Susie's Notebook

Music Basics

© 2006 Gert-Jan & Susie Rotscheid

If you put on a piece with a really strong beat and watch the dancers - they will usually start moving their feet or body to the music. Why is that?

• The natural response to most music is movememt and pleasure.
• We react automatically - subconsciously.
• We enjoy it - if we are not already moving, we usually move to it, synchronize our movements to it. (Think of music in store, or on the street; we usually start walking to the beat of the music.)
• Music is a very powerful tool. We can use it to set moods and control people (in a good way). It is part of our job to increase the pleasure of each person in the hall.
• Your choice of music effects the mood of the group.
  
  • "Patches" - or anything slow - makes people slow down and can bring the mood down
  • "Shadow of My Mind" – sensuous
  • "Grand March / Polonaise"- spirited & stately
  • "When Will I" – romantic
  • "Rachel's Song" - romantic

Why should we take the time to learn about music?

1. It is the basic element we work with.
2. It can help in working with callers; they usually know at least the basics.
3. It can help in choosing dances.
4. It can help in making a program.
5. It can help in reading and interpreting a cue sheet.

A LITTLE ABOUT MUSIC

What makes "music"

• Lyrics (the song) - words, this is not really the music, but it is often what we respond to or think of when we think about music.
• Melody - the group of tones in a specific arrangement. This is what we usually will "hum" (the lyrics are what we would "sing").
• Harmony - these are 2 or more tones played simultaneously (together) that are pleasing to the ear.
• Rhythm - this is the actual pattern of the beats - the slows & quicks, accented and unaccented. This is what you can also accent in your "metered cueing".

Written music

Music is written on a staff with 5 lines and 4 spaces. The notes are written either through the lines or in the spaces. In a standard staff, the notes on the lines are (from the bottom up) EGBDF. This you can remember with the saying, "Every Good Boy Does Fine". The notes in the spaces (from the bottom up) spell the word "FACE".
   E       G     B        D     F                F         A         C     E

TIME SIGNATURE

In music the most common time signatures are 4/4 and 3/4. The top number says how many beats there are in one measure; the bottom number says which type of note gets one count or one beat. There are also other time signatures, like 2/4, 2/3, 6/8, but except for 2/4 these are not used as much, at least not in Round Dancing.

The first time signature mentioned, 4/4, says there are 4 beats to a measure and a quarter note gets one count. In Round Dancing, the type of note that gets one count is usually a "quick" step. A note that gets 2 counts is usually a "slow" step. 4/4 timing is what most of our dances use. But, for instance, most marches, Paso Doble, Tango and Samba are usually written in 2/4 timing, but sometimes a cue sheet will be written as if the music was written in 4/4. The rhythm that uses 3/4 timing is waltz. That means that a waltz will have 3 beats to a measure and a quarter note gets one count. Knowing something about timing is important in reading cue sheets, in dancing and in choosing dances.