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ASelf-ChecklistforBasicMusicConcepts

Preparedforthosewhowanttobefacilitatedfortheircommunicationwithpeopleinterestedinmusicinthisglobal-villageenvironment

劉沛

ByLiupei

ThischecklistisdevelopedtoencouragethestudentstocheckperiodicallywhetherthemusicconceptstheyknowareunderstoodinEnglish.

Simplygothroughthefollowing.Askyourself,fromthestandpointofanevaluator,thequestionsandgiveyourresponsessuchas:

1.Yes,IfullyunderstandthemeaningofitandIcanevengetthesenseoutofitwhileplayingcertainpieceswheretheconceptstandsasalientfeaturearousingmuchmeaninginmyemotion,thinkingandaestheticimagination.

2.Yes,butnotquitesure.ThenImightreviewtheconceptandatleastgetsomeimplicationsorhintsbasedonreadingthedescriptionsprovided,andthenthinkaboutwhatIpossiblycouldeventhroughmyintuition.

Pleaserememberthatthistaskdoesnotmeantoimposeanextraburdenonyoubuttoprovideaself-governedandself-studybasedopportunityforyoutoreviewandbetterorganizewhatyouhaveexposedto,pertainingtoyourdoing,thinkingandfeelingintherealmofmusic.HavingyourselfequippedwiththeknowledgeinEnglishofmusic-relatedideaswillfacilitateyourcommunicationwithmusicinterestedpeopleinthisglobalvillagewheretalksinanytopicusingEnglishisbecomingaroutinepractice.

【】Conceptsaboutsound,thebasicsubstanceusedintheartofmusic:

(1)Vibrationvs.Sound:Pleasenotethattheformerreferstoaphenomenonintherealmofobjectivityandthelatteriswithwhatweexperienceinthehearingmechanismbeingsubjectiveinitsnature.Therearefourphysicalattributesorpropertiesconsideredessentialinvibration—frequency,intensity,timeandwaveform—thatdetermine,respectively,whatwehearassensationsofpitch,loudness,durationandtimbreortonequality—thefourcorrespondingmentalparameters.Theseterminologiesareincludedinthefieldofpsychoacoustics,notnormallyinthestudyofmusic.However,itisnecessaryformusicstudentstobeacquaintedwiththeseconceptsbecausetheymightbeusefulwhenyourcommunicationoccurswithpeopleoutofthecircleofmusicians,butthosesuchaspsychologists.

(2)Atentativedefinitionofsound:

【】Soundismentalreflectionofvibrationwithinacertainrangeofitsacousticproperties.Thedefinitiongivenisbased,amongotherthings,onthefollowingfacts:(a)Rangeoffrequenciesthathumanscouldpossiblyperceiveisfromthelowestpossiblefrequencyof12Hztothehighest20,000Hzroughly.Thehighervibrationsbeyondthisrangeoffrequencycouldbeheardby,maybe,puppies.(b)Ifthevibrationis,intermsofitsintensity,tooweak,thenhumanswouldnotabletosenseitasasound.

(3)Considerationsoftonesemployedinmusic:

【】Musictonevs.Noise;positetone;Fundamentaltoneandovertones,partials;Relationshipwithtimbre:

Musicaltones,orsimplytones,fallintotwocategorieswhenevaluatedbythecriteriawhetherthetonehasadefinitepitch:musicaltonehasbutnoisedoesnot.Youmayconductaquickexperimentwithtwodifferentsoundsources.Youcouldeasilysingback,withinyourvoicerangeofcourse,atoneproducedfromthepianobutitisdifficultevenimpossibleforyoutoimitateexactlythesoundemittedbyclappingyourhands.Itissobecausetheformer(amusicaltone)ispitchedbutthelatter(anoise)not.Howeveritdoesnotmeanthatnoisemakesnocontributionstotheartofmusic.Infact,itdoesandissosignificantthatAfricandrummingandethno-musicinChinaresortmuchtothepercussioninstrumentsandmanyofthepercussionsarenoise-based.

