Len's Music Blog

Transposing (entry for 8/30/2024) The next concept we’re going to cover in these blog posts is the idea of ‘Transposing.’ The definition of ‘transpose’ in music is the changing of pitch, either higher or lower. For example, a church pianist or organist performing a hymn that is written in the key of A major (three sharps) might decide to play it in A-flat major (four flats) instead. Perhaps the singers are finding the higher notes slightly harder to hit, so the instrumentalist lowers the pitches a half-step to make them more comfortable. (The singers may not even notice the change, except that they suddenly find the pitches easier to hit!) Or perhaps, if she is playing a solo, the instrumentalist finds the fingering in the flat key easier that the fingering in the sharp key. (My maternal grandmother, who was a church organist, much preferred playing flat keys, and would almost always automatically transpose everything into a flat key for that reason, unless there were other musicians i...

Intervals (entry for 8/23/2024) A lot of musicians think that intervals— that is, distances between pitches— are defined by sound. If you’re studying ear training, that’s true. But in all other musical studies, it’s not true! Intervals are defined by how they’re ‘spelled.’ That is, they’re defined by the names of the notes involved. For example, the distance from middle C to the F-sharp above has to be some kind of fourth, because there are four letter names involved: C, D, E, and F. ( Assuming treble clef.) But the distance from middle C to G-flat is a fifth, because there are five names involved: C, D, E, F, and G.  (Again assuming treble clef.) Yet the two intervals are identical in sound, because on a keyboard or other keyed or fretted instrument, the F sharp and the G flat are the same note. There are many other examples of this phenomenon, but before we get to them, we need to cover some definitions. ‘Major,’ when it comes to intervals, simply means ‘larger.’ It has nothing t...

Music Notation Variety (entry for 8/16/2024) This blog series is mostly about music notation, and many musicians find this kind of information valuable. But it’s also important to remember that a lot of really good music is created without any notation at all. Notation is only  one  way of indicating what a performer is to do. There are many other ways. Some really excellent musicians have no idea how to either ‘read’ or ‘write’ music.  They may do it 'by ear' or by emulating the way some other musician did it. Or just make it up as they go along!  However, that doesn’t mean that notation isn’t valuable. It can be very useful, even if not strictly necessary. One of the fascinating things about music notation, when you get into it in any depth at all, is that there are always at least three different ways of writing the same exact musical passage. It’s important to remember that the music is actually the sounds, not the notation. The notation is just a way of telling ...

  Metronomes (entry for 8/9/2024 In the blog post entitled 'Why Italian?' we mentioned the fact that Italian tempo indications are very imprecise. (True of other languages too!)  Different people walk at different speeds, so a tempo like  Andante  implies different speeds to different people, even though it means, approximately, 'walking speed.'  I might walk a lot faster than you, or vice versa!  Likewise, tempos like  Allegro  or  Largo  are open to wide interpretation. In 1815 a German clockmaker whose last name was Maelzel invented a windup mechanical device which he dubbed the 'metronome,' which means 'measure regulator.' In his patent application (which was granted) he said that he had invented it for musicians so that they could play their music 'accurately.' His device quickly became known in the music world as Maelzel's Metronome— ‘MM’ for short. (The first famous composer who used one was Beethoven. However, his was defect...