Two Musical Questions You’ve Never Asked But Always Wondered About…

You know what we’re talking about. In all areas of our lives there are those little mysteries that don’t seem important to ask about but still, it would be nice to know. It’s not like the answer is going to change our lives in any meaningful way but it would close the book on one of life’s little mystery so we can move on to another.

Music has those little mysteries as well and although there are enough for dozens of articles, we thought we would pick two today.

Note Stems

You know what we mean when we say, note stems, right? It’s the stick that the flag sits on. The note head is the circle that tells you what the note actually is and the stem is the stick coming up from the circle. Sometimes the note stems face up while other times they face down and although the reason for that is very simple, it’s hard to find a clear explanation for that.

In actuality, most of the rules for writing music are functional instead of musical or artsy. Although it would be nice to tell a grand story of Beethoven sitting in a cabin on some European mountain coming up with stem direction rules, that’s not what happened.

It’s purely functional. As you know music is printed just like words. We read it left to right and when we get to the end of a line, we go down to the next. Because every piece of paper costs the publisher money, they want the staves as close together as they can be without sacrificing readability.
The magic line on the treble clef is the third line or “B” line. On the bass clef, it’s the third line “D”. When a note is at the third line or below, the stem is written up. When the line is at the third line or above, the stem is written down. If a note is on the third line, the composer can write it how they would like.

By following these rules, the music stays better contained in the staff which allows the publisher to include more lines of music on the page. It’s also a little easier to read.

What’s With the Funny Words?

Why are all of these different languages used in music? Why say ritard when you could say, slow down? Why say cantabile when you could say, singingly? You could but that’s not what the composer wrote and he or she is free to write whatever they would like. If you play music long enough, you’ll find some pretty “interesting” notes to the performer.

Composers, especially those of earlier periods tended to be very nationalistic because communication was such that the world wasn’t globalized the way it is now. They knew the word they wanted and they wrote it in their native tongue. The bulk of the traditional musical marking are Italian because of tradition. Some speculate that it’s origins come from the widely accepted father of modern music notation, Guido d’Arezzo, an Italian monk who created the solfege system.

All classically trained musicians learn the same terminology and like any tradition, it has been passed down over centuries.

Modern composers are increasingly using words that have more meaning. With the English language being taught in schools all over the world, many composers are now using English since more people have a fundamental knowledge of the language than they do Italian.

Remember…

Much of music has traditional roots and much of its rules are grounded in tradition. Often, that tradition has attached to it some very interesting stories.

Do you know about Duane’s Crash Course in Exciting Piano Playing?

All of the following are non chord notes that are effective additions to create a non-harmonic effect and increase the interest and depth of piece of musical composition.

Passing Tones

Used in a harmony line that plays under the melody, a passing tone usually varies from the melody by a whole tone or a third (half tones are sometimes used but not as often) and they are meant to fill in spaces in the melody by forming a connection between one note of the melody, and the next one.  Passing tones allow the music to flow more smoothly.  Although they are fairly simply to play, and even use when improvising, they add depth to the music.  Experiment with passing tones by adding them to chords when you practice. They also happen “under” the melody in harmony — they “pass through” the harmony and therefore create motion.

Appoggiaturas

From the Italian verb “appoggiare” mean to lean upon, appoggiaturas are notes which lengthen the principal note by half its intended length.  They are usually played on the strong beats in the bar, and are usually a whole note either higher or lower than the principal note to which they are grouped.  In modern music manuscripts these will look the same as the other notes on the line, but in early music periods they were printed smaller.  When played within a chord the appoggiatura can create a degree of dissonance, but this is resolved when the principal note is played

Anticipations

These occur when a note belonging to the next chord set is introduced into the current chord being played - creating an anticipation for the chord to come.   Unlike appoggiaturas, anticipations occur on the weak beat, and are usually most effective when used at the end of a musical phrase.

Neighboring Tones

A neighboring tone is a non chordal note that is played at either one tone above or below the chord that follows it.  As it isn’t part of the chord set that follows, it causes a slight dissonance that adds more interest to the music.   When the note is a tone higher, it’s known as either an upper neighboring tone or alternately an upper auxiliary note.  A neighboring tone that is a tone lower than the chord that follows it is known as a lower neighboring tone/lower auxiliary tone.

Suspensions

A suspension is created in three parts.  Firstly comes the preparation (initial play), and then the suspension (held whilst chord changes) and finally the resolution (moves into new chord).  It holds one note from the preceding chord and creates a tone connection between that chord and the next for one note before stepping down into the new chord. 

At first glance these may appear to have the same effect, but listen to chord dominated music while following the manuscript and you’ll learn how to identify anticipations from suspensions, and neighboring tones from appoggiaturas.  The best way to learn how to identify which non-chord tone is which however is to sit at the piano and try them out yourself.  As you play them, you will learn to hear the subtle tone emphasis and variations of each and so be able to identify them easier when listening to a piece of music.