Staff and clef sign
Staff, Clef, and Ledger Lines
Baptist Church News Canton, GA
Basic Music Instruction
for
Church Congregational Singing
for those who have had little or no previous music
instruction.
By Deborah Davis
Lesson 1
Have you ever tried to sing with the congregation at church or given up being in the choir because you did not know which word to sing or when? Unless you have had some music instruction it probably looks like a foreign language to you. And in fact it is a different language-- the language of music! Some very basic music instruction will help you to enjoy congregational singing and inspire you to further study for choir participation. Don't be scared away by the numerous notes, symbols, or multiple rows of words on the hymnal page. We will break down the most basic music elements into understandable parts. You will most likely be able to follow along with a piano and the lead of others better in just a short time . Study at your own pace and reinforce what you study the next time you have opportunity to sing in church. We won't get into the full scope of keys or sharps and flats here as we wish to keep the information basic. Links will be provided for further study via the web should you develop and interest in so doing.
What sounds should I make
and when should I make them? Songs are composed
of words sung at a certain pitch held for a certain length of
time indicated by symbols set on or around a group of lines and
spaces called a "staff." The staff is composed of 5
lines and four spaces with lines added below and above the staff
as necessary. These additional lines are called ledger lines.
Where a note appears on the staff indicates what pitch should be
vocalized. The general high and lowness of notes is pretty much
commonly understood. We will concentrate here on the basics of
knowing which words to sing and when to sing them.
Staff and clef signStaff, Clef, and Ledger Lines
There are obviously different notes which are
actually instructions about the length of the word syllable which
accompanies the note. There are also rests which indicate when
NOT to vocalize a sound. The singing and silence at the right
pitch are actually what make up a song or "tune." We
will concentrate on 4 times of notes and rests. There are 2 types
of notes, round notes and shape notes. Round notes indicate an
absolute pitch determined with the aid of an instrument and shape
notes which indicate relative pitch of the notes. Round notes are
shown below, but shape notes are similar except that they are of
particular shapes with the shapes indicating a particular
relative pitch. More simply put, shape notes indicate the pitch
such as in do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. We will work with
round notes but you may get a look at shape notes in most any
church hymnal.
Whole Note: 
The whole note is round with an oval in
the middle and has no line drawn on the side of it.
Whole Rest 
The whole rest is suspended from the
line.
Half Note: 
The half note is round with a right
leaning oval with a line drawn on the side.
Half Rest 
The half rest rests on the line
Quarter Note:
The quarter note is similar to the half
note but the body of the note is darkened.
Quarter Rest
The quarter rest resembles a caligraphy
character.
Eighth Note:
The eighth note resembles a quarter note
with a "flag."
Two Eighth notes can be joined together and look
like this 
Eighth Rest 
The Eighth rest resembles a backwards
"r."
Sixteenth Note:
The sixteenth note is an eighth note
with an additional flag.
Sixteenth Rest 
The sixteenth rest is an eight rest with
and addition.
Two Sixteenth notes can be joined together and
look like this: 
The time length assigned to these notes and rests varies from song to song and depends upon the number that looks like a fraction near the beginning of the song. Music is based on mental pulsations called "beats." The bottom number designates which type of note gets 1 beat and the top number specifies how many beats are set per measure.
The fraction looking number is called the time
signature or tempo. There is some math involved. For instance,
which ever note is designated to get one beat, then the time a
note is held would increase proportionately. Example: in 6/8
time,
an eighth note gets one beat and there are 6 beats per measure.
In this time, that would make a quarter note get 2 beats,
a half note get 4 beats. More than 6 beats would be more than 1
measure.
Now you try one: in 6/4
time, a ????? note gets one beat and there are ???? beats per
measure.
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email your answer.
2/ 4 time indicates that a quarter note gets 1 beat and there are
2 beats per measure
3/4 time indicates that a quarter note gets 1 beat and there are
3 beats per measure
4/4 time indicates that a quarter note gets 1 beat and there are
4 beats per measure
6/8 time indicates that an eighth note gets 1 beat and there are
6 beats per measure
12/8 time indicates that an eighth note gets 1 beat and there are
12 beats per measure
There are more time signatures that can be used,
but this is the general idea. There are also other names for
types of measures which indicate which notes are accented within
the measure. We will reserve this for those interested in further
study. Rests get the same time as the corresponding note of the
same name. For instance a quarter rest would get the same
time allowance as a quarter note would get in that time
signature.
Which words do I sing?
You will notice in the hymnal that there are notes above and
below the words that are being sung. There are usually 2 rows of
notes in the top staff and 2 rows of notes in the bottom staff.
The top staff contains the notes and instructions for the Soprano
and Alto parts and the bottom staff contains the notes and
instructions for Tenor and Bass(Base).
Bass- the lowest voice part in music. Bass is sung by gentlemen with voices of low pitch and heavy quality.
Tenor- The part above bass in ordinary 4 part music for mixed voices. Tenor is best sung by gentlemen with voices of high pitch and light quality. (Others can sing this part if needed for balance and performing of all parts.)
Alto- is the voice part next above tenor. Alto is best sung by ladies with voices of low pitch and heavy quality.
Soprano- the top row of notes of the top staff. This is the name of the highest voice part in music. It is sung by ladies with voices of high pitch, but is often sung by men in a lower version.
Songs are written in ways that can feature any voice type. Hymns and gospel music are written to combine voices for a unified, harmonious sound and for effect and appeal of the message in the song. Where the voice parts actually have different words or times to sing the words, it is necessary for each part and type voice to contribute to the intended effect.
Which part you sing can pretty much be narrowed merely by gender. To clarify which part for which your voice is best suited, practice saying "Ahhhh" like when the doctor checks your throat. Let lowness or heaviness of quality or absence of it help you determine which part you should sing.
Exercise: In a hymnal or other music examine a four-part song. Follow the notes of the part you have elected to sing. If you have a copy on which you can mark, highlight the notes of that part. If you wish, examine and highlight the parts of the other voice types in different colors. Look for notes that correspond to words above or below them. Some words/notes will be sung by more than one part at a time and some words/notes will be sung by a designated part alone or with another part. It is the parts sang separately, at the right time, at the right pitch that actually make up the song. Practice reading songs and recognizing the different parts.
What Sound Do I Make?
Most people can follow the pitch by ear from the piano and the
others in the group. There are ways of changing the pitch of the
note called sharps and flats.
Sharp 
Flat
Which notes to sharp and flat are indicated at the beginning
of the song next to the time signature. There can also be notes
which are only changed once or twice and are indicated by a
symbol beside the note. These are called "accidentals."
Notes written to be changed throughout the song and indicate so
in the key signature can be made "natural" or the
normal pitch before they are changed according to the key
signature. This is indicated by a symbol next to the note. (Image
not available) If you are further interested in voice training
and key study, voice training can help you pursue that interest.
However, you can enjoy congregational singing by letting your
natural ability to follow pitch assist you in achieving the right
pitch even if you are not interested in more serious voice study.
Review the above until you understand it readily. This is intended to be a basic primer for those who would like to be more familiar with the the strange symbols on the hymnal page. Links will accompany the last lesson for those interested in further study.
Coming in Lesson 2: adding time to notes, joining notes, repeating
Questions??? Email
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email: cantongabaptistnews@visto.com
Mail: c/o Deborah Davis P.O. Box 746 Holly Springs, GA 30142