Music writing. Musical signs, symbols and instruments

To record musical sounds, special signs are used, which are called notes. Music notes consist of the following parts:

1. heads
2. stems (sticks) connecting to the note head from the left downwards or from the right upwards;
3. a flag (tail) connecting to the stem only to the right of it or a knitting (longitudinal line) connecting the stems of several notes.

Notes are placed on five horizontal lines called a staff or stave. The staff lines are always counted from bottom to top in order, that is, the bottom line is the first, the one following it is the second, etc.

The notes on the staff are located on or between lines. The bottom line of the staff is E. Any note located on this line is played as E, as long as there are no decreasing or increasing signs. The next note (between the lines) is the note F, etc. Notes can also extend beyond the staff and are written on additional lines. Additional lines above the staff are called upper additional rules and are counted from bottom to top of the staff. High-pitched sounds are recorded on these additional rulers. Low sounds are written under the staff and are called lower additional lines, and are counted from top to bottom from the staff.

Keys

At the beginning of the staff there is always a key that determines the height of one of the sounds in the scale, from which the height of the remaining sounds is measured.

The treble clef (or G clef) determines on the staff the position of the G sound of the first octave, which is written on the second line.

The bass clef (or F clef) determines the position on the staff of the F sound of the small octave, which is recorded on the fourth line.

Beat and time signature. Confluent and weak beats.

For ease of reading notes music recording is divided into equal periods of time (number of beats) - measures. A measure is a segment of musical notation limited by two bar lines.

The first note of each measure has a stress - an accent. This accented beat serves as the beginning of the count in each measure. Measures are separated from each other by vertical lines that cross the staff. These vertical bars are called bar bars.

After the key, the beat size is set. The size is indicated by two numbers, one below the other in the form of a fraction: 2/4; 3/6; 4/4 etc. The upper number indicates the number of beats in a measure, and the lower one indicates the duration of each beat (what duration is taken as a unit of counting - a quarter, a half, etc.). For example: a 2/2 time signature consists of two half-time notes, and a 7/8 time signature consists of seven eighth-time notes. But in most cases you will find two fours. In short, this size is also denoted by the letter C in place of the numbers. Sometimes you may see a line crossed out vertical line the letter C is equivalent to size 2/2.

As we have already said, the first beats of each measure stand out, sound stronger than other sounds - they are accentuated. At the same time, the periodicity of the sound of strong and weak shares, i.e. there is a uniform change of stress. Typically, a measure consists of several beats, the first strong (in the musical notation it is marked with an accent sign >) and several weak ones following it. In a two-beat measure (2/4), the first beat (“one”) is strong, the second (“two”) is weak. In a three-beat measure (3/4), the first beat (“one”) is strong, the second (“two”) is weak, and the third (“three”) is weak.

Two-beat and three-beat measures are called simple. The four-beat measure (4/4) is complex. It is formed from two simple measures of two-beat time. In such a complex bar, there are two strong accents on the first and third beats, with the first accent on the strongest beat of the bar, and the second on a relatively weaker beat, that is, it sounds slightly weaker than the first.

Alteration signs

To indicate the tonality of a note, the notes may be preceded by the signs flat, sharp, double-flat, double-sharp and becar.

Such signs are called alteration signs. If there is a sharp in front of a note, then the note rises by half a tone, a double-sharp - by a tone. If it is flat, then the note is lowered by a semitone, and if it is double-sharp, by a tone. Decreasing and raising signs, appearing once, are applied to the entire score until they are canceled by another sign. There is a special sign that cancels the lowering or raising of a note and returns it to its natural height - this is the bekar. Double-flat and double-sharp are rarely used.

Alteration signs are used mainly in two cases: as key and as random. Key signs are located to the right of the key in a certain order: fa - do - sol - re - la - mi - si for sharps, for flats - b - mi - la - d - sol - do - fa. If in any measure the same note with a sharp or flat occurs several times, then the flat or sharp is placed only once and retains its effect throughout the entire measure. Such sharps and flats are called random.

Whether the note is shaded or not, as well as the sticks attached to it, i.e. stems indicate the duration of the note. The main note durations are whole (1) and are indicated by an unshaded head without a stem, as well as its half divisions: half (2), quarter (3), eighth (4), sixteenth (5), etc. In this case, the duration of a whole note is a relative value: it depends on the current tempo of the piece. Another standard duration includes a double whole, indicated by a small unshaded rectangle with strokes near the corners.

If several notes with a duration of less than a fourth are written in a row and none of them (except, perhaps, the first) falls on a strong beat, then they are written under a common edge or viscous - a stick connecting the ends of the stems. Moreover, if the notes are eighth notes, the edge is single, if the sixteenth notes are double, etc. Nowadays, we can find a combination of notes from different measures, as well as notes that are not in a row.

It happens that you need to write a note that lasts, for example, three eighths. There are two ways to do this: if there is a strong beat while the note is playing, then two notes are taken, giving a total of three eighths (that is, a quarter and an eighth) and ligated, that is, a league is placed between them - an arc, the ends almost touching the ovals of the notes . If the strong beat is left aside, then to extend the note by half its sound, a dot is placed to the right of the oval (that is, at in this case three eighths is a quarter with a dot). Dotted notes can also be combined under a single edge.

Finally, it may be necessary to divide any duration not into two halves, but into three, five or another number of equal parts, not a multiple of two. In this case, triplets, pentols and other similar forms of notation are used.

A break in sound is called a pause. The duration of pauses is measured in the same way as the duration of sounds (notes). A whole pause (8) is equal in duration to a whole note. It is indicated by a short line under the fourth line of the staff. A half rest (9) is equal in duration to a half note. It is indicated by the same dash as the quarter rest, but this dash is written above the third line of the staff. The quadruple rest (10) is equal in duration to the fourth note and is indicated by a broken line in the center. The eighth (11), sixteenth (12) and thirty-second (13) rests are equal in length to the eighth, sixteenth and thirty-second notes respectively and are indicated by a slash with one, two or three small flags.

A dot to the right of a note or rest increases its duration by half. Two dots at a note or at a pause increase the duration by half and another quarter.

