Free Music Theory Lessons: What are key signatures?

Hi! Thank you for coming to my music lessons blog. Today I want to share some information on  "Key Signatures". If you find this article or the entire blog to be of interest to you please feel free to subscribe. You can also share this blog with a friend. Now let's get going with today's article.

Key Signature

Music can be written in major and minor keys. Both major and minor keys are based on particular scales. When a piece of music is composed from a major scale we can say that the music is written in a major key. When the composition of a piece of music is based on a minor scale we can say that the music is in a minor key.

In order for us to know the key of a piece of music we need to look for the key Signature.

What are Key Signatures?

Key signatures are sharp or flat signs that comes after the clef sign on the staff. You should note that the key signature comes after both the treble and bass clef. The number of sharp and flat signs is based on the major scale that is used.

For example – C major scale has no sharp nor flat so therefore there will not be any sharp or flat sign at the beginning of the music nor anywhere else.

Below is a diagram showing what the key of C looks like on a piece of sheet music. The diagram is also accompanied by an illustration of the letters in the C major scale.

Below are diagrams of different key signatures and their scale. Key Signatures are named from the relative scales.

KEY - G MAJOR

The Key Signature for G major is one sharp. The note falling on the F line or space will be called F sharp.

 KEY - D MAJOR 

The Key Signature for D major is two sharps. All falling on the C and F line or space will be called C sharp and F sharp respectively.

KEY – F MAJOR

The Key of F major is one flat. B will be replaced by B flat.

KEY – B FLAT MAJOR

The Key signature for B flat major is two flats. All B and E note on the staff are change to B flat and E flat respectively.

KEY – E FLAT MAJOR

The Key signature for E flat major is three flats. Natural notes such as B, E and A with be change to flat.

 
Each sharp and flat in a specific key signature takes control of each line and space that they are located on. In other words the sharps and flats that form the key signature of a particular key changes the name of the lines and spaces they are placed on at the beginning of the staff. Therefore if a sharp is placed on the F line then that line will be called F sharp through-out the entire music. The same thing is been applied is the sharp or flat is placed in a space.

This was a great lesson. Thank you for participating.


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Copyright (c)  October 2011 by Carlinton Singh. All Rights Reserved.

Free Piano Lessons - Learn how to play "lean on me" on the piano

Hi guys! Today I have created a music sheet teaching you how to play the melody for "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers. This song was one of my favorites when learning started to play the piano. I must say that I have been busy and so I have not posted any piano lessons for a while but I know you will enjoy playing this one.

Use the model of the keyboard below to assist you, if you know the letter name for each key on the keyboard then you don't need it. 

Practice the melody for "Lean on me " by Bill Withers using the music sheet below.
You can click on the music sheet for a larger view.

Visit choose-piano-lessons.com for more free lessons!

Thanks you for participating in today's lesson.

 Please feel free to leave your comments!!

Learn Guitar Chords - Free Guitar Chord Charts @ Truefire.com

Learn to play all types of guitar chords at Truefire.com
Click link below to get started.

http://truefire.com/learn-guitar-chords/?gclid=CJy014Ko7KsCFRJW7Aod3BqrLg

(Only at zzounds.com)

Free Online Guitar Lessons at Gibson.com

For those of you that are searching for some basic guitar lessons that will add a little spice to your style of playing, then you need to check out these lessons presented by Gibson.com.

Here is a quick link to the lesson page.
http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Lessons/?s_kwcid=guitar%20lessons|2991119454

Information can never be too much. So it is good to learn from as much persons as possible. Each individual style of playing is different but you will be a more rounded musician if you make good use of all the information presented by different musicians.

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AT

About Music Lessons: Chord Techniques on Guitar and Bass

Hi guys!
For those of you who have just started to play the guitar and want to be an effective guitarist, I would like you to read this article that was posted by Marty B at http://aboutmusiclessons.blogspot.com.
Just Click the link below to view the article. The article gives information on some techniques that should be considered when playing the guitar.

About Music Lessons: Chord Technique on Guitar and Bass

Tell me what you thing about the article by leaving your comments.
have a great day.


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The best way to set up a music studio at your home. Home Music Studio Ideas!

Setting up a small home studio is not hard to do, but you should prepare to spend reasonable amount of money to do so. When you have your own home studio set up you will be able to save some portion of money in the long run. This is because you will not have to spend money on studio hours charged by external studios. You have all the time to do your music projects without looking on the watch. So today I want to share some vital information on how you can set up your own musical studio at home.

Here is a list of all the possible things you might need to setup a reasonable home music studio.

1. You need a reliable PC (computer). Your computer must perform at high standard to keep up with the number of activities that will be taking place. Your computer should have good memory (2 gigabytes of RAM is good), large hard drive (80 gigs or more), recording device (CD/DVD burners) and a good processor (2GHz or more).

2. You will need an Audio interface (Sound Card). The one I use is the M-Audio Delta 1010LT 24-Bit 96kHz PCI Card. I bought it at zzounds.com and it is works well but there are other options that you can choose from. The quality of sound in your home studio should be good, remember, you are competing with major studios on the market (Check zzound.com).

