How to Read Music: A Complete Music Theory Guide to Learn How to Read, Write, and Hear the Different Aspects of Music from Beginners to Advanced

By Carl C. Jones

A Complete Music Theory Guide to Learn How to Read, Write, and Hear the Different Aspects of Music from Beginners to Advanced

 

-The Fundamentals of Music
-Basic Notions of Music
-Reading Melody and Harmony
-Reading Counting and Tempo
-Reading Dynamics and Articulation
-How to Read Rhythm
-Reading Chords & chord progression
-How to Compose music
-and much more

Music is an art form of combining different sound notes to express feelings, ideas and emotions by using the elements such as harmony, rhythm, color and melody. The essence of music fulfills a variety of purposes in our daily life: aesthetic pleasure, during ceremonies, religious practices, or as a source of entertainment.
You're here because you want to make awesome melodies while you probably don't know much yet about music theory. 
This book skims over the most important topics and explains the essential basics that gives you the most profitable results. Make no mistake, you do have to know a couple of important basic topics to have a musical structure to follow. 

Throughout this book, the readers will learn about the different methods of reading the various notes of sound. This book aims to develop an interest in the minds of the readers regarding the beauty associated with the different sounds, and also enable them to understand the wide variety of musical compositions available today. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carl C. Jones
• Release date: Apr 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393312260

Book preview

How to Read Music

A Complete Music Theory Guide to Learn How to Read, Write, and Hear the Different Aspects of Music from Beginners to Advanced

Table of Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................................5

Chapter 1: The Fundamentals of Music.............................................................................6

Pitch perfect.................................................................................................................7

Timbre: The colored sound tone................................................................................8

The Scalar impression.................................................................................................8

Strike the right chord................................................................................................9

Chapter 2: The Basics of Reading Music.......................................................................11

Steps to read your favorite music.............................................................................11

Step 1: Notation symbols..........................................................................................11

Step 2: Understand the beat....................................................................................11

Step 3: Learn to play a melodious tune...............................................................11

Clefs..................................................................................................................................12

Sign off your music in time........................................................................................14

The musical notes...........................................................................................................15

Accidentals and key signatures..................................................................................18

The C scale......................................................................................................................21

The concept of REST...................................................................................................22

The musical dynamics.................................................................................................24

The musical staff...........................................................................................................26

Articulations...................................................................................................................29

Staccato............................................................................................................................29

Ghost notes......................................................................................................................31

Chord names and symbols................................................................................................32

Intervals..........................................................................................................................33

Chapter 3: Basic Notions of Music................................................................................37

Sound and pitch...............................................................................................................37

Timbre................................................................................................................................37

Notes..................................................................................................................................38

Scales................................................................................................................................39

Chords................................................................................................................................43

Chapter 4: Reading Melody and Harmony.........................................................................47

Melody................................................................................................................................47

Using the Golden Ratio..............................................................................................47

Try Retrograde, Inversion, Diminution, and Augmentation...............................48

Lyrics............................................................................................................................49

Melody Based on Different Layers...........................................................................49

Melody Making Tricks..................................................................................................56

Multiple different melodies........................................................................................63

Melodic Intervals.......................................................................................................66

Harmony..............................................................................................................................66

Harmonic Intervals.....................................................................................................68

Chapter 5: Reading Counting and Tempo.........................................................................68

Beat and Counting...........................................................................................................68

Tempo..................................................................................................................................72

Chapter 6: Reading the Basics of Keys and Scales....................................................73

Chapter 7: How to Read Notes..........................................................................................81

Note Values......................................................................................................................82

Sharps, Flats and Naturals (Accidentals)...............................................................83

Pitch..................................................................................................................................83

Note Durations.................................................................................................................87

Rests..................................................................................................................................90

Chapter 8: Reading Dynamics and Articulation............................................................93

Dynamics............................................................................................................................93

Articulation....................................................................................................................94

Techniques........................................................................................................................96

Chapter 9: How to Read Rhythm........................................................................................98

Building Blocks of Rhythm - Make Complex Rhythms Easy to Read......................100

Rhythmic Values.............................................................................................................103

Time Signature and Rhythm..........................................................................................103

Clapping the Beat.........................................................................................................103

