rudiments of music

Lines

	Staff or stave The fundamental latticework of music notation, upon which symbols are placed. The five staff lines and four intervening spaces correspond to pitches of the diatonic scale - which pitch is meant by a given line or space is defined by the clef. With treble clef, the bottom staff line is assigned to E above middle C (E4 in note-octave notation); the space above it is F4, and so on. The grand staff combines bass and treble staffs into one system joined by a brace. It is used for keyboardand harp music. The lines on a basic five-line staff are designated a number from one to five, the bottom line being the first one and the top line being the fifth. The spaces between the lines are, in the same fashion, numbered from one to four. In music education, for the Treble Clef, the mnemonic "Every Good Boy Does Fine" (or "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge") is used to remember the value of each line from bottom to top. The interstitial spaces are often remembered as spelling the word "face" (notes F-A-C-E).
	Ledger or leger lines Used to extend the staff to pitches that fall above or below it. Such ledger lines are placed behind the note heads, and extend a small distance to each side.
	Bar line Used to separate measures (see time signatures below for an explanation of measures). Bar lines are extended to connect the upper and lower staffs of a grand staff.
	Double bar line, Double barline Used to separate two sections or phrases of music. Also used at changes in key signature or major changes in style or tempo. A bold double bar line indicates the conclusion of a movement or an entire composition.
	Dotted bar line, Dotted barline Subdivides long measures into shorter segments for ease of reading, usually according to natural rhythmic subdivisions.
	Accolade, brace Connects two or more lines of music that are played simultaneously.[1] Depending on the instruments playing, the brace, or accolade, will vary in designs and styles.

[edit]Clefs

Main article: Clef

Clefs define the pitch range, or tessitura, of the staff on which it is placed. A clef is usually the leftmost symbol on a staff. Additional clefs may appear in the middle of a staff to indicate a change in register for instruments with a wide range. In early music, clefs could be placed on any of several lines on a staff.

	G clef (Treble Clef) The centre of the spiral defines the line or space upon which it rests as the pitch G above middle C, or approximately 392 Hz. Positioned here, it assigns G above middle C to the second line from the bottom of the staff, and is referred to as the "treble clef." This is the most commonly encountered clef in modern notation, and is used for most modern vocal music. Middle-C is the 1st ledger line below the stave here. The shape of the clef comes from a stylised upper-case-G.
	C clef (Alto Clef and Tenor Clef) This clef points to the line (or space, rarely) representing middle C, or approximately 262 Hz. Positioned here, it makes the center line on the staff middle C, and is referred to as the "alto clef." This clef is used in modern notation for the viola. While all clefs can be placed anywhere on the staff to indicate various tessitura, the C clef is most often considered a "movable" clef: it is frequently seen pointing instead to the fourth line and called a "tenor clef". This clef is used very often in music written for bassoon, cello, and trombone; it replaces the bass clef when the number of ledger lines above the bass staff hinders easy reading. C clefs were used in vocal music of the classical era and earlier; however, their usage in vocal music has been supplanted by the universal use of the treble and bass clefs. Modern editions of music from such periods generally transpose the original C-clef parts to either treble (female voices), octave treble (tenors), or bass clef (tenors and basses).
	F clef (Bass Clef) The line or space between the dots in this clef denotes F below middle C, or approximately 175 Hz. Positioned here, it makes the second line from the top of the staff F below middle C, and is called a "bass clef." This clef appears nearly as often as the treble clef, especially in choral music, where it represents the bass and baritone voices. Middle C is the 1st ledger line above the stave here. The shape of the clef comes from a stylised upper-case-F (which used to be written the reverse of the modern F)
	Neutral clef Used for pitchless instruments, such as some of those used for percussion. Each line can represent a specific percussion instrument within a set, such as in a drum set. Two different styles of neutral clefs are pictured here. It may also be drawn with a separate single-line staff for each untuned percussion instrument.
	Octave Clef Treble and bass clefs can also be modified by octave numbers. An eight or fifteen above a clef raises the intended pitch range by one or two octaves respectively. Similarly, an eight or fifteen below a clef lowers the pitch range by one or two octaves respectively. A treble clef with an eight below is the most commonly used, typically used instead of a C clef for tenor lines in choral scores. Even if the eight is not present, tenor parts in the treble clef are understood to be sung an octave lower than written.

Tablature
For guitars and other plucked instruments it is possible to notate tablature in place of ordinary notes. In this case, a TAB-sign is often written instead of a clef. The number of lines of the staff is not necessarily five: one line is used for each string of the instrument (so, for standard 6-stringed guitars, six lines would be used). Numbers on the lines show on which fret the string should be played. This Tab-sign, like the Percussion clef, is not a clef in the true sense, but rather a symbol employed instead of a clef. The interstitial spaces on a tablature are never used.

[edit]Notes and rests

Main article: Note value

Note and rest values are not absolutely defined, but are proportional in duration to all other note and rest values. The whole note is the reference value, and the other notes are named (in American) in comparison; i.e. a quarter note is a quarter the length of a whole note.

Note	British name / American name	Rest
	Breve / Double whole note
	Semibreve / Whole note
	Minim / Half note
	Crotchet / Quarter note
	Quaver / Eighth note For notes of this length and shorter, the note has the same number of flags (or hooks) as the rest has branches.
	Semiquaver / Sixteenth note
	Demisemiquaver / Thirty-second note
	Hemidemisemiquaver / Sixty-fourth note
	Beamed notes Beams connect eighth notes (quavers) and notes of shorter value, and are equivalent in value to flags. In metered music, beams reflect the rhythmic grouping of notes. They may also be used to group short phrases of notes of the same value, regardless of the meter; this is more common in ametrical passages. In older printings of vocal music, beams are often only used when several notes are to be sung to one beat; modern notation encourages the use of beaming in a consistent manner with instrumental engraving, and the presence of beams or flags no longer informs the singer. Today, due to the body of music in which traditional metric states are not always assumed, beaming is at the discretion of the composer or arranger and irregular beams are often used to place emphasis on a particular rhythmic pattern.
	Dotted note Placing dots to the right of the corresponding notehead lengthens the note's duration. n dots lengthen the note by its value, e.g. one dot by one-half, two dots by three-quarters, three dots by seven-eighths, and so on. Rests can be dotted in the same manner as notes. For example, if a quarter note had one dot alongside itself, it would get one and a half beats.
	Multi-measure rest Indicates the number of measures in a resting part without a change in meter, used to conserve space and to simplify notation. Also called "gathered rest" or "multi-bar rest".

Durations shorter than the 64th are rare but not unknown. 128th notes are used by Mozart and Beethoven; 256th notes occur in works of Vivaldi and even Beethoven. An extreme case is the Toccata Grande Cromatica by early-19th-century American composer Anthony Phillip Heinrich, which uses note values as short as 2,048ths; however, the context shows clearly that these notes have one beam more than intended, so they should really be 1,024th notes.

The name of very short notes can be found with this formula: Name = 2^{(number of flags on note + 2)}th note.

[edit]Breaks

	Breath mark In a score, this symbol tells the performer to take a breath (or make a slight pause for non-wind instruments). This pause usually does not affect the overall tempo. For bowed instruments, it indicates to lift the bow and play the next note with a downward (or upward, if marked) bow.
	Caesura Indicates a brief, silent pause, during which time is not counted. In ensemble playing, time resumes when so indicated by the conductor or leader.