The dots above or below the notes indicate the abrupt nature of the performance or staccato, in which each sound loses part of its duration, becomes sharper, shorter, drier.

League (arc curved up or down) binds standing nearby notes of the same height, summing up their duration. A league connecting two or more notes at different heights means a coherent performance of these sounds or legato.

Fermata is a sign indicating to the performer that he should increase the duration of a note or pause at his discretion.

Repetition marks

When performing a piece, you often have to repeat a fragment or the entire piece. To do this, the symbols of repetition - reprises - are used in musical notation. The music laid out between these signs must be repeated. Sometimes when repeating there are different endings. In this case, at the end of the repetition, brackets are used - volts. This means that for the first time the ending bars contained in the first volta are played, and when repeated, the bars of the first volta are skipped and the bars of the second volta are played instead.

Pace

The notation also indicates the tempo of the composition. Tempo is the speed at which a piece of music is performed.

There are three main execution speeds: slow, moderate and fast. The main tempo is usually indicated at the very beginning of the piece. There are five main designations for these tempos: Slow - Adagio, Slowly, calmly - Andante, Moderate - Moderato, Soon - Allegro, Fast - Presto. The average of these tempos - moderato - corresponds to the speed of a calm step.

Often, when performing a piece of music, you have to speed up or slow down its main tempo. These changes in tempo are most often indicated by the words: Accelerando, abbreviated as accel. (accelerando) - accelerating, Ritenuto, (ritenuto) abbreviated rit. - slowing down, and tempo (a tempo) - at the same pace (restore the previous pace after the previous acceleration or deceleration).

Volume

When performing a piece of music, in addition to the tempo, you should also take into account the required volume (strength) of the sound. Everything related to sound volume is called dynamic shades. These shades are displayed in notes, usually between staves. The most common designations for sound strength are the following: pp (pianissimo) - very quiet, p (piano) - quiet, mf (mezzo forte) - with medium strength, f (forte) - loud, ff (fortissimo) - very loud. And also signs< (крещендо) - постепенно усиливая звук и >(diminuendo) - gradually weakening the sound.

Along with the above tempo designations, notes often contain words that indicate the nature of the performance of the music of the work, for example: melodiously, tenderly, agilely, playfully, brilliantly, decisively, etc.

Melisma signs

Melism signs do not change the tempo or rhythmic pattern of the melody, but only decorate it. There are the following types of melismas:

That seems to be all that every guitarist needs to know, to begin with. If you want to learn more about musical notation, you should refer to special educational literature.

1. If it is necessary to repeat any part of a musical work, then instead of writing this part twice, use the signs reprises. Reprise is a repetition, indicated in musical notation as follows:

The first two bars are repeated twice. The third is repeated three times, as indicated by the inscription “3x”

2. The next repetition technique is this. It is used if it is necessary to repeat a passage of a piece of music with a different ending. Let us explain the abbreviation sign for volts using an example:

The first two measures are played first, after which the first measure is played again, jumping over the second and the third measure is played.

3. Seño and lantern.

Senyo (translated as “signal”, Italian) is designated in musical notation as follows, and lantern like this. When cutting in this way, two lanterns and two seños are used. The reduction occurs as follows - we “pass” the first Senyo, then when we reach the second Senyo, we jump again to the beginning to the first Senyo and start playing again from there. Now when we reach the first lantern, we jump to the second lantern.

4. Repeating a measure. It is indicated in musical notation in the form of oblique sticks. In this case, the number of oblique sticks corresponds to the number of bars for repetition.

Picture No. 1 Repeat one previous bar
Picture No. 2 Repeat the previous two bars
Picture No. 3 Repeat the previous three bars

5. Here you may need knowledge about intervals.

In musical notation, the repetition of one sound is indicated as if by a crossed out note. Moreover, if a Note of a quarter note is “crossed out,” then it is equivalent to two eighth notes. That is, we divide the note by the number of oblique sticks on it.

6. Arpeggiato marks(Very quick search chord)

Indicated by a wavy line next to the chord:

An example of using all abbreviations:

1 - we play and reach the final sign of the reprise (two dots after the first volte)
2 - return to the first sign of the reprise
3 - we play a reprise, but having reached the first volta, we jump to the second
4 - play until the Senyo2 sign
5 - return to Senyo1
6 - play until the second mark of the reprise
7 - return to the first sign of the reprise
8 - play a repeat, jumping the volts sign "1"
9 - we play until the first lantern and jump to
10 - we play further from the second lantern.

7. Signs for rising and falling by octave. That is, if you need to play on high frets or on very low ones, then in order not to use a lot of extension lines for notes, it is advisable to write the segment on the main five stripes of the staff, and in in the right place put a sign for increasing the octave. Let's give an example.

Alexandrova Maria

The student’s research work is aimed at a deeper understanding of music through symbols, in particular, the music of J. S. Bach and S. V. Rachmaninov. In the process of research, it turns out that these two composers are similar in the emotional orientation of their work, i.e., in both cases, the basis of musical symbols is the Bible.

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Municipal autonomous educational institution – Lyceum No. 62, Oktyabrsky district, Saratov city

Design and research work:

“Symbols in music – myth or reality?”

The work was completed by an 8th grade student:

Alexandrova Maria,

Scientific adviser:

Lastochkina M.M.

Saratov, 2012

Introduction

I heard a lot about symbolism in music, but I didn’t think about it and passed by this phenomenon. But the way I do it music school, I often come across such a concept as “symbolism” in Bach’s music. So, I thought it would be interesting to learn about this phenomenon

in Bach’s music, and maybe then I will perceive his music differently, knowledge of symbolism will help me to better understand the brilliant music of Bach.

In general, there is such a direction in art called symbolism. It originated in France in 1870-80. But Bach lived much earlier, that is, about 100 years after Bach’s death, this movement appeared.

In the course of our work, we set ourselves goals and objectives:

1. explore musical language as a special kind of sign system.

