Posts Tagged ‘Instruments’

Read Sheet Music

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Learning to read sheet music can seem daunting to some people, especially those with no prior musical background. Sheet music contains its own little language documented on paper. The key is to find a way to crack the code, read music, and be able to play or sing on the pitch of each note.

If you want to learn how to read music, then you have come to the right place. The following article contains a guide that will teach you how to read sheet music as well as lists resources you can use to learn more about music, in general.

The structure of sheet music. Sheet music is set up with a specific structure. The staff of the sheet music is made up of everything you will need to be able to read music. Depending on a variety of factors, the staff will tell you exactly what notes you will need to play. The first thing you need to do is be able to identify the staff.

• What is the staff? The staff is a set of five lines and four spaces. Each space and line has the name of a note. On the staff, you will find notes, a time signature, a clef sign, a key signature, and various markings that will affect the tempo and pitch of each note. All of these things work together to create the music that is played or sung.
• What are clefs and why do we use them? Based on what instrument you play – piano, guitar (acounstic or bass), violin, trombone, you name it – or what voice you sing (tenor, bass, alto, soprano, etc.) your music will be written in one of two clefs (treble clef & bass clef). These clefs are used to let you know what octave you are playing the notes in, as well as what notes will be played.
  • The treble clef - The treble clef is used for most musical voices including soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and tenor. It is also used for the higher pitched instruments such as the alto clarinet, the B-Flat clarinet, the flute, oboe, violin and trumpet. The treble clef can be memorized by the following acronyms. Lines – Every Good Boy Does Fine

    Spaces – F A C E

  • The bass clef - The bass clef is used for the bass and baritone voices and lower instruments such as the tuba, trombone, and sousaphone. The bass clef was created because the notes for these lower instruments would be so low beneath the Treble Clef staff it would be very hard to write music that was easy for players to read. The bass clef notes can be memorized by:

    Lines -Good Boys Do Fine Always

    Spaces – All Cows Eat Grass

• The key signature: Some notes are flat, some are natural, and some are sharp. Which notes are sharp, flat, or natural will be marked either next to individual notes if they are played as such one or two times through a piece or in something called the key signature if they are played as such throughout the entire piece. The key signature is located directly to the right of the clef sign. Which notes are sharp or flat depend on scales and keys.The time signature: Near the beginning of the staff, there is a symbol marking, or a fraction. This tells how many notes per measure will be played. The staff is split up into measures. Each measure is separated by a vertical line. The standard key signature is 4/4 time. It is usually denoted by a large black C.

  Other common time signatures are 2/2 time (cut time), 2/4 time, 3/4 time, and 6/8 time. The time signature is written after the key signature, but before any notes on the staff.

2.

1. Notes, notes, and more notes. The fundamental structure of each pitch is denoted by a music note. There are plenty of things you need to know about a note before you can play or sing music. The most common things you will need to know is how long to hold each note, whether the note is sharp, natural, or flat, and what the name of each note is so it can be played.
   • Name that note: Notes have a letter name from A-G. Once a note gets to G, it starts over again at A. Notes from A to A, B to B, C to C, and so on denote one whole octave. Octaves can move up or down, and the standard singer has between two and four octaves their voice can sing comfortably.
   • Hold the note as long as you can! It would be difficult for an orchestra to make music together if they did not know how long to hold each note. Each instrument would go off on their own beat or melody, and nothing would come together properly. This is why it is so important you know what each note looks like and how long you are supposed to hold the note based on how they look. Whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes are common in sheet music. There are other types of notes though these are less common. The notes work together with the time signature to determine how many beats per measure should be held. The standard hold for each note is written with the time signature of 4/4 in mind. However, as time signatures change, how long you hold the note will change, as well.
2. All those funny symbols. There are many different symbols throughout sheet music. Every symbol is important. Based on what symbol you are looking at you may need to play notes or the musical piece in general faster or slower, bars should be repeated, notes should be held, or the music should get louder or quieter.
   • Tempo changes. The changes in tempo are denoted by a symbol for an Italian word
   • Volume changes. Changes in volume help to improve the mood of the piece. Not every piece of music is sung or played as loud as the person can sing. Changes in volume help to make the music more enjoyable and dramatic so works are not stagnant in tone. Here is a list of the following volume

