Musical signs, symbols and instruments. Abbreviation of musical notation A piece of music performed as a sign

From time immemorial, people have embodied their feelings, thoughts and experiences through art. Some painted masterpieces of painting, depicting objects of inspiration, everyday life, as well as episodes from his own biography that have sunk into his memory. Others built various kinds of structures and monuments, giving them some symbolic meaning. The most extraordinary of them began to be called wonders of the world. The pages of future poems, novels, epics came out from under the hands of the third one after another, where a strong, appropriate, in the opinion of the author, word was chosen for each moment of the plot.

However, there were those who found inspiration in sound. They created special instruments to express the emotions that overwhelmed them. These people are called musicians.

Nowadays, the concept of "music" is given a huge number of definitions. But if you think objectively, then this is an art form, the main subject of which is one or another sound.

It is noteworthy that in many ancient languages this word means "the activity of the Muses."

The Soviet scientist Arnold Sohor, in turn, believed that music reflects reality in a peculiar way, and also has an impact on a person through sound sequences that are meaningful and organized in a special way in height, as well as in time, the main components of which are tones.

Brief history of music

Since ancient times, people have loved music. On the territory of ancient Africa, with the help of various songs that are part of rituals, they tried to contact spirits, gods. In Egypt, music was used mainly for religious hymns. There were such concepts as "passions" and "mysetria", equating to genres. by the most famous works Egypt were the "Book of the Dead" and the "Pyramid Texts", describing the "passion" of the Egyptian god Osiris. The ancient Greeks were the first people in the world who were able to achieve the highest in their culture. It is worth adding here the fact that they were the first to notice the existence of a peculiar pattern between mathematical quantities and sounds.

Over time, music has evolved and evolved. It began to stand out in several main directions.

According to the classical theory, by the 9th century the following musical genres: (that is, various kinds of church singing, liturgies), bard song and secular music (a vivid example of this genre is the anthem). In the process of human interaction, these genres gradually mixed with each other, forming new ones, unlike the previous ones. So, at the end of the 19th century, jazz appeared, which became the progenitor for many modern genres.

What are the musical signs and symbols?

How can you record sounds? Musical musical notes are conditional graphic symbols that are located on their main function is to indicate the height, as well as the relative duration of a particular sound. It's no secret what is the practical foundation of music. However, it is by no means given to everyone. Studying musical signs is a rather laborious process, the fruits of which can only be tasted by the most patient and diligent.

If we now begin to delve into the features of modern notation, then this article will become, to put it mildly, very large. To do this, it is necessary to write a separate, rather voluminous work about musical signs and symbols. One of the most famous symbols is, of course, the "treble clef". During its existence, it has become a kind of symbol of musical art.

What are musical instruments and what are they?

Items that make it possible to extract various kinds of sounds necessary to create a work are called musical instruments. The instruments that exist today, in accordance with their abilities, purpose, sound qualities, are divided into several main groups: keyboards, percussion, wind, strings and reeds.

There are many other classifications (the Hornbostel-Sachs system can be cited as a striking example).

The physical basis of almost any tool that produces musical sounds(with the exception of various electrical devices), is a resonator. It can be a string, a so-called oscillatory circuit, a column of air (in a certain volume), or any other object that has the ability to store the energy transferred to it in the form of vibrations.

The resonant frequency sets the first overtone (in other words, the fundamental tone) of the sound that is being produced at the moment.

It is worth noting that a musical instrument has the ability to simultaneously reproduce the number of sounds equal to the number of resonators used. The design may include a different number of them. The extraction of sound begins at the moment when energy is introduced into the resonator. If the musician needs to stop the sound forcibly, then you can resort to such an effect as damping. In the case of some instruments, the resonant frequencies can be changed. Some instruments that produce non-musical sounds (such as drums) do not use this device.

What is and what are they?

In a broad sense, a piece of music, or, as it is called, an opus, is any play, improvisation, folk song. In other words, almost everything that can be conveyed through the ordered vibrations of sounds. As a rule, it is characterized by a certain internal completeness, material consolidation (through musical signs, notes, etc.), a certain kind of motivation. Uniqueness is also important, behind which, as a rule, are the feelings and experiences of the author, which he wanted to present to the listeners of his work.

It is worth noting that the term "musical work" as a well-established concept appeared in the field of art relatively recently (the exact date is unknown, but somewhere around the 18th-19th centuries). Up to this point, it has been replaced in every possible way.