2. Consider the transformation of a musical image into a symbol.

In our time, when UFOs, “space aliens” and obscene language of pop stars occupy people’s minds more than the music of a high professional tradition, it is difficult to draw people’s attention to the problems of the latter. And even more so - to find something new in enough famous essay, which would interest sophisticated professionals. Everything seems clear and studied a long time ago.

Scientific novelty of the research:

1. Proof has been made that music is all permeated with symbols, that it is symbolic art. That the symbol is a universal sign for music, and does not just contain individual symbols.

2. Shown. That the reflection of reality, the diversity of life in musical creativity cannot be understood without an analysis of the language of music, the role of signs and symbols in art in general, and in music in particular.

Chapter 1

Symbols in Bach's music.

The best performers of J. S. Bach's music, such as Svyatoslav Richter, for example, or Van Cliburn, intuitively feel its deep meaning, but this meaning is not specified. I think that awareness of it will make it possible to strengthen the impact of Bach’s music on the listener and more fully convey to him its spiritual content. Most of characters has sacred meaning, going back to the melodies and corresponding texts of church chorales of the Baroque era. Motifs - symbols have different structures. They are, for example, melodies of chorales or their segments. During Bach's time in the countries Western Europe choral melodies and the sacred content associated with them were known to everyone. Therefore, performers and listeners of that era easily formed associations with the meaning of the chorale, with a specific event in Holy Scripture, with the circle church holidays or a ritual action to which this chorale corresponded. Symbols are also stable sound combinations that have constant meanings. This is the symbol of the “cross”, consisting of four notes in different directions; if you graphically connect the first with the third, the second with the fourth, a cross pattern is formed - X. The symbol of the cross, for example, serves as the theme of the fugue in C sharp minor of Volume I of the HTC; This content is Christ's prayer for the cup in the Garden of Gethsemane. The symbol of the resurrection on the third day is a gradually ascending motif of three sounds, repeated three times each time a step higher, as in the theme of the fugue in E minor from Volume II: her image” - The Ascension of Christ. In general, from the point of view of a person of the Baroque era, every phenomenon of reality necessarily has hidden meaning, and the artist’s task was to reveal it. The language of art is the language of symbols. A symbol is the connection that unites the spiritual with the sensual, the abstract with the concrete. In our time, the layer of culture of the Baroque era has been largely forgotten; most people no longer have such associations. Its revival opens up new opportunities for understanding the instrumental music of J. S. Bach. We inherited from the 19th century Bax's emotional and intuitive approach to music. The deepest spiritual content contained in it is clearly felt by everyone, but does not manifest itself at the level of clear semantic and figurative representations. A layer of Baroque musical culture turned out to be forgotten, including the vocabulary of the era and the mental world of man of that time expressed by it.
But Bach’s contemporaries read his music as understandable speech. For listeners of Bach's time, his instrumental works did not appear as works of “pure” music, they were filled with specific figurative, psychological and philosophical-religious content.
People listened differently in that era than they do now. In those days, people came to listen not emotionally, but listened to the types of melody that were familiar to them, which they knew by heart and instantly recalled the verbal text and images of the text.
Melodic turns - intonations expressing certain concepts, emotions, ideas, form the basis musical language J. S. Bach. Mastery of this language, as Bach's contemporaries mastered it, allows one to reveal the (secret, hidden) “messages” that fill his works. All this is the inner semantic world of his music.”Bach knew the role that numbers - "sacred numbers" - play in the Bible.

“Z” is a symbol of the Holy Trinity (this number and numerals from it are mentioned in the Bible 212 times);

"6" - six "working" days in which God created the world:

“7” is a symbol of the Holy Trinity and Creation and the whole, as well as the Holy Spirit;

"10" - ten commandments;

"12" - Churches, apostles and congregations. Examples of the use of these numbers by Bach are well known.

"10". And Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, did not eat bread or drink water, etc.

1. symbol of the cross, crucifixion, Passion of the Lord (C-sharp/B-sharp-up E/D sharp.)

this symbol in reverse means redemption through the accomplished torment of the cross. (d-sharp-mi-down b-sharp-do-sharp)

1. Comprehension of the will of the Lord is an ascending tetrachord. (do-re-mi-fa)

1. A symbol of imminent accomplishment (an ascending and descending sixth chord, often ending with a symbol of predestination (A-C-sharp-F-sharp))

1. Symbol of the cup of suffering (sol-fa-sol-la-sol)

5) symbol of sadness - falling on third

As we can see, musical symbols and choral melodies have a clear semantic content. Reading them allows you to decipher the musical text. Fill it with a spiritual program.

Motif B-A-C-H

We have already discussed the “Bach number”. Now it is necessary to talk about the “Bach motif”. It is formed from sounds corresponding to the letters of the surname BACH. How does this happen?
Everyone knows that notes have names. The history of their origin is long-standing, and it is not what interests us in this case. Let's just say that in the Russian language the names of notes do, re, mi, fa, etc., which came from Latin language(acrostic of one Latin hymn). But there is - and is no less widespread - an alphabetic (Latin alphabet) system. According to this system, the letters of the surname "Bach" have musical meaning: B - B-flat, A - A, C - C, N - B.

One of the first who thought of using the Bach family motif was Beethoven. His plan remained unfulfilled. However, a sheet of music has been preserved with the theme hastily written down on it, and signed in letters - Beethoven intended to write an orchestral overture on this theme. It is noteworthy that on the same piece of paper his thoughts about the Tenth Symphony (not composed) are written down.
Usually this topic is taught in four even durations. This is how Bach himself did it. Beethoven brings his own deeply personal touch: he breaks the theme into two pairs of sounds and groups them in a sharply dotted rhythm, giving the theme a rebellious character. It’s amazing how, with just one technique, Beethoven manages to immediately turn Bach’s theme into his own, Beethoven’s!

