The Key of C Major
When a song consists of notes from a particular scale, it is said to be written in the key which has the same notes as that scale. For example, if a song contains mostly notes from the C major scale, it is said to be in the key of C major. The songs "Silent Night" and "Morning Has Broken" are in the key of C major. The key of a song tells you which note is the central note which all other notes in that key relate back to.
The Three Four Time Signature
This time signature is called the three four time signature. It indicates there are three beats in each bar. Three four time is also known as waltz time. There are three quarter notes in one bar of ^ time.
The Dotted Half Note
A dot placed after a note or strum extends its value by half. One dotted half note makes one bar of music in ^ time.
The Dotted Half Strum
A dot placed after a half note or half note strum means that you hold it for three beats. There is one dotted half note strum in one bar of music in ^ time.
Silent Night is one of the most popular Christmas songs and was written by Franz Gruber. It is in ^ time in the key of C major. The rhythm pattern contains three beats but only one dotted half strum in ^ time. Bar 24 contains a whole rest which can also be used in ^ time.
The Tie
A tie is a curved line that connects two notes with the same position on the staff. A tie tells you to pick the first note only, and to hold it for the length of both notes. In this example pick the D note and hold it for six counts.
Morning Has Broken is a well known folk song. Do not strum any chord for the first bar. This song is in ^ time and is in the key of C major. A tie is used to connect the two dotted half notes in bars 11 and 12 and the last two bars. Once again, rhythm patterns in ^ time contain three beats.
The Eighth Note Triplet
Eighth note triplets are a group of three evenly spaced notes played within one beat. Eighth note triplets are indicated by three eighth notes grouped together by a bracket (or a curved line) and the number 3 written either above or below the group. Eighth note triplets are played with a third of a beat each. Accent (play louder) the first note of each triplet group as it will help you keep time.
Amazing Grace is a Gospel song which has featured in many motion pictures. It is in ^ time in the key of G major. It has a lead-in and contains eighth note triplets.
