Music Notes Archives - Music Advisor

An Introduction to the Sharp Sign

Sharp attack! The Jaws theme song is famous for using sharps to create a feeling of doom [1]. Listeners can hear the suspense and feel the tension build with each ascending note. Sharp notes are a great tool to give your songs a variety of sounds. Read on to learn about all about how the […]

An Introduction to Treble Clef

As you know, one notates music by using a staff. Back in the late 9th century, the notation for the Gregorian Chant musical scribes first recorded clefs with “neumes,” or basic dashes or dots above lyrics. They indicated a relative change in pitch. During the 10th century, scribes added a horizontal line to show a […]

What You Need to Know About the Piano Keys Chart

Where does the music teacher keep her keys? In the piano of course! A full-size piano is made up of 52 white keys and 36 black keys [1]. Luckily for you, the same note names will continue to repeat themselves over and over. A chart of all the keys is a powerful learning tool that […]

An Introduction to the Grand Staff

A true understanding of music can take years. And plenty of people manage to know just enough to get by in musical environments. Perhaps they sight read well, or have coveted perfect pitch. Either way, they’ve managed to get by with only a basic knowledge of musical concepts. But if you want to take your […]

An Introduction to Bass Clef

Where there’s melody, there has to be rhythm. Other than drums, the main rhythm instrument is the bass. Bass is the line between melody and rhythm — which follows the melodic chords while holding up the rhythm. If you play the piano, you don’t need a second instrument to hold up the rhythm. Pianists need […]

An Introduction to Ledger Lines

If the term ‘ledger lines’ isn’t ringing any bells for you, then read on, here’s all you need to know. For starters, music couldn’t be written down without them. That means all the music you know and love, everything from Beethoven’s “9th Symphony” to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, all started life making use of ledger lines. […]

An Introduction to the Flat Symbol

It may surprise you to know that not all musicians can read music [1]. In fact, there are a large number of them who play or write with other methods. Music is a universal language and one that people all over the world can communicate in. But despite this, 95% of people can’t read music […]

An Introduction to the Double Sharp

If you’ve spent some time digging deep into music theory, you may have encountered something unusual: the double sharp. You know what a sharp is, so you’re a little fuzzy on what a double sharp is supposed to be. Or, maybe you don’t know what a sharp is either and you’re just through-and-through confused. Either […]

A Piano Player’s Guide to Understanding the Half Note

One of the most important early steps you’ll need to master when learning the piano is the half note. A half note, also known in British English as a minim, is essentially half of a full note. While a full note lasts four beats, piano half notes last two. The half note, therefore, lasts exactly […]

Everything You Need to Know About Eighth Notes

If you want to play jazz, blues, rock, reggae, folk, or any other contemporary music, eighth notes are the key. Also called a quaver, the eighth note is responsible for syncopation. This article provides everything you need to know about eighth notes. Better check the treble clef, too. Some Basic Music Theory When looking at […]

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