Sketch of the overture "BACH" by Ludwig van Beethoven

In 1845, Robert Schumann wrote the cycle “Six Great Fugues in the Name of BACH for Organ”. This is a grandiose musical monument to Bach. “I worked on this work,” Schumann wrote to the music publisher, “all last year, trying to make it at least in some way worthy of the great name it bears; I think that perhaps this work will far outlive my other works.”
With his fugues, Schumann created his own cycle, “The Art of Fugue,” in which polyphonic techniques and the highest artistic merits of music are congenial with Bach’s. Noteworthy is the fact that Schumann never used (intentionally?) the key of D minor, in which Bach’s cycle “The Art of Fugue” was written: most of Schumann’s fugues are in B-flat major.
Schumann's cycle is the first in a series of monumental organ (and not only organ) works on the theme of BACH by Liszt, Reger, Shostakovich...

Graphic signs in music (music notation) are also a kind of imprinting code music information, when decrypted great importance has the personality of the perceiving subject. The second composer whose music I really love is S.V. Rachmaninov. so I decided to do a little research on his work from the point of view of “symbolism”. It seems to me. that the musical heritage of Bach and the music of Rachmaninov are very close in their emotional content, despite the fact that they lived and worked in different eras. But it only seems at first glance that if the eras are different, then there can be nothing in common in creativity.

Chapter 2

Symbols in music by S.V. Rachmaninov.

Studying the style of S. Rachmaninov, we intuitively feel the obvious personal, subjective component of his music (even self-portraiture in many moments). Music by Rachmaninoffpersonality dependent,that is, full of introspection and self-descriptions, self-reflections and self-immersion, internal monologues and dialogues with oneself.

The key to revealing the meaning of the melodic complex that serves as the author’s leittheme is a vocal piece, barely noticeable against the backdrop of Rachmaninov’s masterpieces, composed “just in case.” It's about about “Letter to K. S. Stanislavsky from Rachmaninov” - a work that was clearly intended “not for publication”, written in his own prose text in a humorous manner, appropriate in a friendly company or in a theatrical “cabbage”. However, it was in this play that the composer for the only time, obviously not intentionally, gave us a “key”, recorded the intonation with which he associates his “I”, as if he named the melodic formula - an analogue of his name in music. The fact that this was done naturally, artlessly, spontaneously, and was not at all specially calculated, thoughtfully and masterfully composed, is evidenced by the extreme simplicity, asceticism (not to say scarcity) of the melodic line; the author clearly did not try to artificially make it more beautiful. In words"Yours Sergei Rachmaninov"in a tone of slight self-irony, the composer “spoke” that elementary intonational formula that we find in different options in his serious writings. “Letter to K. S. Stanislavsky from Rachmaninov” allows us to reliably establish and understand the associative connection between the most important moments of Rachmaninov’s music and his “I”.

All of these theme variants are found in instrumental music Rachmaninov and have the meaning of a leitmotif.

Theme of the I part of the Second Concerto:

Leitmotif built into the theme of Part II of the Second Concerto:

In Part III of the Second Concerto, essentially the entire thematic fabric is based on the leitmotif “I”.

All cases of the appearance of the leitmotif “I” in these and other works of Rachmaninov are still awaiting their programmatic interpretation, specific for each specific episode.

S. Rachmaninov is the great Russian “Orthodox” artist of the twentieth century. Orthodox not only by tradition and upbringing, but also by deeds. It is difficult to find in Russian musical culture another such positive personality, filled, along with genius, with true piety, beauty of action, modesty and courage. A bunch of different people Those who knew Sergei Vasilyevich closely note his deep religiosity.

Let us turn our attention to Rachmaninov’s last major symphonic work “Symphonic Dances”, a work that was completed in 1940 - as if they were examined in sufficient detail in Russian musicology, many compare them with M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”, completed at the same time time.

In fact, the author does not reveal the content of “Dances” anywhere, which in itself is curious. And although many elements of their “plot” have been read, the complete picture of the content of the work, apparently, is still not revealed. What has escaped the attention of inquisitive researchers?

“Symphonic dances” is a conventional name, rather veiling than revealing their content. In fact, they turn out to be essays on religious theme, a kind of spiritual testament of Rachmaninov, encrypted in musical images without using words. Why did Rachmaninov need to encrypt the content of the “Dances”?

Now we can only speculate about the author's motives. But with a high degree of confidence we can say that Rachmaninov hid the true intention of the composition in order to convey it to the addressee. "Symphonic Dances" is dedicated to the religious role of Russia in Last times. Thanks to the obscuring of the meaning in the title, the composer was able to perform “Dances” in his distant homeland just three years after they were written. He apparently hoped that “Dances,” having entered into Russian musical usage from the musical side, would gradually, with the return to the faith of the people, be interpreted from the religious point of view.

What is “coded” in “Symphonic Dances”?

Rachmaninov's plan was apparently comprehensive. In symphonic form, he embodied in them the images of the “Apocalypse”, “Dies irae”, the fate of the dying world and the role of Russia in the Last Times. In addition, Rachmaninov reflected his own experiences and prophetic visions in them.

The apocalyptic perception of reality for Rachmaninov, apparently, was completely natural. The feeling of the approaching Last Judgment was brought into the artist’s consciousness by life itself. He turned out to be an eyewitness to the First World War, the collapse of the Russian Empire, the beating of the Ruler and millions of Russian patriots during the revolution. Later, while living in Europe, S.V. Rachmaninov witnessed the emergence of fascism in Italy and Germany, the torchlight processions of the Nazis, the circulation fascist swastikas in stadiums, the beginning of World War II. How could the Orthodox artist S. V. Rachmaninov react to all this?

He, who is usually stingy with his assessments, reveals his attitude to what is happening in the world in a letter to S.A. Satina dated January 27, 1941 “We live, truly, in scary time- writes Rachmaninov. - Even what we experienced during the World War (in our opinion, the First), seems, in comparison with the present, to be something else. Then there were bright spots somewhere, in some countries. Now it seems that the catastrophe is spreading throughout the entire world and will consume everyone and everything. God forbid! Advice to live only in the present day, in all honesty, does not stand up to criticism. Who lives only for today and who is it who does not at least think about the near future? And how can you not think about him! After all, we are not animals! But, thinking about the future, you can’t imagine anything but horror. How to deal with this and how to behave, tell me?” Although these lines were written a year after the creation of “Dances,” it is safe to assume that it was the thoughts about the present and the “near future” of S.V. Rachmaninov embodied in the content of this work. What exactly are these ideas and how are they embodied in the Symphonic Dances? Rachmaninov draws on the choral structure, creating a number of themes. The Russian chorale is a capacious symbol for Rachmaninov. Let's look at how the images are implemented in each of the three parts of the Symphonic Dances.

