4 4 time signature. Musical time signature: its types and designations

Staff

Notes are placed on five horizontal lines called stave or stave. Staff lines are always counted down up 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.

Treble clef (or salt key) 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. Merging and weak beats.

For ease of reading notes music recording divided into equal periods of time (number of beats) – so you .
Tact – This 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 - quarter, 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.)

As we have already said, the first beats of each measure stand out, sound stronger than other sounds - are accentuated.
At the same time, the periodicity of the sound of strong and weak beats is preserved, 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 characters are located to the right of the key in a certain order: fa – do – sol – re – la – mi – si for sharps , For flat – B – E – A – D – G – C – F .

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.

Duration of notes and rests

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 a viscous stick - 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 encounter 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 sounding, 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, pentoli and other similar notation forms are used.

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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 located on 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 measures contained in the first volta are played, and when repeated, the measures of the first volta are skipped and the measures of the second volta are played instead.

(Reprise)

Pace

The notation also indicates the tempo of the composition. Tempo is a particular speed of execution piece of music.

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 notations for these tempos:

Slowly – adagio (Adagio),
Slowly, calmly - andante (Andante),
Moderate – moderato
Coming soon - Allegro
Quickly - 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 tempo changes are most often indicated by the words:
Accelerando, abbreviated accel. (accelerando) – accelerating,
Ritenuto, abbreviated as rit. – slowing down,
and tempo (a tempo) - at the same tempo (restore the previous tempo 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 commonly used designations for sound intensity 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:
< (crescendo) - gradually increasing the sound
> (diminuendo) - gradually weakening the sound.

Along with the above tempo designations, the 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:

Scale and octave

Musical sounds form a musical sound series that starts from the most low sounds to the highest. There are seven basic sounds in the scale: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si.

Again on the topic of musical illiteracy....
Please advise me to listen to some songs where the drum part is played in 5/8 and 7/8 time signatures (like two songs) - I just can’t imagine how it sounds... even Gitra PRO didn’t help... unless It’s difficult to name popular compositions - so that you can easily get them online... thanks in advance!

30.07.06 16:54:51

My friend, prog can help you! I highly recommend Arena! Almost any song.

I also once had problems with odd sizes. I had to count out loud, which I never liked :) But after a couple of months of such training at 5/4, 7/8, 9/8 and others I feel quite good 8)

30.07.06 19:07:34

But the question arises... for example, take a 5/4 time signature: you need to count exactly one - two - three - four and then count five much faster than the previous speed, or simply try to “exactly place the count of five in the normal period for four”

30.07.06 20:14:33

Usually such complex sizes are “divided” into simpler ones: 5/4 is 3/4+2/4 or vice versa. Weikl generally suggests counting 5/4 as a quarter with a dot + a quarter with a dot + 2 quarters. By the way, Take Five sounds exactly like this (rhythmically).

30.07.06 22:26:29

I have a bass player friend who wanted to play together. He had one piece at 7/8 (we didn’t get to it) and one 5/8. Even in the musical phrase itself, it was more like 10/8. That is, like a full riff two measures of 5/8 were played, but the “reference” note of the second 5/8ths (out of 10) was not on the first beat (eighth), but on the second. That is, it’s like a one-two count, one-two-three, not rolled. Got out of the situation (not without the help of the bassist - he is a very good musician. Arranger and composer) and so a verbal rhythmic riff was invented. Like this “Ra-ha-sha-ga-tu-tum-Ka sha ga-ta”. It looks funny to the point of disgrace, but it helps very much. I highlighted the supporting notes (drums) in the riff in capital letters. And by the number of syllables it is clear that there are 10 of them. Thus, singing (with a melody, perhaps) this “nonsense”, we remain in size and we also don’t run away from the drum beats. So I suffered with this thing. He also comes up with such sophisticated bass riffs - the downbeat and the first - he has different things. True, as soon as it started to grow together, I had to part with it for certain subjective reasons.. Such a pun ....Eh, I liked his music.

31.07.06 17:20:17

Because you will be counting in 8th notes! After all, note durations do not include fifth notes; there are whole notes, second notes, fourth notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and so on! On the right side is written the duration of the notes you will use to count, and on the left - the number of notes of this duration!
If I'm wrong, correct me!

31.07.06 18:04:31

Enik69, as if yes. Only the “counting book” is more musical than the numbers. And yet it’s texture is 10/8 and not 6+4. Well, this is a song you need to hear. (good :-) And that’s why I chose the “counting book” - because that it reflects precisely the rhythm of the drawing and not the cold numbers 10/8. Under these numbers a bunch of rhythms can be stored, but under my counting table there is only one. Moreover, the syllables “ra, ga, sha, etc.” they weren’t chosen out of the blue. They seem to show where and what drums to use. That is, the phrase “too tum” meant two eighth notes in a barrel. That is, it’s almost a pattern from a drum machine (damn, I came up with it, I read it myself and am amazed, is this really someone will understand :-)))
Well, the plus is that it’s just a convoy. And not a rigid drawing. You can change it right along the way. You just need to come up with (I call these counting rhymes “figures”) such a figure and, due to its dimension, it will not allow it to fall out of the shares (i.e. does not allow you to pass through the strong beat, which often happens in odd sizes)

Frekazoid, the denominator is four - this means the grid of recorded notes is in quarters. If 8-C, the grid is in eighths. That is, what kind of “potatoes” do you think within the framework of a bar. And quintuples have not yet been invented since the time of Bach. So 5/5 is nonsense. Actually what Chili P. said.

31.07.06 18:30:39

what immediately came to mind, in 7/4 time: Joe Satriani- Flavor Crystal 7, and in time 5/4 - Tool - The Grudge.