[edit]Accidentals and key signatures

Main articles: Accidental (music) and Key signature

[edit]Common accidentals

Accidentals modify the pitch of the notes that follow them on the same staff position within a measure, unless cancelled by an additional accidental.

	Flat Lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone.
	Sharp Raises the pitch of a note by one semitone.
	Natural Cancels a previous accidental, or modifies the pitch of a sharp or flat as defined by the prevailing key signature (such as F-sharp in the key of G major, for example).
	Double flat Lowers the pitch of a note by two chromatic semitones. Usually used when the note to be modified is already flatted by the key signature.
	Double sharp Raises the pitch of a note by two chromatic semitones. Usually used when the note to be modified is already sharped by the key signature.

[edit]Key signatures

Key signatures define the prevailing key of the music that follows, thus avoiding the use of accidentals for many notes. If no key signature appears, the key is assumed to be C major/A minor, but can also signify a neutral key, employing individual accidentals as required for each note. The key signature examples shown here are described as they would appear on a treble staff.

Flat key signature Lowers by a semitone the pitch of notes on the corresponding line or space, and all octaves thereof, thus defining the prevailing major or minor key. Different keys are defined by the number of flats in the key signature, starting with the leftmost, i.e., B♭, and proceeding to the right; for example, if only the first two flats are used, the key is B♭ major/G minor, and all B's and E's are "flattened", i.e. lowered to B♭ and E♭.

Sharp key signature Raises by a semitone the pitch of notes on the corresponding line or space, and all octaves thereof, thus defining the prevailing major or minor key. Different keys are defined by the number of sharps in the key signature, also proceeding from left to right; for example, if only the first four sharps are used, the key is E major/C♯ minor, and the corresponding pitches are raised.

[edit]Quarter-tone accidentals

These are examples of the most common notation for music involving quarter tones. (Microtonal notation in Western music is not widely standardized and other symbols may be used instead of the ones below.)

	Demiflat Lowers the pitch of a note by one quarter tone. (Another notation for the demiflat is a flat with a diagonal slash through its stem. In systems where pitches are divided into intervals smaller than a quarter tone, the slashed flat represents a lower note than the reversed flat.)
	Flat-and-a-half (sesquiflat) Lowers the pitch of a note by three quarter tones.
	Demisharp Raises the pitch of a note by one quarter tone.
	Sharp-and-a-half Raises the pitch of a note by three quarter tones. Occasionally represented with two vertical and three diagonal bars instead.

[edit]Time signatures

Main article: Time signature

Time signatures define the meter of the music. Music is "marked off" in uniform sections called bars or measures, and time signatures establish the number of beats in each. This is not necessarily intended to indicate which beats are emphasized, however. A time signature that conveys information about the way the piece actually sounds is thus chosen. Time signatures tend to suggest, but only suggest, prevailing groupings of beats or pulses.

	Specific time The bottom number represents the note value of the basic pulse of the music (in this case the 4 represents the crotchet or quarter-note). The top number indicates how many of these note values appear in each measure. This example announces that each measure is the equivalent length of three crotchets (quarter-notes). You would pronounce this as "Three Four Time", and was referred to as a "perfect" time.
	Common time This symbol is a throwback to sixteenth century rhythmic notation, when it represented 2/4, or "imperfect time". Today it represents 4/4.
	Alla breve or Cut time This symbol represents 2/2 time, indicating two minim (or half-note) beats per measure. Here, a crotchet (or quarter note) would get half a beat.
	Metronome mark Written at the start of a score, and at any significant change of tempo, this symbol precisely defines the tempo of the music by assigning absolute durations to all note values within the score. In this particular example, the performer is told that 120 crotchets, or quarter notes, fit into one minute of time. Many publishers precede the marking with letters "M.M.", referring to Maelzel's Metronome.

[edit]Note relationships

	Tie Indicates that the two (or more) notes joined together are to be played as one note with the time values added together. To be a tie, the notes must be identical; that is, they must be on the same line or the same space; otherwise, it is a slur (see below).
	Slur Indicates that two or more notes are to be played in one physical stroke, one uninterrupted breath, or (on instruments with neither breath nor bow) connected into a phrase as if played in a single breath. In certain contexts, a slur may only indicate that the notes are to be played legato; in this case, rearticulation is permitted. Slurs and ties are similar in appearance. A tie is distinguishable because it always joins exactly two immediate adjacent notes of the same pitch, whereas a slur may join any number of notes of varying pitches. A phrase mark (or less commonly, ligature) is a mark that is visually identical to a slur, but connects a passage of music over several measures. A phrase mark indicates a musical phrase and may not necessarily require that the music be slurred.
	Glissando or Portamento A continuous, unbroken glide from one note to the next that includes the pitches between. Some instruments, such as the trombone, timpani, non-fretted string instruments, electronic instruments, and the human voice can make this glide continuously (portamento), while other instruments such as the piano or mallet instruments will blur the discrete pitches between the start and end notes to mimic a continuous slide (glissando).
	Tuplet A number of notes of irregular duration are performed within the duration of a given number of notes of regular time value; e.g., five notes played in the normal duration of four notes; seven notes played in the normal duration of two; three notes played in the normal duration of four. Tuplets are named according to the number of irregular notes; e.g., duplets, triplets, quadruplets, etc.
	Chord Several notes sounded simultaneously ("solid" or "block"), or in succession ("broken"). Two-note chords are called dyad; three-note chords are called triads. A chord may contain any number of notes.
	Arpeggiated chord A chord with notes played in rapid succession, usually ascending, each note being sustained as the others are played.

[edit]Dynamics

Main article: Dynamics (music)

Dynamics are indicators of the relative intensity or volume of a musical line.

	Pianississimo Extremely soft. Very infrequently does one see softer dynamics than this, which are specified with additional ps.
	Pianissimo Very soft. Usually the softest indication in a piece of music, though softer dynamics are often specified with additional ps.
	Piano Soft. Usually the most often used indication.
	Mezzo piano Literally, half as soft as piano.
	Mezzo forte Similarly, half as loud as forte. More commonly used than mezzo-piano. If no dynamic appears, mezzo-forte is assumed to be the prevailing dynamic level.
	Forte Loud. Used as often as piano to indicate contrast.
	Fortissimo Very loud. Usually the loudest indication in a piece, though louder dynamics are often specified with additional fs (such as fortississimo - seen below).
	Fortississimo Extremely loud. Very infrequently does one see louder dynamics than this, which are specified with additional fs.
	Sforzando Literally "forced", denotes an abrupt, fierce accent on a single sound or chord. When written out in full, it applies to the sequence of sounds or chords under or over which it is placed.
	Crescendo A gradual increase in volume. Can be extended under many notes to indicate that the volume steadily increases during the passage.
	Diminuendo Also decrescendo A gradual decrease in volume. Can be extended in the same manner as crescendo.

