At the very beginning of any piece of notated music, you will be able to deduce three pieces of information. The answers lie in the following three markings:
Clef
Key Signature
Time Signature
...and they always occur in that order (alphabetical - C,K,T).
But what to they mean? What do they represent? Do you need to know them?
Beginners can often get a bit confused as to what they mean, so here I am to explain them in the simplest ways I can.
Clef
What is a Clef?
The clef is a symbol that tells us, in the simplest way possible, where Middle C is on the stave.
The stave refers to the group of 5 lines on which the notes are printed. If you started at the bottom and put a note on the lower line and worked up, filling all lines and spaces until you reach the top line, you'll notice you only have a range of 9 notes.
The piano has 88!
So the positioning of Middle C is extremely important as it tells us where our hands are playing - not only what note, but which of that note.
On the piano, you will most commonly use treble clef and bass clef. Middle C occurs one imaginary line (called a ledger line) below the stave on the treble clef and one ledger line above the stave on the bass clef. Therefore, they kind of mirror each other.
Because nine out of ten pieces you play - particularly as a beginner - will have the right hand playing above the left hand, it is logical to assume that treble clef typically takes a right hand position and bass clef takes left hand position. So, because your left hand is playing lower notes, it uses bass clef to ensure that the notes you are playing are more likely to fall within the legible spaces and lines of the stave, thus negating the need for ledger lines. The exact same principal applies when playing in the right hand, as you are more likely to be playing notes above Middle C, therefore most of the notes will fall comfortably in the lines and spaces of the stave.
Are there other types of clef?
There are, however as a pianist you will not be expected to use them unless you are transposing music from a different instrument that would use that clef.
For example, the alto clef puts Middle C on the middle line of the stave. However, you will almost never find a piece of piano music using this. It will, however, benefit you to know about it as you become more advanced and wish to progress your music theory understanding and transposition skills.
Going Higher than Treble and Lower than Bass
Nine notes is still not many that we can comfortably fit in the spaces and on the lines of a stave, and you may wonder how we designate higher or lower notes. For example, notes at the absolute top of the piano.
There are three ways to do this:
Ledger Lines - If it's just a few incidental notes, or you're not going too far above or below the surface, ledger lines are fine to use.
8va and 8vb / 15va and 15vb Lines - for longer passages, you may see 8va and 15va lines above the music or 8vb or 15bv lines below. 8va means to play an octave higher, 8vb means play an octave lower. 15va means play two octaves higher. 15vb means play two octaves lower.
8va and 8b / 15va and 15b Clefs - similarly to the passages, but when you are wanting to allocate significantly longer passages - if not the whole piece - to the extreme high or low of the keyboard, you can add the octave markings to the clef, meaning everything in the music - unless otherwise marked - is played higher or lower in the same capacity as the lines would implicate above.
Key Signature
What is a Key Signature?
When we start learning piano, we frequently start by learning pieces of music that we are told are 'in the key of' C major. From a pianist's point of view, C major is the key that uses all white notes on the piano.
But...what does it mean?!
To put this as simply as I possibly can, a key signature refers to the regular set of sharp or flat notes within a piece of music. It is marked at the beginning of a piece of music by way of marking all the notes that will be sharp or flat (unless marked otherwise as 'natural') so that the music doesn't have to specify every single time.
Every set of sharps or flats within a piece of music can be associated with a scale, and this scale creates the key signature.
Until you start learning more about different keys, it can be a tricky one to comprehend. Especially if you have begun with C major as this isn't specifically marked on the music (all notes in the C major scale are natural - C - D - E - F - G - A - B i.e. neither sharp 'nor flat). However, if we take a basic example.
In the below example, we can see that the F is sharpened.
The scale that contains an F# as its only sharp note is G major.
Therefore, this piece of music is in G major.
However, there is a trip hazard...
...can a Key Signature be in the Minor Key?
It can!
If you can deduce the major key of a key signature, bear in mind that by looking at the music alone, you could also be in that key signature's relative minor.
To find the relative minor, find the root note and count three notes down (three semitones - i.e. count every note whether it be black or white).
This is the root note of the relative minor scale.
For example, if we keep our example in G major and count down three notes, we get to E. So the relative minor of G major is E minor.
Therefore, our piece of music could be in G major, but it could also be in E minor.
How do you Find a Key Signature?
The most commonly used tool to help people find the key signature is called the Circle of Fifths.
Sadly, my passion for graphic design is vastly less than my passion for music, so whilst it's possible to find infinitely more artistic interpretations on the Internet, here's a rough idea:
Circle of Fifths
The Circle of Fifths helps us deduce keys from sharps, starting with the key of C major and 0 sharps (remember that C Major is all natural!). As we go round it, we are progressing in perfect fifths to our new root note (C - G - D - A - E - B), all the while whilst adding a brand new sharp to the mix (F# for G major, C# for D major etc.).
The order that new notes are added is always the order that sharps are notated on the key signature in music (F, C, G, D, A, E, B). One way to remember this order is with the acronym 'Fast Cars Go Driving Around Everywhere'.
Circle of Fourths
The Circle of Fourths works exactly the same way as the Circle of Fifths, except it helps us to find key signatures with flats. Again starting with C major and 0 flats, this time ascending in perfect fourths (F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb - Cb) all the while adding a brand new flat note (Bb for F major, Eb for Bb major etc.)
The order that new notes are added is always the order that flats are notated on the key signature in music (B, E, A, D, G, C, F). Aside from the first four letters spelling 'Bead', you could remember the acronym 'Battle Ends and Down Goes Charles Father'.
The "Real" Circle of Fifths
The real circle of fifths that you will see most frequently is kind of a mixture of the two and creates the titular never ending 'Circle'. Starting from C major and 0 sharps or flats, you can progress right to work through key signatures with sharps or left to work with key signatures with flats. However, when you get about halfway, you'll notice that it switches from flats to sharps or from sharps to flats depending on which direction you're travelling. This is to eliminate the need for excess sharps or flats and for simplifying the key signature.
Finding a Key Signature
Count the number of sharps or flats in the key signature at the beginning of the music, then cross reference against the portion of the Circle of Fourths / Fifths with that many sharps or flats. This is the key signature. Don't forget there's a relative minor for every major key signature!
Time Signature
What is a Time Signature?
The time signature tells us not only how many beats are in a bar, but what kind of beats are in the bar.
If you see a 'C' at the beginning of the music, this is a time signature marking which means 'Common Time'. Common Time is 4/4 time.
The number on top denotes how many beats are in the bar.
The number on the bottom tells you what kind of beats, assuming:
2 = minim / half notes
4 = crotchet / quarter notes
8 = quaver / eighth notes
16 = semiquaver / sixteenth notes
So, 4/4 means 4 crotchets in a bar.
Time Signature Examples
To give an idea of some commonly used time signatures:
2/4 - March
3/4 - Waltz
4/4 - Common Time
12/8 - Slow Rock
Differentiating Between Time Signatures
Sometimes we can be lulled into a false sense of security thinking that two time signatures are the same, however you have to always remember that the number on the bottom is specifying how beats are broken up.
For example, 3/4 implies that you count a very definite 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 3 etc., and the main hits are on these beats (explaining why this is used for waltz time).
However, if we see a piece in 6/8 our mathematical minds might be drawn to the conclusion that it is the same.
On paper it is, however 6/8 is used at a time where we need to get between those beats. The most common example of this is if we were counting 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a...etc.
Whilst is is certainly possible to write this rhythm in 3/4, writing it in 6/8 allows for these notes to be much better represented as we are already counting between the 3 beats that 3/4 would imply.
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