Polyrhythm......................................................................................................................103

Polymeter........................................................................................................................105

Chapter 10: Reading Chords & Chord Progression....................................................106

Chords..............................................................................................................................107

Chord progression.........................................................................................................108

Melody based on a chord progression.......................................................................113

The useful 7th chords and secondary dominants....................................................117

Block chords, broken chords, and Alberti bass....................................................120

Chapter 11: How to Compose Music................................................................................122

Computer software for composers...............................................................................125

Audio production...........................................................................................................126

Chapter 12: Exercises to Develop Musical Prowess..................................................128

Exercises for improving understanding of pitch..................................................128

Exercises for learning intervals.............................................................................128

Improvisation of the musical instrument...............................................................129

Exercises for chord ear training.............................................................................129

Exercises for scale ear training.............................................................................129

Tricks and methods to identify notes.....................................................................130

Chapter 13: A Few Songs to Help You Get Started on Reading Music....................132

Conclusion..........................................................................................................................137

Introduction

Music is an art form of combining different sound notes to express feelings, ideas and emotions by using the elements such as harmony, rhythm, color and melody. The essence of music fulfills a variety of purposes in our daily life: aesthetic pleasure, during ceremonies, religious practices, or as a source of entertainment.

You’re here because you want to make awesome melodies while you probably don’t know much yet about music theory.

This book skims over the most important topics and explains the essential basics that gives you the most profitable results. Make no mistake, you do have to know a couple of important basic topics to have a musical structure to follow.

Whether you’re just playing an instrument or you’re using software as a music producer, for the sake of practicing the material, it doesn’t really matter. Just do it when you can. How you do it, is up to you.

Throughout this book, the readers will learn about the different methods of reading the various notes of sound. This book aims to develop an interest in the minds of the readers regarding the beauty associated with the different sounds, and also enable them to understand the wide variety of musical compositions available today.

If you want to learn to read music without wasting months or years on expensive music teachers, this book is perfect for you.

By actually applying the information right away, you’ll develop that deeper understanding quickly.

Chapter 1: The Fundamentals of Music

Reading music includes music theory and a comprehensive study about the methods of performance and practice.

Music Theory helps an individual understand the basics of music. The term, music theory refers to an academic study and a detailed analysis of the basic elements of music. Music is comprised of many elements: pitch, rhythm, pulse, melody, beat, harmony, voice allocation, texture, timbre, and many others. The kind of music describing various emotions is termed as dynamics or articulation. It also gives an idea about the varied concepts and descriptions of music across diverse cultures. The theory is based on the various practices observed by composers and musicians all over the world.

Music theory involves the study of the nature of the compositions and the mechanics involved in combining different sound notes. It identifies the techniques applied by the musicians and understands the various notations and languages used in the creation of music. The fundamental elements of music will be explained in detail in the subchapters.

The term, improvisation of music describes the development of music in a spontaneous manner. It is an act comprising techniques of impromptu compositions. These techniques are generally applied by the composers of genres such as blues, jazz fusion and jazz.

Composition is defined as creating recorded music through a medium that allows the listeners to interpret the music effectively. Compositions belonging to the western classical music serve as a basis of modern compositions across many cultures.

The term interpretation refers to the process adopted by a performer to perform the musical compositions that have been created earlier. Each individual can deliver the same composition in his or her unique way.

Notation is defined as the process of writing sound notes and rhythms using various symbols. Writing music involves the notation of pitch, rhythm and instructions to perform the music. Each notation varies according to the style of the music and the age or time period during which the music is created.

The subchapters on this topic will highlight the elements of music and their significance.

Pitch perfect

Pitch is a measure to classify the quality of sound relatively as low or high. This measure considers the frequency of vibrations created by sound waves. Frequency is defined as a scientific unit of measuring sound.

The term pitch standard is regarded as a reference pitch on the basis of which the instruments are tuned during a performance. A standard of 440 Hz is set for the keyboard note with letter A placed above the middle of the letter C. This value is considered to be the conventional reference pitch.

