The Music Lesson - Class #3 - Name the notes | Michael Emenau | Skillshare
Search

Playback Speed


1.0x


  • 0.5x
  • 0.75x
  • 1x (Normal)
  • 1.25x
  • 1.5x
  • 1.75x
  • 2x

The Music Lesson - Class #3 - Name the notes

teacher avatar Michael Emenau, Music Maker!

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

    • 1.

      Welcome/Introduction to the Course

      1:53

    • 2.

      Name the Notes

      20:18

    • 3.

      Melody #1 What is Pitch

      3:12

    • 4.

      Melody #7 Naming the notes

      8:42

    • 5.

      Melody #8 What is an Octave

      3:37

    • 6.

      Melody #9 High Low octave Same test

      4:48

  • --
  • Beginner level
  • Intermediate level
  • Advanced level
  • All levels

Community Generated

The level is determined by a majority opinion of students who have reviewed this class. The teacher's recommendation is shown until at least 5 student responses are collected.

27

Students

--

Projects

About This Class

  • What is a note?
  • What are they names of the notes on a piano?
  • How can I quickly find and know the names of all the notes? 
  • What are sharps and flats?
  • What is an octave?
  • Why are their black and white notes?

All of these questions and more will be answered in this course. I will be giving many tips on visual memorization of the keyboard as well as practical applications to get you playing sings easier and faster. And of course as always, I will include a bit of ear training.

---

In this new "Series" I am taking a different approach to the traditional online education experience. Each course will contain a curated series of lessons to achieve a musical goal. Instead of simply presenting the information to you in the typical online format (Me- teacher talking to you , giving information and supplying tests and downloadable documents to you - The student)  At the beginning of each course, I will first show a video of a one-on-one lesson with a student who is learning the same material. It is my intention to demonstrate the challenges and rewards one can encounter during the education process.  My test students name is Daniel and he is a great guy and very funny.

Meet Your Teacher

Teacher Profile Image

Michael Emenau

Music Maker!

Teacher

Hello, I'm Michael Emenau, musician, composer, app developer and overall lover of music. I created these courses based upon my experineces teaching my kids and others about how to play music from a very simple, fun base.  Everyone can play music, we just need the tools.

See full profile

Level: All Levels

Class Ratings

Expectations Met?
    Exceeded!
  • 0%
  • Yes
  • 0%
  • Somewhat
  • 0%
  • Not really
  • 0%

Why Join Skillshare?

Take award-winning Skillshare Original Classes

Each class has short lessons, hands-on projects

Your membership supports Skillshare teachers

Learn From Anywhere

Take classes on the go with the Skillshare app. Stream or download to watch on the plane, the subway, or wherever you learn best.

