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Reading
Music and Understanding its Structure
We will have a great tutorial with sound samples, which helps you make
sense of all these confusing dots. It teaches you
the basics very thoroughly in one or two evenings. Honestly, if you could
learn to use a mobile phone, you'll have no difficulties
here!
So please visit again a bit later and learn
a new skill this year, which you can enjoy
for the rest of your life. |
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Coming
soon: Encouragement to Play an Instrument and
Interesting Articles
I
believe the purpose of the Life-force is to create
Harmony. Our World urgently needs a massive change
of consciousness.
Increasing numbers of us seek to make beautiful each
action, word and thought. Making music helps. It is
a lovely combination of fun, joy and being
completely present right here, like a meditation or
prayer. It also tones the old brain cells and opens
our heart. You can give yourself the gift of
practicing this art. We will explore how to get
started with traditional instruments like the
fiddle, mandolin, penny whistle, guitar and
melodeon. You do not require any special musical
talents to make delightful sounds. I had no
particular musical gifts and started playing fiddle
in my fifties. It's been an immense source of
pleasure.
The main thing seems to be not to let yourself be
defeated by what you can't do, but concentrate on
the many absolutely wonderful simple tunes we have
in these isles. There are hundreds of them and you
can play them with all your heart.
3
Tune Examples
Here
are three tunes from Scotland, which were
transcribed from a CD called "Collector's
Items" and were played exquisitely by Duncan
Dyker and Friends. Alas the computer generated
versions are a very poor cousin to such wonderful
sounds, but nevertheless it's an efficient way to
learn a tune by ear and play along at whatever speed
you feel comfortable with.
The 3 tunes, an air, a strathspey and a reel make a
very nice haunting set together. Just right for
Halloween?
An amazing Circle of 5ths and
4ths from
"The Scientific Basis and Build of
Music" by Dougald Carmichael Ramsay
published 2 years after his death in 1893
One
of the side effects of enjoying playing music was a
renewed interest in music theory.
In ancient times people believed that studying the
structure of music was one of the best ways to learn
about the structure of our Universe. As I have
stared death in the face a couple of times these
last few years, I became more curious about it all
and went on a journey of discovery. One of the
Victorian gems I found was D. C. Ramsay's book,
edited by the reverend John Andrew.
You need to have some knowledge of Music Theory
already to marvel at the picture below and its
commentary.
You will recognise the illustration as a Circle
(Spiral) of 5ths and 4ths. Ramsay shows us that the
so called "related" Major and Minor
scales, such a s C major and A minor, are upside
down versions of each other.
In the Victorian days it was still common practice
to speak of a whole tone being divided into 9 comma.
A comma is a very small time unit. In the book
Ramsey is saying that the middle comma of the note D
(in the scale of C) compares to the central origin
point of gravity in the Universe. It's around this
point that the male and female forces interact.
Interaction of the polarity creates the energy that
powers all we know. The circle, which really should
be portrayed as a spiral, is rather reminiscent of
the Yin and Yang symbol (and its related I Ching),
as well as a DNA strand, which also consists of
mirror like copies of paired chemicals. There are
numerous other correlations too. But for now the
picture below and underneath that the accompanying
text from the book, is probably more than enough to
take in.
PLATE XII.
THE 24 MAJOR AND MINOR SCALES IN #s AND  s AND THEIR MUTUAL
PROVIDINGS.
When the major and minor scales are generated to be shown the one half in
sharps and the other half in flats, it is not necessary to carry the mathematical process through the whole 24, as when the majors are all in
sharps and the minors all in flats ; because when six majors have been generated in
sharps, they furnish the new notes needed by the six relative minors; and when
six minors have been generated in flats, they furnish the new notes for the six relative majors.
This plate begins with the major in C and the minor in A. The notes of these two are all identical except the D, which is the
sexual note, in which each is not the other, the D of the minor being a comma lower than the D of the major. Going round by the keys in
sharps, we come first to E minor and G major. G major has been mathematically generated, and the relative minor
E gets its F# from it; but the D of C major must also be given to this scale, as the D of A minor would be a comma too low ; it would make a
9-comma interval between D and E, the seventh and eighth, where the minor mode has an 8-comma one. So its two. new notes are thus found in the relative and sub-relative majors. This is the way of their mutual providing in the region of the
sharps : the # seventh of the major is given to be the
# second of the minor, and the comma-higher second of the sub-relative becomes the
seventh of the minor ; and then we have a true written representation of what Nature has done.
Starting Again at C major and A minor and going round by the keys in
flats, we come first to D minor and F major. The major gets its
flat fourth from the flat sixth of the relative minor ; and as the interval between
D—E, the major sixth and seventh, must be 9-coinma interval, and its own
D—E is only an 8-comma one, it must take the D of A minor, which
is a comma lower, and this will correctly show the 9-comma
interval between D and E. This is the way of their mutual providing in the region of
flats : the flat sixth of the minor is given to be the
b fourth of the relative major; and the comma-lower fourth of the sub-relative minor becomes the correct sixth of the major. The arrows indicate the source from which, and the place to which, the
new notes come and go.
The signature of major and relative minor is always the same whether in
sharps or flats ; but in the keys with #s in this plate the signature is only given on the major stave,
to indicate that generating upward is its natural way ; and
in the keys with flats the signature is only placed in the
minor stave, to indicate that generating downward is the natural way for the minor mode.
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