An octave is the measurement of the interval between tones. In music, a perfect octave includes the distance between one musical tone and another equaling double or half the frequency. For instance, one note measures 440 Hz and the other tone is equal to 880 Hz; thus, the ratio of 2:1 is defined as the octave for the particular sound note. The octave, i.e. second tone, is the resultant of rapid vibrations thereby generating a pitch higher than the first tone.

Musical notations, when written down, are displayed on a staff, i.e. a combination of spaces and lines that help the performers learn at what pitch they should play the particular musical composition. The notes of the keyboard denoted by letters and their respective hertz numbers are displayed on the musical staff as shown in the image below.

Timbre: The colored sound tone

Timbre refers to the quality of sound that helps a listener understand the differences in the tones of a sound note. It is a factor to differentiate between many musical sounds having the same level of loudness or pitch. This factor of sound takes into account the harmony created by a note and dynamic vibrations of the various musical notes. For instance, a piano and a guitar play the similar notes at the same level of loudness. The performers can understand the difference between the instruments due to the difference in the level of timbres produced.

The two attributes of perceiving timbre include harmonics and envelope. An instrument produces a sound note; its richness is determined by a sum total of different frequencies. Fundamental frequency determines the lowest level of frequency, but it is not the main frequency. The multiple of a fundamental frequency is termed as a dominant frequency. Harmonics refer to whole numbers determining the multiples such as x2, x4, etc. Harmonic sounds are created by various musical instruments, but some instruments such as cymbals produce inharmonic tones.

The envelope of a sound note affects its produced timbre. The envelope undergoes several variations among different sound notes. The different stages of a sound envelope include: attack, decay, sustain and release. The stage of a musical notation that observes frequent increases in the level of loudness is termed as an attack. The fall in the level of loudness is known as decay. The stage called sustain is a period that observes very little variation in the level of loudness. The final stage of release observes a period where the level of loudness arrives at zero. Synthesizers include the common options to control the various stages.

Timbre is also referred by the term tone color i.e. the sound quality which distinguishes various forms of sounds produced using voice and different forms of musical instruments such as string, percussion and wind instruments.

The Scalar impression

Musical scales are determined by a series of harmonious tones. The system of developing musical notations involves the use of definite pitches based on the octave, i.e. a term used to refer to musical ratio. The musical scales typically use the notation of eight sound notes; the distance between the foremost and the last note is called an octave.

A musical scale is of two types – ascending scale or descending scale. Musical scales are listed between the ranges of a low level to a high level. The octave-repeating scales include the same pattern of musical notes for every octave. Such kinds of scales observe a circular arrangement of pitches ordered by the pitch.

In the modern era, a part of or the whole composition is developed using the sounds played on only one scale that can be represented on a musical staff.

The interval between two sound notes played on a single scale is referred by the term, scale step. The scale notes are numbered by the steps of the sound notes from its root. E.g. a scale of C major has its first note as C, followed by D, third being E, etc.

A combination of seven pitches form a major scale. Half steps are included between the third and the fourth scale as well as the seventh and the eighth scale. Other scales include whole steps. Let us have a look at the harmonic scale of A minor. The second, third, fifth and sixth scale degrees include half steps in between; other degrees of scale include whole steps.

Transposition refers to rewriting the pattern of the same scalar combination of notes at a varied pitch. Therefore, if you apply a pattern of a major scale starting at G, counting up the major scale will help transpose the scale pattern. The counterpart of a note can be observed in a modified way by this method.

A scale having five notes is termed as a pentatonic scale. A major scale has seven semitones and is fifth position relative to other musical notes. For instance, a pentatonic C major scale begins with C, followed by G, then by D, next by A and concluded by E. These scales are used for better improvisation.

Strike the right chord

A chord derives its name from the abbreviated form of accord that means harmonious sound. A harmonic progression is a series of different chords and it is a popular ingredient of Western music. Harmony is created by a series of chords as well as chord progressions.

A definite arrangement of chords is termed as a chord progression. Commonly there are regular patterns that are practiced to create harmony. Chords are denoted by Roman numerals, symbols as well as charts. Chords are generally played as an accompaniment or for improvising a solo musical piece.

Triads are the most popular form of chords played in Western music. It comprises root note/first note, third note and fifth note. For instance, the major scale of C comprises the notes of C, D, E, F, G, A and