Other commonly used dynamics build upon these values. For example "piano-pianissimo" (represented as 'ppp' meaning so softly as to be almost inaudible, and forte-fortissimo, ('fff') meaning extremely loud. In some European countries, use of this dynamic has been virtually outlawed as endangering the hearing of the performers.^[2] A small "s" in front of the dynamic notations means "subito", and means that the dynamic is to be changed to the new notation rapidly. Subito is commonly used with sforzandos, but all other notations, most commonly as "sff" (subitofortissimo) or "spp" (subitopianissimo).

Forte-piano A section of music in which the music should initially be played loudly (forte), then immediately softly (piano).

Another value that rarely appears is niente, which means 'nothing'. This may be used at the end of a diminuendo to indicate 'fade out to nothing'.

[edit]Articulation marks

Articulations (or accents) specify how individual notes are to be performed within a phrase or passage. They can be fine-tuned by combining more than one such symbol over or under a note. They may also appear in conjunction with phrasing marks listed above.

	Staccato This indicates that the note is to be played shorter than notated, usually half the value, the rest of the metric value is then silent. Staccato marks may thus appear on notes of any value, thus shortening their actual performed duration without speeding up the music itself.
	Staccatissimo Indicates a longer silence after the note (as described above), making the note very short. Usually applied to quarter notes or shorter. (In the past, this marking’s meaning was more ambiguous: it sometimes was used interchangeably with staccato, and sometimes indicated an accent and not staccato. These usages are now almost defunct, but still appear in some scores.)
	Dynamic accent The note is played louder or with a harder attack than any surrounding unaccented notes. May appear on notes of any duration.
	Tenuto This symbol has several meanings. It usually indicates that it be played for its full value, or slightly longer. It may indicate a separate attack on the note, or may indicate legato, in contrast to the dot of staccato. Combining a tenuto with a staccato dot indicates a slightly detaching ("portato" or "mezzo staccato").
	Marcato The note is played much louder or with a much stronger attack than any surrounding unaccented notes. May appear on notes of any duration. Also called petit chapeau.
	Left-hand pizzicato or Stopped note A note on a stringed instrument where the string is plucked with the left hand (the hand that usually stops the strings) rather than bowed. On the horn, this accent indicates a "stopped note" (a note played with the stopping hand shoved further into the bell of the horn).
	Snap pizzicato On a stringed instrument, a note played by stretching a string away from the frame of the instrument and letting it go, making it "snap" against the frame. Also known as a Bartók pizzicato.
	Natural harmonic or Open note On a stringed instrument, denotes that a natural harmonic is to be played. On a valved brass instrument, denotes that the note is to be played "open" (without lowering any valve, or without mute). In organ music, this denotes that a pedal note is to be played with the heel.
	Fermata (Pause) An indefinitely-sustained note or chord. Usually appears over all parts at the same metrical location in a piece, to show a halt in tempo. It can be placed above or below the note.
	Up bow or Sull'arco On a bowed string instrument, the note is played while drawing the bow upward. On a plucked string instrument played with a plectrum or pick (such as a guitar played pickstyle or a mandolin), the note is played with an upstroke. In organ notation, this marking indicates to play the pedal note with the toe.
	Down bow or Giù arco Like sull'arco, except the bow is drawn downward. On a plucked string instrument played with a plectrum or pick (such as a guitar played pickstyle or a mandolin), the note is played with a downstroke. Also note in organ notation, this marking indicates to play the pedal note with the heel.

[edit]Ornaments

Ornaments modify the pitch pattern of individual notes.

	Trill A rapid alternation between the specified note and the next higher note (according to key signature) within its duration. Also called a "shake." When followed by a wavy horizontal line, this symbol indicates an extended, or running, trill. In much music, the trill begins on the upper auxiliary note.
	Mordent Rapidly play the principal note, the next higher note (according to key signature) then return to the principal note for the remaining duration. In much music, the mordent begins on the auxiliary note, and the alternation between the two notes may be extended.
	Mordent (lower) Rapidly play the principal note, the note below it, then return to the principal note for the remaining duration. In much music, the mordent begins on the auxiliary note, and the alternation between the two notes may be extended.
	Turn When placed directly above the note, the turn (also known as a gruppetto) indicates a sequence of upper auxiliary note, principal note, lower auxiliary note, and a return to the principal note. When placed to the right of the note, the principal note is played first, followed by the above pattern. A vertical line placed through the turn reverses the order of the auxiliary notes.
	Appoggiatura The first half of the principal note's duration has the pitch of the grace note (the first two-thirds if the principal note is a dotted note).
	Acciaccatura The acciaccatura is of very brief duration, as though brushed on the way to the principal note, which receives virtually all of its notated duration.

[edit]Octaves

	Ottava alta Notes below the dashed line are played one octave higher than notated.		Ottava bassa Notes above the dashed line are played one octave lower than notated.
	Quindicesima alta Notes below the dashed line are played two octaves higher.		Quindicesima bassa Notes below the dashed line are played two octaves lower. The notation and dashed line are usually written below the staff, rather than above as shown here.[3]

[edit]Repetition and codas

	Tremolo A rapidly-repeated note. If the tremolo is between two notes, then they are played in rapid alternation. The number of slashes through the stem (or number of diagonal bars between two notes) indicates the frequency at which the note is to be repeated (or alternated). As shown here, the note is to be repeated at a demisemiquaver (thirty-second note) rate. In percussion notation, tremolos are used to indicate rolls, diddles, and drags. Typically, a single tremolo line on a sufficiently short note (such as a sixteenth) is played as a drag, and a combination of three stem and tremolo lines indicates a double-stroke roll (or a single-stroke roll, in the case of timpani, mallet percussions and some untuned percussion instrument such as triangle and bass drum) for a period equivalent to the duration of the note. In other cases, the interpretation of tremolos is highly variable, and should be examined by the director and performers.
	Repeat signs Enclose a passage that is to be played more than once. If there is no left repeat sign, the right repeat sign sends the performer back to the start of the piece or the nearest double bar.
	Simile marks Denote that preceding groups of beats or measures are to be repeated. In the examples here, the 1st usually means to repeat the previous bar, and the 2nd usually means to repeat the previous 2 bars.
	Volta brackets (1st and 2nd endings, or 1st and 2nd time bars) Denote that a repeated passage is to be played in different ways on different playings.
	Da capo Tells the performer to repeat playing of the music from its beginning. This is followed by al fine, which means to repeat to the word fine and stop, or al coda, which means repeat to the coda sign and then jump forward.
	Dal segno Tells the performer to repeat playing of the music starting at the nearest segno. This is followed by al fine or al coda just as with da capo.
	Segno Mark used with dal segno.
	Coda Indicates a forward jump in the music to its ending passage, marked with the same sign. Only used after playing through aD.S. al coda or D.C. al coda.

[edit]Instrument-specific notation

[edit]Guitar

The guitar has a right-hand fingering notation system derived from the names of the fingers in Spanish. They are written above, below, or beside the note to which they are attached. They read as follows:

Symbol	Spanish	English
p	pulgar	thumb
i	índice	index
m	medio	middle
a	anular	ring
c, x, e, q, a	meñique	little

[edit]Piano

[edit]Pedal marks

These pedal marks appear in music for instruments with sustain pedals, such as the piano, vibraphone and chimes.