Transcripts

1. Welcome/Introduction to the Course: Hello, everyone. My name is Michael Emenalo, and I'm here today to talk to your boat and exciting new course that just created called. The Music lesson in this series, of course, is I'm gonna be taking a different approach than traditional online education experience or me. The teacher teaches you how to do something that will be included, but I'm also going to give you a really life. One on one case study, one of my students has graciously accepted to be videotaped while I teach them different music concepts. Now this concept could be what a court is or how to find a certain note in the piano or a scale or how to play a certain song. But the fun part is, is that after you have watched and experienced my student go through the process, I have then chosen a series of selected, curated classes from previous courses that have made to learn this singular concept. Now it's a lot of fun. Seeing a student go through this, you'll be able to see the challenges, the pitfalls where they succeed, what's easy, what's hard, and hopefully it'll give you the student a little more empathy for other people learning as well as yourself. This lesson is going to be all a boat note where they're on the keyboard, their names. Sharps and flats, white notes, black notes, octaves, different intervals. ABC Door Amy. Why? What's the difference? Why do we even have these different systems? And most importantly, I'm gonna be teaching how to quickly and efficiently find these notes on the keyboard. I'll be giving you tips on visual memorization of the keyboard. Ah, practical applications for finding notes quickly and efficiently, so you could be playing the songs you want right away. This is a great lesson, and it helps clear up so many little questions and my students have had over the years. Okay, let's get to it. 2. Name the Notes: you ready? Daniel has now learned all twinkle, twinkle little Star, which is super exciting. He did it and he did it in a different key. Eso right, Take that. Somebody I'm gonna teach Daniel where the notes on the piano Our on going to start by saying there's two different systems for note names. The one that you may have heard of more often than not, is the A B C D E f g, which is This cycle goes around and around and around, and the other is so fares, which is door Amy far so less Edo Why they both exist. I don't really know. I've used those words and scrap you use those words in Chicago Door. Amy, I don't know if that's legal. Here's what I think it is I'm gonna guess, and then our research and then on the little overlay. Okay, I think the ABC is for Germanic languages And the door Amy, I believe, is for romance languages. I know in France and Italy they do the door bring me and they sing with that where in the dramatic languages it is just with the letters. I really don't know why find out, Let me know after. Okay, I'll try to be brief. About 500 b. C. The Greek philosopher mathematician Pythagoras sort of defined the idea of different pitches by listening to believe it or not to ambles, hitting different size ambles and he heard ratios. A 3 to 2 ah ratio ended up being 1/5 like a seed of a G. About 600 years later, Ptolemy, another Greek guy who was living in Rome, he came up with a system of a B C D e f g He kept going H i k l M n o Yeah, there was no J that times we skip the J Ah, but that ended up being a too active in the A being defined as the lowest note that you could sing in the O was the highest. Now what about 1000 80? You got Greedo de Rizzo, who was a Italian monk, and he was reading a Gregorian chant. Ah, Song called Route cuenta lacks is And what he did was he used put Remy far so LA as his melody, as I guess you would say the lyrics and that ended up turning in to Seoul Fetch. They even made it into a plaque. Yeah, way to go Now. A little later on it was replaced with dough. I think it was probably Dominga us. It is not particularly easy to sing. So anyway, this kind of went on C or t got out a little later on kind of were out today is Ah, the Latin countries. My guess you'd say the more Catholic countries ended up using the sole feds were the Protestant Anglophone Germanic countries sort of kept more with the A B C D. And that's where we're at today. Okay, so here is the keyboard. Now we talked about this before. This is a repeating cycle. This is the same as this is the same as this is the same as this. As far as the names of the note to go, there's your pattern. What happens is if I'm here and I go to hear I've gone up one octave. If I'm here and go down to here, I've gone down one octave. That all makes sense. So here is the pattern to look for when you're learning the notes on the piano. You've got two black notes groups of three black. OK, just to confirm, Can you just show me some groups of two black notes? Here we get ready? Yeah, I'm ready. Game of government black notes. Okay. Now, as a test, just just for mere this with a group of like nose, could you play a group of two black notes? That is two octaves above that. All right. And three black notes. Three options below. Did I