Puretoneisrarelyusedinmusicbutismostoftenusedinpychoacousticresearchwhereitiscrucialthatunnecessaryvariablesbeeliminatedtoavoidinterferenceoftheinfluentialelements,otherthanthedefinedindependentvariable,withtheeffectofanexperimentsothatthefindingoftheresearchmaybesecuredasafunctionofindependentvariableonly.Thetoneproducedbyatuningfork,thesmallfork-shapedmetaldeviceasapitchstandardforhelpingtuningthemusicalinstruments,positetone,simplyputasthenamesuggests,iscomposedofthefundamentaltoneandovertones,thatis,itisablendofthem.Tobetterunderstandthisphenomenon,youmightimaginethatastringofthepianoisvibratingwherethefundamentaltoneisheardmostsalientasitspitchthatisproducedbya“wholestringinmotion”vibration.Simultaneously,however,partsofthestringatthelengthsinratiosof1/2,1/3,1/4,1/5etc.inanidealsituation,arealsovibrating,thusemittingthefrequenciesaspartials,thelowestofwhichiswhatwasdescribedaboveasfundamentalviz.thefirstpartial;theotherpartialsarecalledovertonesorharmonics.Thesignificantroleovertonesplayisintheperceptionoftimbre.Beforewegofurthertoapproachthismarvel,notethatwidedifferencesexistamongtheovertoneseriesproducedbydifferentaswellasthesamemusicmediaasvibrators.Rigorously,noonecouldpossiblyimitateexactlyonesoundproducedbyothers.Ifyoueverhadtheopportunitytoviewthesceneofthewaveformpresentedonthemonitorofaspectrumdetector,youwouldbeconvincedtotally－complex!Thesedescriptionstellusafactthatovertonesvaryaccordingtotypesofvibratorsoreventhesamevibratorunderdifferentconditions.Thevariancesofovertonesembodyinthefact(1)theactualnumbersoftheovertonesappearingvary;forexample,thetonesproducedbytheflutethatsound“hollow”containmuchfewerovertonesthanthosebythecello(2)thesequencesoftheirappearancevary,(3)theelegantshapingoftheovertonesandtheintensityofeachissocomplexthatnopairofsoundsourcescouldbepossiblythesameunlesstheartificialdigitaltechniquesareemployed,and(4)manymorereasons.Asmentionedearlier,thefundamentalisheardasthepitchandonlythispitch;however,theovertones,thoughnotaffectingthesensationofthispitch,findtheirwayinevitablytothehearingmechanismandaffectone’ssensationofthetimbreortonequality.Ananaloguecouldbeborrowedfordescribingitwhenoneseestwocopiesofapicturewhichareprintedfromthesameprintingmachine,duetoaslightdifferentcolorprocessingforprintingthetwocopies,thefactualcolorsimprintedontothemmaydifferthoughthedifferencesofthepropertiesaresmall.Thegeneralimpressionofthetwocopiesisthesame,butthedifferentcoloringisdetected.Theanalogueappliestothesenseoftimbrewell,thatis,thedifferentpropertiesofovertones,ormoretechnicallythedifferentwaveforms,likethecoloring,makeourperceptionawareofthem—astimbreortonequalityorromanticallytonecolorthoughthesenseofpitchisnotaltered,likethesamegeneralimpressionofthepicture.

【】Theimplicationsofaknowledgeinthescientificbasicsofsound:

Ifyouareaskedwhatshouldbethelogicalstartingpointofthestudyformusic.Whatwillyourrespond?Becauseofitscomplicatednatureofmusic,itmayfunction,likethoseanthropologistMerriamidentified,asendeavorsofhumanbeingsforemotional,aesthetical,communicationalandeducationalpurposesorjustforentertainment,ofsocietalandculturalinheritance,oftribalconventionaluses,ofindustrialandcommercialbenefits,ofreinforcingcohesionorconformitytosocialcriteria.Viewedfromdifferentangles,thelogicalstartingpointsforthestudiesofmusicvary.Despitethesemanyfunctionsmusicassumes,onethingisinevitablycertain,thatis,itusessound.Andtheultimateelementsofsoundarerootedinthefourmentalparametersthatarereflectionsofthephysicalpropertiesofvibration.Thesepsycho-physicalrelationshipsshouldbemadeclearthatthephysicalattributesofvibrationarethecausalresourcesonwhichthesenseofsoundisbased;thisistheobjectivesideofthephenomenoninregardofthesubstanceusedformusic,andthesubjectivesideofmentalsensationsofsoundisthereflectionoftheformer.Toreiteratetherelationshipbetweenthesetwosides,thephysicalpropertiespersearenotsoundbutthesound’scausalresources;theyaretherehylic,immunetosubjectivehearing.Basedontheseinterrelationships,theelementsofmusicareorganized.Wemayconsider,therefore,thesefourrelationsandtheirinteractionsasthelogicalstartingpointsforthebeginningstudyofmusic:

(1)Frompitch-frequencytomusicalelementsofnamesofpitchesorsteps,staffs,intervals,keysandrelatedsignatures,modes,tonalities,and,thoselargerelementsofmelody,harmonyandcounterpoint,etc..

(2)Fromduration-timetomusicalelementsinlengthsofnotesandrests,beatsandtimesaswellasthetimesignatures,andthelargerelementsofrhythmandsoon.

(3)Fromloudness-intensitytomusicalelementsofdynamicsembodiedintherelatedterminologiesandsignsindicatingtheartisticrenderingandshapingsuchascrescendo,pianissimo,andtheinteractivedynamiceffectsfromthedomainofrhythmandtime,belongingmainlytothedescriptionabovebutexertingcollaborateddynamiceffectsonmusic.Remember,musicisanorganizedwholewherethefourelementscanneverbeseparatelyfunctioning.

(4)Fromtimbre-waveformtotherealmoftonequalityortonecolor,thecrucialmusicelementnotonlydeterminedbyoneparticularmusicalinstrumentpresebutalsolargelyshapedthroughnuancesinperformingskillsaswellasthevariousthoughtfultexturingandinstrumentationviacomposingtechniques.

Pleasekeepinyourmindtheabovefourrootsfromwhichvarietiesofmusicconceptsgenerate.Forexample,whenyoureadtheentriessuchasrhythm,tempomarksandnotesindifferentlengths,discusswithyourselfinyourmindanddecidewhichofthefourcategoriestheseconceptsbelongto.Thisprocesswouldbetterorganizeyourthinkingforyourlearning.

【】Temperament;Equaltemperament;Justintonation:

Temperamentisageneraldesignationforvarioussystemsoftuninginwhichtheintervalsare“tempered”,i.e.theydeviatefromtheacousticallycorrectintervalsofthePythagoreanscaleandofjustintonation.Suchadjustmentsarenecessarysincesystemsbasedonthepureintervalsarelimited,restrictingchoiceofkeysaswellasharmonicprogressions.Duringthe16thand17thcenturiesvarioussystemsoftemperedtuningwereinusewhichprovidedforpartialadjustments,sothatanumberofkeyscouldbeused.Thesearecalledunequaltemperament,incontrasttoequaltemperamentuniversallyadoptedduringthe18century.Thepianousestheequaltemperament.

【】Pitchnames:Pitchnamesarethedesignationsusedtoindicatethevarioustones(pitches).Thebasicstepsortoneswithinanoctave,simplythosewhitekeysatriskofovergeneralizationaswewillseelater,arecalledc,d,e,f,g,a,andb,startingfromeachctob.Toreiteratetheidea,thesetones,inthestudyofmusictheory,arecalledbasicsteps.Withtheaccidentals(thosesignsof#－sharp,b－flat,×－double-sharp,bb—double-flatand口－naturalcancelingthealternations;Forafulldescriptionseebelow)addedon,theoriginalpitchnamesofthebasicstepsgetthecorrespondingpitchnames,e.g.,c-sharp,becauseofchromaticalternations.Aswarnedbefore,cautionsshouldbetakennottotakeitforgrantedthatthewhitekeysarealwaysbasicornaturalsteps,foronemightlogicallyfigureoutthatwhitekeyscouldalsostandforchromaticsteps.Forexample,thetoneofCcouldbeeitherB#orDbbandthesetonesornotes,identicalinsoundbutwrittendifferentlyaccordingtothecontextinwhichtheyappear,arecalledenharmonic.Couldyoucounthowmanypitchnames,ifthebasicandchromaticstepsareallincludedandtheideaofenharmonicisunderconsideration,anoctavepossess?Andthenpleasethinkaboutthisontheactualkeyboardofpianooranimaginedkeyboard:therearetwelvekeys,whiteandblackwithinanoctave,butthirty-fivepitchnames,naturalandchromatic.Whichkey,theblackkeyofcourse,thenhaslessthanthreenames?Andwhy?