Chili_Pepper explained everything very well and clearly :)

And whenever I need to determine the size of a composition, I count the beats on my fingers)) It almost always helps. For example, if you hear that the rhythm is basically in 8s, then for each beat I bend my finger)) I count the number of “thrown out” fingers and the size is determined :))

01.08.06 09:31:10

Why can you only count from 1 to 5 with your fingers?
for example, if you count with one hand (I always do this), it will turn out like this:
Let's start with thumb, we count all 5 fingers 2 times, it turns out ten, and then the last beat is again on the big one? here's 11/8
:) it sounds more complicated than it looks...so easy to count.
By the way, 8th rhythms are better for me than 4...5/8, my favorite time signature, most likely because for me it is the simplest.

01.08.06 13:22:10

It is more difficult not with those works where the size is odd, but where it changes several times. There you really need to count all the shares.. How do you like this, for example:)

Introduction (4 volumes 4/4)
Topic I (8 volumes 4/4) + (7/16 + 2/4) + (7/16 + 4/16 + 5/15) + (2 volumes 7/16) + (17/16)
Repeat Theme I
Topic II (7 volumes 6/8) + (7/16) + (17/16)
Repeat Theme I
Repeat theme II
Repeat theme II (different texture 32mi)

I put the bars in brackets, because the accent is different instruments different, for example, 4/4 measures are an overlay of rhythms with 16 notes 3+3+3+3+4 (cello, mandolin) and 4+4+4+4 (guitar). The grouping of bars is given from the drummer's point of view :)

Bars 17/16 = 4+3+3+3+4
bars 7/16 = 4+3
measures 5/16 = 3+2

The work itself (Byzantium) is performed in at a slow pace, you can listen here:

03.08.06 01:38:19

no there's nothing there
But in general, if the change in size is due only to the desire to “be smart”, then this is in vain. IMHO the size should be determined by the melody. If it is such that it lies in an odd size, then it is musical.
We played a song where the verse was 4/4 and the chorus was 7/8. So the syllable size was simply such that you couldn’t sing it any other way.....
And the link is not working.

03.08.06 02:42:58

I envy people who find complex time signatures easy. A few years ago, a guitarist in my band came up with an interesting thing. We tried to play, but it just didn’t work. It took about twenty minutes to calculate the size, it turned out to be 13/16 (the same as 4/4 only without three sixteenths). They suffered and suffered and in the end they simply added the missing 3 sixteenths.

While professional musicians and are able to memorize music by ear, most beginners will need to learn to read music. Understanding the principles of reading music is also important for dancers and can captivate the heart of the casual listener. First you need to learn to count musical rhythm or know how long to hold or play each note. It is also important to know what is time signature. This article describes standard principles for reading music using a 4/4 time signature.

Steps

Part 1

The concept of tact. Music is divided into measures, indicated by vertical bars. Notes in music are named according to how much time they occupy in a bar. Think of the beat as a pie that can be cut into quarters, halves, eighths, or a combination of different notes.

Learn basic musical notation. The names of the notes contain information about what part of the measure they occupy. To fully understand, you must know the basic meaning of “shares.” A whole note will take up an entire bar, half notes will take up half a bar.

• Quarter notes take up 1/4 of a bar.
• Eighth notes take up 1/8 of a bar.
• Sixteenth notes take up 1/16 of a bar.
• Notes can be combined to create one whole note, for example, one half note and two quarter notes last one full measure.

1. Try to keep the rhythm. If the rhythm is monotonous, try beating it with your heel and counting to four several times: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Speed ​​is not as important here as maintaining the same amount of space between each strike. A metronome can be helpful in maintaining a steady rhythm.

   • Each complete cycle of counting 1-2-3-4 is equal to one beat.

2. Try counting the length of the base notes. Say or sing “la” while continuing to count the rhythm to yourself. A whole note will take up the entire measure, so start singing the note "A" on the first beat and hold it until you reach the fourth. You just sang a whole note.

   • Two half notes make up a full measure. Sing an "A" note for beats 1-2, then a new "A" note for beats 3-4.
   • Four quarter notes make up a full measure. Sing an "A" note for each beat you beat.

3. For smaller notes, add syllables. For eighth notes, you need to divide the bar into eight equal sections, although you will still only be hitting four beats per bar. Add the conjunction “and” between each beat: “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.” Practice until you get it right. Each word represents 1/8 of a note.

4. Point value. Sometimes in music there is a small dot right after the notes. This means that the length of the note should be increased by 50%.

   • A half note usually takes up two beats, but with a dot it increases to three beats.
   • A quarter note without a dot takes up one beat, while a quarter note with a dot takes up 1 1/2 beats.

5. Practice playing triplets. Triplet refers to a group of three notes that lasts one beat. It is quite problematic to perform them, since all the notes studied before had equal shares. Pronounce the syllables - this will help you master triplets.

   • Try hitting triplets, saying “1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.”
   • Remember to keep the number beats consistent by using a metronome or foot taps.

6. Do it your way. Fermata is a musical notation that looks like a dot with an arc above the note. According to this symbol, you have the right to stretch the note as much as you like, regardless of musical rules.

   • If you are in an ensemble, then the duration of the note is determined by the conductor.
   • If you are performing solo, determine the most appropriate length in advance.
   • Listen to a recording of yourself playing if you're not sure how long to hold a note. This will give you insight into other artists' solutions, which will help you choose the best sound.

   Part 2

   Learn the time signature

   1. Determine the time signature. In the top left corner of the sheet music you will see some musical notation. The first character is called the "clef", which usually depends on the instrument on which the piece is played. Then there may be sharps or flats. But after them you should see two numbers arranged in a column. This is the time signature.

      • In the first part of this article we used the 4/4 time signature, which is indicated by two fours standing on top of each other.