	Engage pedal Tells the player to put the sustain pedal down.
	Release pedal Tells the player to let the sustain pedal up.
	Variable pedal mark More accurately indicates the precise use of the sustain pedal. The extended lower line tells the player to keep the sustain pedal depressed for all notes below which it appears. The inverted "V" shape (/\) indicates the pedal is to be momentarily released, then depressed again.

[edit]Other piano notation

m.d. / MD / r.H./ r.h. / RH	mano destra (Italian) main droite (French) rechte Hand (German) right hand (English)
m.s. / MS / m.g./ MG / l.H. / l.h./ LH	mano sinistra (Italian) main gauche (French) linke Hand (German) left hand (English)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Finger identifications: 1 = thumb 2 = index 3 = middle 4 = ring 5 = little

[edit]Se

what is music?

What is music?

Hmm... tricky one this...

• Music can be defined as organised sound, but this is not strict enough, because not all organised sound is music.
  • Most people would agree that the regular throb of a motor or a drill is not music. Something which has a regular beat could be used as part of the rhythmin a piece of experimental music, but this does not make it music in its own right.
  • I define the boundary line as being between a simple beat, which is not music, and a rhythm, which is a very simple form of music. You and others may disagree.
• The most general definition of music is any set of organised sounds which has been planned (and usually notated) so that the sound produced is largely consistent every time it is performed (this definition would however exclude some experimental music which uses chance or random events).
• The theory of music tends to concentrate on the notated form of music, because the notated form reflects the underlying structures (or theory) of music.
• Even if a piece of music is not written down, the underlying structures of the music in the piece still exist, and the terms used to describe the structure would be the same ones used in the notated form of music.
  • By "underlying structures", I mean things like key, chords, and harmony.
• Over many centuries, a standard method of notation has grown up, which is inevitably linked quite closely with the way in which sounds are produced and organised in the music.
• Here I am referring to "western" traditions which have developed over the last thousand years in the Western hemisphere.

• What is the theory of music?

• The theory of music, sometimes called the "rudiments" (and, I'm told, "solfege" in the USA) traditionally concentrates on the study of the elements of the notation of music, in other words, how it is written down. However, it also includes underlying concepts of music such as structure, organisation, history and, to some extent, physics.
• These underlying concepts are included for a number of reasons:
  1. Some of the concepts of the notation of music are difficult to understand without knowledge of the underlying concepts; for example, the use of key signatures and accidentals is far easier to understand when the concepts of key and scale are fully understood.
  2. Since music and its notation has grown and evolved over many years (and this process is still going on), an understanding of the underlying principles is helpful in understanding the reasons for things, rather than just being told "this is the way it is done".
  3. To understand properly the way notation is used in different circumstances, it may be necessary to understand some of its history.
  4. An understanding of any of the physics of music is certainly not necessary, but I find it interesting - you may not!
• The theory of music therefore includes the following:
• The basic elements of standard music notation such as staves, clefs, note lengths, note pitches, key signatures, time signatures, beats, bars (or measures), etc.
• Basic underlying concepts such as scales, keys, intervals, rhythm, etc.
• More advanced elements such as dynamics, phrasing (notated with slurs) etc.
• Advanced material such as the history of notation, form, physics of scales, etc..

Why learn the theory of music?

Possible reasons include:

• to enhance general understanding, and therefore appreciation, of music
• to aid the ability to "read" music
• to help in learning to play an instrument or sing
• to pass exams
• to satisfy curiosity
• to get trivia quiz questions right
• to show off!

The appreciation of music

• Music can be listened to and appreciated by anyone.
  • An understanding of the notation of music or any other technicalities of how music is produced is not needed.
  • People who admit that they are not at all "musical" (whatever that means) can still find music relaxing, exciting and enjoyable; they can dance to it, sing along with it or just listen to it.
  • The emotions generated in a "non-musical" person might range from sadness to joy.
• Like reading a book, or studying almost any subject, there are different levels of understanding and appreciation.
  • A deep level of appreciation of music would be difficult without an understanding of music, and this in turn is very difficult without knowledge of the notation of music and other underlying concepts including in the theory of music.
  • It is this deeper level of appreciation which is more likely to help to generate deeper emotions in a listener.
  • These emotions can range through the whole range of human emotions; that is what is so amazing about music.
• Of course, a lot of music includes words which will greatly increase the amount of information passed to the non-expert listener, and therefore greatly increase the possibility of generating emotions.
• Other factors can also affect this, for example, the performer, the location of the performance, the concentration of the listener, past experiences, and so on.

History of notation

• Notation, the way of writing down music, has developed over many years.
  • Many types of early music, just like stories, were passed down the generations without being notated, hence they tended to evolve over time. Notation is required for consistency and precision.
  • Notation clearly begun and developed in parallel with music theory, because you cannot record what notes are being used if you have no names for the notes, or way of identifying what relationships are between the notes.
  • Hence, as the concepts of scales and keys began to take shape, so notes started to be named.
• The Greeks and Romans both had non-graphical notations which used letters of their alphabets to symbolise notes. From this came our use of the letters A to G to represent notes which is still common in many countries.
  • The letter names are sometimes called the "Boethian notation" after Boethius, a Roman writer and statesman who lived in the 5th century. He was in the service of Emperor Theodoric, was accused of treason and executed in the year 524 A.D. He was the first to document the use of letters as names for notes.
  • An alternative method of note naming was introduced about 1000 A.D. by the monk Guido d'Arezzo. This has survived up to today as tonic sol fa. The most important aspect of this development however, is that it used six of the notes which we use in the major scale today.
  • France, Italy and other associated countries now tend to use the tonic sol fa names (based on C as Doh) as names of notes, rather than alphabetical letters, but this change has (I believe) only happened in the last two hundred years.
• Early systems of notation which used letters of the alphabet were the origin of some of the symbols used nowadays
  • In early times, B flat was a different note, and a rounded, lower-case "B" was used to represent it. From this comes our use of a  for a flat sign.
  • A squarer, gothic, lower-case "B" was used for B natural, and from this comes our natural sign: 
  • Our sharp sign comes from this gothic B with a line through it: 
• Modern notation is much more precise than older notation.
  • When I was a boy in an Anglican choir, we used a hymn book which had some hymn tunes in old plainsong notation. (I still have a copy in the cupboard in fact - the English Hymnal of 1933).
  • This plainsong notation uses a four line stave instead of five, no time signatures or key signatures, and has some diamond-shaped notes.
  • This notation, compared to modern notation, is quite imprecise in its specification of how the music should be performed.
  • However, this was probably good enough for the style of music it was used for.
  • This is also true of even older notations: it may seem sparse to us, but it was appropriate and sufficient for the type of music it notated.
• Graphic forms of notation are first known from the seventh century
  • The earliest forms of graphical notation were probably just marks indicating approximate pitch to remind readers of a tune they had already learnt. These would have been used by strolling minstrels and monks in monasteries.
  • This evolved in church music into plainsong
  • Plainsong was at first very imprecise, without clefs or staves
  • The modern system for notes was developed initially in the fourteenth century.
• The features of modern notation are there in order to notate music that we know today.
  • Over the years, many experiments have added new signs, new methods and new complications.
  • Those that proved useful for the music of the day have stuck
  • Those that were complicated, cumbersome, or not useful have mostly been forgotten
  • Unfortunately, some old music uses obsolete signs, and in some cases it is not even clear what they mean
• Modern notation developed in Europe and spread to the rest of the world.
• This makes music notation one of the most widely recognised international languages of all time

Dynamics

• Dynamics is a generic word meaning indications of volume.
• A composer uses them to indicate to the performer(s) the volume of a piece or part of a piece of music.
• As with other musical directions (such as speed indications), they are usually written in Italian, which is the internationally used language for music.
• These indications are written as abbreviations near the stave, but not on it.
• These abbreviations are written in a curly, bold italic font.
• All the common abbreviations are for Italian words.
  