【】Octaveandgroupingofpitches:

Asweknowit,asamepitchnameisnotusedforonlyonesingletonebutappliestoanytoneanoctaveoroctaveshigherorlowerthanagivenpitch,say,apitchwithinthemiddlegrouponthekeyboard.Therefore,thebasicsteps(pitchesofc,d,e,f,g,aandb)aswellasthechromaticstepsalternatedbyaccidentals,musthaveseveralgroupsofthemonthekeyboardbecauseastandardpianohas88keys,whiteandblack.Eachgroupofthebasicstepsstartsfromcandendswithbwithinacertaingroup.Onthekeyboardofastandardpiano,therefore,thereareninesuchgroupsofpitches(notethattherearetwoincomplete“groups”onthekeyboardofpiano－thelowesthavingthreekeysandhighestonlyone.Tonamethepitchrelatedtotheaffiliatedgroup,takethepitchcforexamplecountedfromthelowesthighup,namesofcontraC1,greatC,smallc,onelinec’,twolinec’’,threelinec’’’,fourlinec’’’’,andfivelinec’’’’’arecalled.Anotherwayistowritethemas,takepitchaforinstance,A2,A1,A,a,a1,a2,a3,anda4.Tonameagroupofpitchesoranoctave,wemaysaycontraoctave,greatoctave,unaccentedoctave,one-lineoctave,two-lineoctave,three-lineoctaveandfour-lineoctave.

【】Accidentals:Thesignsofaccidentalsareusedtoindicatechromaticalternationsortocancelthem.Thefivesignsare#(sharp),whichraisesthetoneindicatedbyasemi-tone,b(flat)whichlowersbyasemi-tone,×(double-sharp)whichraisesbytwosemi-tones,bb(double-flat)whichlowersbytwosemi-tones,and口(natural)whichcancelsapreviousalternation.Theseaccidentalsapplytothenotebeforeeachtheyappear,aswellasallthenotesofthesamepitchonthesamelineorspacewithinthesamemeasure.Pleaserememberthisbutalsowarnyourselfthatitiseasierrememberedthanactuallyplayedcorrectly.Sometimes,oneplaysthefirstalternatednotecorrectlybutforgetstokeepalternatingthefollowingonesonthesamelineorspacewithinthatmeasurebecausethesignisplacedearlierandnosuchsignplacedafterwards.Didyoueverhavesuchanexperience?Yes?Good!Makingerrorsisanecessarypartoflearning.

【】Wholetoneandhalf-toneorsemi-tone:Theintervalrelationbetweeneachadjoiningpairoftwowhitekeysonthekeyboardisnotidentical.Theintervalbetweene-fandb-ciscalledhalftoneorsemi-tone—thesmallestinterval－whileotheradjoiningpairsofwhitekeysareofanintervalofwholetone.Awholetoneis，naturally,composedoftwoadditivehalftones.Ahalftoneorsemi-tonealsooccurs,ofcourse,betweenablackkeyandtheadjoiningwhitekey.

【】Notation;Staff;Linesandspace;Ledgelines:Generally,anysystemofsymbolsdesignedfortherecordingofmusicinwrittenformiscalledmusicalnotation.Thebasiccomponentsofthetraditionalsystem,asusedinourclass,containastaffoffivelinesandothersigns.Thelinesandspacesofthestaff,definedbyaclef,indicatethepitcheswherenotes,restsandothersignsshouldbeplaced.Becausethepitchrangeofastaffperseisnotwideenoughformusicbeyondtherange,shortlinesdrawnunderneathorabovethestaffcalledledgelinesarethususefultorecordpitcheshigherorlowerthanthatofthefourthorthefirstlineofthestaff.OthersymbolsincludekeysignatureifthemusicisnotinthekeyofCandatimesignature,.Furthermore,barlines,accidentals,ties,dots,etc.,areneededforindicatingthebasicmusicrendering.Thereare,however,manyothersystems,olderormodern,tofindnewerdescriptions.

