casualty01
05-20-2003, 11:56 PM
hello all, time for another installment...... with last weeks theory lesson covering basic fretboard knowledge as the musical alphabet (natural notes only), half/whole step shapes, and
the musical alphabet whole/half step pattern. this week, we're going to simply take a look at
accidentals.
it's going to be a rather short lesson dealing only with accidentals. but we don't wont to get
to ahead of ourselves
so lets get going. ...
Flashback
well, last week we learned about the Musical alphabet(A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A) and it's intervallic pattern (ie. W-H-W-W-H-W-W)
but, what happened to the missing half steps ? what do we call the notes that are in between
those whole steps? (ie. the notes in between A-B, C-D, D-E, F-G, and G-A)
well, the notes in between those whole steps, are known as accidentals. they share the same letter name as the note before, or after it, but with a little symbol to show you that it's an accidental.
(sidebar)
before we go any further, a simple reminder of "direction" on the guitar might be needed. alot of people get confused as far as "direction" goes, seeing as how all directional aspects of the guitar are reversed from what we're used to. our normal definition of "up" is actually "down" on the guitar. it confuses the hell out of some people, but really makes alot of sense if you know WHY the directional terms are applied in reverse.
the direction on the guitar is determined by pitch. in a horizontal aspect, pitch on the guitar as im sure you've noticed, goes DOWN (gets lower ) as you move your finger towards the direction of the headstock (the part where your tuning pegs are located). and pitch goes UP (gets higher/brighter) as you move your finger towards the body of the guitar. alot of people would naturally assume that moving towards the headstock is up and moving towards the body is down, but seeing as how the direction on the guitar is designated by the change in pitch. directional terms are completely opposite from what we're used to them as.
if you were to play. Fig. 1a you'd be playing in a downward direction seeing as how the pitch is going down (getting lower)
however, if you played Fig. 1b, you'd be playing in an upward direction, seeing as how the pitch goes up (getting higher)
Fig. 1a Fig. 1b
E----------------------------- E----------------------------
B----------------------------- B----------------------------
G----------------------------- G----------------------------
D----------------------------- D----------------------------
A----------------------------- A----------------------------
E--10--8--7--5--3--2--0------- E--0--2--3--5--7--8--10------
in a vertical aspect ... the pitch goes UP as your hand moves down towards the floor, and the pitch goes DOWN as your hands moves towards the cieling.
example........ if you were playing Fig. 1c, you would be playing in an upwards direction (notice your hand moving towards the floor), seeing as how the pitch is going up. and likewise, if you played the example in Fig. 1d, you'd be moving in a downward motion, as the pitch is going down (getting lower)
Fig. 1c Fig. 1d
E----------------------------- E----8--5--------------------
B----------------------------- B----------8--5--------------
G--------------------5--7----- G----------------7--5--------
D--------------5--7----------- D----------------------7--5--
A--------5--7----------------- A----------------------------
E--5--7----------------------- E----------------------------
with that being said and cleared up....... lets move on
Accidental Symbols
Accidentals are little symbols that give us information about what to do with pitches (we'll get to what they're actually telling us in a minute ). they're all pretty easy to understand and each symbol always follows the same rule (ie. a # can only mean one thing, a b can only mean one thing etc... ) and the load is lightened by the fact that there are only 5 of them used in western music*
Accidentals
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/sharp.gif - this symbol here is what's reffered to as a "Sharp". this symbol tells you to raise the pitch of a note by a 1/2 step.
example.... what if someone were to ask you to play an F#?, well, you know that the first fret on the E string is an F (see Fig. 2a). so by simply knowing the rule of the "#" (that it raises the pitch by a 1/2 step) and knowing that a 1/2 step is = to one fret (you should, after reading the last lesson ). you should be able to figure out that F# is the second fret on the E string as in Fig. 2b
Fig. 2a Fig. 2b
F F#
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----1------- E----2-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/flat.gif - this symbol is called a "Flat". This symbol tells you to lower a pitch by a 1/2 step.
