ELEMENTS OF THE MUSICAL SCORE

I. THE MUSICAL SCORE

The musical score is the graphic medium where all the musical symbols necessary for the interpretation of a composition are
reflected on paper. In it we can identify the pitch of musical notes, indications of rhythm and tempo, sound intensity, articulations,
etc.

II. THE PENTAGRAM

The Staff is the sign where music is written . It is composed of five parallel, horizontal and equidistant lines and four spaces . We can
write music on the lines and spaces, both inside and outside the staff. All musical signs are written on the staff: Notes, figures, Clefs,
Nuances, etc.

III. THE NOTES

The Notes are the signs that represent the sound. There are 7 notes: DO, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA and SI. From there the names are
repeated with the high notes since the number of vibrations per second is doubled, so the name of the note does not change. Visually,
they are easy to recognize on the staff since they are placed in order from bottom to top, with the bass in the lower area and the treble
in the upper area.

IV. TREBLE CLEF

The Clef is the sign that tells us the place that the notes should occupy on the staff. It is always placed at the beginning of the staff.
The Treble Clef on line 2 indicates that the G note is placed on line 2. From there the rest of the notes are placed.

Re Mi Fa Sol La
We have at our disposal up to three musical keys .

The three musical keys that exist

Treble clef

3 Key of C
Let's take a closer look at these musical keys; that is, which ones are placed in each location on the staff of the musical score:
 Treble clef . This musical key tells us that the reference for the location of the notes is the musical note Sol. Thus, we
will have to place the Sun on the 2nd line of the pentagram.

Bass clef on 4th line. This is another key, and for this occasion, located on the 4th line of the musical staff. So, when we
see it in a musical score, it means that the note we see in the 4th line is the F.

Bass clef on 3rd line. This is the same key as the previous point, but in this case we will place it in another location;
specifically in the 3rd line of the staff.

Clef of C on 1st line. This is the third key that we were missing. As its name indicates, it refers to the musical note C. In
this case, we will place the C on the 1st line of the musical staff.

Clef of C on 2nd, 3rd or 4th line. The key of C is the one with the most locations. The
we can place it on the 1st (as we have seen), 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th line of the musical staff.

The clefs and their locations are chosen based on the tonal register of the musical instrument in question. For example, the piano,
which has a very wide tonal register, usually uses simultaneously the treble clefs for the right hand and the bass clefs in the 4th line
for the left hand. This is known as a "double staff."

There is another key for percussion instruments that cannot give musical notes, but only noise, such as the drum, the bass drum, the
tambourine, etc.

V. ADDITIONAL LINES

The Additional Lines are small lines that are added above and below the
staff to be able to write notes that, because they are very low or very high, do not
fit on the staff. The additional lines are well known to everyone since to write the note C, the first note of the musical scale, we have
to use them.
 Notes distributed throughout the staff, in spaces, lines and additional lines
sol la si do re mi fa sol la si do re mi fa sol la si do re mi

VI. FIGURES AND SILENCES

The Figures are the musical signs that represent the duration of the notes. Thanks to them we know the time value of each sound. The
combination of figures and silences (along with the accents and the beat) give rise to the musical rhythm .
The Musical Figures are: Round, White, Quarter Note, Eighth Note, Sixteenth Note, Full Note and Half Note.
or JJ•)}}
Round White Black Eighth Semiquaver Fusa Semifusa

Each figure has its corresponding silence with the same value, but without sound.

Types of silences used in music

Round White Black Eighth Sixteenth Fused Semifusa

Each figure (or its silence) is worth twice the next one (x2) and half the previous one (:2). In this sense, each figure is usually
represented by a number. The round one is the longest, the one that represents the unity of all the others, corresponding to the number
“1”. Since a round is two white balls, the white ball is related to the “2”. Similarly, a round is four quarter notes, so the quarter note is
related to the “4”. If we continue multiplying by 2, the “8” indicates the eighth note, the “16” the sixteenth note, the “32” the first
note, and the “64” the semisecond note.
Figures can have different parts, which are head , stem and bracket :

Therefore the round one would only have a head, the white and black head and stem, eighth note, sixteenth note, first note and half
note would have the three parts (head, stem and brackets).

