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 The
4/4 actually represents a fraction. Four
quarters (fourths) added together equal
1. Let's look at some examples below.
*
1 = 1 (1 whole note equals
one measure).
*
1/2+1/2
= 1 (2 half notes added together
equal one measure).
*
1/4+1/4+1/4+1/4
= 1 (4 quarter notes added
together equal one measure).
*
1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8
= 1 (8 eighth notes added
together equal one measure).
*
1/16+1/16+1/16+1/16+1/8+1/8+1/4+1/4
= 1 (4 sixteenth notes,
2 eighth notes, and 2 quarter notes added
together equal one measure).
As
you can see, any combination that equals
one is fine.
One
last thing to learn.
This
fraction (4/4) that you see at the beginning
of the Treble or Bass clefs is called the
"Time Signature."
When I ask you to refer to the "Time
Signature" in future lessons, you
will know to look at the fraction at the
beginning of either clef. In future lessons
we will also learn about "Key Signatures."
Both of these signatures will tell you the
important information you will need to know
to play any song.
That's
about it for this lesson. Give yourself a
great hug for getting this far. You now have
all the tools you need to read and play music.
In the next lessons we will put the tools
to work. Let's review the tools you have now.
Tools
Review
*
Melodic
Names (including
sharps and flats) of the notes on
the Keyboard.
*
Melodic
Names (including
sharps and flats) of the notes on
the Staff.
*
Rhythmic
Names of the notes on the Staff (quarter,
eighth, sixteenth, half, and whole).
*
The length (size
or time signature)
of a measure and how to figure it.
*
Treble
Clef (to
be played by your right hand).
*
Bass Clef (to
be played by your left hand).
Before you go, in
lessons to come you will need a music note book with blank staffs in it.
You will be writing musical notes in it. You can purchase this at any music store
that sells sheet music or you can download a GIF
file or Adobe PDF from
here and print it from your browser or Adobe Acrobat on your printer. If you choose
this option, make 8 copies and staple them together into a book for yourself.
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