【】Clefs:Therearethreetypesofclefs,signswrittenatthebeginningofeachstaffthatdesignatethepitchesofthelinesandspaces,representingtonesg’usingGclef,c’andfwithCclefandFclef.TheclefsusedforpianoareGandF.TheGclef,alsocalledtrebleclef,isplacedonthesecondlineofthestaffandindicatesthatthenoteonthatlineisg’.TheFclef,placedonthefourthlineofthestaff,iscalledbassclefindicatingthatthenoteonthatlineisf.Withreferencetothesetwonotesindicatedbythetwoclefs,notesonotherlinesandspacescouldthenbecorrespondinglyreadinregardoftheirnamesofpitchorsteps.TheCclefisgenerallyusedintwopositions,onthethirdline(altoclef)oronthefourthline(tenorclef)andindicaterespectivelyeitherformerorlatterasc’.Asconcernedbyapianolearner,theGclefisemployedintheupperstaffandtheFclefinthelowerstaffforpianomusic.However,itisnotsurprisingtoseethatincertainpiecesofpiano,theGandFclefsarenotusedintheusualwayasaforementionedsothattheunnecessaryledgerlinesarethenwiselyavoidedasdemandedbythemusic’sneeds.

【】NotesandRests.

Conceptualizedearlier,onelogicalstartingpointinmusicstudyisthecategoryofduration-timeconcernedwithvaluesandproportionsoftemporallengthsintheprogressionofmusic.Notesandrestsaresignsandnamesindicatingvariousrelativelengthsoftonesandsilences(silencesaremeaningfulmeansofexpression).Intoday’spractice,thecommonuseofnotesandrests,formthelongesttotheshortest,aredesignatedbydifferentlyshapedsignsandnamedaccordinglyinAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishasfollows:

Fortheearlymusicfrommid13thcenturytoabout1600,longernoteswereusedintheformofMensuralnotation.Theseoldernotesincludebreve,long,largewiththecorrespondingoldnamesbeingcalledbrevis,longaandmaxims.AbreveistwiceaslongasawholenoteasitsEnglish

namesemibreveforthelattersuggests.Thereaderisremindedherethat

monSignsofNotesandRestsandTheirNames

Notes(Rests)AEBE

wholenotesemibreve

halfnoteMinim

quarternotecrotchet

eighthnotequaver

sixteenthnotesemiquaver

thirty-secondnotedemisemiquaver

sixty-fourth

note

Hemidemisemi-quaver

thewordnotenormallyreferstoawrittensymbolbutthetoneindicatedisoftenimplicated,thoughthewordtonemainlymeansamusicalsoundorawholetone.

【】Head,Stem,andHook(Tail):

Theyarecomponentstoformthewrittenshapesofnotes.Theheadisnecessaryfornotesofanytimevalues.Awholenoteusesaheadonlythatiswrittenasasmallhollow-circleellipseora“whitehead”socalledbymusicians.Theheadforahalfnoteissimilarbutfacingtheoppositedirectionwithastemaddedontheleftorrightrimofthehead.Asolidprintedor“black”headisusedfornoteswhosetimevaluesareshorterthanthehalfnoteforwhichastemappliedtothequarternoteandacertaintypeofhookaddedonthenotesshorterthanthequarternotewhereaone-tailedhookisattachedtothetipofthestem,fortheeighthnote,andatwo-tailedhookforthesixteenthnote.Moretailsareaddedtonotesofshorternotesofthetimevaluesasillustratedinthetablelistedearlier.Referencedwiththenumeralnotation,thenumberofthetailsusedfornotesinthe“five-line”staffisexactlythesameasthoseusedfornotesinthenumeralnotationsystemindicatingintheproportionoftheirvalues.