Correct writing of stems and brackets

The direction of the stem depends on the position of the note. All figures that carry them are drawn with the stem to the right of the
note head and upward, when the sound represented is below the third line of the staff.

J J )S
While when the note is on or above the third line, they are drawn with the stem to the left of the note head and downwards.

However, this rule is not absolute since it can vary when it is necessary to link several notes or
when more than one voice is represented. In fact, in polyphonic works the orientation of the stems
help to distinguish the different voices.

The bracket or brackets , which are shaped like hooks or corners, should always be on the right side of the stem, curved to the right.
When the stem points upwards the bracket
It starts at the top and curves downward. While when the stem points downwards the bracket starts from the lower tip and curves
upwards.

Joining the brackets

When several eighth notes, sixteenth notes, full notes, or half notes are close to each other and meet
Within the same pulse unit, the stems are connected with a line gross more or less
horizontal according to the general direction of the notes who want to join.

BB) =
In vocal music a different syllable is often assigned to each note and when a single syllable is
assigned to several notes are usually written with the brackets joined together, although this is not always the case.
VII. LIGATURE AND STITCHING

The Ligature and the Dot are signs of prolongation necessary to achieve the combinations and durations of notes that we want.
The Ligature is a curved line that joins notes of the same name and sound. The resulting note has the
sum value of the two figures.

El Puntillo is a point which is placed to the right of a figure or silence increasing half its

worth.

VIII. COMPASSES

The beat is the division of musical time into equal parts . It is the unit of measurement that orders the rhythm and allows the duration
of figures and silences to be interpreted. It is based on the combination of accented and unstressed pulses. There are three types of
time signatures depending on the accent of their beats: Binary (one accent every 2 beats), Ternary (one accent every 3 beats and
Quaternary (one accent every 4 beats). They are marked as follows:
On the staff the time signature is placed at the beginning, next to the Clef. It is written in fraction form.
The numerator indicates the number of beats that the measure has and the denominator indicates the figure that enters each of those
beats.
In this way we have that, if in a measure the top number (numerator) has a 2, the measure will have 2 beats or beats, if it has a 3 there
will be three beats or beats, etc.
On the other hand, the denominator tells us that if there is a 1 it will be a round on each beat or beat, if there is a 2 it will be a white
on each beat or beat, the 4 will be the quarter note, and so on, as shown in the diagram of the figures on page 2.

etc…

IX. DIVISION LINES OR COMPASS BARS

The dividing line is a vertical line that crosses the staff, to separate the measure that ends from the one that comes after.

This is important in musical performance because the first beat of the measure is always accented to achieve the corresponding
binary, ternary or quaternary rhythm.
There are also double dividing lines (used when there are important changes in the score) and the double line for endings.

Double bar Final bar

X. TEMPO OR MOVEMENT

Tempo or Movement is the speed with which we interpret a musical work. The tempo is indicated with Italian terms that are placed
at the beginning of the work on the staff . They indicate a fixed speed, and there are others that indicate a progressive change in
speed. They are the following:
 Presto Allegro Andante Adagio Largo
Very fast Fast Medium Slow Very slowly

Accelerating (acc.) Ritardando (rit.)

(each time faster) (slower and slower)

In addition to these words, the Tempo can be indicated more accurately with the Metronome. The metronome is a device used to
indicate the speed of musical compositions. Measure
pulses per minute, depending on the numbers it contains. Regularly produces a signal, visual or
acoustics, which allows a musician to maintain a constant speed.

Terms Abbreviation Meaning Metronomic

indication

Serious — Very slow (heavy) Less than 40.

Larghissimo — Very slow Less than 40.

Long — Despado (wide) Between 40-60

Longetto — not so slow

Slow — Slow Between 60-66

Adage Adgo. Slow (less than previous) Between 66-76

Adagietto — Less than the previous one

Walking Andhte. Slow Between 76-108

Andantino Y no. Little less slow than adagio

Moderate it Modto. With moderation Between 108-120

Allegretto Stop. Less lively than allegretto

Glad High. Lively, fast Between 120-168

Vvace Vce. Alive (more than allegro) Between 168-208

Vivacissimo — Faster than lively

Presto — Very fast, rushed

Prestissimo Loan Faster than fast More than 208

The metronome

The metronome is an instrument that is used to measure the speed at which a musical work is performed. It consists of an inverted

and graduated pendulum with a moving weight that is placed along a metal rod, and is moved with a mechanical clockwork machine.