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MASTER OF MUSIC DEGREE

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

The purpose of Master of Music degree work is to hone performance skills and/or capabilities in
writing music or writing about music. There are five fields of study within the Master of Music
program: composition, conducting, musicology, performance, and performance and pedagogy.
Various options are available in conducting (choral conducting, choral conducting with voice,
orchestral conducting, and wind symphony/band conducting), in performance (harpsichord,
organ, piano, piano with accompanying and chamber music, string instruments [including guitar
and harp], voice, opera, voice with choral conducting, brass, woodwind, and percussion
instruments), and in performance and pedagogy (brass, piano, string instruments, voice and
woodwind instruments).
All plans of study for the Master of Music degree meet National Association of Schools of Music
recommendations: a minimum of 30 total semester hours, a minimum of 10 semester hours in an
NASM-approved major, and a minimum of 10 semester hours in other studies in music. The
performance and pedagogy programs are double majors; they meet the minimum requirements
for an NASM-defined major in both areas. Other options include a secondary emphasis of at
least eight semester hours. The Master of Music degree requires a minimum of thirty graduate
credit hours. Music courses applicable to this degree must be numbered 5000 or above.
Nonmusic courses must be taken at the 4000 level or above. The usual time for completion of
the master’s degree is two years. Degree work must be completed within four years of first
registration.
The required Introduction to Music Bibliography and Research and a three-hour course each in
musicology and music theory are intended to lend scholarly support to performance as well as to
strengthen competency for research. Introduction to Music Bibliography and Research should be
taken either the fall or spring semester of the first year. Students must be taking the second of, or
have completed, the required history and theory courses at qualifying examination time.
The Master of Music thesis consists of two projects, for two hours credit each; these projects
vary according to the emphasis. Specific requirements are listed for each field of study on the
degree-plan descriptions.
A minimal full-time course load is five hours of graduate-level work per semester; registration
for eight or more hours is expected. Students taking individual applied-music or composition
lessons must also carry at least one other course in that semester in order to show adequate
progress toward the degrees.
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS. The exams are given at the beginning of each semester;
exact dates are posted on the graduate bulletin board. Students should take the “prelims” at the
beginning of their first semester of study and complete the requirement by the end of the first
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year of study. The theory exam, approximately 1½ hours long, covers written theory and aural
perception. For some emphases, exams in analysis and counterpoint are also required. The
history exam, about two hours long, contains questions based largely on Western art music. The
exam in the major field is a written exam scheduled for a three-hour period. Candidates who fail
parts of the exams should retake those parts the following semester or take remedial course work,
on the advice of the evaluator. The preliminary exams must be passed completely before the
student may take the qualifying exam or complete the thesis projects.
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION. This exam, a written one, is taken after students are well into
their programs, normally the third semester of study or the semester or term before the one of
expected graduation. The exam is given on a Saturday at approximately the middle of each
semester or term; dates are posted on the graduate bulletin board. The exam is formulated by the
student’s advisory committee, which consists of the major advisor (or a substitute), another
professor from the major area, and a third professor from outside the major area. Questions in
the major take approximately three hours to answer; questions outside the major area take
approximately one hour to answer. Students should consult with their committee members about
preparation for the qualifying exam.
APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY. Before taking the comprehensive-final
oral examination, masters degree students should file an application for admission to candidacy.
On this form are listed all of the courses and other requirements for the degree. The student’s
committee chair and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies must approve the application
before it is sent to the Graduate School for approval. The application for admission to candidacy
must be filed at least ten weeks prior to the comprehensive-final exam.
COMPREHENSIVE-FINAL EXAMINATION. This exam, an oral one administered by the
student’s committee and taken in the final semester, is usually an hour in length and is based
upon the student’s course work, thesis projects, and work done on the qualifying exam. This
exam should be scheduled within a two-week period close to the end of each semester. Students
must arrange the time and place of the exam with their committee members and must notify the
Associate Dean three weeks in advance of the examination. The Dean’s office then notifies the
Graduate School to prepare the form on which the committee certifies the student for graduation.
Consult separate sheets for specific course requirements in each of the above specialty areas.
Further information on the Master of Music degree is found in both the Graduate School and
College of Music sections of the University Catalog as well as in the Graduate Studies in Music
Handbook.