  Italian word(s)	Literal translation	English meaning	Abbreviation used
  piano	soft	soft	p
  forte	loud	loud	f
  mezzo-forte	half loud	moderately loud	mf
  mezzo-piano	half soft	moderately soft	mp
  pianissimo	as soft as possible	very soft	pp
  fortissimo	as loud as possible	very loud	ff
  forte piano	loud soft	loud then immediately soft i.e. an accent	fp
  forzato or sforzato or sforzando	forced/forcing	accent	fz or sf or sfz
  rinforzando	reinforcing	sudden accent	rf or rfz or rinf
  crescendo	get louder	get louder	cresc. or
  diminuendo or decrescendo	get softer	get softer	dim. or decresc. or

• Composers do use other abbreviations such fff and ppp which have meanings which are obvious extensions to the above, but they are not actually abbreviations for anything!
• The visual signs for crescendo  and diminuendo  are printed as long or short as necessary to indicate how long the getting louder or softer should last. They tend to be known as "hairpins", for hopefully obvious reasons (as in a pin to hold hair, also used in the phrase "hairpin bend"). They are usually written above or below the stave.

Alternative names

This page compares British English use of musical terms compared with other (mostly American) usage. However, because I am British (English), I may be wrong about other usage, so please mail me if you know different!

• Stave/staff
  • In Britain, the word "staff" for the five lines on which music is written is considered old-fashioned and is hardly ever seen now, except in old books. "Stave" is the word used in Britain nowadays.
  • "Staff" is still used in some countries, including the USA, with "staves" as the plural.
• Bar/Measure
  • A "measure" is now quite often used as the word for a bar of music, although (to my British mind) it has more of a connotation of the "length" of the bar. I believe that in the USA this is standard usage.
  • "Bar" then sometimes refers to the actual bar line, especially as in "double bar" for "double bar line".
• Semibreve/Whole note etc.
  • There are three completely different naming methods for the names of notes which govern their length. Two are used in English, and these are described in the page on note lengths.
  • English names and Italian names are based on original Latin names from the Middle Ages. American and German names are based upon the relative lengths of notes. French names are based the appearance of the notes.
• Note/tone
  • In Britain, the word "note" can mean a written symbol as well as a sound. Americans separate these meanings and use the word "note" for a written note, and "tone" for the sound.
  • We do sometimes use this meaning for the word "tone", for example in the phrases "resultant tone" and "tone deaf".
  • "Tone" can also mean the quality of a sound, for example, its brightness or its dullness (as in the tone control on a tape player or radio).
  • In Britain, the word "tone" has an additional different and specific meaning (see Tone/Whole-step below).
• Tone/Whole-step, Semitone/half-step
  • In Britain, "a tone" (in musical usage) is defined as an interval of a major second, or one-sixth of an octave. Americans refer to this as a "whole-step".
  • A Semitone is half a tone, the interval of a minor second, one-twelfth of an octave, the smallest gap between two notes on a piano (and many other instruments). Americans call this a "half-step".
  • A major scale consists of the intervals TTSTTTS where T=tone and S=Semitone.
  • Confusingly, a scale made up of six intervals of major second (tones), as used by some 20th Century composers, is called a "whole-tone scale".
• Do-re-me/Ut-re-me
  • See Tonic sol fa
• B/H
• In Germany our note B is called H, and our B flat is called B

Ornament

• Ornaments are "frills" or embellishments made on notes.
• An ornament is basically a historic shorthand method of indicating how a single note can be made more interesting.
• Ornaments first started to be used at the beginning of the 17th century, but the methods used to notate them varied quite a lot, and in some cases they were not indicated at all, but just assumed.
• Their use became much less common towards the end of the 18th century, and the notation for those that were used became reasonably standardised.
• Those which are seen in modern editions of works of this period include (in no particular order):
  1. Trill - a rapid shake between an added note and the main note
  2. Mordent - a single movement from the main note then down or up then back to the main note
  3. Grace note or acciaccatura (pronouced atch-ack-a-too-ra) - a quick movement from an unaccented added note to the main note
  4. Appoggiatura (pronouced appog-a-too-ra) - a slower movement from an accented added note to the main note
  5. Arpeggio - a spread chord, so playing the notes of a chord rapidly after each other, usually starting at the bottom
  6. Turn - a quick movement around a note, usually up, down and up again

The folowing (unrealistic) example shows all six ornaments in the same order as listed above. The stave below shows approximately how it should be played.

Frequency or pitch

• Pitch is a musical term with a meaning which is very close to the meaning of the scientific term frequency
  • The scientific term frequency is slightly more specific than the normal use of the word frequency, which means simply "how often something happens".
  • It means the number of times an event occurs in a period of time.
  • Hertz (abbreviated to Hz), is the scientific unit for the number of times an event happens in one second.
    • For example, an electric current which alternates its direction 50 times each second is referred to as 50Hz
    • A computer with a clock tick 90 million times a second is called a 90MHz machine ("M" being short for the prefix "Mega" meaning a million)
    • H. R. Hertz was a physicist in the 19th Century (1857-1894)
• A note (in my definition) has one, and only one, pitch.
• The pitch or frequency can be stated in a number of different ways:
  • The scientific way, e.g. "512Hz"
    • This method is absolutely precise and accurate
      • There is no possibility of error or inaccuracy
  • As a musical description, e.g. "Treble C" or, " c' ", or "The third space on the treble-clef", or "C above middle C"
    • This method is not precise and not accurate
      • There is scope for misunderstanding
      • If the instruction is understood, the exact pitch is imprecise and will depend on the tuning of the instrument
  • An extract from musical notation: 
    • This method is precise but not accurate
      • There is very little scope for misunderstanding
      • The exact pitch is still imprecise
• A note is produced by a very rapid, regular pulsing.
  • If you take a drum sound with a beat every second
  • Then speed it up to 512 times per second
  • You will perceive it as a note of 512Hz, as in the example above
• There are a lot of examples in real life that you will already be familiar with:
• The high-pitched whine of a mosquito is caused by the wings beating at over 1000 times a second
• The sound of a propeller starting up, at first a slow thump, which turns into a low noise, and finally into a whine
• The note produced by a razor or a vacuum cleaner is caused by the regular movement of a blade or motor.
• The best example is probably a electronic metronome, which uses the same oscillating circuit to produce a beat as to produce a tuning note. A tuning note is produced by getting the circuit to oscillate at 440Hz.

