The Value of a Note? And Pizza!

So for the past few weeks we have been talking about
What is a Time Signature? read here
Explaining Different Time Signatures read here

Now that we are brilliant and we know all of that? We can have even More Fun and talk about Note Values. This doesn't mean that some notes are more valuable than others! Instead, a note value refers to the duration of a note - the length of time we play the note (same as the length of time we hear the note) This has nothing to do with pitch. This is all about knowing How long to play each note when it appears in sheet music or charts.

Let's start with looking at a Pizza (because that is one of my favorite foods) Stick with me here if you want the trick on how Pizza can help you to read music!

So we have a circle - it looks like a pizza!


Let's say... if we cut the pizza into four pieces

The WHOLE Pizza will feed 4 people
HALF of the pizza will feed 2 people
A QUARTER of the pizza will feed 1 person
An EIGHTH of the pizza will feed the family dog
(he's tiny and shouldn't be eating pizza anyway!)

A WHOLE NOTE has 4 beats The Whole Pizza feeds 4 people
we count it as 1,2,3,4

A HALF NOTE has 2 beats Half of a Pizza feeds 2 people
we count it as 1,2

A QUARTER NOTE has 1 beat One Quarter of a Pizza feeds 1 person
we count it as 1 or 1 AND

AN EIGHTH NOTE is half of one beat
Logical for the dog to eat Half as much pizza as one person
2 eighth notes count as 1 AND - the same length as One quarter note
1 eighth note counts as Either One or And - the length of Half of a quarter note

Also,
A Whole note looks like a circle or a pizza :)
A Half note looks like half a pizza
A Quarter note is the same as a half note but filled in
An Eighth note looks like a Quarter note, but with a tail
(remember I said it feeds the dog, well that's also because it has a tail!!)

picture courtesy of start-playing-guitar.com

And I didn't mention a 16th note - which has the duration of half of an 8th note
(it's such a small piece of pizza it might only feed a mouse Note the 16th it has a 2 tiny tails)

Another perspective brings us back to math class, but I'll bring it on just to make sure all bases are covered

There is a relationship between the notes
As we multiply by 2 - the duration of the note gets cut in half

1 Whole
multiply by 2
1/2 Half
multiply by 2
1/4 Quarter
multiply by 2
1/8
multiply by 2
1/16
multiply by 2
(some music gets as fast as 32nd or 64th notes! but you get the point)


I personally think Pizza is More Fun!
Next week we will delve into fabulous music examples so that we can hear these notes in action -
Til Then
Love and Music
Meredith

Different Time Signatures

Last week we discussed the meaning of 4/4 and defined the fancy word, Time Signature.
If you missed it? Read Here before moving on
Very simply, in written music, 4/4 (four, four) is a time signature which means a symbol that tells us how many beats are in a measure of music.
This post explains other time signatures like 2/4, 3/4, 6/8, etc...

Let's get started! It's time to break it down and understand that silly fraction!!
We'll use 4/4 as an example because we already know what that means.
We know that in 4/4 we count 4 beats for each measure - 1,2,3,4

THE TOP NUMBER TELLS US HOW MANY BEATS WE HAVE IN A MEASURE
ex: 4/4, the top number is 4 - we have 4 beats in a measure & we count each measure as 1,2,3,4 Easy!
So, take a guess, how many beats do we have in
3/4 - 3 beats - 1,2,3
2/4 - 2 beats - 1,2
6/8 - 1,2,3,4,5,6
Not even close to as tricky as 2nd grade math

NOW, THE BOTTOM NUMBER TELLS US WHAT TYPE OF NOTE COUNTS AS ONE BEAT.
It's easiest if we look at them as simple fractions & substitute 1 for the top note
We generally work with the most basic notes here- quarter note, eighth note or half-note
(will delve into that more deeply next week)

Read these fractions as though you were reading measurements for cooking.
1/4 = one fourth is the same thing as one quarter of a cup
When you see a FOUR on the bottom, a quarter note equals one beat

1/8 = one eighth is the same thing as one eighth of a cup
When you see an EIGHT on the bottom, an eighth note equals one beat

1/2 = one half is the same thing as one half of a cup
When you see a TWO on the bottom, a half note equals one beat


Now! combine them
In 4/4 = There are four beats in a measure and a quarter note equals 1 beat
In 3/4 = There are 3 beats in a measure and a quarter note equals 1 beat
In 2/4 = There are 2 beats in a measure and a quarter note equals 1 beat
In 6/8 = there are 6 beats in a measure and an eighth note equals 1 beat

Those are our most common Time Signatures
One more thing sometimes we will see a capital C instead of a fraction
This means Common Time. The most common time signature is 4/4
So a Capital C means the same thing as 4/4
AND
Sometimes, that Capital C will be written with a line through it.
This means Cut Time. Regular C means 4/4 - Cut Time cuts the 4/4 in half which means 2/2. The notes are still written in 4/4, but your count 1,2 instead of 1,2,3,4. This makes the music move more quickly.