go to You didn't go to Okay, I need to go three. You gonna use the other hand? That's first time. Get the left there. OK, here's how it works. You can get your two black notes. And if you go down to this white note, which is just to the left thigh, this is a C, which is also dough. Yes, or sea. So if you say play, see that to see why, And it's also it's also dough. Can you play a whole bunch of sees on the piano? OK, one another. Uh, you got okay. Cool. You understand? I understand. You understand. Now there's two ways to figure that the things but I like to do. I used there's two notes I use. As for beginning students to find to quickly find where the Notre Then you relate, the others off those that's the city and the other one is the group of three notes right below it. Okay, okay, So there's your lots of lots of okay now in the alphabetic system. It's later, very logically, since we all know the alphabet work. So this is a scene. What is that? That's a D. That is. It didn't and that is E. On. Look at that. Oh, there's a there's and then the next one is the next one. H is not h o. That's where that's the thing that is an A. It's a cycle that, in fact, that we really should have started with within A She doesn't really matter where you start because it's a circular cycle anyway. After G Yeah, you start the cycle again, you go back to a be and there's the two black notes, right, and it just goes up and down the same. But it's good to start it. See, because, you know, I'm so yeah, you know, I'm thinking about you know, there are the two black keys. There are the three black keys that Warren's me exactly. Better than just the logic, right? Right. Cause a logical thing is Jeremy use may. It doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't really matter. Because this because this digital camera we're using is not even the same as a regular piano. The layout is the same, but a real piano actually goes down to a low a. So and where things go soggy, it goes up a little higher to. Doesn't matter. Very few people ever playing the edges of the piano. Uh, it's just kind. Doesn't sound particularly nice up top. It's too brittle and down low. People can't really discern the pitch at whatever hour of the day. See Lesson one. Okay, so this is a seat so I wouldn't want you to right now is just play for play. Me three ease. Yeah, another wreath. And now what I would say. Oh, yeah, you got If you want to find any quickly, you're just beginning. You could either count up from the sea, which is I think what you did or you get your avenues go down. One makes sense. That's like Singapore math. Forget a No. Okay, that's that's good that you can go way, always under alphabet, going as a linear thing. But it is a circular thing. Yeah. Okay, So where is your A? Where's A's is your next this year? That's a seat. That's asesores a here. Think about it. See what's before. Seeing the alphabet B. Yeah, right. Of course. I just kept thinking End of the cycle. Okay, No. So it's never It's a never ending cycle. God, C B k. OK, so that's it. Now I'm gonna just in Seoul veg. It's the things you've always heard. The sea is the dough on And then it's door Amy far So laughs Edo or Tito did different. There are separations and the vocabulary used. But go free. That's it. That's all there is really to it. I'm going to, uh, generally speaking, I'm getting is the A B c D e f g. The reason is, when we get into harmony the cords that you're gonna be learning, you always use the letter notes. You wouldn't say a farm major chord, you would say an F made record. And when it's written down, that's how they know. Okay And gnomic late. It is a fancy word for his name. doesn't name in it. I want to know Monk late. I mean, one of the great, you know, One of the great things you can do in life is named things. So if I were to nominate you economically, you best student. Okay, so that's the way note. Now, you get these other things up here. This is a bit weird how the black notes work. Uh, this is okay. I started different. Where's Richard D. Okay, so this indeed and this note above it Now, when I say above this is actually the closest. Oh, you know what? I've got to I forget to tell you something when you were playing any note if you were ascending. Okay, this note here is higher. Right? But in between, there's this other note on this note is tire. And then this one is higher again to it. Actually, even though it looks linear, the actual line of ascension Okay, this is actually called when you play all the notes. This is called a chromatic scale. So even though when you make most scales, you only use a certain number of notice, use only seven notes. There are 12 note to choose from between to see you have 12 notes. Okay, So if I'm here and I want to go to the next highest pitch, where is that? The next highest pitch? Yeah, that's correct. You're here the next highest pitches here. Right? If you were here, where's the next highest pitch? No. Okay. No, it's kind of weird thing, because, yeah, that guy's pitch in this case is just something that's that's normal, like, Okay, it is just that it's the