Music notation and theory

The staff and clefs

Notes are written on five lines and four spaces. The treble clef is for higher sounds; the bass clef for lower sounds. Treble clef lines (bottom to top): E G B D F; spaces: F A C E.

Note values (in 4/4 time)

Semibreve = 4 beats; minim = 2; crotchet = 1; quaver = ½; semiquaver = ¼. A dot after a note adds half its value (dotted minim = 3 beats). Each note has a matching rest.

Time signatures

The top number gives beats per bar; the bottom number the type of beat. 4/4: four crotchet beats; 3/4: three crotchet beats (waltz); 2/4: two crotchet beats; 6/8: two dotted-crotchet beats.

Scales and keys

• C major has no sharps or flats: C D E F G A B C (tones and semitones: T T S T T T S).
• G major has one sharp (F♯); F major has one flat (B♭).
• Pentatonic scales (five notes) are common in African and other folk music.

Intervals and chords

An interval is the distance between two notes (2nd, 3rd, 5th, octave). A triad is three notes – root, 3rd and 5th (C major: C E G). Primary chords: I, IV and V.

Tonic sol-fa

Doh, ray, me, fah, soh, lah, te, doh – widely used in Zimbabwean choirs.

Check yourself

1. How many beats is a dotted minim worth?
2. Name the sharp in G major.
3. What notes make the C major triad?