Basic Theory
Having a little musical knowledge is essential to beginning the flute.
Something we all must learn at one point or another is how to read notes. Music uses 7 main notes; A,B,C,D,E,F, and G. There are also sharps and flats between these many of these notes. This can best be shown on a piano.
Something we all must learn at one point or another is how to read notes. Music uses 7 main notes; A,B,C,D,E,F, and G. There are also sharps and flats between these many of these notes. This can best be shown on a piano.
When we read music, all these notes are shown on something called a staff, which is very simply five horizontal lines. Notes can be written both on the lines and spaces between the lines. An easy rhyme to remember the names of notes on the lines, from bottom to top, is Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. The first letters of each of these words represent the note names; E,G,B,D,F. When the notes in the spaces are read from bottom to top, they spell the word 'face.' See below.
For fun practice with your note names, CLICK HERE.
When you move between two notes, it is called an interval. However far apart those notes are will tell you what type of interval it is. For example, C to E is a third. You may notice that some notes on the piano above have the same names. They are the same, simply of a different pitch. Notes of the same name which are seven notes apart are called an octave. Moving a full step on the piano, such as from a C to a D, is referred to as a tone. Only moving from a C to a C sharp, however, is known as a semi-tone. An E to an F is also known as a semi-tone, as there is no sharp or flat in between.
There are some notes known as C sharp, or B flat. These are notes which are a semitone above or below the given note. A C sharp is played one semitone above a C, while a B flat is played one semitone below a B. Sometimes, sharps and flats are shown at the beginning of music. This is called a key signature. If a key signature shows an F sharp, it means play F sharp throughout the entire song where a normal F is written. If a key signature contains both B and E flat, you are to pay all B's and E's written as flats. However, if a natural symbol is written before a note, you are to ignore the key signature for that note. Sharps, flats, and naturals are represented by the signs below.
Notes in music are played at different amounts of time. This is called a note duration. Different types of notes represent different note durations. There are also rests in music. These tell players to stop playing for that amount of time. Like notes, different rests are used to show different durations.
Interested in learning more music theory? Find all you'll need here. As you begin to learn more of the flute, you will need to learn more music theory.