So, for example, Johann Herder used the word "activity" instead of this term. In the era of avant-gardism, the name was replaced by "event", "action", "open form". Currently, there are a huge number of different musical works. We offer to consider the most famous, interesting and unusual of them.

I. Song (or song)

The song is one of the simplest but most common pieces of music in which the poetic text is accompanied by a simple melody that is easy to remember.

It is worth noting that the song is one of the most developed areas in the sense that at the moment there are a large number of its various forms, genres, etc.

II. Symphony

A symphony (translated from Greek means “slimness, elegance, consonance”) is a piece of music that is primarily intended for performance by an orchestra, which can be wind, string, chamber, or mixed. In some cases, vocals or a choir may be included in the simony.

Often this work is brought closer to other genres, thereby forming mixed forms (for example, a symphony-suite, a symphony-poem, a symphony-fantasy, etc.)

III. Prelude and Fugue

The prelude (from the Latin prae - "forthcoming" and ludus - "play") is a small work, which, unlike others, does not have a strict form.

Mainly preludes and fugues are created for such instruments as harpsichord, organ, piano

Initially, these works were intended for the musicians to have the opportunity to "warm up" before the main part of the performance. However, later they began to be singled out as original independent works.

IV. tush

This type is also quite interesting, since not much attention is paid to it. Touche - (from the French "key", "introduction") is a piece of music performed as a sign of greeting. The term was first used in mid-eighteenth century in Germany.

The main purpose of such a work is to attract the attention of the audience to what is happening, as well as to introduce an appropriate emotional coloring into the event (as a rule, these are various solemn ceremonies). Often, a piece of music as a sign of greeting is performed by a brass band. Surely everyone has heard the carcass, which is performed at the time of awards, etc.

In our today's article, we have analyzed what are musical instruments, signs, works. We hope that it was useful and informative for readers.

From time immemorial, people have embodied their feelings, thoughts and experiences through art. Some painted masterpieces of painting, depicting objects of inspiration, everyday life, as well as episodes from their own biography that have sunk into their memory. Others built various kinds of structures and monuments, giving them some kind of symbolic meaning. The most extraordinary of them began to be called wonders of the world. The pages of future poems, novels, epics came out from under the hands of the third one after another, where a strong, appropriate, in the opinion of the author, word was chosen for each moment of the plot.

However, there were those who found inspiration in sound. They created special instruments to express the emotions that overwhelmed them. These people are called musicians.

What is music?

Nowadays, the concept of "music" is given a huge number of definitions. But if you think objectively, then this is an art form, the main subject of which is one or another sound.

It is noteworthy that in many ancient languages this word means "the activity of the Muses."

Brief history of music

Since ancient times, people have loved music. On the territory of ancient Africa, with the help of various songs that are part of rituals, they tried to contact spirits, gods. In Egypt, music was used mainly for religious hymns. There were such concepts as "passions" and "mysetria", equating to genres. The most famous works of Egypt were the Book of the Dead and the Pyramid Texts, which describe the "passions" of the Egyptian god Osiris. The ancient Greeks were the first people in the world who, in their culture, were able to achieve the highest expression of music. It is worth adding here the fact that they were the first to notice the existence of a peculiar regularity between mathematical quantities and sounds.

Over time, music has evolved and evolved. It began to stand out in several main directions.

According to the classical theory, by the 9th century the following musical genres existed on earth: Gregorian chant (that is, various kinds of church songs, liturgies), bard song and secular music (a vivid example of such a genre is the anthem). In the process of human interaction, these genres gradually mixed with each other, forming new ones, unlike the previous ones. So, at the end of the 19th century, jazz appeared, which became the progenitor for many modern genres.

What are the musical signs and symbols?

How can you record sounds? Musical notation signs are conditional graphic symbols that are located on the stave. Their main function is to designate the pitch, as well as the relative duration of a particular sound. It's no secret that musical notation is the practical foundation of music. However, it is by no means given to everyone. Studying musical signs is a rather laborious process, the fruits of which can only be tasted by the most patient and diligent.

What are musical instruments and what are they?

There are many other classifications (the Hornbostel-Sachs system can be cited as a striking example).

The physical basis of almost any instrument that produces musical sounds (with the exception of various electrical devices) is a resonator. It can be a string, a so-called oscillatory circuit, a column of air (in a certain volume), or any other object that has the ability to store the energy transferred to it in the form of vibrations.