3. You need a good microphone. The options for music studios are condenser microphones. Condenser Microphones are of great quality and are even great for recording acoustic instruments. There are some cheap condenser microphones on the market; you can find them at zzounds.com. The microphone that I am using is the Rode NT1-A Studio Condenser Microphone, it works well.

4. You need a mixer board. The mixer board that I use is the BEHRINGER EURORACK UB2442FX-PRO but you can check out Mackie and Yamaha for good mixer boards, plus there are lots of digital mixer board on the market.

  

5. You will also need studio monitor speakers. The good thing about the market is that there are power monitor speakers available and so you don’t have to buy amplifiers. I use the KRK RP6G2 Rokit G2 Powered 2-Way Active Monitors and again you can get it at zzound.com.

6. You will need music recording software. This very important. There are lot of multi-track recording softwares available but I have found Protools, Nuendo and Cakewalk Sonar to be the best. This because there are a lot of plug-ins available on the internet for these software and they also worked well with my M-Audio PCI sound card.

  

7. Extra accessories – You will need headphones, midi cables, microphone cables and other cables for guitar and synthesizers. All these accessories are available at zzounds.com. You might be wondering why am I promoting zzounds.com so much, but not only am I an affiliate but have several successful purchases on this internet music store and the prices are great.

8. All home studios should have a synthesizer or a keyboard with good quality sounds. But you should also prepare to make a sound proof area for recording voices. I use dry wall and sponge to create a small sound proof area in my home.

 As I said before that you will be spending a reasonable amount of money to setup a good home studio. However, if you are planning to stay a long time in the music industry them you need to invest in all the things mention earlier. You will also save a lot of money in the long run and will be making money from different projects that will become available to you.

GET ALL YOUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 

AND EQUIPMENT

@

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Learning to play guitar chords

Hello world! How are you today!

Today I want to share some vital information with you. Today we are going to talk about guitar chords and I will be showing you some basic chords that you can practice on your guitar.

I must say that the guitar is not a walk over and so you will have to dedicate some time for practice. Not everything comes easy in life even though there are some gifted persons who will figure things out on their own and then become a super star.

For those of you who have a guitar parked in some corner at your home, it is time to take up the instrument and give it another try.

Now let’s get down to business!

What is a chord?

Chord as it relates to music is a group notes that are played at the same time. When the group of notes are played simultaneously harmony is created. Chords are formed by choosing specific notes from a major scale.

There are different types of chord in music. Some type of chords are major chord, minor chord, diminish chord, suspended chord among others. But today I will be sharing just a few basic major chords with you.

Why do we use chords in music?

Chords are use to create unique texture in music. When an individual performs a song and a musician plays the guitar in the back ground, harmony is been created. We can say that the chord acts as an accompaniment in the music. So learning chords is very important. Most hymns and popular music such as reggae, jazz and R&B are dominated by chords.

Here are three basic major chords that are easy to practice on your guitar.

The circles shaded in blue are the notes you will hold with your left fingers and unshaped circles are the open notes that you will play along with the notes you hold on the fret board.

Practice to play them in the same order as outline above.

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Learn Music: Musical Element - Musical Form

Musical Form

Musical form is the way in which the music is organized or structured. Some time when we listen to a piece of music we can identify different sections of the song based on how it is composed. In contemporary music we have verses, chorus and even a bridge in a song. This is a clear description of how a piece of music is structured.

There are three techniques that are commonly used in musical form. They are repetition, contrast and variation.

Repetition allows us to recognize familiar sections of music hence causing us to remember the melodic and harmonic structure of the piece.

Contrast exists when there is a change of mood in the music. A number of factors can cause contrast in the music such as dynamics, tempo, articulation and tonality.

Variation is another aspect to consider when thinking about musical form. Variation is when some features in the music change while others are retained. Some of the things to consider are;

1)       The way in which accompaniment is been played compared to the melody of the music.

(For example – One simple description of variation is when the main melodic structure of a song changes but the rhythmic pattern remains.)

2)      The pitch of musical instruments might have been change in comparison to the rhythm.

3)      The way in which notes are played in comparison to the main notation of the music.

Types of Musical Form

There are two types musical form that I would like to discuss in this article. They are binary and ternary form.

Binary (two-part) Form: A B

In binary form the music has two large sections, part (A) and part (B). Binary or two-part form gives a sense of statement in (A) and counterstatement in (B). However, both sections can have immediate repetition in the music. Therefore this type of form can be written as ABB, AAB or AABB.

Ternary (three-part) Form: A B A

Ternary form is more popular in most musical composition. In ternary or three part form there are three main sections that can be identified. Ternary form can be represented as statement (A), contrast or departure (B) and return (A). The contrast between statement (A) and section (B) can be of any length and any kind. The return (A) section of the form can occur smoothly with a clear expectation or it can be unexpected.

Like binary form, ternary form can be subdivided. Each section can be sub divided as follows;

A (a b a)          B (c d c)          A (a b a)

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