Scales-not for fishies

So one of the questions was about the minor keys and to accurately answer that question I have to delve into the world of scales.
Each key has a certain set of notes that make it up. These notes can be strung together in a sequence called a scale. Each scale will follow the key signature of they key it is associated with. For example the Bb scale will have the Bb key signature and the C scale will have the C key signature. Knowing at what intervals to string the notes together makes a big difference.

First you have to know about half steps and whole steps. To get from one type of note (natural, sharp, or flat) to the next note of the same type is a whole step. To get from any one type of note to the next adjacent note, that is a half step. There are exceptions, however and that is best shown to you on a keyboard.

Looking at the keyboard above you can see that every black key is a sharp or flat and every white key is natural. A jump from one white key to the next is usually a half step (same with from one black key to the next) except where there are two white keys next to each other as it is with the notes E and F as well as B and C. With these notes a whole step would be to the very next black key. In short, a whole step will always be two pitch jumps and a half step will always be just one.

So in relating that to scales I can now tell you their structure. A major scale of a key is the scale that keeps all the notes that are designated in the key signature and it's pattern is as follows.

Starting on the base note of the key (C for the key of C) which is called the 'tonic':
Whole step Whole Step Half Step Whole step Whole step Whole step Half step
Listen to C major

Each scale will have eight notes, starting on the tonic and ending on that note one octave higher.

Every key has a relative minor key that shares its key signature. The difference is in the sound given off when played. Minor keys sound darker and more mysterious. How is this possible when they have all the same notes? The structure of the way their notes are put together is different. First of all is you look back at the relative minor keys you'll notice that they have different names than their major counterparts. For example: C major is A minor. What this means for the scales is that we will start on A instead of C.

So starting on its tonic, the minor scales is built as follows:
Whole step Half step Whole step Whole step Half step Whole step Whole step
Listen to A minor

Because of the different tonics and the different interval construction, the two relative keys are able to share the same key signature but sound pretty different. I hope that answered your question.

Very Punny

A dead writer of music is de-composing.

Q&A

I have a list of random music questions that I have gotten and today I am going to answer them. Uunfortunately as very few people read this there are very few questions so please feel free to ask me something and I will answer it. Here we go.

Q: Are they called Barbershop Quartets [be]cause they sang in actual barbershops?
A: Yes, actually. They were also known for singing at parties and on street corners (like you see at Disneyland). This last also earned them the associative title of 'curbstone harmony'.

Q: Where can I get free sheet music online?
A: Ok first why are you asking me this? This is an informative blog not a place to pick up illegal merchandise. Second, shoo.

Q: What can I use to convert my midi into usable sheet music?
A: You can try 8notes.com, Midillustrator, or a program called Noteworthy Composer. There are a lot of programs out there designed to handle just this function so you will have to look through them to see what will work best for you. Also, try visiting this site. It has a list of converter applications as well as many other useful tools.

Q: You mentioned minor keys, what are those for?
A: Ok yeah that is pretty much a whole other blog but basically the minor keys that are shown inthe image of my previous post share the key signature with the major key they are listed with. As in, those notes will all be played with or without those sharps or flats. The difference is in the sound. Minor keys tend to be more solomn and haunting, while major keys are brighter and more jovial sounding. This is accomplished by changing the intervals in the scale for that key. And because I've completely confused you I will make scales my next post. (=

Q: What is the biggest insrtument ever?
A: Well I am going to go ahead and tell you the largest operating instrument and it may come as a slight dissapointment to you because the answer is not an instrument that anyone will ever have to try and cary around. It is infact and organ. It is owned by the Macy's store and resides in Philidelphia. The monster organ contains 28,543 pipes and sounds a little something like this.

Q: My friend just showed me this thing where they have cats and dogs singing Christmas songs. You should do a post about that!
A: Ok not a question. And no, no I should not. If you want to watch the kitties sing then go here, not here.

