The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 26

[Major-Minor]

The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 26

Getting Started with Music Reading - in D Minor

OK - a big leap forward in this Session ! We are now going to look at SEMIQUAVERS.

You will notice that the tempos on the mp3s here are all on the steady side. This is to make our first encounter with semi's reasonably palatable.
All 5 exercises are playable using just the first 2 positions.
Play along for 8 bars, then you are on your own for the next 8 (which is a repeat of the previous 8).
Key of D minor has 1 flat (Bb) just like it's Relative Major of F.

MBBC26a
[attachment=51644:MBBC26a.pdf]
[attachment=51649:MBBC26a.mp3]
There are 4 semiquavers in each crotchet.
Look at bar 1:
The 4th beat of the bar has 4 semi's playing D.
It's usual to group the notes together in such a way as to make reading them as easy as possible. So these 4 semis have the "double" bar across the top, joining them all together.
In Bar 33, on beat 3, you can see 2 semis (E and F) followed by a quaver (E). These 3 notes have been "barred" together to show they take up 1 crotchet beat.

In Bar 55, beats 3 and 4, you will see I have TIED the quaver over to the next beat.
In the next Bar, I have used an alternative way of writing the same rhythm. Both ways are perfectly acceptable, but Bar 55 is the clearer way of "seeing" the beats.
Watch out for the ACCIDENTALS ! In this piece, C# (as in bar 40). When there is a C# marked, any following C's in the same bar (and at the same pitch) will also be C#.


MBBC26b
[attachment=51645:MBBC26b.pdf]
[attachment=51650:MBBC26b.mp3]
In bar 1, you will see the "quaver followed by 2 semis" pattern on both beats 1 and 2.
Then in the second bar, this pattern is reversed - so we get "2 semis follow by a quaver" pattern.
It is very important to be able to recognise this difference. Its so easy to get it wrong !

Then notice in bar 4, the last of the group of semis on beat 2 is TIED over to the minim, creating that distinctive syncopated rhythm.

The semiquaver REST makes it's first appearance in bar 5, on beat 3.

Again, watch out for the ACCIDENTALS. This time there are also B NATURALS in there. Of course, if there is no natural sign in front of a B, it is a Bb as in the key sig.

In Bar 33, I have used a "guide" accidental on the C, just to remind you that the # on the previous C (in bar 32) is no longer active. Putting these guides accidentals in is good practice amongst the better music editors and copyists but mostly they won't be there and you have to keep your wits about you when sight reading. Its sometimes worth marking them in on a part if you think you might get it wrong.

Also in bar 33, on beat 1, we get the first instance of the "dotted quaver followed by a semiquaver". So the dotted quaver is worth 3 semis (a quaver plus half as much again), the extra semi making up the 4 (semis) in one crotchet beat.

MBBC26c
[attachment=51646:MBBC26c.pdf]
[attachment=51651:MBBC26c.mp3]
Sometimes, when you get a lot of semiquaver rests, it can be difficult to see where the main beats are. So its common practice amongst players to mark the beats with vertical lines. I've put them in here in the first 2 bars to show what I mean.

Bars 17 and 19 - here are 2 alternative ways of writing this syncopation. Both ways are quite correct.

MBBC26d
[attachment=51647:MBBC26d.pdf]
[attachment=51652:MBBC26d.mp3]
Watch out for the G# and Eb accidentals in this one.
Bar 17 - 2nd beat - here is another semiquaver pattern to get used to:
Semi / quaver / semi
Here the quaver in the middle is syncopated across the middle of the beat.

MBBC26e
[attachment=51648:MBBC26e.pdf]
[attachment=51653:MBBC26e.mp3]
Have fun !


The Major

Edited June 8, 2010 by Major-Minor

[thepurpleblob]

Thanks again for this. I'm about 25 episodes behind at the moment but I'm finding this an incredibly useful resource. My reading is getting much better, even (still bad but better!!)

Edited June 16, 2010 by thepurpleblob

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='868773' date='Jun 16 2010, 09:44 AM']Thanks again for this. I'm about 25 episodes behind at the moment but I'm finding this an incredibly useful resource. My reading is getting much better, even (still bad but better!!)[/quote]
It's my pleasure, thepurpleblob.
The next session will feature triplets (crotchet and quaver varieties). I've yet to start on this one though ... been rather busy this week writing some radio jingles, which we recorded just this evening at the Beeb.

But is should be ready in a week or two.


The Major