In the first part musical means images of the initial chapters of “Revelation” and the author’s thoughts about the role of Russia are reproduced.

These lines are from Revelation: “And I saw that the Lamb had opened the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come and see. 2. I looked, and behold, a white horse, and his rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he came out victorious, and to conquer. 3. And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. 4. And another red horse came out; and to him that sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another; and a great sword was given to him. 5. And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come and see. I looked, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a measure in his hand. 7. And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying, Come and see. 8. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider, whose name was death; and hell followed him"

Rachmaninov does not develop this text in music in detail. He embodies it as if through the prism of pictorial perception. The image of the four horsemen, including “death” on a pale horse, can be understood as an allegory of universal catastrophe. But Rachmaninov wrote this work just at the beginning of World War II...

The second part of “Symphonic Dances” is a sad and nostalgic image of a Russian ball. The ball has occupied an important place in Russian and, in particular, in noble culture since the time of Peter. He performed the special task of praising the emperor and royal power in ritual forms of behavior, gesture, dance and singing. The ball emphasized the unity of the king with his people, personified by a select circle of people - the Light. Since 1917, balls in Russia stopped as soon as the Sovereign - the Russian Emperor, the recipient of this dance ceremony - was removed from power and then killed. And along with him, the ideals that he personified were destroyed: the keeper of the faith, the greatness and beauty of royal power, the ideals of justice and order. The author creates a visual picture of hell using musical means. And finally, the third part is the most significant in content. The main theme of the “Day of Wrath” - we read: “What awe there will be when the Judge comes, who will judge everything truthfully...” And at the peak of the development of this theme, the hymn “Blessed be the Lord” suddenly sounds. The presentation of this theme is important - it reflects the composer's faith in the great destiny of Russia. In our time, when Orthodoxy is being revived in Russia, such thoughts are perceived as an illustration of the current state of the world. But “Symphonic Dances” were written 66 years ago - during the time of persecution of Orthodoxy in the Soviet Union, when churches were blown up and priests were killed. And in this situation, it was necessary to have a special gift of spiritual foresight in order to reflect on the prospect of the Orthodox revival of Russia, on its role in the future, as Rachmaninov showed it in “Dances.” Therefore, it is all the more important for us, people of the 21st century, to treat the visions of the great Russian composer with reverence and admiration. His prophecy about Russia, embodied in his musical spiritual testament - “Symphonic Dances”, comes true with amazing accuracy.

Conclusion

So, my research shows that there are symbols in music, and each composer, of course, has his own. In my next work I will try to better understand the music of W.A. Mozart and P.I. Tchaikovsky and find something in common. In conclusion, it should be noted that music is still one of the results cultural activities person. This special shape life activity, an artificial environment created by people over thousands of years, which has developed its own specific symbols. The subject of music reflection is the world surrounding a person (objective reality), the world of human emotions, feelings, experiences and affects, the sphere of thinking, captured by a developed system of symbols (subjective reality).

Conveying a person’s aesthetic attitude to what is happening in reality, showing his various experiences is the goal of musical creativity, where it is possible to depict various phenomena and objects of the surrounding reality, as well as fantastic, irrational objects, abstract concepts with all the convincingness in the form of artistic images. As a consequence of this, musical art makes abundant use of signs, both images and expressions, between which it is sometimes difficult to draw a clear line.

Music is a symbolic world where sounds of various kinds find their existence (it contains both high-pitched sounds (tones) and indefinable sounds (noises), which have a number of specific properties), each of which has a certain meaning, knowledge of which allows one to penetrate deeper into its secrets. Subject to certain conditions(use in musical message; complex perception of sound properties, identifying the main sound quality; considering sound in combination with other sounds of music in unity with them (modus), all of the above types of sounds become musical.

Music is a subjective world, a special reality, where each sound has a certain meaning, knowledge of which allows us to penetrate deeper into the secrets of this art.

From time immemorial, people have embodied their feelings, thoughts and experiences through art. Some painted masterpieces of art, depicting objects of inspiration, everyday life, as well as memorable episodes from own biography. Others built various kinds of structures and monuments, giving them some kind of symbolic meaning. The most extraordinary of them began to be called wonders of the world. From the hands of others, one after another, pages of future poems, novels, epics came out, where a strong word was chosen for each moment of the plot, appropriate, in the opinion of the author.

However, there were those who found inspiration in sound. They created special instruments to express the emotions that overwhelmed them. These people are called musicians.

Nowadays, the concept of "music" is given great amount definitions. But if we think objectively, then this is a type of art, the main subject of which is this or that sound.

It is noteworthy that in many ancient languages ​​this word means “the activity of the muses.”

The Soviet scientist Arnold Sokhor, in turn, believed that music uniquely reflects reality, and also has an impact on a person through meaningful and in a special way sound sequences organized in pitch as well as in time, the main constituent parts of which are tones.

A Brief History of Music

Since ancient times, people have loved music. In the territory ancient Africa with the help of various songs that are part of rituals, they tried to contact spirits and gods. In Egypt, music was used mainly for religious hymns. There were such concepts as “passions” and “mysteries”, equated to genres. Egypt's most famous works were the Book of the Dead and the Pyramid Texts, which describe the "passion" of the Egyptian god Osiris. The ancient Greeks were the first people in the world who were able to achieve the highest in their culture. It is worth adding here the fact that they were the first to notice the existence of a peculiar pattern between mathematical quantities and sounds.

Over time, music has formed and developed. Several main directions began to stand out in it.

According to classical theory, by the 9th century the following existed on earth: musical genres: (that is, various kinds of church singing, liturgy), bard song and secular music (a striking example of such a genre is the hymn). In the process of interaction between people, these genres gradually mixed with each other, forming new ones, unlike the previous ones. Thus, at the end of the 19th century, jazz appeared, which became the progenitor for many modern genres.