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The Program in Musicology

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Music

The Graduate Program of the Department of Music offers advanced training in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, theory, and composition, leading to the degree of PhD in music. There is no admission to an AM program separate from these PhD programs. In unusual cases, students who cannot success fully complete the General Examination may be given the option of completing the require ments for a terminal AM degree. The Graduate Program of the Depart ment of Music also offers an AM Degree in Music with a specialty in Performance Prac tice. This two-year program is designed for a small number of specialized students who are preparing or engaged in careers as performers and teachers. The program description and requirements follow the description of the PhD program. The faculty of the department includes about 20 members. There are 60 to 65 graduate students in residence; six to ten new graduate students enter each year. The Music Building contains a concert hall (the John Knowles Paine Hall), classrooms, faculty and graduate offices, a superb research library (the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library), a microfilm library of primary source materials (the Isham Memorial Library), an archive of world music recordings, listening facilities, an electronic music studio (HUSEAC), an ethnomusicology lab, an early instrument room, chamber music rehearsal rooms, and individual practice rooms. Other facilities throughout Harvard University include the vast resources of Widener Library, the Houghton Library (which contains rare music prints and manu scripts, and autographs of major composers), the Morse Music Library at the Hilles Library, and the libraries and practice rooms of the undergraduate houses, and Dudley House, the center of graduate student activities. In addition, a wealth of musical opportunities is readily available to students at Harvard and at the many neighboring universities (e.g., Boston University, Brandeis University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and civic and professional institutions (e.g., Boston Public Library, Museum of Fine Arts with the Mason Collection of Musical Instruments, and the New England Conservatory). Since teaching is an integral part of graduate training, most graduate students are teaching fellows during part of the time they are at Harvard. Teaching fellows are also eligible to apply for a resident or nonresident tutorship in one of the 13 undergraduate houses. In addition to financial benefits, teaching fellowships and tutorships provide excellent professional experience. In recent years virtually every graduate student has received one or more of the fellowships and grants awarded by the Univer sity and the music department. Awards given by the department each year include several prizes in composition, the John Knowles Paine Traveling Fellowships, the Oscar S. Schafer Fellowship, the Richard F. French Fellowship, the Ferdinand Gordon & Elizabeth Hunter Morrill Fellowship, and the Nino and Lea Pirrotta Research Grant. All applicants are required to take the GRE General Examination and must submit, along with their applications, samples of their previous work in musicology (for the musicology PhD), ethnomusicology (ethno musicology PhD), or theory (theory PhD). Applicants to the composition program must submit three to four compositions, both scores and recordings where possible. All supplemental materials should be sent to the Admissions Office of the GSAS. Samples of work should be sent with a self-addressed, stamped envelope if they are to be returned to the student. Applications for admission and for financial aid must be received at the Admissions Office of the Graduate School by January 2 for candidates who seek entrance in the following fall term. For applications for admissions and financial aid write: Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center 350, 1350 Massa chusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. The application may be submitted online at www.gsas.harvard.edu. The Program in Musicology At Harvard, musicology is broadly defined as the disciplined study of music and includes the historical, comparative, and systematic aspects of the field. The program incorpo rates two tracks: historical musicology, with an emphasis on the history, theory, and literature of Western music in its contexts, from antiq uity to the present; and ethnomusicology, which concentrates on the ethnographic study of any musical tradition in relationship to its cultural setting. Most graduate courses in historical musicology and ethnomusicology are research seminars; many treat specific topics, periods, and regions, while others deal with current problems and methods. On the completion of preparatory training and the passing of the General Examinations, PhD dissertations may be written in either field. The Program in Theory The PhD in music theory is characterized both by a deep involvement in the inner workings of music and by an engagement with the wider philosophical, cultural and psychological ques tions surrounding music. Our PhDs typically apply for the theory program with a “minor” in either composition or musicology. The program reflects this interdisciplinary interest of our students, and seeks to explore the links of music theory to other areas of critical engagement, while providing our theorists with the specialized skills they require. The teaching in the program empha sizes analytical techniques–all students take courses on Schenkerian theory and on a range of tonal and post-tonal analytical practices, as well as an introductory course to explore current issues in the field. At the same time, the program also encourages students to build a framework in which to place these tech niques and to reflect on the underpinnings of music theory. Regular courses on questions in psychology, temporality, history of music theory, and aesthetics round off our course offerings and often take music theory into interdisciplinary territory. Graduate courses on challenging repertoires–e.g. modal theory, non-Western music, or very recent composi tion–frequently round off our offerings. The dissertation projects our theory grad uates work on reflect this unique combination of interests. Recent and current PhD topics include Feminist approaches to performance analysis, Microtonality and tone imaginations, Multi-modal analysis of boy-band videos, Athanasius Kircher’s Musurgia universalis (1650), and Neuro-scientific imaging of perceptual parameters. Our theory faculty is enhanced on a regular basis by exciting visiting faculty, which complement our existing research and teaching strengths in interesting new ways. Recent visi tors have included Allan Keiler (Brandeis), Fred Lerdahl (Columbia), Allen Forte (Yale), Ellie Hisama (Columbia)–as well as Brian Ferneyhough (Stanford), Helmut Lachenmann (Stuttgart) and Harrison Birtwistle (London). The Program in Composition Harvard’s program in composition is designed to give students the time and opportunity to develop as composers by offering general musical guidance as well as specific individual criticism of their works. The program is centered around students’ achieving clarity of expression through developing their command of compositional technique. In addition, acquaintance with the literature of the past and present through analysis and performance is considered indispensable. Most courses are seminars and deal with specific topics or student works. On the completion of prepara tory training and the passing of the General Examinations, PhD dissertations comprising a substantial portfolio between five to seven pieces of varied scoring and length may be submitted. Normally, students do not transfer from one program to another. Under exceptional circumstances, a change from one depart ment graduate program to another may be possible. Students applying for a change must be in good standing in their original program. They must submit a formal request to the director of graduate studies no later than the first week of May of the first year of study, including a list of courses indicating how they propose to fulfill the requirements of the new program. The admissions committee of the new program will make the decision in consul tation with the graduate advisors; the decision will be presented to the department faculty. The students have to fulfill all the require ments of the new program (number and area of courses, languages, general exams).

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