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Musicianship Basics
Though it’s not essential to be able to read music to sing, it’s helpful to understand the basics. (For a more detailed overview of music notation and how to read it, see the Quamut guide to Reading Music.)
Pitch
There are seven primary pitches in the musical scale, labeled with the letters A–G, which correspond with the solfège syllables la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-so. The song “Do-Re-Mi,” from The Sound of Music, is an easy way to learn these syllables and their position in the musical scale.
Music notation depicts pitches by placing notes on the lines and spaces of a staff. The higher the placement on the staff, the higher the note is in pitch. The beginning of each staff is marked with a clef, a symbol that denotes the range of pitches that the staff covers. High pitches are notated in the treble clef, and lower pitches appear in the bass clef.
Musicians can find a given pitch simply by pressing a piano key, plucking a guitar string, and so on. But singers must find pitches by ear, which can be tricky. When you’re first starting to sing, it helps to use a keyboard instrument for reference. If you don’t have access to a piano, you can buy an inexpensive electronic keyboard or can even use a basic online “piano” that plays specific pitches on your computer (such as at www.pianoworld.com/fun/javapiano/javapiano.htm).
Elements of a Song
Songs are made up of the following basic components:
- Melody: A succession of single notes, varying in pitch, that make up a recognizable musical phrase—the part to which you can easily hum along.
- Lyrics: The words that a songwriter sets to music.
- Rhythm: The time component of music, rhythm includes the tempo (pace) and beat (pulse) of a song.
(For a full discussion of the parts and structures of a song, see the Quamut guide to Songwriting.)
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