What musical signs and symbols exist?

How can you record sounds? Musical note signs are conventional graphic symbols that are located on the surface. Their main function is to indicate the height, as well as the relative duration of a particular sound. It's no secret what the practical foundation of music is. However, it is not given to everyone. Studying musical signs is a rather labor-intensive process, the fruits of which only the most patient and assiduous can taste.

If we now begin to delve into the features of modern notation, then this article will become, to put it mildly, very long. To do this, it is necessary to write a separate, rather voluminous work about musical signs and symbols. One of the most famous characters, is, of course, the “treble clef”. During its existence, it has become a kind of symbol of musical art.

What are musical instruments and what types are they?

Objects that make it possible to produce various kinds of sounds necessary to create a work are called musical instruments. Instruments that exist today, in accordance with their abilities, purpose, and sound qualities, are divided into several main groups: keyboards, percussion, wind, strings and reeds.

There are many other classifications (as a shining example The Hornbostel-Sachs system can be cited).

The physical basis of almost any instrument that produces musical sounds (with the exception of various electrical devices) is a resonator. It can be a string, a so-called oscillatory circuit, a column of air (in a certain volume), or any other object that has the ability to store the energy transferred to it in the form of vibrations.

The resonant frequency sets the first overtone (in other words, the fundamental tone) of the sound that is currently being produced.

It is worth noting that a musical instrument has the ability to simultaneously reproduce a number of sounds, equal to the number used resonators. The design may provide for different numbers of them. Sound production begins the moment energy is introduced into the resonator. If a musician needs to stop the sound forcibly, then he can resort to an effect such as damping. With some instruments, the resonant frequencies can be changed. Some instruments that produce non-musical sounds (such as drums) do not use this device.

What is it and what are they?

In a broad sense, a musical work, or, as it is called, an opus, is any piece, improvisation, folk song. In other words, almost everything that can be conveyed through ordered vibrations of sounds. As a rule, it is characterized by a certain internal completeness, material consolidation (through musical signs, notes, etc.), and some kind of original motivation. Uniqueness is also important, behind which, as a rule, are the feelings and experiences of the author, which he wanted to present to the listeners of his work.

It is worth noting that the term “musical work” as an established concept appeared in the field of art relatively recently ( exact date unknown, but somewhere around the 18th-19th centuries). Until this moment, he was replaced in every possible way.

So, for example, Johann Herder used the word “activity” instead of this term. In the era of avant-gardeism, the name was replaced by “event”, “action”, “open form”. Currently, there is a huge number of different musical works. We propose to consider the most famous, interesting and unusual of them.

I. Song (or chant)

The song is one of the simplest but most common pieces of music, in which poetic text is accompanied by a simple melody that is easy to remember.

It is worth noting that the song is one of the most developed areas in the sense that in currently there are a large number of different forms, genres, etc.

II. Symphony

A symphony (translated from Greek as “harmony, elegance, consonance”) is a piece of music that is primarily intended to be performed by an orchestra, which can be brass, string, chamber, or mixed. In some cases, vocals or a choir may be included in the simony.

Often this work is combined with other genres, thereby forming mixed forms (for example, symphony-suite, symphony-poem, symphony-fantasy, etc.)

III. Prelude and Fugue

A prelude (from the Latin prae - “coming” and ludus - “play”) is a small work that, unlike others, does not have a strict form.

Mainly preludes and fugues are created for instruments such as harpsichord, organ, piano

Initially, these works were intended to give musicians the opportunity to “warm up” before the main part of the performance. However, later they began to be distinguished as original independent works.

IV. Touche

This type is also quite interesting, since not much attention is paid to it. Touche - (from French “key”, “introduction”) is a piece of music performed as a sign of greeting. The term was first used in mid-18th century century in Germany.

The main purpose of such a work is to attract the attention of the audience to what is happening, as well as to introduce appropriate emotional coloring into the event (as a rule, these are various ceremonies). Often a piece of music is performed by a brass band as a sign of greeting. Surely everyone has heard the carcass that is performed at the presentation of awards, etc.

In our article today, we looked at what kinds of musical instruments, signs, and works there are. We hope that it was useful and informative for readers.

Leonid Gurulev, Dmitry Nizyaev

Note, duration and their designations
(styles), staff

Musical writing is a historically established system of recording sounds with special signs - notes (note, a Latin word, translated means sign).

I think you’ve all seen the notes and know that they are indicated by circles, some have sticks and other details added to them. Let's take a quick look at the traditions.

Music symbol represents a circle - empty or shaded.

To indicate different durations of sounds, vertical sticks are added to the circles, which are called " calm", "tails" And " ribs" - straight lines for linking short durations into groups.

To determine the pitch of a sound, notes are placed on a staff (staff). consisting of five parallel lines that together represent one line of music. The lines are counted from below. At the beginning of the staff there is a vertical note line connecting all five lines. It is called primary with a line; in single-line writing, the leading line may not be included.

Notes are written on a staff - on the lines and between the lines, that is, in the intervals:

above and below the rulers, and also (when the notes are too high or low) - on short additional rulers, which are attached from below or above to the staff.

The additional lines are counted: the upper ones - upward from the first additional line, and the lower ones - downwards.

Names of sound durations and their notation by notes

Whole note - open circle (oval), half- the same thing, but added calm, quarter note- like half, but the oval is already shaded, eighth- like the previous one, with the addition of a tail or edge (if the notes are grouped), sixteenth- the same eighth, but its tail (or edge) is depicted as double. Further, according to the same principle, smaller durations are written: thirty-second, sixty-four... see the figure.

If the stem of a note is directed upward, then it should be drawn starting from right sides of her head, and if downward, then starting from left sides. The tails always start from the end of the stem and are directed towards the head of the note, while they should be “carried by the wind” right from the calm line.

The edges have the same meaning as the tails, and are used to semantically and logically combine short notes into groups, so as not to clutter up the recording with numerous squiggles and make it easier to read notes fluently.