Rhythm

• Rhythm in music is dependent on the fact that humans recognise a beat occurring at a regular interval.
• Rhythm in music is more than just a beat, however; it is the way that sounds with differing lengths (or gaps between them) and accents can combine to produce patterns in time which contain a beat.
  • These sounds do not have to be particularly musical; rhythms can be made by striking almost anything, as long as there can be difference in accent.
  • Differences in accent can mean different sounds or just different loudness (i.e. amplitudes) of sounds
• It is common to speak of a particular rhythm, referring to a pattern of note lengths which occurs in a piece of music.
  • It is important to understand that the rhythm is defined by the pattern; the overall speed of it could vary from performance to performance, but the rhythm would still be the same.
  • The speed or tempo of a piece of music is indicated by a metronome marking and/or a direction word or phrase; its rhythm is specified by various note lengths creating beats within bars.
• Modern songs often include syncopation in their rhythm

Something Out of Nothing: 21 Songwriting Tips

Something Out of Nothing: 21 Songwriting Tipsby Ken Hill, Posted May 2nd 2003 This is not a how-to article. This is just on some songwriting tips that I want to share with you to help you become a more versatile songwriter. Take the hints that you feel help you out and discard the ones you don’t agree with. #1) Authors and Musicians...  I have had some people tell me that composing music is easy, and that anyone can do it. Yes, anyone can do it, but few can really do it. Writing a song is much like being an author. Yes, we all have tools to write (everyone has a brain I hope!), but that doesn’t all of a sudden make us best selling authors. Authors work at their abilities, often every day. The prime goal of an author is the same as a musician, which is to emotionally connect with the reader in some way or another. Writers do this by using motivation, chararacterization, and powerful word combinations among other things. Composers, like authors, have a lot in common. Our main goal is to connect with the listener emotionally. This is where our first tip comes into play: Never stop working at your abilities. If our main goal is to connect emotionally, we should want to have as many tools as we possibly can to achieve that goal. The more abilities that we have, the more choices we can make musically. It’s important to have a wide arsenal of choices at your disposal, because if we keep doing the same ‘tried and true’ methods, their emotional effects will wear off as the songwriting becomes caged into a predictable movement. #2) Who are you writing your music for? Know your goal. The reason why you need to know this is because when you make music for yourself, there is no limit to what you can do to be ‘expressive’. If you are making music for other people, you will have to be aware of how people relate to it. It is like this: when you are a computer genius and you want to tell someone how to fix their computer, you have to speak in their terms so they can understand what the heck you are saying. If you speak in your lingo, you will most likely lose them in techno-talk. Another example is the author. He can write a story with the largest, most sweeping words he knows- but if the reader does not know what those words mean, the entire meaning gets lost. We, as musicians, face the same predicament. Overcomplicated songs will lose the average listener. Now, other hardcore musicians will greatly appreciate your abilities and probably get more feeling from it- but the common person will most likely not be able to follow. Once again you should ask yourself when you write a song: Who am I making this music for and will they be able to relate? #3) Scratching in the dirt Minds are like flowers. If you let it sit there without soaking anything up, it will dry up. Not to say that you can’t invigorate your mind again, but it is saying that it is harder to do so. Just like weight lifting. If you haven’t worked out in awhile, it is quite hard to lift as much as you did when you were lifting every day. So this is my first suggestion. Practice. I’m not talking about technical ability this time (although you should practice that too!). I’m saying that you should practice making new songs. Make a goal to make 1 new song every week, even if it is only 50 seconds long. It is the fact that you are working your brain out. Once you begin the song, you can latch onto ideas rather quickly. That is not the purpose of the exercise. The purpose is to get your brain to find new avenues by exploring different ideas. It’s about trying something new every time. #4) Music vs. Robots Music is an art form. It is a way to wordlessly communicate. There are computer programs that are designed to ‘make songs’ on the fly. How much do you think that communicates? Please don’t be a robot! Don’t give in and throw in random notes that fit in a scale just to fill a passage. Make a reason for why every part of your song exists. Find parts in your lead passage that really hook you. Now delete all the other parts. Now build off of the hook. Get it? Computers cannot find hooks, but your ear can. If you can’t feel anything interesting from a part, get rid of it. Unless of course you want to have a “boring” part to build into something grand! There’s a nice strategy. #5) The song’s opinion is better than yours! Nyah! When you think in the best interests in the song, you may have to rid yourself some very good ideas that you wanted to do. I have come up with very creative ideas that really didn’t work with the song I was currently composing. Don’t mess up your song by trying to fit it in! If you can fit it in and it feels right to put it there- good shot! If it doesn’t- well then you have an idea for your next song to go! Remember, the song’s opinion is better than yours! Oh, here is a good one. Just because you got a new toy, does not mean every song needs to have it! There, I said it. Just because you get a wah-wah pedal for your guitar, now every song you make after that needs to have a wah-wah?? I think not! Think about what the song needs not what you want. The both of you might have varying opinions. When you make the music bigger than you are, then you’ll understand what I mean- it tends to have a mind of its own. #6) Where does inspiration come from? Quite often when I write a song, I think back to a moment in my life. I use what has happened in my life as an inspiration to make music. The more I do in my life, the more I can write music about- new experiences. Sometimes just getting out of the house and doing something you haven’t done in a long time (or never done!) can open up the doors to musical inspiration. Open up a photo album, read old letters, visit family, friends, go do an activity, do anything but music! Read poetry, watch ballet, go see a movie, walk around in a museum, look at oil paintings and sculptures- these are all different forms of art. Music is an art form too. Sometimes other forms of art can be inspiring to the musician. Come back, after your mind has been freed, and try to write a song about it. #7) Oops I made an accident.. er- no I didn’t! Once we begin a song, our minds begin to formulate where to go next, and most of the time- we excitedly travel down the road. Throughout the excitement, we can make good mistakes. We hit the wrong key, and all of a sudden, our mind is opened to a new avenue. Mistakes can be good things, because it is an unexpected thing. I think the best music sounds familiar enough to know where it is going, but unpredictable enough to avoid musical clichés! Sometimes I will click on a random sequence of notes- not to actually use it in a song, but to see if I can find maybe a simple pattern that I can build off of. About 95% of the time, I just hear musical mush that I can’t use. The other 4% it is good stuff, and 1% of it is amazing! Accidents can be good things. Remember that. If you don’t have an inspiration, sometimes just ‘playing around’ is a good answer! #8) Country?!? I make rock songs! It is hard to compare Clint Black to Korn. That is not to say there isn’t something to be learned from different styles. The best way to be able to attack a song from every angle is to have as many techniques and styles as possible. Your talent will tell you which ones would work for your song. Learn country, rock, alternative even try polka! Learn as much as you can. There might be a place to use that knowledge somewhere in the future! #9) A + B =C. A + B = XYZ??? Don’t use the same formulas for your songs! Just because you found a winning formula, that may only work for that particular song. Try different avenues. There are artists that you hear (even on the radio) that seem to have all of their songs to sound alike. Be creative. #10) Don’t retrograde your V into a IV??!? Are you crazy?! Don’t be a music theory lawyer, but use it to your advantage. Knowledge of the rules of music can be a great thing- if you also know that it’s okay to break them. If you stay theoretically sound, you may have a generic sound. Dissonance can be a powerful tool. #11) That musician can’t play himself out of a paper bag... Ahh, how many times have I heard one musician talk about another behind their back. The reason why refraining this can help your songwriting is because when you stop comparing to the outside world, you can learn from them. Maybe the guitarist isn’t the most technically sound, but maybe he can fingerpick like you wouldn’t believe. Learn from his strengths so they can be yours too. Examine his style and abilities and see if there isn’t something you can’t learn from him. #12) I feel like listening to... Maybe you’re brain fried but you feel like writing a song. Why not toss in a CD of someone who inspires you to write. Examine the style, the mixing, how the entire song is constructed, when each instrument blends in and out of the mix, etc. etc. You’ll find that many times you can get ideas from other artists. I’m not saying steal their riffs (but go ahead if it makes you feel better) but you can take some of their ideas and blend them into your own style. Steal an idea and then bend it to the inner workings of your mind! #13) Let’s write a Metal song next to a Kinder care... Location is a very important aspect to songwriting. When you’re next to a lake, you probably get the feeling of relaxation. When you’re at a concert, I doubt you will feel so relaxed. Where you are can impact your music. If you are lucky enough to have your own private place in your home to play music, you most likely have it decorated with posters or something that puts you in the mood. If you don’t... try it! I had a guy tell me that he couldn’t write a song unless he turned off all of his lights except for one... and it was blue. If you create an atmosphere, it will most likely affect your music. When you are in a store you act differently than at home. Even your kitchen will invoke a different type of feeling than your living room. No doubt about it.. Try to get a room that can match your musical personality and write there. Test out different places. I, personally, write my music in the dark. No blue light here. #14) It sounds okay... I guess... Get rid of it! To exercise your mind, you have to work it to its full capacity. Back to weight lifting, if you can curl 45-lbs, don’t settle for 20 lbs one day. You won’t get stronger. Half-hearted songs don’t count in my opinion. Playing around is nice and all, but your ultimate goal should be to write a song like you’ve written before. It is how we expand as musicians. Writing songs with methods that we’ve done before is like lifting 20 lbs. Using new ideas and methods, that our mind would have only thought of because we’ve mastered the old- that’s your 45 pounder! Keep it fresh! Don’t fall into the habit of generic music!!! #15) Ideas.. Ideas.. Ideas... Sometime I write a song off a central idea, instead of emotion. For example, my idea might be: well what if I wrote a dance song with a heavy guitar? What if I wanted to write a song uses a distortion over drums? Ideas don’t always evolve into songs, but they help you be creative! The important thing is that since they are ideas (kind of like a hypothesis) you shouldn’t come to a conclusion till you have tried it. In other words, if you have an idea that running distortion over drums would sound cool over a love song, and when you try it- you may tell yourself... “no- distortion with drums sounds good on a hard rock song.” #16) I like it, but what do you think??? Let me start by saying that your friends and family members will most likely be very biased about your music. Ask them what they think if you want a self-esteem booster. I take compliments more to heart from strangers who like my music. The most important thing is that you like the music. Will others like it as well? Maybe, maybe not. If they offer suggestions, consider them... There is no right or wrong way to write a song. There are only songs that people can and can’t relate to. And I’m sure that almost any song that was ever made could probably relate to at least 1 other person in this world. #17) Catchy phrases for lyrics If you’re planning on writing lyrics, then I offer you this suggestion: Use words that people use everyday. Why? Because if those same words are used in just an everyday conversation, it will remind that listener of your song. For instance, if I said “I was outside last night and saw a twinkle twinkle little star”, immediately that song pops into your mind. Of course no one would talk like that, so if you mold your song around an everyday phrase, then it will remind people of your song easier. Just think of Staind, “It’s been awhile”. Every time someone says that phrase it reminds me of that song. #18) Be healthy. Eat, sleep and exercise regularly as part of your daily routine. Strange to think how proper sleep, exercise and food come into play, but it can. Just think of this: Food is your body’s fuel. Without fuel, your body wants to shut down. That is why people who aren’t healthy are tired more often. When you’re in shape, your metabolism will rise giving you an extra supply of energy that you can use to focus onto music or whatever. Does that mean that if you’re out of shape and not eating right that you can’t make good music? Of course not! But what I am saying is that if you do choose to eat right and get in shape, it will help you keep your focus and energy for a longer period of time. I can’t stress enough how different one feels when they choose to get in shape, but it really helps you psychologically, mentally and physically. #19) Building a hook. Some of the most powerful hooks are derived from taking a simple melody and modifying it ever so slightly. Why does that make it powerful? Hooks need to be predictable and not predictable at the same time. If there is a degree of predictability then the listener will be able to relate to the song more quickly. For instance, how many of you have said in your mind, “that would be so cool if this song did this...” and then the song took the same direction you wanted it to go. Immediate satisfaction. If you twist it a little bit, then the song will have its unique identity that separates it from the traditional cliché of many hooks. People have heard different artists use the exact same musical hooks and patterns, and if there is no unique twist then you will hear something like, “they copied (fill in the blank)’s song. Sounds just like it but with different words.” You will most likely want your song to have its own identity. #20) Texturize Music is about textures as well as melody. Think of the texture of a nylon string guitar as opposed to the texture of a steel string. Think of the texture of a piano, and the texture of a synth. Some of the same melodies played with different textures can completely change a song. A lot of metal songs sound like classical pieces when played on a classical guitar instead of an electric. The human voice sounds thicker with a chorus and reverb than a dry signal. Textures can bring out the best and worst in a song. We pay great amounts of money to get the ‘best’ texture we possibly can. That is why people buy expensive musical equipment over cheap pawn shop items. Distortion has a huge variety of different tones and sounds. Not every distortion pedal sounds the same. Why? For texture. Don’t keep using the same sounds, experiment with as many textures as you can. This is so important; I’m going to say texture 20 more times by the end of this tip. Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture . #21) Have fun Have fun!? What kind of topic!? Guess what. People don’t have fun making music all the time. It’s really sad. If you don’t believe me, think about all the people who have been upset because of something their band did to them. Revert to the very beginning, when you first realized that you loved to create music... and have fun! More Songwriting Tips from Ken Hill... ----- Ken Hill is an electronic/new age composer under the name of Soulwire. If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas about this article, please be sure to e-mail him at soulwire.music@gmail.com or send a myspace message at his page, http://www.myspace.com/soulwire