whatever's physically closest, But because of this thing, I guess in a way you could stretch it out and have all your notes in the line. Right? But we don't, and I'm not going to change it, and I dough, you're gonna change it. I'm not gonna change. Okay, So you're here. Go up to the next highest soon again. Okay. You okay? I'm gonna go to the next highest net. Yeah, right through. This note is a semi tone higher than this number. So when you move up to the next higher note, it's called a semi tone. Okay. You heard that word before? Um, I think I saw in a movie once. E I think I heard it you heard a movie right here. I didn't see heard. Oh, okay, so that is a semi tone. The same thing. If you're here, the semi tone is right there. If you're here, where's the semi, Tona? If you're that's something that's the same week Own up Now the same logic. Where's the semi tone down exactly? Ok, math time, Semi tone plus seven tone equals tone I got. So if you're here, where is a tone up? Turn up exactly, Because it is. Yeah. Two semi tones. Super. Now we're gonna learn the names of black notes. How that we know what a tone in this every toner. I am not here. What notices again? Remember, that's a d right, Which is also Ray, but we're going to save a semi tone up is called d sharp D sharp. Any time you raise a note by a semi tone, you put a sharp on it. Okay, That's how you name it. So if you're f your f f f sharp Right on now, go to G G. Sharp. Okay, Back to G. Now what? Do you know what the other one is where you get your sharps and you're the other thing for changing pitched on the note. Well, it's not blood. It is. No, it's called a flat, flat flat. Okay. You it wasn't okay. If you're G years G flat, G flat. Exactly. F sure, Uh, is your mind blown? You know what? Did you ever know this? No. Okay. I mean, just sure. Well, most of my musical education is from, uh, Bugs Bunny. That's a good place. That's OK. So So, you know, just just to know what I've always sort of heard. You know, I've known you a little ever talk about sharpened flies. This is That's it. G flat enough shirt or the same note. Wait, say that again. Oh, I think it really said it again. A g flat. Yeah, we're g flat. Eso There's a moment of self realization. Yeah, flat. It's g g is. I remember getting three black notes. That's the that cf. So did you use that? She is here g flat. Okay, just stick a finger up there just to remember, okay? Now, where's your f in Russia? Now you get it? I got g flat. F sharp are the same note, and this works everywhere, so if I am here. What to note Is that that's d sharp? Yep. And Defla? Alright. Who I best student of the year? Not yet. Well, I've already forget the nomenclature joke? No, I forgot. Dio. Okay, That is how all this theory works in all the notes. Okay, so let's just do another one. Could you play on a flat orangey shop? G? Uh, and a g sharp? Yep. Which is the same as as an f No. As an a flat. Right. Okay. Super. You got a heart so flat. Is it right? A flat equals g. Sharp weight, sharp. Right. And they are the same pitch in music theory. They have different functions. We're not going there right now. I could handle it your way. We'll get them because we do something else. Even kind of weird right now. Okay. Okay. I want you to put lipstick that here's your math. Is this the challenge of the other lesson? Because this is what was done. Oh, because there's only 12 notes. You already I mean logically already know them. OK, but how would this can you play in e sharp on e sharp? Yeah, right. That's right. Okay, Cool. Same thing. Can you play a C flat? A C flat? Exactly what Daniel is done. Because this is visit. Does this really hang some people up? E. When we think of a sharp or flat, we think it's going to be a black note. All that a sharp or flat is it is a seven x 17. It's the next senator right now. Generally, we don't see very many thes sharps when I'm playing music and I see it. You sure written on the sheet music. I don't like it. I just don't because no, because it's that. Just afraid enough where you're any chart for? So how about this? What I'd like you to do to finish this lesson? I want you to do two things when you play. Remember the dramatic scholars? That's all the tones of the semi tones. Yeah, all the notes within an octave. Yeah, from in this case, from sea to sea. If you play every note once. That is a chromatic scale. Let me try that. And what I want to do is name each of the note that you're playing. Okay. Yeah, yeah, sure. Dean D sharp. E Sure recalled F R right now we're gonna call it out of sharp G g sharp. Okay, You sure? Be See right up. OK, Now do the same thing, but name things with flats with flats. Yeah, So meaning that individual Wait, No, You're gonna give his regular letter neighbors. If it If it's this, I don't pull a d sharp, call it. But the flat version would be the flavors and IHS Yes, but that's not a need to know. What is that? Uh, that's an issue that would Dad is a d sharp because of our d sharp. But it is also in e flat because if this is an E and I go down a semi tone right, that's a flat. Okay, Okay, I know this. I'm throwing