If a single-voice melody is recorded on the staff (that is, there are no moments when several notes sound simultaneously), then the stems are directed upward for all notes below the middle line, and, conversely, downward for all those above the middle. This is done so that the staff with the melody looks more compact in the score. For a note on the middle line of the staff, the stem can be directed both up and down, but, according to an unwritten tradition, more often it is down.

Notes can be grouped

If two melodic lines are placed on the staff at once, then the stems are directed regardless of the position of the notes: the upper melody always goes up, and the lower melody always goes down. This is done so that you can read each of the melodies separately, without getting your eyes confused by the interweaving of notes.

When connecting to groups of notes different heights the position of the stems and edges is selected in which the majority of the notes of the group are “satisfied”.

KEYS

Each line of the staff is conditionally assigned a certain pitch. But since there are many different instruments in the world that play in very different altitude areas, several different “reference points” of height are used in music. This is done using symbol which is called key.

The key is placed at the beginning of the staff so that the line from which this key is counted intersects the key at its nodal point.

The key assigns to the note standing on this line a completely precise pitch (frequency of the sound and its name), from which the pitches and names of all other sounds on the staff can be obtained.

Historically, there were about a dozen different keys, which is why mastering musical notation was quite a labor-intensive task. Currently only two different keys are used; and two more - only in specific situations.

Violin(key Salt). It indicates the pitch of the sound on the second line salt first octave. The nodal point of the key is in the center of its spiral, that is, it should, as it were, “wrap around” the second line of the staff.

Bass(Key Fa). Indicates the pitch on the fourth line F small octave. Two bold dots, included in its image, must cover the fourth line.

These are the two most commonly used keys. To write notes for some instruments, two more keys remain in use, or rather, one, but in two versions.

Key Before two types: alto And tenor:

The alto clef indicates the pitch of the sound before the first octave on the third line, and the tenor - sets the same sound on the fourth line.

The alto clef is used for viola and trombone. Tenor clef - for cello, bassoon and trombone. Its nodal point is clearly visible - this is the center of its symmetry.

Previously, the “Before” key was also used in other types. In those cases when he was placed on the first line, he was called soprano, on the second - mezzo-soprano, on the fifth - baritone. Such keys were mainly used in vocal music, so their names correspond to the ranges (range is the volume. Vocal range means the volume of sounds available for a given voice, from the lowest to the highest) of the human voice. For example, for a female “soprano” voice, the range that is most convenient for singing is actually the one that is placed on the staff without an abundance of additional lines - in the soprano key.

In musical notation, different keys are used in order to avoid a large number of additional lines; this makes the notes easier to read.

SIGNS OF ALTERATION

As stated earlier, raising and lowering the fundamental notes is called alteration. There are five accidental signs: sharp, double-sharp, flat, double-flat and becar. They are written as follows:

The effect of accidental signs on the pitch of notes is as follows:

Sharp - raises the pitch of a note by a semitone
Flat - lowers by the same amount
Double-sharp - raises a whole tone
Double-flat - lowers by the same amount
Bekar - cancels the effect of the previous sign on the same line. The note becomes clear.

According to the “radius of action”, alteration signs are distinguished into “key” and “counter” or “random”. The first ones are installed immediately whole group next to the key, to the right of it, each on its own ruler. Key signs act on all notes along their line that may occur throughout the work, and even regardless of the octave. For example, the key sharp "F" will raise all the notes "F", in all octaves and throughout the entire length of the piece. Oncoming signs act only on their own line, only in their own octave and only for one beat (just like road signs act only up to the first intersection). For example, an oncoming bekar can cancel the effect of even a key sign, but only for the current measure and only on this line. Counter signs are placed left from the head of the note you want to alter. This can be seen in the following figure.

ADDITIONAL SIGNS TO NOTES, INCREASING THE DURATION OF SOUNDS

In addition to the main durations, which we have already become acquainted with, musical notation also uses signs that increase durations.

These include:

a) A point that increases a given duration by half; it is placed to the right of the note head:

b) Two points increasing this duration by half and another quarter of its main duration:

V) League, an arcuate line connecting adjacent note durations of the same pitch:

(the duration of these durations will be equal to their sum)

G) Fermata, a sign denoting an indefinitely strong increase in duration. For some reason, many people smile when meeting this sign. Yes, indeed, the duration of the notes needs to be increased, but all this is done within reasonable limits. Otherwise, you can increase it like this: “...and then I’ll play tomorrow.” The fermata is a small semicircle with a point in the middle of the bend:

The fermata, like the league, can be placed above or below the note, depending on the graphic situation, and accordingly, can be turned to the head of the note with “open arms,” that is, it can be turned upside down.

PAUSES

A break in sound is called a pause. The duration of pauses is measured by the same durations as notes:

To increase the duration of pauses, dots and fermata are used, just like for notes. Their meaning in this case is the same. Only leagues for breaks are not used. If necessary, you can set several pauses in a row and not worry about anything else.

RECORDING TWO VOICES. RECORDING MUSIC
FOR PIANO. ACCOLADE. RECORDING MUSIC FOR
ENSEMBLES AND CHORUS.

Don't be put off by the big title. Since this topic is quite specific, I will not dwell on it in detail. Yes, in general terms.

You can record two (or more) independent voices on a musical staff. In this case, the sticks (stems) of notes for each voice are written separately and in different directions. The upper voice is calm up, and the lower one... (in a word, see the previous paragraph). In cases of polyphony (three or more), the principle is the same, but several notes can have one common calm. We'll talk about this in more detail at the end of the lesson. Music for piano is written on two (rarely three) lines of notes (staves), which are joined on the left by a curly brace. This bracket is called accolade. Double sounds and chords (several sounds played at the same time) found in the piano presentation are usually written with a general calmness. The curly brace is also used in musical notation for the harp, organ and other instruments on which sounds can be produced with both hands independently. Music for voice or solo instrument with piano is written on three lines. For ensembles of various compositions without a piano and for an orchestra, a straight bracket is used that connects all the staffs. The form of recording music for a choir, string quartet, various ensembles and orchestra - in a word, for collective music playing - is called score. The score can contain as many staves as needed for a given cast of performers

Example accolade:

ABBREVIATION SIGNS OF MUSIC NOTE

To simplify and shorten musical notation, a number of symbols are used:
a) The transfer sign is an octave higher or an octave lower than the written music, to avoid large quantity additional lines that complicate the reading of notes. Shifting up (or down) an octave stops where the dotted line ends.

b) repetition sign - reprise- used when repeating any part of a work or the entire, usually small, work, for example folk song. If, according to the composer’s plan, this repetition should be performed without changes, exactly as the first time, then the author does not write the entire musical text anew, but replaces it with a reprise sign.