How to Write a Country Song

By an eHow Contributor

You may not have to cry a tear in your beer to write a good country song, but it doesn't hurt to explore your angst to write a strong lyric. Country music songwriters know what makes the listeners tick, and it ain't all sunshine. Everyone likes a good story, and country songwriters know how to tell 'em. So grab your pen and jot down some ideas from successful country songwriters.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. 1
   Explore some common themes for your country song. Here are some ideas: romantic failure, betrayal, religion, dying, the South or the West, and of course, drinking. Your song should appeal to a variety of people.
2. 2
   Respect your audience. They want a good story. Make them feel emotion and identify with your plight in your music.
3. 3
   Throw in some humor or a twist on a well-known phrase to make your song memorable, such as "I Got Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks.
4. 4
   Place your "hook" in the song within one minute. The most common place for the hook is in the chorus.
5. 5
   Change the time or the melody of the chorus to set it apart from the verses. The chorus is the most identifiable part of the song, the point in the song that will keep the listener from changing the dial.
6. 6
   Keep your lyric to one simple story, but add in description for depth. This is where your song will be set apart from the rest.
7. 7
   Take your time writing and rewriting. Many country songwriters spend hours coming up with songs, and then perfecting them through the editing process. The award-winning song scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin can happen, but most likely success will be a result of diligence and luck.