it out here. But let's see if we can dio we could do it over the sea. Okay? Not to see right? Yeah. OK, now the black No. Right here. That's ah d flat. Exactly. Okay. And then the next note is de yet in the next one. Oh, sorry. Dee dee Sharp E. Uh, yeah. Yep. Sure, but we're doing flats writes What is it? A flat G flat That's a G flat, G flat G. Yeah. Do you find? Be not Be if that's an a flat and you have a semi toe. That's, uh, A as the Canadian note. Right. We should have a little a little sticker for that. Right? People's That's right. Okay, so that's a B flat. Yep. That's B. Yep. Oh. 3. Melody #1 What is Pitch: welcome to Melody. You've made it. Okay, so the first thing we're gonna do is describe what is a melody. Melody is a Siris of pitches over time. Generally, it has a rhythmical context, but its basic form it is just a series of pitches. Now, a pitch is another name for a note and to describe it in mathematical terms, a pitch is something that you hear that is vibrating. Generally, it has a constant vibration. And that vibration, whatever it is, it gives you the pitch. For example, if I played this note on the piano, what's happening? I'm pushing down a note. There's a little hammer behind it which hits a string. Now that string is vibrating at 440 times a second. But not this pitch or note is on every instrument. For example, if I gonna play this Yeah, this'll is an a on the on the guitar. And again, this string is vibrating at 440 times a second. Um, if I blow a new recorder again, this is an A and this has been more abstract. This recorder is actually vibrating at point or the air coming through it is vibrating 440 times a second. That's why we hear it as an A. Um uh, when I sing in a, my vocal cords are vibrating at 440 times a second. You don't really need to know what the vibration speed of any note or pitches. But this is just a way to help you visualize when we start looking and trying to discern high and low notes. Now that is exactly what it is. Ah, higher note is a note that vibrates faster at higher rate than a lower note. For example, there's my A for 40. If I played this note, I'd say this is a higher note, and the reason why is because the string is vibrating at a higher speed on the lower I play a lower note. Still, uh, that string is vibrating again slower, and this again works in any instrument that is a lower lower pitch because it is moving at a lower velocity. Okay, on the next lesson, we're gonna give you some techniques to learn how to hear high and low notes and discern them 4. Melody #7 Naming the notes: in this lesson, we're going to learn how to name the notes on different instruments. Now there's two major systems which are used. One is using letters A B, C, D E F g. The others is using syllables called soul veg door Amy Fossil Aciego. Both are valid. I prefer to use the letter system because when we started using harmony, you end up using the cords with the letters, not with a soul fetch. But if you prefer to do it in Seoul Fish, that's okay with me. Okay, so here's what it looks like. Here's a piano keyboard and it never looked at this before. You'll notice that there is a very distinct pattern of what happens in the piano. All your keys, your white keys move across. But within your Blackie's, you've got groups of two notes in groups of three notes to notes, three notes and this continues the whole way up. And what that means is at this distance from here to here it was called an octave. What that means is that this pattern is is repeated here is repeated here, up and down the whole way down the piano. So what? We're gonna do right now. We're gonna learn the names of the notes and here's how we do it. We're gonna find the group of two black notes and then we're gonna go just to the left of it. And this note I za seat. It's also called Don't know. As you move up, your letters increase. So mercy is, uh, um Jean after G, you go back to a two cycle, okay? And as you can see, this pattern of the 23 is repeated here, back to sea again. And then it just continues the whole way up and down the now the black notes, they're all named related to the white key that their closest to So, for example, thistle is a sea or a dough. If I go to this first black, he and does he notice it is to the slightly to the right, which means it is way say sharper, then wait note And what that means. It is a higher pitch. Andrew, from here way go up to it and the sea becomes a c sharp that is see? Sure. So this is d again. We're gonna go to the right. A little paper under the next higher pitched this black note, and that is a D shock I worked for the same as for these three black notes to If this is C D and this is f sharp, C D E f g sure. Now these black notes also have another name if you count down. So, for example, if I'm on an E on, I'm gonna go down to the closest black note. I'm not going down a semi tone I went from he b flat. Now this is where it's a little confusing because E Flat and D sharp are the same note. Why is it like this? It has to do with music theory, and it's telling you whether it's sharper flat is when you indicate where