在英语环境中学乐理－音乐教育研究

在英语环境中学乐理－音乐教育讨论

在英语环境中学乐理ASelfChecklistforBasicMusicConcepts

Preparedforthosewhowanttobefacilitatedfortheirmunicationwithpeopleinterestedinmusicinthisglobalvillageenvironment

刘沛

ByLiupei

ThischecklistisdevelopedtoencouragethestudentstocheckperiodicallywhetherthemusicconceptstheyknowareunderstoodinEnglish.

Simplygothroughthefollowing.Askyourself,fromthestandpointofanevaluator,thequestionsandgiveyourresponsessuchas:

1.Yes,IfullyunderstandthemeaningofitandIcanevengetthesenseoutofitwhileplayingcertainpieceswheretheconceptstandsasalientfeaturearousingmuchmeaninginmyemotion,thinkingandaestheticimagination.

2.Yes,butnotquitesure.ThenImightreviewtheconceptandatleastgetsomeimplicationsorhintsbasedonreadingthedescriptionsprovided,andthenthinkaboutwhatIpossiblycouldeventhroughmyintuition.

Pleaserememberthatthistaskdoesnotmeantoimposeanextraburdenonyoubuttoprovideaselfgovernedandselfstudybasedopportunityforyoutoreviewandbetterorganizewhatyouhaveexposedto,pertainingtoyourdoing,thinkingandfeelingintherealmofmusic.HavingyourselfequippedwiththeknowledgeinEnglishofmusicrelatedideaswillfacilitateyourmunicationwithmusicinterestedpeopleinthisglobalvillagewheretalksinanytopicusingEnglishisbeingaroutinepractice.

【】Conceptsaboutsound,thebasicsubstanceusedintheartofmusic:

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

(2)Atentativedefinitionofsound:

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

(3)Considerationsoftonesemployedinmusic:

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

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

Puretoneisrarelyusedinmusicbutismostoftenusedinpychoacousticresearchwhereitiscrucialthatunnecessaryvariablesbeeliminatedtoavoidinterferenceoftheinfluentialelements,otherthanthedefinedindependentvariable,withtheeffectofanexperimentsothatthefindingoftheresearchmaybesecuredasafunctionofindependentvariableonly.Thetoneproducedbyatuningfork,thesmallforkshapedmetaldeviceasapitchstandardforhelpingtuningthemusicalinstruments,issupposedtobepuretone.Itissafetoclaimthatallthemusicaltonesrenderedbypitchedmusicmakingmediabelongtothecategoryofpositetones.positetone,simplyputasthenamesuggests,isposedofthefundamentaltoneandovertones,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－plex!Thesedescriptionstellusafactthatovertonesvaryaccordingtotypesofvibratorsoreventhesamevibratorunderdifferentconditions.Thevariancesofovertonesembodyinthefact(1)theactualnumbersoftheovertonesappearingvary;forexample,thetonesproducedbytheflutethatsound“hollow〞containmuchfewerovertonesthanthosebythecello(2)thesequencesoftheirappearancevary,(3)theelegantshapingoftheovertonesandtheintensityofeachissoplexthatnopairofsoundsourcescouldbepossiblythesameunlesstheartificialdigitaltechniquesareemployed,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?Becauseofitsplicatednatureofmusic,itmayfunction,likethoseanthropologistMerriamidentified,asendeavorsofhumanbeingsforemotional,aesthetical,municationalandeducationalpurposesorjustforentertainment,ofsocietalandculturalinheritance,oftribalconventionaluses,ofindustrialandmercialbenefits,ofreinforcingcohesionorconformitytosocialcriteria.Viewedfromdifferentangles,thelogicalstartingpointsforthestudiesofmusicvary.Despitethesemanyfunctionsmusicassumes,onethingisinevitablycertain,thatis,itusessound.Andtheultimateelementsofsoundarerootedinthefourmentalparametersthatarereflectionsofthephysicalpropertiesofvibration.Thesepsychophysicalrelationshipsshouldbemadeclearthatthephysicalattributesofvibrationarethecausalresourcesonwhichthesenseofsoundisbased;thisistheobjectivesideofthephenomenoninregardofthesubstanceusedformusic,andthesubjectivesideofmentalsensationsofsoundisthereflectionoftheformer.Toreiteratetherelationshipbetweenthesetwosides,thephysicalpropertiespersearenotsoundbutthesound’scausalresources;theyaretherehylic,immunetosubjectivehearing.Basedontheseinterrelationships,theelementsofmusicareorganized.Wemayconsider,therefore,thesefourrelationsandtheirinteractionsasthelogicalstartingpointsforthebeginningstudyofmusic:

(1)Frompitchfrequencytomusicalelementsofnamesofpitchesorsteps,staffs,intervals,keysandrelatedsignatures,modes,tonalities,and,thoselargerelementsofmelody,harmonyandcounterpoint,etc..

(2)Fromdurationtimetomusicalelementsinlengthsofnotesandrests,beatsandtimesaswellasthetimesignatures,andthelargerelementsofrhythmandsoon.

