Musical instruments. Wind

Woodwind Instruments

Flute | Clarinet | Saxophone | Oboe | English Horn | Bassoon 

Brass instruments

Trumpet | French Horn | Trombone | Tuba

Musical instruments. String

Bowed String

  Violin |  Viola | Cello | Double Bass

                                                   

Plucked String

Guitar | Harp | Lute

                                           

Struck String

Piano

Ear training. Intervals

Improve your aural skills!

• Skips, steps and repeats
• Watch your step!
• Intervals listen to 2nd and 3rds 
• Intervals listen to 4ths and 5ths

from http://www.musictechteacher.com

Melodic phrases

A melodic phrase is a succession o notes that has a complete musical sense. Different phrases form melodies, periods and larger sections. When phrases are organised in pairs, the first phrase is called the antecedent phrase and the second is called the consequent.

Verse melodic phrase  from «Die young» by Kesha

by http://smartpopscott.tumblr.com

Now, listen to the song «Die young»

Accidentals

Accidentals change the pitch of a particular note

• Sharp. One semitone higher
• Flat. One semitone lower
• Natural sign. Cancels the effect of sharp and flat

Key signature: a group of sharps and flats placed on the stave indicating the notes altered in a piece of music. Key signature depends on the scale in which that piece is written.

Scales

A scale is a set of notes played or sung in order, going up or down. To create a piece of music, composers use only the notes of a particular scale.

The most common scales in western music are diatonic scales. Diatonic scales have five full tones and two semitones. The most important notes are the tonic (first note) and the dominant (fifth note).

There are two types of diatonic scales

Major. Scale model is C major (below and above). Major scales sound bright and cheery.

Minor. Scale model is A minor. Minor scales sound a bit sad.

Listen to «Pop goes the weasel»

Now, listen to the minor version

Range

The range is the interval between the top and bottom notes of a melody.

Top note is C, low note is F.
Range: fifth

Intervals

An interval is the gap between two notes.

You get the number by counting up from the bottom note to the top note

Fifth

Types of  intervals

• Melodic: if the two notes sound one after another (horizontal).
• Harmonic: if the two notes sound simultaneously (vertical).
• Ascending: from a low note to a high note.
• Descending: from a high note to a low note.
• Step: are intervals between consecutive scale degrees (e.g. C-D or D-E)
• Skip: are intervals between non consecutive scale degrees (e.g. C-E, F-B)

Third. Melodic. Ascending. Skip

Second. Melodic. Ascending. Step

Fourth. Melodic. Descending. Skip

Third. Harmonic.

Intervals from http://www.musicalintervalstutor.info

Melody

A melody (also tune) is described as a series of various pitches sounded in succession.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, from aboutmusictheory.com

Contour describes the linear motion of a melody up and down.  Melodic contour (shape) can be: ascending, descending, linear, undulating, broken line

Undulating. Good morning, from Teledmus

Broken line. From aboutmusictheory.com

Linear. One note samba. From jazz-styles.com

Surfing the net... Rhythm

Practice your rhythmic skills

• See Sawing Note Values
• How is Your Timing?
• Listening to Rhythm Patterns Quiz 

Notation. The basics.

Notation

Pitch

Duration

Dynamics

Learn more about sound

Watch the following video to learn more about sound 

Playing a nursery rhyme

«London Bridge is falling down»


Play or sing this traditional nursery rhyme arranged by Jim Paterson

From www.mfiles.co.uk

Lyrics

London Bridge is falling down,

Falling down, falling down.

London Bridge is falling down,

My fair Lady.

Build it up with wood and clay,

Wood and clay, wood and clay,

Build it up with wood and clay,

My fair Lady.

Score

First year. Unit 1.

Surf «The music lab» on this website  to revise some concepts about pitch, symbols, basics...

The San Francisco Symphony Kids