The resonant frequency sets the first overtone (in other words, the fundamental tone) of the sound that is being produced at the moment.

What is music and what are they?

In a broad sense, a musical work, or, as it is called, an opus, is any play, improvisation, folk song. In other words, almost everything that can be conveyed through the ordered vibrations of sounds. As a rule, it is characterized by a certain internal completeness, material consolidation (through musical signs, notes, etc.), a certain kind of motivation. Uniqueness is also important, behind which, as a rule, are the feelings and experiences of the author, which he wanted to present to the listeners of his work.

So, for example, Wilhelm Humboldt and Johann Herder used the word "activity" instead of this term. In the era of avant-gardism, the name was replaced by "event", "action", "open form". Currently, there are a huge number of different musical works. We offer to consider the most famous, interesting and unusual of them.

I. Song (or song)

A song is one of the simplest but most common pieces of music in which the poetic text is accompanied by a simple melody that is easy to remember.

It is worth noting that the song is one of the most developed areas in the sense that at the moment there are a large number of its various forms, genres, etc.

II. Symphony

A symphony (translated from Greek means “slenderness, elegance, consonance”) is a piece of music that is primarily intended to be performed by an orchestra, which can be wind, string, chamber, or mixed. In some cases, vocals or a choir may be included in the simony.

Often this work is brought closer to other genres, thereby forming mixed forms (for example, a symphony-suite, a symphony-poem, a symphony-fantasy, etc.)

III. Prelude and Fugue

Prelude (from the Latin prae - "forthcoming" and ludus - "play") is a short work, which, unlike others, does not have a strict form.

Mainly preludes and fugues are created for such instruments as harpsichord, organ, piano

IV. tush

In our today's article, we have analyzed what musical instruments, signs, works are. We hope that it was useful and informative for readers.

Note abbreviation

How to decipher additional signs that are often found in music?
In musical writing, special notation is used that shortens the musical notation of a work. As a result, in addition to shortening the notation, it is also easier to read notes.
There are abbreviation signs that indicate various repetitions: within a bar, several bars, some part of a work.
Abbreviated notation is used, obliging to perform written one or two octaves higher or lower.
We will look at some ways to reduce musical notation, namely:

1. Reprise.

Reprise indicates the need to repeat part of the work, or the entire work. Look at the picture:

Figure 1-1. Reprise example

In the figure you see two reprise marks, they are circled in red rectangles. Between these signs lies a part of the work that must be repeated. Signs "look" at each other with dots.
If you want to repeat only one measure (even several times), you can use the following sign (similar to the percent sign):

Figure 1-2. Whole bar repeat

Since we are considering the repetition of one bar in both examples, both recordings are played as follows:

Figure 1-3. Music notation without abbreviation

those. 2 times is the same. In Figure 1-1, the repetition gives a reprise, in Figure 1-2 - the "percent" sign. It is important to understand that the percent sign duplicates only one bar, and the reprise can cover an arbitrarily large part of the work (even the entire work). Not a single repeat sign can indicate the repetition of some part of the measure - only the entire measure.
If the repetition is indicated by a reprise, but the endings of the repetition are different, then they put brackets with numbers that indicate that this bar should be played during the first repetition, this bar during the second, and so on. The brackets are called "volts". The first volt, the second, etc.
Consider an example with a reprise and two volts:

Figure 1-4. Example with reprise and volts

How to play this example? Now let's figure it out. Everything is simple here. The recapitulation covers measures 1 and 2. Above the 2nd measure there is a volta with the number 1: we play this measure during the first passage. Above measure 3 there is a volt with number 2 (it is already outside the limits of the reprise, as it should be): we play this measure during the second pass of the reprise instead of measure 2 (volta number 1 above it).
So we play the bars in the following order: bar 1, bar 2, bar 1, bar 3. Listen to the melody. As you listen, follow the notes.

Results.
You got acquainted with two options for reducing musical notation: a reprise and a “percentage” sign. The reprise can cover an arbitrarily large part of the work, and the "percent" symbol repeats only 1 measure.