Accordingtomusicalnotationthatisanindependentfieldofstudy,anotewithastemshouldbewrittensideupwhenplacedbelowthethirdlineonthestaffandupsidedownwhenthenoteisabovethethirdline.Itissoinprincipletomaintainabalancedsenseofspaceinwritingorprintingthestaff.

【】Dotanddoubledot;Dottednoteanddottedrest;Tie;Pauseorholdorfermata:

Allofthemaresupplementarysignsforprolongingtimevaluesofnotesorrests.Adotfollowinganoteoroccasionallyarestprolongshalfvalueofthenoteorrestindicated.Theseconddotinthedoubledotprolongshalfvaluefurtherofthefirstdot.Whenmorethantwonotesofthesamepitchistosustainwithoutinterruptionbetweenthem,atieormoreties,usingthearchingline“⌒”similartothatoflegato,couldbeappliedtoconnectthemsothatthenotesareperformedsustainingthesumoftimevaluesaddedupbythenotescoveredunderthesignoftie.Asanart,musicdoesnotwanttorestrictitselfwithintheproportionedtimevaluesfornotesandrests;afermatathusfunctionswelltomeetthepurposewhichsimplymeanstoholdonthenotestotheperformer’staste.

【】Irregulargroupingofnotesfortimevalues;Duplet,Triplet,Quadruplet,Quintuplet,Sextuplet,Septuplet:

Toemancipatemusicfromrigidlyproportionedgroupingofnotes,irregulargroupingsareemployedwhicheffectivelybreaktheordinaryorganizationsfortimevaluessothatvarietiesareobtained.Alternationstakeplacewherethedupletsubstitutesforthree-notesgrouping,thetripletfortwo-notesgrouping,andquadruplet,quintuplet,sextuplet,septupletforgroupingsoffour-notesorso.AgoodexamplecanbefoundinthethirdandfifthmeasuresofourNationalAnthem.Thetripletsproduceastirringandagitatingbuglingthatcanneverbecreatedbyevenlygroupednotesofeighthsorsixteenths.Theaestheticalprincipleofvarietyisperfectlyreflectedherein.

【】Absolutepitchandrelativepitch(senseof):Sight-singing,fixed-doandmovable-do:

Absolutepitch,orperfectpitch,isanabilitytonameanymusicaltonesimmediatelyonhearingthemorsingingthemwithoutreferencetohintsofhearingorseeingthenotesplayedonaninstrument.Thisabilityisinmostcasesachievedthroughearlylearningofmusicalinstrumentsordeliberatetraining,butnotnecessarilyaconstituentpartoftraitsfoundinmusicalityformusicians.Itissuggestedthatasenseofabsolutepitch,thoughadmiredbymany,maysometimesbecomeahindranceinthinkingprocessofkeytransposing.Contrarytoabsolutepitch,relativepitchisanabilitytodifferentiateamongintervallictonalrelationships.Thoughunabletonametheexact(absolute)pitchesheard,apersonpossessingthesenseofrelativepitchrecognizesandidentifiesthetonalrelationsintheGestaltistthinking,namely,inawayoforganizedperceptionwhichis,asbeingpostulatedbycognitivists－thosecognition-orientedpsychologists,morecongruentwithactualprocessformusicinhumanmind.Relativepitchisacrucialtraitindispensableformusiclearninganddoing,

【】Rhythm;Rhythmicpattern;Accent;Syncopation:

Itisromanticallyconceivedthatrhythmistheskeletonofmusic.Itistruetoanextentbecausemusicisanartbelongingtotemporalphenomenon.Rhythmisthemotioninawayoforganizedtemporalsparse-densestructurewithexpressivepurposes.Rhythm,structuredforcertainstylesofexpression,isoftentimespresentedasapatterncalledrhythmicpattern,rootedinthisorthatculturaland/orhumancausesthroughouthistory,repeatingitselfthroughapassageorawholepieceofmusic,likewhatweknowasWaltzdevelopedfromabout1800whoserhythmischaracterizedmostsalientlybyitsaccompanimentconsistingofalowbassnoteonthefirstaccentedbeatandthechordsonthesecondandthirdbeatsmoderatelyweakinthemiddleregister.Rhythmiscloselyassociatedwiththeideaofaccentthatemphasizesorstressesononetoneorchordnormallyfallingonthefirstbeatofameasureforthesimpletime,withasecondaryaccentoraccentsonotherparticularbeatsofameasureforthecompoundtime.Irregularaccentsarefrequentlyfoundonweakbeatstomeetmusicalexpressiveneeds,andsyncopationisagoodexamplethatrealizesitsspecialrhythmiceffectbyshiftingtheought-to-beaccentinawayoftying(usingatie)aweakbeatwiththefollowingstrongbeatorplacingarestonthestrongbeatorsimplyimposinganaccentsignontheweakbeat.