Example..... Play a Gb. by knowing what you learned previously (and hopefully having begun to thoroughly memorize the note names on the neck) you know that one of the G's Lies on the 3rd fret E string as in Fig 2c.. well, if you know the 3rd fret is G, and you know that a b is telling you to lower the pitch by a 1/2 step, what fret is Gb on? ........... hopefully you said 2nd fret (as in Fig. 2d) if not.... get out :p:
Fig. 2c Fig. 2d
G Gb
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----3------- E----2-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/dblsharp.gif - the symbol to the left is the Double Sharp symbol. when placed in in front of a pitch, it tells you to raise the pitch by a whole step. (seeing as how a normal # tells you to raise it a 1/2 step, the X raising it a W step makes sense ;) )
Fig. 2e Fig. 2f
F Fx
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----1------- E----3-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/dblflat.gif - the symbol to the left is the Double Flat symbol. when placed in in front of a pitch, it tells you to Lower the pitch by a whole step. (and once again, seeing as how a normal b tells you to lower it a 1/2 step, the bb lowering it a W step makes sense ;) )
Fig. 2g Fig. 2h
G Gbb
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----3------- E----1-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/natural.gif - this is a natural symbol. basically, all this does is cancel out a previous accidental. this is really only used for musical notation.
if you have a note with a any accidental (ie. #, b, X, or bb) and the next note after that has a natural symbol, it returns the note to it's natural state. for example ..... if you see on a music staff a Gb and then a G with the natural symbol, it returns the G to it's natural state. if there were no natural symbol, the G would remain flatted for the rest of the measure ( we'll get more into that if i decide to do one on sight reading)
Enharmonic whatsa?!
"well cas, im confused, i thought the 2nd fret was F#, now you're telling me it's a Gb. and you're saying Gbb is the same fret as F ?!..... boy, this makes me want to wet my pants :( " ahh do not trouble yourself young padawan. there is no reason to be confused. this is simply whats known as enharmonic tones
simply put....... an enharmonic tone is the same pitch, but it can have 2 names (ie. Gb and F# are the same exact pitch, they're just spelled differently. ) we'll get into the reasons why at a later date. just know that a # is always the same pitch as the b of the note above it (ie. A# = Bb, C#=Db ... and vice versa ... Db = C# , Eb = D# etc... )
Basic Rule Alert
<ul><li>1.)Accidental symbols, when written on paper, are ALWAYS placed to the RIGHT of a letter (ie. Bb ... G#....Dx ..... Ebb etc... )
<li>2.) Accidental Symbols, when being applied to Degrees/Intervals (ie. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths) they always go to the LEFT of the interval (ie. b3rd or b3, #4th or #4, b9th or b9 etc... you get the point )
<li>Accidental symbols when written on the staff (ie. musical notation) the accidental symbol ALWAYS appears to the left of the note. as in fig 2c.
Fig 3
Accidentals as they're written on staff paper
http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/examples/Accidentals.gif
</ul><br /><br />
the musical alphabet whole/half step pattern. this week, we're going to simply take a look at
accidentals.
it's going to be a rather short lesson dealing only with accidentals. but we don't wont to get
to ahead of ourselves
so lets get going. ...
Flashback
well, last week we learned about the Musical alphabet(A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A) and it's intervallic pattern (ie. W-H-W-W-H-W-W)
but, what happened to the missing half steps ? what do we call the notes that are in between
those whole steps? (ie. the notes in between A-B, C-D, D-E, F-G, and G-A)
well, the notes in between those whole steps, are known as accidentals. they share the same letter name as the note before, or after it, but with a little symbol to show you that it's an accidental.
(sidebar)
before we go any further, a simple reminder of "direction" on the guitar might be needed. alot of people get confused as far as "direction" goes, seeing as how all directional aspects of the guitar are reversed from what we're used to. our normal definition of "up" is actually "down" on the guitar. it confuses the hell out of some people, but really makes alot of sense if you know WHY the directional terms are applied in reverse.
the direction on the guitar is determined by pitch. in a horizontal aspect, pitch on the guitar as im sure you've noticed, goes DOWN (gets lower ) as you move your finger towards the direction of the headstock (the part where your tuning pegs are located). and pitch goes UP (gets higher/brighter) as you move your finger towards the body of the guitar. alot of people would naturally assume that moving towards the headstock is up and moving towards the body is down, but seeing as how the direction on the guitar is designated by the change in pitch. directional terms are completely opposite from what we're used to them as.
if you were to play. Fig. 1a you'd be playing in a downward direction seeing as how the pitch is going down (getting lower)
however, if you played Fig. 1b, you'd be playing in an upward direction, seeing as how the pitch goes up (getting higher)
Fig. 1a Fig. 1b
E----------------------------- E----------------------------
B----------------------------- B----------------------------
G----------------------------- G----------------------------
D----------------------------- D----------------------------
A----------------------------- A----------------------------
E--10--8--7--5--3--2--0------- E--0--2--3--5--7--8--10------
in a vertical aspect ... the pitch goes UP as your hand moves down towards the floor, and the pitch goes DOWN as your hands moves towards the cieling.