(3)Fromloudnessintensitytomusicalelementsofdynamicsembodiedintherelatedterminologiesandsignsindicatingtheartisticrenderingandshapingsuchascrescendo,pianissimo,andtheinteractivedynamiceffectsfromthedomainofrhythmandtime,belongingmainlytothedescriptionabovebutexertingcollaborateddynamiceffectsonmusic.Remember,musicisanorganizedwholewherethefourelementscanneverbeseparatelyfunctioning.

(4)Fromtimbrewaveformtotherealmoftonequalityortonecolor,thecrucialmusicelementnotonlydeterminedbyoneparticularmusicalinstrumentpresebutalsolargelyshapedthroughnuancesinperformingskillsaswellasthevariousthoughtfultexturingandinstrumentationviaposingtechniques.

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,×－doublesharp,bb―doubleflatand口－naturalcancelingthealternations;Forafulldescriptionseebelow)addedon,theoriginalpitchnamesofthebasicstepsgetthecorrespondingpitchnames,e.g.,csharp,becauseofchromaticalternations.Aswarnedbefore,cautionsshouldbetakennottotakeitforgrantedthatthewhitekeysarealwaysbasicornaturalsteps,foronemightlogicallyfigureoutthatwhitekeyscouldalsostandforchromaticsteps.Forexample,thetoneofCcouldbeeitherB#orDbbandthesetonesornotes,identicalinsoundbutwrittendifferentlyaccordingtothecontextinwhichtheyappear,arecalledenharmonic.Couldyoucounthowmanypitchnames,ifthebasicandchromaticstepsareallincludedandtheideaofenharmonicisunderconsideration,anoctavepossess?Andthenpleasethinkaboutthisontheactualkeyboardofpianooranimaginedkeyboard:therearetwelvekeys,whiteandblackwithinanoctave,butthirtyfivepitchnames,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(notethattherearetwoinplete“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,onelineoctave,twolineoctave,threelineoctaveandfourlineoctave.

【】Accidentals:Thesignsofaccidentalsareusedtoindicatechromaticalternationsortocancelthem.Thefivesignsare#(sharp),whichraisesthetoneindicatedbyasemitone,b(flat)whichlowersbyasemitone,×(doublesharp)whichraisesbytwosemitones,bb(doubleflat)whichlowersbytwosemitones,and口(natural)whichcancelsapreviousalternation.Theseaccidentalsapplytothenotebeforeeachtheyappear,aswellasallthenotesofthesamepitchonthesamelineorspacewithinthesamemeasure.Pleaserememberthisbutalsowarnyourselfthatitiseasierrememberedthanactuallyplayedcorrectly.Sometimes,oneplaysthefirstalternatednotecorrectlybutforgetstokeepalternatingthefollowingonesonthesamelineorspacewithinthatmeasurebecausethesignisplacedearlierandnosuchsignplacedafterwards.Didyoueverhavesuchanexperience?Yes?Good!Makingerrorsisanecessarypartoflearning.

【】Wholetoneandhalftoneorsemitone:Theintervalrelationbetweeneachadjoiningpairoftwowhitekeysonthekeyboardisnotidentical.Theintervalbetweenefandbciscalledhalftoneorsemitone―thesmallestinterval－whileotheradjoiningpairsofwhitekeysareofanintervalofwholetone.Awholetoneis，naturally,posedoftwoadditivehalftones.Ahalftoneorsemitonealsooccurs,ofcourse,betweenablackkeyandtheadjoiningwhitekey.

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

【】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,onelogicalstartingpointinmusicstudyisthecategoryofdurationtimeconcernedwithvaluesandproportionsoftemporallengthsintheprogressionofmusic.Notesandrestsaresignsandnamesindicatingvariousrelativelengthsoftonesandsilences(silencesaremeaningfulmeansofexpression).Intoday’spractice,themonuseofnotesandrests,formthelongesttotheshortest,aredesignatedbydifferentlyshapedsignsandnamedaccordinglyinAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishasfollows:

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

namesemibreveforthelattersuggests.Thereaderisremindedherethat

Table1monSignsofNotesandRestsandTheirNames

Notes(Rests)AEBEwholenotesemibrevehalfnoteMinimquarternotecrotcheteighthnotequaversixteenthnotesemiquaverthirtysecondnotedemisemiquaversixtyfourthnote

Hemidemisemiquaverthewordnotenormallyreferstoawrittensymbolbutthetoneindicatedisoftenimplicated,thoughthewordtonemainlymeansamusicalsoundorawholetone.

