LESSON THREE

The Note B

The note B is written on the middle line of the staff.
Notes written below the middle line of a staff usually have their stems going up.
The stem for the note B can go up or down.

6

Merrily We Roll Along

This traditional children’s song makes use of the note B along with G and A. Notice the two possible directions for the stems of the note B in this example. The stem direction makes no difference to the way the note is played.

The Note C

The note C is written in the third space of the staff.
Notes written above the middle line of a staff usually have their stems going down.

Once you have memorised the fingering for the note C, play example 8 which combines this new note with the other notes you have learned.

7

The Three Four Time Signature

This time signature is called the three four time signature.

It tells you there are three beats in each bar.

There are three quarter notes in one bar of ^ time.

8

The Dotted Half Note

A dot written after a note extends its value by half.
A dot after a half note means that you hold it for three beats.
One dotted half note makes one bar of music in ^ time.

9

Here is a typical example of the way dotted half notes are used in ^ time. As there are no rests in this example, breath marks are placed in every fourth bar after a dotted half note. From this point on breath marks will only be placed every four bars to encourage you to develop more breath control. However, you can still breathe more often if you need to.