example........ if you were playing Fig. 1c, you would be playing in an upwards direction (notice your hand moving towards the floor), seeing as how the pitch is going up. and likewise, if you played the example in Fig. 1d, you'd be moving in a downward motion, as the pitch is going down (getting lower)
Fig. 1c Fig. 1d
E----------------------------- E----8--5--------------------
B----------------------------- B----------8--5--------------
G--------------------5--7----- G----------------7--5--------
D--------------5--7----------- D----------------------7--5--
A--------5--7----------------- A----------------------------
E--5--7----------------------- E----------------------------
with that being said and cleared up....... lets move on
Accidental Symbols
Accidentals are little symbols that give us information about what to do with pitches (we'll get to what they're actually telling us in a minute ). they're all pretty easy to understand and each symbol always follows the same rule (ie. a # can only mean one thing, a b can only mean one thing etc... ) and the load is lightened by the fact that there are only 5 of them used in western music*
Accidentals
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/sharp.gif - this symbol here is what's reffered to as a "Sharp". this symbol tells you to raise the pitch of a note by a 1/2 step.
example.... what if someone were to ask you to play an F#?, well, you know that the first fret on the E string is an F (see Fig. 2a). so by simply knowing the rule of the "#" (that it raises the pitch by a 1/2 step) and knowing that a 1/2 step is = to one fret (you should, after reading the last lesson ). you should be able to figure out that F# is the second fret on the E string as in Fig. 2b
Fig. 2a Fig. 2b
F F#
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----1------- E----2-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/flat.gif - this symbol is called a "Flat". This symbol tells you to lower a pitch by a 1/2 step.
Example..... Play a Gb. by knowing what you learned previously (and hopefully having begun to thoroughly memorize the note names on the neck) you know that one of the G's Lies on the 3rd fret E string as in Fig 2c.. well, if you know the 3rd fret is G, and you know that a b is telling you to lower the pitch by a 1/2 step, what fret is Gb on? ........... hopefully you said 2nd fret (as in Fig. 2d) if not.... get out :p:
Fig. 2c Fig. 2d
G Gb
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----3------- E----2-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/dblsharp.gif - the symbol to the left is the Double Sharp symbol. when placed in in front of a pitch, it tells you to raise the pitch by a whole step. (seeing as how a normal # tells you to raise it a 1/2 step, the X raising it a W step makes sense ;) )
Fig. 2e Fig. 2f
F Fx
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----1------- E----3-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/dblflat.gif - the symbol to the left is the Double Flat symbol. when placed in in front of a pitch, it tells you to Lower the pitch by a whole step. (and once again, seeing as how a normal b tells you to lower it a 1/2 step, the bb lowering it a W step makes sense ;) )
Fig. 2g Fig. 2h
G Gbb
E------------ E------------
B------------ B------------
G------------ G------------
D------------ D------------
A------------ A------------
E----3------- E----1-------
http://www.treblis.com/Notation/natural.gif - this is a natural symbol. basically, all this does is cancel out a previous accidental. this is really only used for musical notation.
if you have a note with a any accidental (ie. #, b, X, or bb) and the next note after that has a natural symbol, it returns the note to it's natural state. for example ..... if you see on a music staff a Gb and then a G with the natural symbol, it returns the G to it's natural state. if there were no natural symbol, the G would remain flatted for the rest of the measure ( we'll get more into that if i decide to do one on sight reading)
Enharmonic whatsa?!
"well cas, im confused, i thought the 2nd fret was F#, now you're telling me it's a Gb. and you're saying Gbb is the same fret as F ?!..... boy, this makes me want to wet my pants :( " ahh do not trouble yourself young padawan. there is no reason to be confused. this is simply whats known as enharmonic tones
simply put....... an enharmonic tone is the same pitch, but it can have 2 names (ie. Gb and F# are the same exact pitch, they're just spelled differently. ) we'll get into the reasons why at a later date. just know that a # is always the same pitch as the b of the note above it (ie. A# = Bb, C#=Db ... and vice versa ... Db = C# , Eb = D# etc... )
Basic Rule Alert
<ul><li>1.)Accidental symbols, when written on paper, are ALWAYS placed to the RIGHT of a letter (ie. Bb ... G#....Dx ..... Ebb etc... )
<li>2.) Accidental Symbols, when being applied to Degrees/Intervals (ie. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths) they always go to the LEFT of the interval (ie. b3rd or b3, #4th or #4, b9th or b9 etc... you get the point )
<li>Accidental symbols when written on the staff (ie. musical notation) the accidental symbol ALWAYS appears to the left of the note. as in fig 2c.
Fig 3
Accidentals as they're written on staff paper
http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/examples/Accidentals.gif
</ul><br /><br />