My wife is learning to read music, and she has trouble with note lengths. For example, she often plays eighth notes and quarter notes the same duration. She can differentiate them better if the eighth notes are not beamed, but most music is not written that way. Does anyone have any suggestions for exercise for learning note lengths, or maybe recommendations for music learning software that might help?
My first suggestion would be, listen to the tune as it is played, before (or instead of) looking at the sheet music.
I’m currently learning The Last Pint by ear, but with (some of) the sheet music to hand. I just tried to play it from the sheet music about 2 hours ago, and just couldn’t get the rythm at all, yet I had no problem playing along with the CD and sounding like a 4th whistler in the Lunasa line up.
Most Irish music (if that is what your wife is trying to play) doesn’t follow the note lengths as notated anyway, so there’s little benefit in learning to get them exact.
Counting 1-2-3-4 works for quarter notes.
For eighth notes, you count 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and.
For sixteenth notes, count 1-E-and-A, 2-E-and-A, 3-E-and-A, 4-E-and-A.
Cheers!
Gary
<editted 2 corekt spelyng airerz.>
[ This Message was edited by: Gary on 2002-07-17 10:50 ]
Would the Whistle Shop’s online tutorial or is she already past that stage?
A couple of suggestions to helping with learning to read music and note lengths. One, there are some pretty good books on the market for recorder (gasp) that may assist in this area. I can get recommendations if you like, but I’d definitely look at a method book–it may make the whole thing less frustrating.
The other would be to use a pencil and mark music passages to help in learning to count the note lengths, ex, “1” “+” “2” “+” “3” “+” “4” “+” is common in 4/4 time, or “1” “2” “3” “4” “5” “6” above the eighth notes in a typical 6/8 measure. Then, tap your foot slowly to the beat or use a metronome and count the music out loud. Do this several times before playing the passage.
I don’t want to start this debate, again, as I definitely agree that it’s important to listen to the music to learn the proper rhythms in any musical style. However, in actually learning to read music, it is important to learn the note lengths and counting. Not only will it help your versatility with Irish Traditional in being able to learn or sight read new material for your enjoyment outside of hearing someone else play it, but reading music will help you expand beyond, if you so choose, to play other types/styles of music more easily. It’s not that it’s more important than playing by ear, but it just makes you more versatile to also be able to read music and that can enhance your enjoyment in playing.
It can be really helpful to “read” along while listening to some music – especially music she already knows. Something on the slow side, with a clear melody line, to start. She can even count along, as people have suggested, as she watches and listens. Going through a few tunes carefully and repeatedly this way will probably help more, initially, than going through many tunes one time each.
Best,
Tery