【】Meter,time;Barandbarline;Measure;Commonmeter;Simplemeter(s);Compoundmeter(s);Timesignature;Multi-meter;Irregularmeter;Duplemeter(s);Triplemeter(s);Quadruplemeter(s):

Meteristhebasicwayfororganizingbeatsandaccents.Thevariouswaysofsuchgroupingareindicatedbythetimesignaturepresentedrightafterthekeysignatureatthebeginningofacompositiononthestaffthatiswrittenlikeafraction.Ofthesignature,theuppernumeralindicateshowmanybeatsexistineachmeasure(measuresorbarsaredividedbybarlinesmeaningonlyaccentonthefirstbeatfollowingthatbarline),andthelowernumeralindicateswhatkindofnoteisinlengthforonebeat.Forexample,thetimesignature3/4meansthattherearethreebeatsineachmeasureandeachbeatisvaluedaquarternote.Allthemetersfallmainlyintotwocategoriesdependingonwhethereachmeasurepossessesonesingleaccentorcompoundedaccents.Theformeriscalledsimplemeterandthelattercompoundmeter.Thus,duplemetersincluding2/2,2/4,2/8andtriplemeters3/2,3/4,3/8belongtosimplemeters.Quadruplemeters4/2,4/4and4/8areconsideredbysomeassimplemeters,but4/4aremorefrequentlycalledcommonmeter.Opposedtosimplemeters,compoundmeters,asthetermsuggests,aregroupedtogetherbymultiplyingthesimplemetersintroducedearlierbythree,whereuponcompoundduple,whichisthreetimesofduple,includes6/2,6/4and6/8,compoundtriple9/4and9/8,andcompoundquadruple12/4,12/8and12/16.Themetersmentionedsofarareallregularones.Irregularmetersrefertothosethatcontain,ineachmeasure,morethanonetypeofsimplemeters.Forexample,meterof7/4ispossiblyanirregularcompoundof(2+2+3)/4.Theprincipleappliesto,accordingtothiswriterbutnotnecessarilyagreedbyothers,quintuplemeter5/4thatisactuallythesumof3/4+2/4or2/4+3/4foreachmeasure.Stillanotherconceptconcernswithmulti-meterthatsimplymeansthatmorethanonemeterareemployedthroughoutamusicalpiece.Insuchacase,thetimesignaturesareeitherplacedwherethetimesignaturenormallyisorplacedwherethealternativestakeplace.

【】Tempoandtempoterm(s);Metronome:

SomeItaliantermsareuniversallyusedtomarkthetempo:howfastorslowapieceofmusicshouldgo.Fromtheslowesttothefastest,thefrequentlyusedtermsinclude:

Larghissimo:verybroad

Largo:broad

Lento:slow

Adagio:slowandgentle

Andante:walking

Andantino:quickenedwalking

Moderato:moderate

Allegretto:ratherfast

Allegro:fast

Presto:veryfast

Prestissimo:extremelyfast

Accelerando:quickening

Ritardando:slackening

Ritenuto:holdingback

Theabovetermssuggestrelativespeedforacomposition.Toindicateaccuratespeed,Mälzel’sMetronome,abbreviatedasM.M.islistedtoguidetheperformerhowmanybeatsperminuteshouldbeplayed.MetronomewasinventedbyJ.N.Mälzelin1816whichisanapparatusemployingaswingingrodmovingbackandforthwiththenumbertoindicatehowmanytimesofoscillatinggoinaminute,andthesoundofclickssecuresareferencewithwhichtheperformermightsustainthespeedsteadily.