NOTES and RESTS

notes and rests are typically combined in many different ways. the important thing is that all the notes and/or rests in
any given measure add up to a complete measure. example of notes and rests...

NOTE:
beat is a regularly occurring interval of time in metered music used to subdivide each measure. it is the name for a unit
of music. musicians learn to count beats, and play notes for the specified number of beats. counting beats starts when
the first note is played.

so for instance... nakakita ka ng eighth note paano mo siya ika-count? kung ano ang bilis ng isang beat or ng isang tap or
isang count, hahatiin mo lang cia sa dalawa.. hanap ka ng relo or watch, tignan mo yung second hand nya. diba ang one
quarter note is equivalent to 2 eighth notes... so sa loob ng isang segundo, dalawang beses mong pipindutin, ika-count,
or ita-tap ang eighth note... parang fraction lang ito sa math... so i-apply mo yun dito sa beat...

a dot following a notehead ( or dotted note value ) increases the note's duration by 50%. so pagnaka-encounter kayo ng
ganito sa music sheet for instance a dotted quarter note, ang pagcount sa kanya would be 1 ( for the quarter note ) plus
( for the half of the quarter note ) = 1 beats. ayaw mo ng math?! sige, itigil mo na ang pagbabasa hehehe joke... ^_^v

TIE and SLUR
a tie is always located between two consecutive notes of same pitch. it is equivalent to a single note whose duration is
the sum of the durations of the two notes.

a slur is located between two notes of any pitch. if it is played, the note pitch will vary smoothly or semitone by
semitone from the first pitch to the second one. a slur can also be used, when underlining a whole group of notes, to
specify "phrasing", i.e. indicate this group of notes has to be played in a single "sentence" ( in a single blow for a wind
instrument ) and it can be inserted between two notes belonging to different staves.
what's the difference between a TIE and a SLUR?

simple, aside sa hitsura nila na minsan hindi mo madistinguished dahil pareho silang curved line, you'll notice
that ties connect notes of the same pitch, forming essentially one longer note. slurs smoothly connect notes of different
pitch. this means to play the notes without breaks. always look for the same pitch not necessarily the same note okie,
pag may curve line na nagko-connect sa kanila,tied notes yun and all you have to do is add all the note's duration, that's
how long you'll play that pitch before going to the next note to play... magkarugtong sila. on the other hand,
ang slur naman para kasi siyang isang phrase... you'll play the notes individually pero connected parang walang hinga in
between... magkakarugtong nga pero iba-iba naman sila ng pitch. gets nyo na ba?! ^_^v

TIME SIGNATURE

this is used to specify how many beats are in each measure and what note value constitutes one beat. time signature is
also known as a meter which tells the musician how many notes are in a measure. the number on top is the number of
beats per measure, and the bottom number is what type of note gets one ( 1 ) beat.
eto, mejo complicated na topic lalo na sa mga super beginners talaga at malamang yung may mga ayaw ng math
subjects eh sori pero kailangan gamitin ulit ang natutunan sa math hehehe :o pero to give you an idea let's use above
time signature symbol 4/4:


in simple time signatures, remember that the top number is the number of beats per measure while the bottom
number is the type of note that gets a beat. so, sa 4/4 time signature: there are 4 beats in a measure where the quarter
note gets one ( 1 ) beat... hala paano nangyari yun?!


looking at 4/4, the number on top is 4 which means there are 4 counts per measure. then looking at the bottom number
probably confused you. the bottom number can be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. look at this chart.


Bottom Number Value

1 ------------- Whole note
2 ------------ Half note
4 ------------ Quarter note
8 ------------ Eighth note
16 ----------- Sixteenth note


sa madaling salita, yung example sa figure x.a. in a measure daw there are 4 beats at ang quarter note ang makakakuha
ng 1 beat.

tanong: eh talaga naman 1 beat ang quartner note diba?
sagot: oo nga! base sa pinakita ko sa TYPES of NOTES/RESTS and its duration, 1 beat naman talaga ang quarter note.
pero sa mundo ng time signature, hindi sa lahat ng panahon eh mga simple time signatures ang ginagamit tulad ng 4/4.
pansinin ninyo yung mga piyesang meron kayo or try to grab some of my OPM piano scores, merong mga instances na
gumagamit ako ng 6/4, 6/8 5/4 or minsan may nagawa akong 12/8, mga examples ito ng compound time signatures. so
paano mo ngayon ipaglalaban sa korte suprema yang nalalaman mo aber?! nanakot hehehe eto seryus ulit... hihimay-
himayin ko ng konti pa para lalo kayong mawindang =p

COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURES


in simple time signature ( e.g. 3/4, 4/4, etc. ) the top number gives you the beats per measure while the bottom number
lets you know which type of note gets a beat. sa compound time signatures, it doesn't work this way... mas complicated
ng konti. hala!!!!


the top number represents the number of subdivisions in a measure. for instance itong 6/8, if the subdivision ( the
bottom number ) is an eighth note and the top number is six ( 6 ), there would be six ( 6 ) eighth notes in a measure.
don't confuse this with the beat. the top number in a compound time signature must be divided by three in order to get
the number of beats per measure. so, dividing the "6" in 6/8 by three ( 3 ) you get two ( 2 ) which means, there are two (
2 ) beats in each measure of 6/8. in tagalog yung nasa ibabaw na number in a compound signature, to determine how
many beats are there in a measure, ide-divide mo ito by 3. so sa 6/8 merong 2 beats. o teka basahin ang kasunod....


the bottom number represents the note value that subdivides each beat. this number can be used to determine the type
of note that gets the beat by adding three notes of this value together. example the bottom number in 6/8 is "8" which
represents an eighth note. adding three notes together you get a dotted quarter note and that dotted quarter note gets
a beat in a measure of 6/8.

mathematically speaking pwede siyang 3/4 pero depende sa hinihingi ng kanta or how the music is organized kung alin
sa dalawa ang pipiliin mong gamitin na time signature. a 6/8 is grouped into 2 groups of 3 eighth notes while a 3/4 is
grouped into 3 groups of 2 quarter notes.


how to count...

don't worry you won't need a calculator to do this... for starters gamitin mong basihan ang relo/watch... yung second
hand ng relo yun ang gawin mong basis ng counting... so, for instance...


4/4 = 4 counts or 4 taps or 4 beats sa isang measure, basta magbilang ka ng apat na beses bago ulit magsimula ang
counting sa next measure... 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 yan para kang si the count pero pirated version hehehe
^_^v


how about 6/8?
what i usually do sa 6/8 is i divide the counting into two parts: 1-2-3 | 4-5-6 | 1-2-3 | 4-5-6 | 1-2-3 | 4-5-6. if i use my
hand to beat this type of time signature: 1 beat = 1-2-3 count ,then another beat = 4-5-6.
how to tell if a time signature is simple or compound?

ipatawas mo! hahaha kidding aside, madali lang naman malaman kung simple and compound ang time signatures.a time
signature is compound if the top number is greater than three and can be divided by three. any time signature where
the top number is equal to three or another number that is not divisible by three is simple.
RHYTHM:
ang nakakadagdag pa ng kalituhan dito eh 'pag umeksena na si rhythm at si tempo... pero hindi naman kasi dapat malito
ng husto... tandaan lang na on a given measure ( or measures ) composed of different types of notes/rests,
the rhythm will be determined based on the time signature ( defining how to count the rhythm ). tempo on the other
hand is beats-per-minute ( or BPM ) indicating how fast a song is played. whew... kaya pa ba?! nagkakaintindihan na ba
tayo... may naintindihan ba kayo?! hehehe next...
Figure xii.a. for instance



you can use tapping to count. each notehead will be read as 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 since pare-parehas silang quarter
notes meaning one ( 1 ) beat each, you'll be counting using the same interval parang yung takbo ng second hand sa relo
ganun...


Figure xii.b. another example: eighth notes naman ang ginamit...


this time, each notehead will be read as "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and | 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and | 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and"
why?! para maging uniform ang interval sa pagbibilang...