this note tends to want to go, not a concern at this point. What we need to know is that this is what it is called D sharp or the flat of the same note , the same thing. This'll note. Right here is a C shop. It's also a d flat. I'm a d. I'm going down a semi toe two d flat. Now what is a semi tone? A semi tone is the note that is the closest in pish to know that you are that you were at So this is a C. My next closest noted pitch going up is that my next semi tone up eyes here s go If I want to do a semi tone going down if I'm at sea. If I'm doing a semi tone down, it is another white now for my next seven. Toned down, as you can see, is this note. This'll note is a B flat. I would be on B flat. Thes pattern works the whole the whole way through on the piano. Now at the beginning, it's a bit overwhelming because there's all these notes and they got different names. But there's some things to remember Number one on the piano. It's a pattern. It's on Lee this big and in the beginning to find note, I recommend the 1st 2 notes to find the easiest ones to find R, C and F. Here's what you find them. He was your pattern of three black note three black nose into black notes. You have your two black notes, and you just go down to the nearest note below on not to see the same thing with the F. I've got 123 black notes. I just go down to the semi tone right below this f sharp, and this is your So now we know two black notes, three black notes, so use eases the placeholders and you can count on on. Then you can just keep counting. Be now we're at sea. And again there's those two black notes. There's the sea right below it. It works the same way. Now on the guitar. It's a little different because it's not a The pattern is not the same. You've got different strings, each that have their own notes. But the idea is the same of what a semi tone is. A semi tone is one note on when you go up, one fret Europe, the next semi tone, and you just keep going up semi tones. So if I'm not here, this is an E. I was E F F sharp and G. Okay, so that is where the No char gnash their names. Like I said, ABC Door Amy, it's the same to me. Um, it's definitely easier on the piano to find the notes because of the structure of the instrument of the guitar, it's more ambiguous. It's harder to see because of the off the way that the strings were laid out. But like I said, it is structurally the same concept. How, as far as practicing these things, find your target notes, and as you're learning songs by here, you will just become or more familiar with it, so good luck. 5. Melody #8 What is an Octave: in this lesson, I'm going to be explaining to you what an octave is. And for some people they find concept of a knocked up a little confusing. So I'm going to give you some different definitions of what it is and different ways to find what an octave is now. First and foremost, what an octave is is this same note, but it's a different pitch and what that means. For example, I'm on the piano. This isn't f. If I count up 12 semi tones, I will find the next active 12. This is an F. I think this is a thing this F one octave higher than this thing. This is one octave lower than this, and you'll notice that also you have 12 semi tones separating any octave. I'm on the guitar. There's my I got a kind of 12 7 tones. 123 that is in F one octave higher on this scientifically, it works like this. We talked before about a 4 40 this'll a vibrates a 440 times a second. Now an octave higher is actually double in vibration speed. So if this is 440 if I count up to 12 semi tones. This A is vibrating at 880 five races per second. This a down an octave hers a 224 140 divided by two. This a again, Not important. Some people find it interesting. What some people find tricky about octopus is that they have a hard time discerning between the higher and lower active just because they sound quite similar and it can play with your ears on. In fact, generally speaking, when a male voice sings, they tend to seeing an octave lower than a female voice singing the same line. So even if I, for example, played a melody that I sang at the same time, um, I would probably sing it Lola, where somebody else may sing again. It's the same note A, B, C sharp, B A. But the pitches are different because the 2nd 1 was one octave higher. But this really is not that important, especially when you're playing by ear because your voice in your hands are going to gravitate to where they most naturally fit. Okay, that's what a knock it is 6. Melody #9 High Low octave Same test: Okay, Now we're gonna do a test. And, like the high and low test before, we're gonna be doing different notes. So the answer is there going to be high or low or same? Some bands will play to, you know, sort of the same and also has a challenge. Sometimes I would be playing an octave, for example, if it's an active than, please know, Tate active. And if it's an octave up or down for all the other notes, higher, lower, and it's the same the same. Okay, here we go. And and, uh um um ah ah. Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh um There, huh? Uh huh. You, um uh uh