Music Theory Basics

Music Theory Basics

1. Staff, Clefs and Ledger Lines

   • Stave
     • The foundation on which notes are drawn
     • 5 lines and 4 spaces
     • Every line or space on the Stave represents a white key on the keyboard
     • Grand Stave
       • 11 lines
       • Eliminate middle line (C) 2 seperate staves
       • By adding a Treble Clef to the top stave and a Bass Clef to the bottom stave, we can see the relationship between the two staves.
       • “Middle C” corresponds to the middle staff line on the Grand Stave.
   • Clefs
     • Assign individual notes to certain lines or spaces
     • Two clefs normally used
       • Bass
       • Treble
     • Treble Clef
       • The staff line which the clef wraps around (shown in red) is known as G. Any note placed on this line becomes G.
       • The note on the space above G is A.
       • The note on the line above A is B.
     • Bass Clef
       • The staff line in between the two dots of the clef is F.
   • Ledger Lines
     • A ledger line is a small line that extends the staff when we run out of room.

2. Note Duration

   • Whole Note
     • Semibreve Longest note duration in modern music.
   • Half Note
     • Minim Half the duration of a whole note.
   • Quarter Note
     • Crochet Fourth (or a quarter) of a whole note.
   • Eighth Note
     • Quaver Has one flag. Two eighth notes occupy the same amount of time as one quarter note.
   • Sixteenth Note
     • Semiquaver Has two flags, halving the value again.

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