Read more: How to Write a Country Song | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2089587_write-country-song.html#ixzz144EKu4K3

10 TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE A HIT SONG

10 TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE A HIT SONG

Country music publishers in Nashville want hit songs. Yes, strong album cuts are also welcome. But smartly written commercial songs aimed at the heart of mass appeal are what gets country music publishers really excited!
1.) Set your hook early and often
As we all know, “hooking” is the key in commercial songs. Hooking is the ability to grab the attention and interest of a listener. According to Ralph Murphy at ASCAP, a song should hook the listener within 60 seconds.
While hooks are usually placed in a song's chorus, “hooklets” can be sprinkled throughout the song in both the music and lyrics.
2.) Don’t bore us, get to the chorus
The chorus is the most important part of a commercial song, so get to it quickly. As hit songwriter Jerry Vandiver noted, “Nobody walks down Second Avenue humming a verse.”
Great choruses separate themselves by a change in melody or meter. (This was one of the flaws pointed out in my song at an ASCAP critique session – and which was confirmed in a TAXI review. Jerry commented that if he hadn't had my lyric sheet he wouldn't have been able to tell where the chorus started.)
Ralph Murphy said hit songs usually have five to seven repetitions of the title, but he cautions not to overdo it. It takes an average of 26 weeks on the charts for a song to reach the number one spot, and you can burn out the title during that time.
BMG publisher Michael Puryear noted that radio is very finicky about needing a chorus. He also said the chorus needs to provide a solution to the problem you isolated in the verse. For praise and worship music, he says it's better to have a full chorus, and to find a positive twist in the hook of the chorus.
3.) Keep it simple
During an ASCAP Sound Source session I was told by Jerry Vandiver that my song was too complicated and to adhere to the acronym KISS (keep it simple, songwriter). But at a Songwriters Guild seminar with Chris DuBois (a songwriter and partner with Brad Paisley and Frank Rogers in Sea Gayle Music), he advised against too much simplicity. Contrary advice? Not really.
Jerry noted that my song seemed to be trying to tell two or three different stories rather than sticking to just one. Chris was referring to imagery, and noted, “You can't be too descriptive in a song.” He said the more unique you can be the better, and that a song needs to have an identity in and of itself.
Chris says the best thing is to play it for somebody, and ask, “Did you understand what was going on?”
4.) Start yourself up!
Songwriters need to be disciplined self-starters. Ralph Murphy said a typical day is spent writing for three hours and then conducting businesses such as pitching songs to publishers, promotion and tending to financial aspects.
Persistence and patience were emphasized as important traits. (At an ASCAP Sound Source critique session one writer was discouraged that he had spent five years trying to get a cut. Jerry Vandiver responded that it took one successful songwriter 15 years to find success.)
5.) Focus on the music first
Focusing on the music and songs is the best way to spend your time, according to Chris DuBois. He said songwriters need time to write and grow. They have to figure out how to get their songs to the next level.
Nashville is a writer's town where you are judged by your song, not how you look. Chris says he still writes every day. Good writers have the gift of perception, which they are born with; everything else is craft, which can be learned and developed.
Rewriting is a very important part of the process. One of the best analogies I heard all week was at a Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) pitch session with BMG publisher Michael Puryear. He advised writers to take time to develop a good idea. He compared songwriting to cooking where all the right ingredients are there to make a dish but if you don't bake it long enough, it won't taste as good as it could have.
6.) Don't flash your cash
Singer-songwriters with money to self-promote do not necessarily have an advantage when they approach publishing companies, according to Chris DuBois. If the writer has a good song most companies will be more than willing to pay an advance and pay for recording the demo. “The real issue is the whether the music is as good as it needs to be,” said Chris.
He added that it's also important to conduct yourself in a professional manner, which may seem obvious, but too often is advice that is lost on some artists. Some would-be stars over promote themselves to the point that they become pests and publishers are no longer willing to listen to anything they have to offer.
7.) Give your song its best chance
Jerry Vandiver noted that homemade demos are okay for purposes of pitching a song with a simple guitar/piano vocal. If the song is accepted by a publisher a demo will usually be made to pitch it to performers.
Michael Puryear suggests hiring a professional singer for a demo because using someone who has a “commanding voice” will hold the listener's attention and put the song in its best light. Michael also suggests skipping any special effects (rain storm, engine racing noise) on demos. It can be distracting and delay getting to the meat of the song.

Jerry also suggests skipping extended instrumentals in a demo. He says a 20-second solo can seem two hours long. And he recommends keeping lyrics to one page, because more than that makes the song look too long. (You don't have to print out the chorus every time if the words stay the same.)
Michael suggests leaving the copyright date off the lyric sheets so a publisher doesn't think he's listening to an old song.
8.) Choose the right topic
Jerry Vandiver noted that subject matter is important because you have to persuade a singer to do your song. BMG publisher Michael Puryear suggests that songwriters ask themselves “Who would record this song?”
Because we live in a “me” society, he advises directing songs to the listeners and engage them by saying “you.”
At the ASCAP critique session a demo was played on which the female singer in the chorus sang that she wanted to do a duet with a specific country singer, which limited the market for the song. Ideally, a commercially viable song should relate to as wide a range of people as possible.
(In my meeting with a BMI representative he questioned a reference in one of my songs to “Dr. Wu,” a name from a Steely Dan song that would probably confuse many listeners.)
Ralph Murphy adds that humor and irony are needed now in country music.
Another standard used to judge potential hits is whether the subject matter is appropriate for the coveted 7 a.m. drive time audience.
9.) Supply what's in demand
As far as country music publishing goes, most people I spoke to in Nashville believe the contemporary pop movement has stopped working. They cite disappointing sales of new albums by big crossover country stars.
Jerry Vandiver agrees there has been a “pop backlash,” and that “organic, rootsy” music is coming to the forefront. That shift may become evident in radio play in the future. Country music publisher Ken Earls says “Something deeply rooted in traditional will survive.”
10.) Find a writing partner
As noted, collaborating (co-writing) is a big deal in Nashville. At every songwriter's night I attended singer-songwriters introduced their songs by crediting their songwriting collaborators.

Jerry Vandiver says a great co-writer can be a great editor. (Editing was something that was noted as lacking on my song, which I was told was about one verse too long.) A co-writer allows you to get an objective perspective on song ideas and can serve as a catalyst for developing new ideas.

In conclusion, the important contributions made by songwriters to the country music business was uniformly praised.
Ralph Murphy noted that without the songwriters there would be no music industry.
Publisher Ken Earls noted that Nashville is a song-driven market, and songwriters hold the key to change people's careers – creating them, extending them and reviving them.
© RICHARD TUTTELL
Richard V. Tuttell is a songwriter and the author of "Good Press: An insider's Guide To Publicizing Business and Community News." Visit his Web site at www.tuttellpress.com