Instrument Families

Musical Instrument Families

• String Family:

  • Violin
  • Viola
  • Cello
  • Double bass
  • Guitar
  • Harp
  • Banjo
  • Mandolin
  • Ukulele
  • Sitar
  • Zither
  • Kora
  • Box bass

• Woodwind Family:

  • Flute
  • Piccolo
  • Clarinet
  • Oboe
  • Bassoon
  • Saxophone
  • English horn
  • Bass clarinet
  • Contrabassoon
  • Recorder

• Brass Family:

  • Trumpet
  • French horn
  • Trombone
  • Tuba
  • Cornet
  • Flugelhorn
  • Euphonium
  • Sousaphone
  • Baritone horn
  • Mellophone

• Percussion Family:

  • Timpani
  • Snare drum
  • Bass drum
  • Xylophone
  • Marimba
  • Cymbals
  • Triangle
  • Tambourine
  • Glockenspiel
  • Tubular bells

Fundamentals of Meter and Time Signatures

• Definition of Meter: The arrangement of rhythms in a piece of music into a repetitive pattern of strong and weak pulses.
• Classification of Meter:
  • Simple Meter: A meter in which the primary pulse can be subdivided into $2$ equal parts.
  • Compound Meter: A meter classification in which the subdivision of pulses follows compound structural groupings.
• Definition of Time Signature: A system of two numbers placed on or near the beginning of a musical piece that informs the performer how many and what type of pulses are arranged into small sections called measures.
• Structure and Function of Time Signatures:
  • Top Number: Helps separate notes into groups of strong and weak pulses and tells how many pulses are grouped into a single measure.
  • Bottom Number: Dictates which note value is read and counted as one pulse.
• Example of $\frac{4}{4}$ Time Signature:
  • The top number indicates there are $4$ pulses per measure.
  • The bottom number indicates that a crotchet (quarter note) is counted as one pulse.
  • Therefore, there are $4$ crotchet pulses in each measure or bar.
• Measures and Barlines:
  • Measure: Small section into which pulses are arranged.
  • Barline: A single vertical line that separates individual measures.
  • Double Bar Line: Indicates that the music bars come to an end.

Common Time vs. Cut Time

• Effect of Changing the Bottom Number:
  • When the bottom number is $4$, the pulse is read as a crotchet (quarter note).
  • When the bottom number changes to $2$, the pulse is read as a minim (half note).
  • Changing the bottom number from $4$ to $2$ alters the feel of the music: it removes a busy, bouncy feel and replaces it with a heavy, wider feel.
• Common Time:
  • Meter: $\frac{4}{4}$
  • Symbol: $\text{C}$
  • Holds $4$ crotchet beats per measure.
• Cut Time:
  • Meter: $\frac{2}{2}$
  • Symbol: Cut time symbol (the letter $\text{C}$ with a vertical line through it)
  • Holds the exact same amount of musical notes in a measure as $\frac{4}{4}$ meter.
  • Differs in feel because only $2$ pulses are felt per measure instead of $4$.
  • Creates a movement that feels like a walking or marching tempo.

Musical Notation: Staff, Clefs, Pitch, and Mnemonics

• Pitch and Staff Position:
  • The higher a note is placed on the staff, the higher its pitch.
  • When a note is placed on a line or in a space, it takes the letter name assigned to that line or space.
  • Lines and spaces remain constant until the clef changes.
• Clef Mnemonics and Treble Clef Reading:
  • Tools and mnemonics are used to remember line and space letter names across clefs.
  • Treble Clef Spaces: Reading from bottom to top, the spaces spell the word FACE ($\text{F}$, $\text{A}$, $\text{C}$, $\text{E}$).
  • Treble Clef Lines: The lines from bottom to top correspond to the pitches $\text{E}$, $\text{G}$, $\text{B}$, $\text{D}$, $\text{F}$.
  • Staff Pitch Sequences: Pitch letter names ordered across lines and spaces include $\text{E}$, $\text{D}$, $\text{C}$, $\text{B}$, $\text{A}$, $\text{G}$, $\text{F}$, $\text{E}$, $\text{D}$, $\text{C}$, $\text{B}$, $\text{A}$.

Note Values, Durations, and Rests

• Whole Note (Semibreve):
  • Duration: $4$ beats.
  • Rest Symbol: Represented as a solid rectangle hanging under line $4$ (or under line $3$).
• Half Note (Minim):
  • Duration: $2$ beats.
  • Rest Symbol: Represented as a solid rectangle sitting on top of line $3$.
• Quarter Note (Crotchet):
  • Duration: $1$ beat.
  • Rest Symbol: Represented as a squiggly vertical symbol.
• Eighth Note (Quaver):
  • Duration: $\frac{1}{2}$ beat.
  • Rest Symbol: Represented as a symbol resembling the number $7$ with a single hook/flag.
• Sixteenth Note (Semiquaver):
  • Duration: $\frac{1}{4}$ beat.
  • Rest Symbol: Represented as a symbol resembling the number $7$ with a double flag.