Music
There's nothing like music to stir an emotion, bring back a memory, or create a mood. Being able to create music is an art form appreciated by everyone. Studies have shown there can be a correlation between musical and mathematical abilities. Students who know how to play music often are well rounded in other areas of their education, having learned focus and concentration.
It is said music is the universal language. Understanding how to play and read music is built on the same foundation all over the world. Once you learn, you can communicate musically and emotionally to an audience, without any language barriers. The pleasures of being able to play music are self-evident.
If you are ready to learn the basics of music and theory, we have several quizzes that can help you get started!
Musical Instruments
Music plays an integral part in people's lives. Musical instruments are the foundation of beautiful music. They create those captivating sounds and melodies that people enjoy listening to. Find out more information about the four main types of the musical instruments we have today. Take some time to answer our musical quizzes and find out yourself if there is a hidden musician in you.
Piano Keyboard
coming soon!
The Beatles
Paul, Ringo, John and George were household names back in the sixties. They sold millions of albums and composed countless hits. More importantly, they brought lots of joy and cheer to their fans. Today, the Beatles are considered an icon in the music industry and they definitely left a remarkable legacy. Test yourself about some of the record-breaking Beatles' albums and hit songs.
The Circle of Fourths
coming soon!
The Musical Staff
Would you like to be able to read music? People seeing sheet music for the first time may get intimidated by all the strange symbols they encounter. Even though it's not rocket science, it does take time and effort to learn how to read music. The good news is that the payoff is great. Learning to read music will open a whole new world for you. To read music, the first thing you need to learn is how to recognize the notes on the <strong>musical staff</strong>. The staff consist of five parallel lines, although more lines are often added. These additional lines are to accommodate notes with pitches that won't fit into the five standard lines. The note's vertical position relative to the lines indicates the <strong>pitch</strong>. The higher the note is above the line the higher the pitch. On the left end of the staff you will also see something called a <strong>clef</strong>. Its purpose is to provide a key (in fact, that is what the word clef means in French) to the note pitches. The treble clef is normally used for the notes played on piano by the right hand. It's also used for many other musical instruments, including the guitar.</div><div class="subjectPageImageArea"><img src="/images/Music/musical_staff_1.svg"/></div> The treble clef is also called G clef because it conveniently sits on the G - line.To help in memorizing the note positions, several <strong>mnemonic aids</strong> have been invented. The notes located between the staff lines are easy to remember because they form the word FACE. The notes located on the lines indicate the first letters of the phrase "Every Good Boy Does Fine". <div class="subjectPageImageArea"><img src="/images/Music/musical_staff_2.svg"/></div> Looking at the musical staff, you may be asking yourself a question: What if a note is too high or too low to fit into the small space covered by the five lines? Ledger lines to the rescue! The <strong>ledger lines</strong> simply extend the musical staff as needed. <div class="subjectPageImageArea"><img src="/images/Music/musical_staff_3.svg"/></div> The notes that we have looked at so far can be played on a piano by pressing the white keys. But what about the black keys? These keys play notes that are half-tone away from the nearest white keys. So how do we show those notes on the musical staff? Theoretically, it would be possible to place those notes between staff lines and staff spaces, but that would make them really hard to read. The solution is simple: add a little sign just before the note to indicate that it should be played a half-tone higher or lower. The signs used to modify note pitch by a half-tone are called <strong>accidentals</strong>. They include flat (lower the pitch by half-tone) and sharp (raise the pitch by half-tone). <div class="subjectPageImageArea"><img src="/images/Music/musical_staff_4.svg"/></div> This short article has given you a very simple introduction to the way music is recorded on paper. If you are serious about learning to read music, many books, websites and software programs are available. What you won't find anywhere else are the <strong>interactive quizzes</strong> presented on the following pages. They will help beginning students with memorizing the basics of reading music. The quizzes can also be used for student testing. So, good luck with the quizzes and remember: Every Good Boy Does Fine.