【】Head,Stem,andHook(Tail):

Theyareponentstoformthewrittenshapesofnotes.Theheadisnecessaryfornotesofanytimevalues.Awholenoteusesaheadonlythatiswrittenasasmallhollowcircleellipseora“whitehead〞socalledbymusicians.Theheadforahalfnoteissimilarbutfacingtheoppositedirectionwithastemaddedontheleftorrightrimofthehead.Asolidprintedor“black〞headisusedfornoteswhosetimevaluesareshorterthanthehalfnoteforwhichastemappliedtothequarternoteandacertaintypeofhookaddedonthenotesshorterthanthequarternotewhereaonetailedhookisattachedtothetipofthestem,fortheeighthnote,andatwotailedhookforthesixteenthnote.Moretailsareaddedtonotesofshorternotesofthetimevaluesasillustratedinthetablelistedearlier.Referencedwiththenumeralnotation,thenumberofthetailsusedfornotesinthe“fiveline〞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.Alternationstakeplacewherethedupletsubstitutesforthreenotesgrouping,thetripletfortwonotesgrouping,andquadruplet,quintuplet,sextuplet,septupletforgroupingsoffournotesorso.AgoodexamplecanbefoundinthethirdandfifthmeasuresofourNationalAnthem.Thetripletsproduceastirringandagitatingbuglingthatcanneverbecreatedbyevenlygroupednotesofeighthsorsixteenths.Theaestheticalprincipleofvarietyisperfectlyreflectedherein.

【】Absolutepitchandrelativepitch(senseof):Sightsinging,fixeddoandmovabledo:

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

【】Rhythm;Rhythmicpattern;Accent;Syncopation:

Itisromanticallyconceivedthatrhythmistheskeletonofmusic.Itistruetoanextentbecausemusicisanartbelongingtotemporalphenomenon.Rhythmisthemotioninawayoforganizedtemporalsparsedensestructurewithexpressivepurposes.Rhythm,structuredforcertainstylesofexpression,isoftentimespresentedasapatterncalledrhythmicpattern,rootedinthisorthatculturaland/orhumancausesthroughouthistory,repeatingitselfthroughapassageorawholepieceofmusic,likewhatweknowasWaltzdevelopedfromabout1800whoserhythmischaracterizedmostsalientlybyitsacpanimentconsistingofalowbassnoteonthefirstaccentedbeatandthechordsonthesecondandthirdbeatsmoderatelyweakinthemiddleregister.Rhythmiscloselyassociatedwiththeideaofaccentthatemphasizesorstressesononetoneorchordnormallyfallingonthefirstbeatofameasureforthesimpletime,withasecondaryaccentoraccentsonotherparticularbeatsofameasureforthepoundtime.Irregularaccentsarefrequentlyfoundonweakbeatstomeetmusicalexpressiveneeds,andsyncopationisagoodexamplethatrealizesitsspecialrhythmiceffectbyshiftingtheoughttobeaccentinawayoftying(usingatie)aweakbeatwiththefollowingstrongbeatorplacingarestonthestrongbeatorsimplyimposinganaccentsignontheweakbeat.

【】Meter,time;Barandbarline;Measure;monmeter;Simplemeter(s);poundmeter(s);Timesignature;Multimeter;Irregularmeter;Duplemeter(s);Triplemeter(s);Quadruplemeter(s):

Meteristhebasicwayfororganizingbeatsandaccents.Thevariouswaysofsuchgroupingareindicatedbythetimesignaturepresentedrightafterthekeysignatureatthebeginningofapositiononthestaffthatiswrittenlikeafraction.Ofthesignature,theuppernumeralindicateshowmanybeatsexistineachmeasure(measuresorbarsaredividedbybarlinesmeaningonlyaccentonthefirstbeatfollowingthatbarline),andthelowernumeralindicateswhatkindofnoteisinlengthforonebeat.Forexample,thetimesignature3/4meansthattherearethreebeatsineachmeasureandeachbeatisvaluedaquarternote.Allthemetersfallmainlyintotwocategoriesdependingonwhethereachmeasurepossessesonesingleaccentorpoundedaccents.Theformeriscalledsimplemeterandthelatterpoundmeter.Thus,duplemetersincluding2/2,2/4,2/8andtriplemeters3/2,3/4,3/8belongtosimplemeters.Quadruplemeters4/2,4/4and4/8areconsideredbysomeassimplemeters,but4/4aremorefrequentlycalledmonmeter.Opposedtosimplemeters,poundmeters,asthetermsuggests,aregroupedtogetherbymultiplyingthesimplemetersintroducedearlierbythree,whereuponpoundduple,whichisthreetimesofduple,includes6/2,6/4and6/8,poundtriple9/4and9/8,andpoundquadruple12/4,12/8and12/16.Themetersmentionedsofarareallregularones.Irregularmetersrefertothosethatcontain,ineachmeasure,morethanonetypeofsimplemeters.Forexample,meterof7/4ispossiblyanirregularpoundof(2+2+3)/4.Theprincipleappliesto,accordingtothiswriterbutnotnecessarilyagreedbyothers,quintuplemeter5/4thatisactuallythesumof3/4+2/4or2/4+3/4foreachmeasure.Stillanotherconceptconcernswithmultimeterthatsimplymeansthatmorethanonemeterareemployedthroughoutamusicalpiece.Insuchacase,thetimesignaturesareeitherplacedwherethetimesignaturenormallyisorplacedwherethealternativestakeplace.

【】Tempoandtempoterm(s);Metronome:

SomeItaliantermsareuniversallyusedtomarkthetempo:howfastorslowapieceofmusicshouldgo.Fromtheslowesttothefastest,thefrequentlyusedtermsinclude:

Larghissimo:verybroad

Largo:broad

Lento:slow

Adagio: