(Ukulele songs) Sheet Music Theory: Time Signatures

September 1st, 2008 admin Posted in music |

By Victor Epand

If you are a new music student there will be a few things you must learn before you can read sheet music. One of the first questions you might hear is what a beat might be. Most new music students will give the only answer that they have. They will answer that they do not know. In a rough sort of way a beat could be considered a measurement of time but it is also more, and less, than that.

The first thing that determines the definition of a beat is the time signature that is found at the front of the stave on a piece of sheet music. It is represented by one number placed above another. One of the most common time signatures in composition is that of 4/4 time. The first thing you must do is to break the time signature down and figure out exactly what it is telling you. The top number four in this particular time lets you know that there are four beats in each bar. The bottom number is a little more daunting for beginners. It can involve more than most can comprehend at the beginning.

One of the reasons that 4/4 time is so popular with many new music students is that it is easier to understand the breakdown of the two figures. In 4/4 time the beats can be easily shown by using a quarter note for each beat. When you move on to other time signatures you will find that other notes can actually be worth one beat also but once you understand the bottom figure of the time signature itself you will easily comprehend the value of one beat within that particular piece of sheet music.

When looking at your time signature keep in mind that the bottom number is actually a fraction of a whole note. In 4/4 time this means that each whole note can be divided into four parts. You could also ask yourself the question, “four of which sort of note will equal one whole note?” In this case it is four quarter notes that equal one whole note. Basically what you are looking at is a description letting you know that each beat is equal to one quarter note and that there are four quarter note beats in each bar.

Another example would be to use a time signature such as 2/2 time. According to the bottom number there would be two parts when you divide the whole note out thusly. This would end up as a half note, so each beat would be worth one half note and there would be two half notes in each bar. There are many more kinds of time signatures that you will learn as a music student but for many of the this basic technique will help you to understand the basic of the time signature when reading your sheet music. Once you move on to reading signatures such as 6/8 time or even more complex ones such as 12/8 you will find that they are not so daunting as you might have first thought.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music reading, guitar tab, and home theater audio.

Sheet Music In The Middle Ages
By Victor Epand

The latter half of the Middle Ages (circa 1000 CE to 1500 CE) was a turning point in European history. Having finally emerged from the Dark Ages (circa 500 CE to 1000 CE), European civilization finally began to recover the ground it had lost when Rome fell. One of the results of this recovery was the re-emergence of recorded music, or sheet music in both religious and secular life.

During the Middle Ages, Catholicism was the central power in Europe. It was incorporated into every aspect of life and its power stretched to every corner of the known world. And one of the methods through which the Church asserted its power was music. Although modern churches regularly use music as a natural part of worship, the pairing of music and Christianity has not always been so straightforward. A thousand years ago, music was often regarded as sinful. The problem was, churchgoers tended to enjoy it, and the fathers of Catholicism understood that it could be used to strengthen people’s ties to the Church.

Accordingly, music was eventually incorporated into Catholic worship, and vise versa. The sheet music of the era is often adorned with religious frescos. The monasteries and abbeys of the period created and stored huge quantities of sheet music, up to 4000 texts at a time in some cases. Indeed, it was this mass production of recorded music that led to the evolution of square notation. The monks needed a universal way to record and recognize the music written by their peers in other monasteries; square notation made this possible.

However, church was not the only place a person living in the Middle Ages would hear music, not by a long shot. Also common at the time were wandering poets, or troubadours, who were the keepers and purveyors of secular music. Some of the oldest surviving sheet music was written by these people, who were encouraged in their work by patrons such as Eleanor of Aquitaine. The area of Provence, modern day southern France, was particularly known for its troubadours, and the region is said to have been known as The Land of Song.

The Church is known to have fought the advent and proliferation of secular music, which it would certainly have regarded as sinful in the extreme. However, fortunately for us, it was unable to stem the music’s spread. The most popular topic of such secular music was that of courtly love, which may explain why the Church was so against it. Courtly love deals with situations in which lovers are unable to consummate their feelings, usually because one or both is wed to another. This theme is still famous today thanks to the well-known story of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot. Other popular secular topics included the seasons, the crusades, beautiful women, and nature, all of which were idealized and exalted in song. Such songs would never have become as ubiquitous as they were, however, without the sheet music produced by the troubadours of the age.

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Damage And Destruction Of Musical Instrument By Water
By Gayelord Nash

What can be done if your guitar is found sitting in a place full of water in your flooded home? Is it practical to repair the extensive impairment to the instrument that has provided untold happiness over the years? More folks may think their guitar is destroyed and should be thrown out. This is often not the case. If you get the flooded guitar to a water damage restoration pro rapidly enough, it can likely be fixed. This will be an expensive operation so it is necessary to decide how precious the guitar is before you determine to mend it rather than buy another one. Locate a certified and insured pro guitar restoration specialist. Assess their references to be positive that the water damage restoration specialist is reputable.

A water damaged guitar may sustain a warped neck, mutilated veneer, neck coat peeling, oxidation of the string section, screws and bridge handles and glue becoming undone. There are some steps that are essential to be taken to restore a water damaged guitar. First, remove the strings, pegs, and the bridge. Remove any additional parts. Then the ruined veneer needs to be removed. This may be done using wet to dry sanding of a rather granular grit to take the polish off. The neck and body must be washed with rubbing alcohol to better serve to vaporize any lingering wetness. When the veneer is completely taken away, it should be hung up to breathe and dry. This could take several weeks.

When the guitar is drying out, the hardware, pegs, and screws should have the oxidization removed with a soft brass applicator and light oil. Pat the pieces dry and shine with a lint free material. Set these pieces to one side until all of the refurbishment has been done.

If the neck and fingerboard of the guitar was bowed and distorted, the neck will have to be made straight if the guitar is to be salvaged. This is accomplished by taking off the frets and fastening the neck really firmly to produce a flat keyboard. Then the neck must be evenly heated until the paste under the fingerboard becomes pliant. With the neck clamped in its new place, the gum below the fingerboard is reset. After staying fastened for several days, the neck and front of the guitar must be shaved and redesigned as well as sanded to strip off peeling veneer. Once the keyboard is set correctly right, it should be sanded and oiled.

The neck and head must be sanded and painted with linseed oil and mineral spirits over and over again. After this is over then to complete the neck and head, new frets should be put in. Then the interminable activity of sanding and finishing the body starts. This may demand numerous coats to accomplish a nice finish. When the finish is finished the hardware, bridgeplate, and pegs must be replaced. The guitar can then be strung. When there is pressure on the neck of the guitar from the strings, the keyboard and frets require to be attuned as well as other pieces of the hardware to fine tune the mechanics of the strings. Once this is accomplished, the water damaged guitar renovation has been done.

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