NBChumbley

1
Basically, Music (a class on music
basics)   Class 1 Staffs, Voices, Keys and
Shaped Notes   In church hymnals there are
typically two staffs. Each staff consists of 5
lines and four spaces. Where a note is placed on
the staff designates its pitch. Pitch is stated
by a letter designator of A, B, C, D, E, F and G.
The top staff holds the notes for womens
voices and is know as the Treble Staff and uses
the symbol call the Treble or G clef.
called the G clef because the swirl designates
where the note G is located on the staff
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For choral and church music there a typically two
sets of notes displayed on this staff, the top
notes are sung by womens higher voices called
Sopranos. This line of notes is also called the
lead or melody although there are times when
the melody is given to one of the other voices.
The lower notes are sung by the womens lower
voices called the Altos and comprises of one of
the three harmony voices used in church music.
top notes are sung by the Soprano or lead (melody)
20 - We Worship and Adore You
bottom notes are sung by the Altos
176 - Lamb of God
sometimes the Soprano and Alto sing the same
notes (pitch)
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The bottom staff holds the notes for mens voices
and is know as the Bass Staff and uses the symbol
? call the Bass or F clef.
called the F clef because the two dots surround
where the note F is located on the staff
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There are also two sets of notes displayed on
this staff, the top notes are sung by mens
higher voices called Tenors. The lower notes are
sung by mens lower voices called the Basses and
comprises of two of the harmony voices used in
church music.
top notes are sung by the Tenors
20 - We Worship and Adore You
bottom notes are sung by the Basses
96 - I Stand In Awe
sometimes the Tenor and Bass sing the same notes
(pitch)
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There are times when all four voices sing the
same note (but not pitch), this is singing in
Unison
979 - I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger
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Not all notes in a song can be contained within
the staff. Notes that are put above or below the
staff for a particular voice uses short ledger
lines. Typically only the Altos and Tenors voices
use ledger lines.
ledger line in the Alto voice
ledger line in the Tenor voice
72 Blessed Be The Lord God Almighty
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Typical church music today comprises of four
voice groups Bass, Tenor, Alto and Soprano.
The voice you sing depends mostly on the
comfortable range of your voice.
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spaces are F-A-C-E and is easily be remembered by
the spelling of face lines are E-G-B-D-F and
is easily remembered by Every Good Boy Does Fine
spaces are A-C-E-G and is easily be remembered
by All Cows Eat Grass lines are G-B-D-F-A and
is easily remembered by Good Boys Do Fine Always
9
When songs are written, the author will compose
it in a key signature. The key chosen is more a
matter of the pitch-level than anything else, in
other words, is it sung in a high pitch or low
pitch. A couple of examples is He Is Able (213)
which is pitched in a lower key compared to Have
You Seen Jesus My Lord? (214). Key signatures are
sort of relative in some congregations where the
worship leaders dont always pitch the song in
the written key, but whether it is in the right
key or not doesnt make the song sound different
or weird. It will sound the same but only at a
higher or lower pitch. Songs we sing in church
today are written in one of two types of key
signatures, major and minor. The difference is in
the steps between the notes. Major scales are
in steps of 1-1-1/2-1-1-1-1/2, minor scales steps
are 1-1/2-1-1-1/2-1-1. Our western ears are
more use to a song written in a major scale since
it is more easy to learn. Minor scale songs we
sing sound unusual, examples are Awesome God
(38), Sing Hallelujah to the Lord (242), The
Battle Belongs to the Lord (749), The Name of God
(812) and I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger
(979). Keys Signatures use the symbols called
sharps or flats, a sharp ( ) will raise the
pitch of the note by ½ step, a flat ( b ) will
lower the note by ½ step.
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Key signatures are shown at the beginning of the
song and only appear elsewhere if a key change is
made. An example of a song with a key change is
Glory (168). Sometimes the worship
leader will change the key of a song on the last
verse. It is technically called modulate but
simply is just raising the pitch of the song.
This effect is mostly done for an aesthetic
reason to make the last verse fresh- almost
like singing a new song.
168 Glory
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Key signatures and names that are used for most
of the songs in the our book.
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The key signature shows which notes are to be
sharp or flat throughout the song- so
that they dont have to be printed beside each
note.
71 As the Deer
71 As the Deer
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Although the key signature shows what notes
should be sharp or flat there are still times
when the composer wants to sharp ( ) or
flat ( b ) a note within the music. This a note
will have a sharp or flat symbol next to it. This
is called an accidental.
20 - We Worship and Adore You
159 - You Are My God
14
Shaped notes are used almost exclusively in
church hymnals and songbooks. If you can learn
the shapes and the steps between the shapes then
you can sight-sing any song at any pitch.
(doe-ray-mee-fah-so-lah-tee)
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Shaped Notes - if you look at many of the songs
in our book, you will see that the parts will
start on one of three notes DO RE MI, with
the Bass line starting on DO.
577 We Bow Down
221 Jesus, Name Above All Names
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The worship leader will sometimes sound the DO on
a pitch pipe and sing DO-MI-SO-DO before starting
a song. This gives all parts their starting
pitch. DO Q MI E SO T DO - Q
MI
DO
SO
DO
77 Glorify Thy Name
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Shaped Notes - if you look at many of the songs
in our book, you will see that the Soprano (lead)
and Bass line end on DO, while the Alto and Tenor
ends on SO or MI.
577 We Bow Down
221 Jesus, Name Above All Names
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448 The Greatest Commands