LESSON TWO

Understanding Music

Although singing is a natural process, it can be improved in quality, range and accuracy of pitch and rhythm just as an instrumentalist can improve their ability with practice.

Since it is the brain which issues the information for singing, it is most important to train the brain to recognize sounds and to build up a bank of knowledge which makes it easier to understand the whole process of making music.

This has the added benefit of helping you to relate to what other musicians are playing and understanding the way a song’s melody and its accompaniment work together, as well as making it easier to understand the sheet music of any song you wish to learn.

How to Read Music

These five lines are called the staff or stave.

The Treble Clef

This symbol is called a treble clef. There is a treble clef at the beginning of every line of most vocal sheet music.

The Treble Staff

A staff with a treble clef written on it is called a treble staff.

Music Notes

There are only seven letters used for notes in music. They are:

These notes are known as the musical alphabet. Music notes are written in the spaces and on the lines of the treble staff.

Note and Rest Values

The Quarter Note

This music note is called a quarter note. A quarter note lasts for one beat.

Bar lines are drawn across the staff, which divides the music into sections called bars or measures. A double bar line signifies the end of an important section of music, while a final bar line is written at the end of a piece.

The Four Four Time Signature

These two numbers are called the four four time signature. They are placed after the treble clef.

The * time signature tells you there are four beats in each bar. There are four quarter notes in one bar of music in * time.

The following example demonstrates two bars of quarter notes in * time. In the first bar, all four notes are on the same pitch (a middle C note) while the second bar contains four notes of varying pitches. The pitch of a note has no effect on how long the note should sound, i.e., a quarter note lasts for one beat regardless of whether it is a G, C, F, or any other pitch.

The most important thing here is the rhythm. Don’t worry about the pitches too much at this stage, as singing accurate pitches from written music takes a lot of practice and is often impossible without first hearing a reference pitch from an instrument (e.g., keyboard or guitar).

Listen to the example and imitate the sounds you hear. Sing each note using the syllable la. Also practice reading the music and counting the rhythm out loud. Another valuable way to practice rhythms is to tap your foot and count on each beat while clapping the written rhythm.

The Half Note

This music note is called a half note. It has a value of two beats. There are two half notes in one bar of * time.

The next example contains two bars of half notes in * time. To make sure you start your first note in the right place, count 1, 2, 3, 4 before starting. This will help you get the feel of the rhythm. As you proceed through the example, think -one two as you sing the first note in each bar and - three four as you sing the second note in each bar.

Tap your foot on each beat to help you keep time. On the recording there are four drumbeats to introduce examples in * time. Count along with the beats to help you establish the correct tempo (speed).

The big numbers 1 and 3 tell you to sing the note. The small numbers 2 and 4 tell you to sustain it until the next note. Notice that there are four beats in each bar. Once again, use the syllable la to sing this example.

Now try this one which combines half notes and quarter notes.

When to Breathe

The previous three examples have been only two bars long. However, when you are singing a song, even one verse will be at least eight bars long. This means you will have to find places in the music where you can take a breath.

A good place to breathe is at the end of a phrase (group of notes), at the end of a bar or at the end of a long note. This means that your breathing time is taking up some of the value of the note, but sometimes this is inevitable.

In time you will instinctively find places to breathe which cause the least interruption to the flow of the music. Remember to breathe from the diaphragm and be careful not to lose your timing when you breathe. Counting mentally and tapping your foot on the beat as you sing should help you become more confident with this.

The Whole Note

This is a whole note.
It lasts for four beats.
There is one whole note in one bar of * time.

This example is four bars long and contains whole notes in bars 2 and 4. A good place to breathe here would be at the end of each whole note. The two dots before the double bar are called a repeat sign and indicate that the music is to be played or sung again from the beginning.

A Word About Pitch

Although there are only seven alphabetical names used in music - A B C D E F G - these notes are repeated on higher and lower pitches over a large range of notes. Because everybody has a different voice range, not all singers will be comfortable with the same pitches.

The actual pitch of the notes given in the examples in this book are just a guide, so if you feel comfortable singing the examples on a higher or lower pitch than the ones given here, that’s fine. The important thing with these examples is to get the correct timing.

Rests

Rests are used in music notation to indicate a period of silence. For every note value, there is an equivalent rest. Rests provide a natural space to take a breath as well as helping to group notes into phrases. Just as speech is organized into words, phrases and sentences, a song melody is made up of notes grouped into phrases with spaces in between them. These spaces are usually indicated by rests.

The Half Rest

This symbol is called a half rest. It indicates two beats of silence. When you see this rest, count for two beats without singing.

This example uses half notes along with half rests. In this book, small counting numbers are used under rests. Use the syllable "ah" to sing this example.

The Whole Rest

This symbol is called a whole rest. It indicates either four beats of silence or a whole bar of silence. The whole rest looks similar to the half rest. The difference is that the whole rest falls under the line, whereas the half rest sits on top of the next line down.

The Quarter Rest

This symbol is a quarter rest. It indicates one beat of silence. Do not sing any note. Remember that small counting numbers are placed under rests.

This example contains quarter rests. Remember to count silently to keep time regardless of whether you see notes or rests in the music. This example is sung using the syllable "ba".

The Importance of Timing

One of the most important attributes of any great singer or instrumentalist is great timing. This means they have developed the ability to begin and end a note or phrase at precisely the right moment and to fit their singing in with the accompaniment for maximum musical and dramatic effect.

There are two good ways to develop your timing. One is to read rhythms from written music in time with a metronome or drum machine and the other is to have someone else play or sing rhythms and then copy them by ear.

Some Rap singers are able to improvise incredibly complex and dramatic rhythms on the spot. This is called "freestyling". Even though these singers use complex rhythms, they all had to start with the same simple note values you are learning here.

It is also important to remember that all music regardless of style uses the same note values. The notes are just put together in different ways to create different sounds.

Listen to the following example which first begins with a guitar, and then a voice in each of the short phrases. Following these, each example is repeated with the guitar playing the phrase and then a space is left for you to reproduce it with your voice.

All the examples are in * time. To help keep time as you do this exercise, tap your foot in * time and remember to keep track of the beginning of each bar.