NOTE:
an interval is the distance between two notes. intervals are always counted from the lower note to the higher one, with
the lower note being counted as one. if the notes are sounded successively, it is a melodic interval. if sounded
simultaneously, then it is a harmonic interval. see Piano Lesson No. 4: Intervals and Accidentals to learn more about
intervals.

kung saan ka comfortable para ma-attain mo ang rhythm ng isang piyesa dun ka... ang mahalaga matugtog mo ng tama
hindi lamang yung mga notang nakikita mo kundi pati yung tamang rhythmic pattern nito dahil kung hindi para kang
makakarinig ng pirated na kanta at ikaw ang salarin! hehehe ^_^v

DYNAMICS
indicates how loud or soft the music should be performed.
examples ng dynamics na madalas kong gamitin:

pp - pianissimo ( very soft )
p - piano ( soft )
mp - mezzo-piano ( moderately soft )
mf - mezzo-forte ( moderately loud )
f - forte ( loud )
ff - fortissimo ( very loud )
accel. - accelerando ( accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo )
rit. - ritardando ( slowing down; decelerating )
rall. - rallentado ( progressively slower )
cres. - > - crescendo ( growing; progressively louder )
decres. - < - decrescendo ( gradually decreasing volume )

NOTE:
there is no objective definition of "what is 'loud'". it is up to interpretation by the musician.


ARTICULATIONS or ACCENTS

are symbols that specify how individual notes are to be performed within a phrase or passage. these are some of the
most commonly used accents sa mga sheet music na ginagawa ko.

Staccato: the note should be shorter than notated, usually half the value.

Staccatissimo: it indicates a longer silence after the note, making the note very short. usually applied to quarter notes or
shorter.

Marcato: the note is played louder or with a harder attack than any surrounding unaccented notes

Tenuto: this indicates that a note be played for its full value, or slightly longer.

Martellato: the note is played much louder or with a much stronger attack than any surrounding unaccented notes

Fermata: an indefinitely-sustained note or chord. it is used to show a halt in tempo.

KEY SIGNATURE

is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone
higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental. to be discussed
separately...



figure xix.a. circle of fifths or circle of fourths or circle of keys



figure 2b.1 note's representation on a staff and its pitch names

just focus from the MIDDLE C which is the very first note that you'll see in Figure 2a.1. tulad ng ini-illustrate ko, ang
middle C sa piano is also the middle note sa isang grand staff. going up or to your right, tumataas din ang key, siyempre
going down pababa naman ang key. so kung babasahin mo ang piyesa, after ng middle C ang next nya ay D then E and so
on... or kung pababa after ng middle C ay B then A and so on... hindi parin gets, let's try another illustration... let's use
pitch names instead...


figure 2b.2 pitch names and its position on a grand staff





take a look at this picture, alternating ang position ng pitch names sa lines and spaces ( i.e. Treble-Clef: after ng Middle
C, which is the first ledger line below a staff) you'll see the first ledger space below the staff kung saan pitch name D is
positioned. next 1st ledger line of the staff eto naman yung pitch name na E, and so on...) to locate it sa isang piano,
starting sa middle C, position your right hand and play one by one the pitch names/key going to your right... be sure to
memorize where the middle C is located, or the G or the B... do the same with your left hand this time going to your left.
tandaan kapag going to the left ang scale it's C-B-A-G-F-E-D-C... or DO-TI-LA-SOL-FA-MI-RE-DO...

Note: for starters, when reading a music sheet or piano piece, ALWAYS start looking for the CLEF being used, KEY
SIGNATURE, TIME SIGNATURE. also note that when you can't see a written TIME SIGNATURE after the CLEF symbol
understood kung ano yung time signature na nakalagay at the beginning of the staff yun ang gagamitin... not unless
nabago ang TIME SIGNATURE as you play along the piece... kung walang nabago eh 'di masusunod parin ang unang clef
symbol na nakita mo from the beginning ng piece... then locate your MIDDLE C sa piano. with the correct posture and
hand position play the note as you read them going to your right... parang nagbabasa ka ng libro... pa-kanan din ang
pagbasa ng piyesa. kahit japanese ka pa... going to your right pa rin ang pagbabasa ng notes... hehehe no exceptions! :)


the notes are played by using your finger(s), pressing a key and counting the beats as you play (counting the duration
equivalent of that certain note before playing another key). Try to relax when you are playing and be prepared to play
everything at a snail's pace until you and your fingers are ready to move on. do try to observe the .gif that i've provided
on each exercises to see kung tama nga yung notes na tinutugtog mo sa piano.
Question: what if there are two or three notes together, how do i play them?
Answer:
if you see two notes for example, joined together by a stem or kahit walang stem at naka-align na para bang kumpul-
kumpol ( hahaha what an illustration lelz ), just strike those keys together, all at the same time. best example nito eh
yung piano chords. pansinin ninyo halimbawa yung C Major chord, you can see 3 notes together right? just play those 3
notes all at the same time. isang bagsak... booommmm ^_^v