EXPLORING AND UNDERSTANDING THE MUSICAL NOTES FOR BEGINNERS - FREE LESSONS

You probably can sing,“Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do” right? Now, try singing in proper pitch, go... “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So,

La, Ti, Do” .

Done that? Before we go any further, we must stress the importance of singing. At all times possible, always sing what you play. Because we are naturally born to be able to sing, it does shows that we are able to sing by hearing! (Well, it doesn't matter if you can't sing very well!) And since we can sing by ear, it isn't too difficult to play by ear if we play what we sing, which brings us back to the point of stressing the importance of singing –

"ALWAYS SING WHAT YOU PLAY, AND PLAY WHAT YOU SING!"

Ok, sing "C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C" in the same way you would sing “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do”. Notice that there are only 7 different alphabets representing music - C, D, E, F, G, A, B

What comes after B is C, and then it goes on again .. "C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, etc........ " Most songs that you hear today don't use more than

these 7 notes.

C D E F G A B C

(Do) (Re) (Mi) (Fa) (So) (La) (Ti) (Do)

Now, let's locate these notes on your keyboard. Play from C to C, and sing with your playing.

Good. Now, let's play a simple song. TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR

The notes are C C G G A A G, then F F E E D D C. Try playing it on your keyboard. While playing again, try singing with it.

"Twin - kle Twin - kle Lit - tle Star.... How - I - won- der what you are..."

C C G G A A G F F E E D D C

If you really do sing with it, you realise you will hold the ... - G note ('star), and ... - C note ('are') longer than the other notes. Now, that's rhythm! There is so much to explain about

rhythm, for instance time values, note duration, etc... For now, use your singing to determine the rhythm for the song! Remember, music is all about playing the right notes and the right