Music notation is often used alongside tablature (tab) to provide instruction for the rhythmic value of each note. It is not necessary to read music notation for pitch values to be able to play music unless you are thinking of joining a classical orchestra. Reading tab works great for ukulele players in identifying what notes to play on the fretboard, but if we don’t know how long each note is meant to last, then it can be almost impossible to play in time and with the correct rhythm, especially playing melody lines.
Below are some basic music theory illustrations to help develop a better understanding of recognising each notes length and rhythmic value. As well as notation, there are also rests, which are just as important. These indicate the silence between notes that make up musical phrases. Displayed are both the English and American note names, so that you can learn two music languages in one go.
First, it is important to know about “TIME SIGNATURES”, usually found at the start of a music score:
Below are some basic music theory illustrations to help develop a better understanding of recognising each notes length and rhythmic value. As well as notation, there are also rests, which are just as important. These indicate the silence between notes that make up musical phrases. Displayed are both the English and American note names, so that you can learn two music languages in one go.
First, it is important to know about “TIME SIGNATURES”, usually found at the start of a music score:
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Time signature means that there are 4 beats in each bar or measure. This is also known as “COMMON TIME” and can often be displayed with these symbols instead of equative numbers:
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The root notes of each of the three chords fall under scale positions: 1, 4 and 5, which will give you the root notes of C, F & G. If you know your chord families, then you will know that each of these root notes belong to major chords so the three chords you will play are:
Time, known as “WALTZ TIME”, contains 3 beats per bar from a division of quarter notes.
Is otherwise known as “MARCH TIME”, contains just two quarter beats per bar.
Most popular songs tend to be written in time and have tempos that range between 70BPM (slow) – 180BPM (very fast) (BPM = Beats per minute).
RECOGNISING NOT VALUES
It is also important to note that any of these notes can also be written as DOTTED NOTES too, which will give them an extra half-length of their original note value.
E.G: a Half note with a dot placed after it will equal 3 beats instead of 2.
E.G: a Half note with a dot placed after it will equal 3 beats instead of 2.
A bar or measure is how the music notation is divided onto a music score and in tablature with all notes within each measure (including rests) adding up to match the set time signature.
Some other symbols to be able to identify are HAMMER ONS, PULL OFFS, SLIDES, BENDS, VIBRATO and TREMELO. All of these musical terms with examples can be explored further in the UKULELE BLUES FOR BEGINNERS COURSE.
Some other symbols to be able to identify are HAMMER ONS, PULL OFFS, SLIDES, BENDS, VIBRATO and TREMELO. All of these musical terms with examples can be explored further in the UKULELE BLUES FOR BEGINNERS COURSE.