MUSIC 



4023 



MUSIC 



Sometimes there is introduced for variety 

 what is known as a triplet. This, as its name 

 indicates, is a group of three notes, but when 

 they are played they have the value of only 

 two notes of the same sort. Two eighth notes, 

 for instance, are played or sung in the time of 

 one quarter note, but these two eighths may 

 be replaced by three, tied together as a triplet. 

 The commonest way of writing a triplet of 



eighth notes is to join the stems, thus: Ij J 

 but a triplet of quarter notes is usually writ- 



thus, 



, only the first is sounded, but the 



ten thus: 



A triplet is generally 



played rapidly and lightly, as though the word 

 "hap-pi-ly" were spoken upon the beat when it 

 occurs. 



Perhaps someone may say, "But there are in- 

 complete measures. I've seen pieces in % time 

 whose first measure 'had but one quarter note." 

 Turn to the end of the composition, however, 

 and it will be evident that the difference is made 

 up there. In a ^ meter, if the first measure 

 has one beat, the last will have three. 



The Important Dot. Suppose in writing a 

 composition in % time the composer wishes to 

 have one note held for a whole measure. How 

 will he indicate that fact? He cannot simply 

 write three quarter notes or one half note and 

 two eighths, for each of these would have to be 

 sounded separately. . There are, however, two 

 ways of showing exactly what he wants ; he may 

 either use the tie (see next subhead below) or 

 the dot. The rule governing the dot is very 

 simple : a dot placed after any note adds one- 

 half to its value. A quarter note, for example, 

 is equal to two eighths, and a dotted quarter is 

 equal to three eighths, while a dotted halt' 

 note equals three quarter notes. Bearing this 

 in mi in I, can you add to the methods figured 

 out above for writing a % measure? 



Look carefully at the following and tell what 

 < r signature in each case would have to be 



. thr IMC:I.- 







Slur*. If two notes are writ tin 



thu- . I J h one is sounded distinctly. 



arc connected with a curved line, 



time given it is equal to that of the two com- 

 bined. That is, two quarter notes so connected 

 would have the time value of a half note; a 

 quarter note and an eighth note, the value of 

 three eighth notes. Such a curved line is called 

 a tie, and naturally it can be used only to con- 

 nect notes on the same degree of the staff. 

 Sometimes, however, an exactly similar line, as 



is used to connect 'notes on differ- 



ent degrees; this is called a slur. In instru- 

 mental music it tells the player to slip from 

 one note to the other as smoothly as possible ; 

 in vocal music it shows that the notes joined 

 are to be sung to the same syllable of the word. 



What Is "Ragtime"f The regular rule for 

 the accenting of measures is given above the 

 strong accent on the first beat. But sometimes, 

 to give an unusual effect, the composer chooses 

 to shift this accent to a beat that would com- 

 monly be unstressed. He therefore ties the first 

 note in a measure to the last of the measure 

 before, or ties the third beat in a % measure 

 to the second, thus throwing the accent to the 

 second or fourth beat. There are other ways of 

 securing similar effects, but these are simple and 

 illustrate the principle well. The musical name 

 for such a shifting of accent is syncopation, and 

 composers have always been disinclined to use 

 it, while music students have considered it one 

 of the subjects very difficult of mastery. 



But of recent years there has been a real rage 

 for syncopated music. Composers have flooded 

 the market with it ; people have learned to play 

 it when they could not play anything else, and 

 occasionally teachers have set themselves up as 

 teachers of that only. It is not, however, com- 

 monly called syncopated music, but ragt 

 for ragtime is nothing more nor less than in- 

 of famine motor, with its accents on other 

 th:m thr rruular beats. Many critics and mu- 

 sicians deplore its wide spread, feeling that it is 

 certain to result in a lowering of musical taste, 

 but others believe that in time it will develop 

 beyond its extreme state into a type of music 

 ' is really worth while. 



Tempo. This word, which means lime, is 

 used to indicate the rate of speed to be us< 

 mg or playing any composition. The abeo- 



can be given only by the metron 

 (which see), but the composer may use a num- 

 ber of terms which serve to show about how 