If, during repetition, the end of a given part or the entire work changes, then a square horizontal bracket is placed above the changing measures, called a “volta”. Following them are written measures that are performed during repetition, above which a square bracket is also placed. The following designations are placed under the brackets: 1. and 2., which means the first volta and the second volta, that is, for the first time and the second time. There may be more volts, depending on how many ending options the author has in mind.

c) If in works written in three-part form, the third part, which is a literal repetition of the first part, is not written out, then instead, at the end of the second part they write: Da capo al fine, which in Italian means - from the beginning to the word end, and At the end of the first part they write the word - Fine (end). If the first part is not repeated from the very beginning, then a sign is placed above the measure from which the repetition should begin: (segno), and at the end of the second part they write: Dal segno al fine, which means: from the sign (senio) to the end.

When moving to the conclusion before the end of the entire repeated part, they write: Da capo al segno poi coda, which means: from the beginning to the sign, then the coda (Word code means conclusion).

1. When repeating any measure, one or more in a row write the sign:

2. When repeating any melodic figure in one measure one or more times, it is not written out, but replaced with features corresponding to the edges of the durations

3.A repeating sound or chord is indicated as follows:

4. Tremolo(tremolo) - fast, uniform, repeated alternation of two sounds or consonances - written as follows:

With a repeated sound in the tremolo, the total duration of the intended figure is indicated by the corresponding note, and the dashes indicate what durations the figure should be performed.

5. To double a given sound into an octave, write the number 8 above or below the note - this means that this sound should be doubled per octave. For example:

For continuous doublings in an octave it is written: all"8va - doubling up and all"8va bassa - doubling down.

As we promised, now we will analyze in more detail and with possible practical advice the recording of three voices on one staff (using the example of the chorus of the Russian folk song “Utes”. Listen to how this recording sounds. Such a recording should be considered as if it were three independent melodies, that is, you should be able to imagine that you can’t see any notes at point-blank range except the line you need. This is often necessary for learning or analyzing music. Or, let's say, you need to break this song down into three different instruments and write it down different sheets paper. Or you need to sing it in a choir - and you got one of the melodies in the choir. Let's try to dig into this. Not so much for the sake of this song, but so that you can feel what can be gained from such an analysis and learn how to do it. Look at the notes again. If you figure out which stems belong to which heads, you can see that there are actually TWO melodies here, but the upper one is doubled in thirds from time to time, and the lower one is completely independent. However, occasionally they all come together in unison, which confuses your view. (Unison means “in one voice, merging”) How to isolate, say, the upper voice from this “mess”? This is the easiest thing - the top voice is always best heard, and you can sing it without difficulty. So sing it - and at the same time I would ask you to name not the words of the subtext, but the names of the notes: “la-la-faa-a, mi-do-ree-e...” (there is no need to name the counter signs). This activity, in fact, is called “solfeggio” (that is, singing with the names of notes) - extremely useful thing. This exercise dramatically strengthens the connection in your head between the written notes and their sound.

Sang the first sentence. Do you see the volt signs in the notes? Let's sing the second one right away to speed things up ( example). How to highlight the second voice? Well, it’s easy to understand that if there are three voices, and there are only two directions of calms, then two of the three voices are forced to merge with calms - this is what happens with the top pair of voices in our example. This means that you need to sing notes whose stems are upward, but whose stems are lower. And having sung this line, let's connect it in the second sentence of the song with the upper voice and listen to how they combine ( example). This activity - singing one voice accompanied by a second - is even more useful, as it develops a sense of ensemble and dialogue in music. If you do not have the opportunity to practice your singing or playing in an ensemble with a partner, then try to do at least this more often - sing a melody and accompany it (at least with one finger, but with a different melody) on the piano or synthesizer. Here you have coordination, and the ability to cover several directions at once (harmonic hearing) and many other skills. Well, it’s not difficult to isolate the lower voice from the musical notation here - these are notes with stems - down. Let's sing them too in good faith, and we will see how much this melody differs from the main, upper voice - there is simply nothing in common except the rhythmic pattern. And, as before, having sung the first sentence “solo”, in the second we will combine our voice with the other two ( example). It is even more useful for polyphonic hearing to write musical dictations based on the material of such melodies. Take a sheet of music, play this song ten times without seeing the notes, and write down all three voices from your ear with a pencil. This will simply force you not to succumb to temptation - to hear the most audible voice, it will force you to “dig” your ears into the depths of the musical fabric. An excellent training that will immediately replace ten hours of passive reading of this lesson. Believe me.

It may seem to you that such a thorough “polishing” of a simple song is unnecessary, and so everything is visible in the notes. I want to warn you against hasty conclusions. Try this once in your life, carefully, figure it out and be sure to sing every line in your own voice. I don’t know what relays and triggers in your brain begin to work, but the effect of this “chewing” is always very strong: it’s as if you have two more pairs of ears. Suddenly you won't just hear, you WILL HEAR, how the different twists and turns of the three melodies are intertwined. A song - seemingly simple - will suddenly acquire (for you personally) three-dimensionality, volume, its meaning will deepen. This is the usual result of careful singing. If you become SO approach any music you have heard, you will understand that until now you have not really heard, but perceived the music in the form of a single lump or background. It will become multi-layered for you jewelry, will take your breath away... Now you probably understand what I mean, and when you try it, YOU WILL FEEL. And this, as you know, is a big difference!..