Archive for May, 2009
Bologna International Opera Auditions by NYIOP
How To Read Music Lesson 5- Time Signatures
In previous lessons we have discussed only 4/4 time. You learned that in 4/4 time there are 4 beats to a measure and a quarter note gets 1 beat. You learned that a measure is the space between two bar lines, so if there are 4 beats to a measure there must be notes and rests between the bar lines that add up to 4 beats.
Fig. 1
You learned that in 4/4 time a whole note gets 4 beats, a half note gets 2 beats, a quarter note gets 1 beat, an eighth note gets 1/2 beat, and a sixteenth note gets 1/4 beat. You also learned that there are rests that correspond to each note value: whole rests, half rests, quarter rests, eighth rests and sixteenth rests.
In this post you will learn about some other time signatures and how to count them. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Read Music Lesson 4 – Dotted Notes and Rests
In the previous lesson we discussed tied notes. Tied notes are a way for us to add notes together, allowing us to extend the sound of notes. In this lesson we will learn about another method of extending notes by using dot notation.
We use dot notation to extend the length of notes.
When we want to extend the length of a note, we can place a “dot” after the note to extend it. The dot increases the length of the note by one-half. This means that if you place a dot after a half note which gets two beats, then the dot adds 1 beat to the note so that a dotted half note gets 3 beats.
- Samuel Barber At 100, ReconsideredHe was once dismissed as a composer for "high middlebrow taste." But Barber, who wrote the famous Adagio for Strings, would not be criticized if he were an emerging composer today, 100 years after his birth. […]
- Barber's 'Adagio': Naked Expression Of EmotionThere's a simple logic behind Samuel Barber's emotional Adagio. It progresses from a single note to high emotional wailing to release to final acceptance. On today's centennial of Barber's birth, take a guided tour of the music with commentator Rob Kapilow. […]
- Suds And Sensibility: Barber's Violin ConcertoBarber's beautiful concerto came about at the request of a soap magnate named Samuel Fels. Although the business end of the commission was sullied, the concerto came out sparkling. Hear violinist James Ehnes play the piece in concert. […]
- The Life And Music Of Samuel BarberIn the middle of the 20th century, when composers were writing with angularity and dissonance, Barber forged his own lyrical, romantic style. By the time he was 26, he'd composed the iconic Adagio for Strings. […]
- Live Tonight: Nicholas Payton At The Village VanguardHe found his footing in jazz through its hard-swinging main stem. But after he'd proved his hard-bop mettle, he took a fork in the road toward electric experimentalism. Now, trumpeter Nicholas Payton seems comfortable pursuing a middle ground. Listen live Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. […]
- Five Songs, Ten Classic Tenor TitansThe tenor sax is a powerful instrument. This is especially apparent in music created by mighty jazz masters whose skills shaped sounds still reflected in present-day compositions. Hear five great pairings, battles and studio jam sessions. […]
- The Jazz Community As A Road MapMost people who pass through the jazz community only travel down certain main thoroughfares. But in order for there to be a vibrant community, you need all those side streets, some of which are trafficked heavily by people in the know, others which remain mostly quiet. […]