Very Punny
If you break a string on your guitar don't Fret.

Key Signatures

So as promised in the very first post I am now going to explain key signatures to all y'all out there. The key signature is present at the beginning of any piece of music and resides between the clef and the time signature. There are a few things you need to know about what the different spaces and line of the staff represent before I can start the key signature explanation.

Staff Lines:
The lines of the staff each represent a different note.

Staff lines in the Treble Clef are as follows:

To remember these the acronym Every Good Boy Does Fine is often used.

The spaces are as follows:

This one is easier to remember as it spells out the word FACE.

Staff lines in the Bass Cleff are as follows:

To remember these the acronym Good Boys Do Fine Always is often used (though admittedly more awkward than its treble counterpart)

The spaces are as follows:

To remember these the acronym All Cows Eat Grass is often used.

Any note placed on one of these lines will be played as the note letter notated(no pun intended). To make is more confusing each one of these notes as three basic forms: sharp, flat, and natural.

Natural is notated with a natural sign: to the direct left of the note along the same line or space or if a note has no signs next to it. This is the base pitch of the note.
Sharp is notated with a pound sign to the direct left of the note along the same line or space. This will cause the note to be played a half step higher (slightly higher) than the natural.
Flat is notated by a lowercase 'b' to the direct left of the note along the same line or space. This will cause the note to be played a half step lower (slightly lower) than the natural.

All of these signs effect every note on the same line that come after the marked note and lasts until the measure is over.

Because it would be boring to play the natural of a note every time and notating every single sharp or flat pitch would become messy and hard to read we have key signatures. The key signature's job is to dictate a note's sharp, flat, or naturalness for the entire piece (or until a new key signature is introduced). These combinations of set flat, sharp, or natural notes are called Keys. For example the simplest key would be Concert C. In the key of C every note is played as its natural value and any variations from this key will be placed within the music using the sharp, flat, and natural signs.

These are the keys:


Each key has a certain number of sharps of flats that come with it. All of the notes that are on lines or spaces that represent a note that the key signature has deemed sharp or flat will be played that way through the entire piece if they are unmarked. Only if there is a natural sign next to them or the key signature changes will they be played at their natural tone again. As you can see in these diagrams every key has a relative minor key that shares its key signature. Don't worry about those for now. Hope this helps (=

Very Punny
Musicians need a leader because they don't know how to conduct themselves.

Come Again?

Today I'm going to talk about Repeats.
Often in music you will hear a theme repeated and while sometimes the music is actually written out twice (or again at the end in) what you may not know is that the musician's actually have a lot less music in front of them than you think.

Bar Line Repeats:
First of all I will show you Bar Line Repeats. This is the most common form of a repeat sign and is a large solid vertical line next to a thin vertical line with two filled black dots resembling a colon up against the thinner line. If the dots are facing to the left then this indicates the end of a section to be repeated. The player, upon seeing the left facing dot-repeat sign will not continue forward in the music but instead will jump back to the beginning of the piece and play the entire section again. Once played through a second time the repeat sign facing left is ignored and the music continues. A difference occurs when there is also a right-facing repeat sign. If this is the case the right-facing sign will always appear before its left-facing counterpart. The result of this is that instead of jumping back to the beginning when the left-facing repeat sign is reached the player will only jump back to wherever the right-facing repeat sign appeared. Once again after the repeat is completed the music will continue. Here is an example of a repeated passage with just the 'closing' repeat sign.

That would be repeated back to the beginning.

Here is an example of a repeated passage with both repeat signs:


Single Measure Repeats:
Single measure repeats may last for much long than the measure and its repeat. The main meaning behind the title is that it is the same measure repeated over and over again without change. This type of repeat is notated with a slash with a dot above and below. It looks like this:

In the example shown above the passage that is written out will be played three more times directly after the initial playing. Here the measures are numbered for convenience but they are not required to be.

