotchet or Quarter Note”.

This is the crotchet it is also called the quarter note because it take four crotchet to make a whole note or semibreve. The crotchet tell us that the sound should be as long as 1 beat or 1 count.

4.  The fourth note is the “Quaver or Eight note”.

This is what the quaver looks like. It looks like a crotchet but has a extra stem to it. When ever it is played it last as long as half of a beat or count.

 

Musical Rest

Musical rest does the opposite of musical notes. They represent the silence in music. However, these symbols use the names of notes but are accompanied by the word “Rest”.

1.  The first rest we will be looking at is the “Semibreve Rest or Whole Rest”.

The semibreve rest last as long as 4 counts of silence. It does the opposite of the semibreve or whole note.

2.  The second rest is the “Minim Rest or Half Rest”.

The minim rest last as long as 2 counts of silence.

3.  The third rest is the “Crotchet Rest or Quarter Rest”.

The quarter rest or crotchet rest last as long as one count of silence.

4.  The four rest is the “Quaver Rest or One Eight Rest”.

The quaver rest or one eight rest last as lone as 1/2 (half) beat or count of silence.

In lessons to come you will learn to apply each note and rest in a particular rhythmic pattern. Remember there are a wide number of resources on the internet that you can used to teach your self music.