They can also be electronic or even “online.” The metronome is usually used in rehearsals, to achieve rhythmic precision, but not in

public concerts.
XI. DYNAMICS AND NUANCES

Another important aspect when interpreting a score is Musical Dynamics or Nuances, which refer to the intensity of the sound.
It is indicated with Italian terms that are placed below the staff . There are two types of dynamic nuances:
Those that indicate uniform intensity and that do not change until another different indication appears. They are the following:

Pianissimo PP very soft

Piano Q gentle

mezzo piano mp medium soft

mezzo forte mf medium strong

Forte F strong

Fortissimo ff very strong

piano forte pf soft and then strong

These letters indicate that the volume must be maintained until another change in different intensity appears. The letters indicate
immediate changes.

Those that indicate a progressive increase or decrease in said intensity .

• cresc. : crescendo ('growing', gradually increasing the sound intensity).

• dim. : diminuendo (gradually 'decreasing' the sound intensity).
• decrease : decrescendo ('decreasing'), less used.

When the dynamic change does not pass to the next line (or system), "dynamic keys" (in English hairpin ) are used that clearly
indicate from where and to what extent the intensity of the dynamic should begin to change. sound. They are made with two almost
horizontal lines connected at one end, which gradually move away.

If the lines open to the right, they are equivalent to a crescendo — 2 . If the lines meet
to the right, they are equivalent to a diminuendo —===- .

With the vertex to the left

(equivalent to crescendo)

With the vertex to the right

(equivalent to decrescendo)
=
It is common to find combinations like

soft-strong-soft I strong-soft-strong In the scores they are indicated with abbreviations: pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, cresc, dim. These last two
can be represented with the Regulators.

XII. THE ALTERATIONS

All the notes we have seen so far correspond to the white keys of the piano. Here we will see how we can write the notes
corresponding to the black keys of the piano.
Let's first look at the correspondence between the white keys and their position on the staff:

Alterations are signs that are placed in front of a note, to alter the pitch of said sound. There are three alterations:

#b
SHARP FLAT BQUAD

The sharp raises the note a semitone (half a tone), the flat lowers the note a semitone (half a tone) and the bel leaves the note with its
natural height, that is, on the white keys of the piano.
In this way each black key can have, in principle, two names. C# is the same note as Db, D# is Eb, F# is Gb, G# is Lab and A# is Bb,
as can be seen in the drawing:
XIII. DISTANCE BETWEEN NATURAL NOTES

The Distance between the notes of the scale is measured in tones and semitones . A semitone is half a tone . Between natural notes
the sounds are one tone away, except between mi-fa and si-do where there is a semitone (or half tone). The distance between
neighboring notes is as follows:

Tones and Semitones

XIII. INTERVALS

An interval is the distance between two notes . To name an interval, the starting note and the arrival note must be taken into account,
counting all the notes between them. After that, the employees
Intervals are named with ordinal numbers and in feminine . Therefore, if for example To find an interval
between the notes C and G, you would have to count from the note C to G ascending or from G to C descending, giving a result of
5th: C –re-mi-fa-G or
well Sol-fa-mi-re-Do.

5th interval

Intervals can be melodic or harmonic .

A melodic interval is the distance between two successive notes and can be ascending or descending.

8th ascending 5th descending

A harmonic interval is one that occurs between two simultaneous notes , that is, they sound at the same time, so it cannot be neither
ascending nor descending. The same interval can be melodic or harmonic.

Ascending melodic 4th interval Harmonic 4th interval

When two notes are at the same height it is called unison or 1st interval.

Unison in G Unison in Bb Unison in C#

XIV. Other signs of expression

Breath or Coma : In a score, this symbol tells the player to take a short breath (or make a slight pause for non-wind
instruments). This pause usually does not affect the entire time.

Legato : Indicates that notes of the same or different sound must be played in a linked way,
without interruption between one and the other.

Chopped : These indicate that the note is played shorter than the one notated, so
the rest of the value is a silence, even if it is not written.
generally, half its value,

Accent : The note is played louder or with a more intense attack than any unaccented note. It can appear in notes of any
length.