Occasionally in music (usually classical or jazz) we will see more complex things like
4/2 = There are 4 beats in a measure and a half note gets one beat
12/8 = There are 12 beats in a measure and an eighth note gets one beat
5/4 = There are 5 beats in a measure and a quarter note has one beat
Whatever the fraction, the same rules apply!!

Here is a lovely pic of the time signatures we have been discussing

courtesy of piano.about.com


Next week, we will delve a bit more into the aural part of this concept by discussing beats = quarter, eighth, half and counting them so we can hear the time signatures in the context of written music & specific songs
Fun Stuff!
Have a beautiful day!
meredith

What Does Four Four Mean?

This question was asked by Andy so I feel it is important to address. It’s important for me to address any question You have about music theory! So if you got one? Bring it on! ask here

WHAT DOES FOUR FOUR mean?
It means a piece of wood that is four feet by four feet – wrong topic oops!
In music Four, Four is what we call a Time Signature. Yeah, that’s a big music word with a very simple definition!

In simple terms it refers to the beat of the music. Listen to any song with drums and bass. Tap your foot to the rhythm section (drums & bass). That is called 'keeping time'

More Specifically, a Time Signature is simply the word for the SIGN placed at the beginning of a written piece of music. It is information for the musician about the pulse and rhythm of song. It is the SIGN that tells us how to play the song in TIME
Neat huh?

It looks like a fraction, ex: 4/4. (we say this as Four,Four)

A piece of music is divided into what we call measures. If you have ever seen a piece of written music - it sorta looks like a brick wall. In a wall, each brick is finite space. Similarly, each measure is finite space with a line on either side. (these lines are called bar lines)
Unlike a brick wall, each of the finite spaces in a piece of music has pretty music notes inside of it. A brick just has clay (not as exciting).

The Time Signature tells you how many beats/pulses are in each measure

Four, Four written as 4/4 is a time signature that tells us how many beats are in each measure. In 4/4 there are 4 beats per measure
Count 'em 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 - etc and so on


NEXT WEEK?
More fun with fractions (please don't have flashbacks to your second grade math teacher!) I promise it will be fun! We are going to take them apart and Make them Rock!
Til then? Listen to a piece of music, tap your foot, count 1,2,3,4 and say, "Hey I'm cool! This song is in 4/4 and I know what that means."

Well, most of the time...
If you find yourself counting 1,2 or 1,2,3 (like a waltz) THAT song is in 2/4 or 3/4

And I promise to explain why next week
Til Then keep tapping and listening. Hey! it might even make you a better dancer
XO
Meredith

Co-Writing With Yourself

Last week I mentioned Hawk Wolinski and touched upon the importance of reading music.
More Here
I say Hey! If it's good enough for a Grammy Winning producer who has worked with greats like Prince, Michael Jackson, Chaka-Khan, & Quincy Jones, maybe it's not such a bad idea after all!  More on that another time…. 

Today? I wanted to talk about Hawks unique approach to songwriting called
Co-Writing with Yourself  What? Doesn't Co-writing MEAN writing with Another person??!?  
Yes, perhaps this seems confusing at first because co-writing does mean writing with someone else!
So, let's start with the idea that a lot of songwriters record while writing so that they can capture ideas/melodies/chords that emerge while they are creating. Then what happens is often they might only use pieces of these ideas for the song they are working on that day. Or sometimes a song won't emerge from that particular writing session. Lesson #1 - It is SO important to capture the thoughts and melodies that emerge during your work session. (Trust me, you won't remember most of them later...)

Then let's assume that you have archived your work via the recording or at least via notes. Time passes and you forget all about that work tape. It gets buried in the midst of life and other projects

Then a week, a month, a year later, when you dig up that same recording, you hear the words and melodies with fresh ears. It's like, "Hey I never heard that before! That sounds pretty good" Suddenly you are spinning with new creativity from discarded material from another session. You forget that YOU are the one who actually wrote it, and
IT FEELS LIKE Another person has walked into the room and is presenting all these new (and perhaps even fabulous...) ideas! What a wonderful co-writer that person is :)
But guess what? They all originally came from YOU. But it sounded like a different person because the you heard it differently the second time around.
What a marvelous way to add a whole new level to your songwriting process....
It's a tip that's definitely worth checking out.

ENJOY! And Write On with your Beautiful & Brilliant Creative self (but not on the walls, couch, or kitchen fridge – oops! My friend's 5 year old did that last week…)