2. Repeats within a measure.

Repeat melodic figure.
If the same melodic figure is used within one measure, then such a measure can be written as follows:

Figure 2-1. Repeat melodic figure

Those. at the beginning of the measure, a melodic figure is indicated, and then, instead of redrawing this figure 3 more times, the need for repetition is simply indicated by flags 3 times. In the end, you actually play the following:

Figure 2-2. Performance of a melodic figure

Agree, the abbreviated record is easier to read! Please note that in our figure, each note has two flags (sixteenth notes). That is why in the repetition signs two traits.

Note repeat.
The repetition of one note or chord is indicated in a similar way. Consider this example:

Figure 2-3. Single note repeat

This entry sounds, as you probably already guessed, as follows:

Figure 2-4. Execution

Tremolo.
Fast, uniform, repeated repetition of two sounds is called the word tremolo. Figure 3-1 shows the sound of a tremolo, alternating two notes: "do" and "si":

Figure 2-5. Tremolo sound example

In short, this tremolo will look like this:

Figure 2-6. Tremolo recording

As you can see, the principle is the same everywhere: one or two (as in tremolo) notes are indicated, the duration of which is equal to the sum of the notes actually played. The strokes on the stem of the note indicate the number of note flags to be played.
In our examples, we only repeat the sound of a single note, but you can also see abbreviations like this:

Figure 2-7. And it's also a tremolo

Results.

Under this rubric, you have explored the various repetitions within a bar.

3. Signs of transfer to an octave.

If a small part of the melody is too low or high for easy writing and reading, then proceed as follows: the melody is written so that it is on the main lines of the musical staff. However, at the same time, they indicate that it is necessary to play an octave higher (or lower). How this is done, consider the figures:

Figure 3-1. 8va obliges to play an octave higher

Please note: 8va is written above the notes, and a part of the notes is also highlighted with a dotted line. All notes under the dotted line, starting from 8va, play an octave higher than written. Those. what is shown in the picture should be played like this:

Figure 3-2. Execution

Now consider an example when low notes are used. Take a look at the following picture (Agatha Christie's tune):

Figure 3-3. Melody on additional lines

This part of the melody is written on additional lines below. We will use the notation "8vb", marking with a dotted line those notes that need to be lowered by an octave (in this case, the notes on the stave will be written higher than the real sound by an octave):

Figure 3-4. 8vb obliges to play an octave lower

The writing has become more compact and easier to read. The sound of the notes remains the same.
An important point: if the whole melody sounds on low notes, then, of course, no one will draw a dotted line under the whole piece. In this case, the bass clef Fa is used. 8vb and 8va are used to shorten only part of a piece.
There is another option. Instead of 8va and 8vb, only 8 can be written. In this case, the dotted line is placed above the notes if you need to play an octave higher, and below the notes if you need to play an octave lower.

Results.
In this chapter, you learned about another form of musical notation abbreviation. 8va indicates to play an octave above what is written, and 8vb - an octave below what is written.

4. Dal Segno, Da Coda.

The words Dal Segno and Da Coda are also used to abbreviate musical notation. They allow you to flexibly organize repetitions of parts of a piece of music. We can say that it is like road signs that organize traffic. Only not along the roads, but along the score.

Dal Segno.
The sign indicates the place from which you will need to start the repetition. Please note: the sign only indicates the place where the replay starts, but it is still too early to play the replay itself. And the phrase "Dal Segno", often shortened to "D.S.", obliges to start playing the repeat. After D.S. usually followed by instructions on how to play the replay. More on this below.
In other words: perform a piece, meet a sign and ignore it. After you meet the phrase "D.S." - start playing with the sign .
As mentioned above, the phrase "D.S." not only obliges to start the execution of the repetition (go to the sign), but also indicates how to proceed further:
- the phrase "D.S. al Fine" means the following: start playing from the sign before the word "Fine";
- the phrase "D.S. al Coda" obliges to return to the sign and play until the phrase "Da Coda", then go to the Coda (start playing from the sign).

Coda.
This is the final piece of music. It is marked with a sign. The concept of "Coda" is quite extensive, it is a separate issue. As part of the study of musical notation, for the time being, we only need the sign of the code: .

Example 1: Using "D.S. al Fine".

Let's take a look at the order in which the beats go.
Measure 1. Contains the sign Segno (). From this point we will start playing the replay. However, we have not yet met indications for repetition (the phrase "D.S....") (this phrase will be in the second bar), so we ignore the sign.
Also in the first measure we see the phrase "Da Coda". It means the following: when we play a repeat, it will be necessary to switch from this phrase to Koda (). We also ignore it, since the repetition has not yet begun.