In-Measure Repeats:
There are also repeats that take place within a measure. These are rarely used in music because writing the same beat twice is not enough of a hassel to have these be worth it, but just so you can see them this is what they look like:

The notation will change for sixteenth notes and thirty-second notes. Sixteenth note phrases will use two dashes instead of one and thirty-second note phrases will use three.

Very Punny
Musical composers can use lots of Note paper.

Not So Crazy Intrument Installment

So inspired by an old rerun of 'How It's Made' and with a friend who is just learning how to play them, I have decided to grace this blog with a small overview of (in my opinion) one of the most interesting sounding instruments:the Steel Drum (also known as a 'Pan').

The SteelDrum or Pan is actually very newly invented as far as instruments go, showing up in the 1930's. The Drum first made its appearance in Trinidad:

which was under British rule since the 1800's. In an attempt to keep the native people from communicating rebellion effort amongst themselves, the British outlawed the use of hand drums and later, other methods that they began using, all dealing in rhythmic percussion. Finally the Trinidadians, as they were, turned to something called 'Iron Bands'. These bands were made up of instruments composed of various resonating material found as garbage and were marched down streets. One such piece of 'garbage' with a dent in it is said to have inspired the creation of the Steel Drum

The origional drum was actually domed shaped instead of concave and a man by the name of Winston Simon was said to be the first person to create one:

Later, a painter by the name of Ellie Manette changed the shape to a bowl and the drum took the form that is has today.

The Pans have a variety of types like any instrument, ranging from the Tenor(or lead) type drum down to the Twelve Bass and are often used heavily in Calypso music although they can play pretty much anything you can think of. Take a listen:
I Can See Clearly Now
Maryanne
Morning Dance
Girl From Ipanema

Very Punny
When a musician plays a scale on a newly cleaned piano, he goes from C to shining C.

Brass of the Day

In a previous post I talked about reeds and how they were used to help most woodwind players create sound with their instruments. Today I will be looking at the other end of the spectrum: the brass mouthpiece. Unlike the woodwind mouthpiece which has three separate parts (the mouthpiece, reed, and ligature) the brass mouthpiece is one solid aparatus which is inserted into the back of the instrument.

Parts of the Mouthpiece:
Even though the brass mouthpiece is one solid object there are different parts of it that take on somewhat different shapes depending on the instrument and the type of playing they are intended for.

The parts are as follows:

1. This is the 'Inner Rim' of the mouthpiece. The smaller the diameter the higher the pitch, the large the diameter the lower the pitch. For example, a tuba mouthpiece will have a larger inner rim diameter than a trombone, a trombone will have a larger inner rim than a trumpet, and so on.
2. This is the 'Rim'. The rim of a mouthpiece dictates the amount of pressure put on the lips while playing. The wider the rim the less pressure and thus the ability to play more longer. The larger rim will, however, decrease the player's control or for example the ability to achieve crisp articulation on quick passages.
3. This is the 'Rim Contour' and can be either flat or rounded.
4. This is the 'Bite' and also plays a part in durability and control. The sharper the slope of the bite the more control the player will have but at the cost of being worn out faster. The more rounded the curvature of the bite the longer the player can last but acute control is sacrificed.
5. This is the 'Cup'. The cup has two important parts, the depth and the shape. Deep cups are used for low ranged instruments like the trombone, bass trombone, baritone, and tuba. The deeper cup gives them a lower range and a fuller sound. Shallower cups are used for instruments like french horns, trumpets, and cornets. The shallow cup allows them a much higher sound and a brighter tone. Shape-wise, the semi-spherical cups will give the instrument a sharper and higher sound than the conical cups.
6. This is the 'Throat' and is used for 'tone definition'. The sharper the incline of the throat of a mouthpiece the more it will modify the instrument's already established tone quality. For example: Brighter and louder for trumpets while fuller and rounder for tubas.
7. This is the 'Backbore' and is also in charge of dictating the type of tone quality produced. The more cone-shaped it is the fuller and richer the sound will be, the more cylinder-shaped the brighter and sharper.
8. This is the 'Shank' and is the covering for the backbore. It is also the part of the mouthpiece that is inserted into the instrument.

There is also a special kind of mouthpiece called an asymmetrical mouthpiece for the very reason that the cup is purposefully asymmetrical and looks like this:



This type of mouthpiece is often used for playing in Jazz emsembles or bigbands because it allows the musician to play higher and louder than he would on a normal mouthpiece. Tone quality, however, is often sacrificed.

Materials:
Brass mouthpieces are, needless to say, brass (for the most part). The coating on a standard brass mouth piece is silver because it is cheaper than it's gold alternative. Plating one's mouthpiece in gold will cause it to have a warmer and less bright sound than a silver plated mouthpiece and it will also erase the possibility of tarnish that the silver one's have.

Plastic mouthpieces are also available and are cheaper than their brothers. These mouthpieces are very durable and are often used in places like Drum Corps or Marching Bands where the diminished tone quality will not be a problem. Another advantage is that temperature changes that will drastically alter the pitch of the metal mouthpieces will have a much smaller effect on this one.

Very Punny
A music store was robbed. The thief made away with the lute.

Homemade Instruments Installment 1

Well I was going to describe the Brass player's mode of making music as opposed to the reed for the majority of the woodwind players but I find that I will not being doing that because there is something far more important. What is that? Homemade instruments what else? Because these instruments are so very amusing I am giving them a category of their own and calling this Homemade Instruments Installment 1.

In an attempt to bring some sort of factual content or learning material to this blog again I am first going to do a very quick overview of a well known instrument that most of you probably already know the basics of, namely the bagpipe. A common misconception of the bagpipe is with the air being blown into the bladder or the 'bag' of the instrument. While the air is needed to produce the lovely nasal sound that makes the pipes so unique (take that as sarcasm or not whichever you prefer) the musician does not have to be blowing air at the time that the note is actually sounded. In this way you will see bagpipe players take breaths even as long strands of notes are being played. The canter and most likely a drone (named for the sound it makes, usually a sort of bass line to the canter's notes). These are pipes fitted with one or two reeds that are attached to the bagpipes and fed air from the bag in order to vibrate the reeds and create sound. The musician uses his or her arm to put pressure on the air-filled bag in order to force it through the pipes. The unfortunate part of this system is that a cut-off is rather hard, though not impossible.

So why am I giving you a brief overview of a bagpipe? Well in understanding a little bit of the basics it becomes clear that the bag part of the instrument really only needs to be a compressible container of air correct? This is where our Youtube friend comes in with his homemade bagpipe, enjoy:

Very Punny
Some musicians can be sharp, which is not natural.

Haken Continuum

In a way I guess this is an interesting or crazy instrument installment but I am not going to call it such because unlike the last two entries this one is used more frequently and more functionally and it, in fact, makes no actual music of its own. The 'instrument' is called the Continuum Fingerboard or the Haken Continuum (named for the inventor). What makes it so special is that it is what can be classified as a "continuous music controller". The keyboard itself makes no noise (unless of course you bang it on something I suppose) but is instead used to mediate the sound coming from a synthesizer. Even cooler? This keyboard is continuous in three 'directions': pressure pushing down on the keyboard, the movement of left and right across the keyboard, and the movement up and down on the keyboard can all be programmed to handle different commands or parameters. The keyboard can handle digital and analog synthesizers and can 'produce' both monophonic and polyphonic sounds. Polyphonic meaning multiple sounds that in this case are produced at once and monophonic referring to singular individual notes.

Here is the Fingerboard in use:


Now for something really cool. If you weren't around to read my post on musical Tesla Coils you can read it here

But for those of you that have, someone has combined those coils and this keyboard to bring you this:

Very Punny

There's a repair shop for baroque musical instruments.