Turn to Gold

[smokingboot]

The sunshine came in, not with Spring's pale clarity, but the deeper rounder yellow that seems like such a laughing colour; Summer is not so far away.

I'm trying to learn how to read music. It makes no sense! Who divides the line into five mini-lines and then starts on the second one up? Counting up from E on the bottom line to work out what the other notes are, whut? Why can't it be eight lines for an octave, with the lowest note starting on the lowest line? A half hour lesson baffles me so much I have to stop, to spend time mulling it over and still be unsure. Here's the horrible truth; they call Music another language? Pah! Music is pretty maths. Fact.

Comments

[thisnewday]

I think it's a bit easier if you can visually (and aurally) relate the grand staff (bass and treble clef), as it appears on a musical score, with the full, 88-key piano keyboard.

That's how I approached it with my grandson who is trying to learn guitar with no musical background at the age of 17 and felt he wanted to learn music theory to better understand his own instrument.

Perhaps it would help too if you approached Western music theory in the same way that it's been suggested that we must approach literary fiction: with a "willing suspension of disbelief," lol...

[smokingboot]

I think you are right about the suspension of disbelief, and possibly the keyboard too, as my husband is threatening to get me one as an educational aid. I don't think he accepts that it's a peril to his own peace!

[thisnewday]

"...a peril to his own peace!" Hahaha, so true. After some research, I decided on a very portable 44-key Casio for my grandson.

Being half the size of a standard keyboard, it didn't quite represent the full scale (unfortunate and unintentional word play) of the concept I was trying to teach but captured enough of the so-called grand staff--with middle C in, well, the middle--to demonstrate the principle.

However, to your point, it did have a volume control, headphone jack and, most importantly, would mostly be used at his mother's house, lol.

Wishing you and yours the unfettered blessing and joy of music!

[mallorys_camera]

Excellent quarantine project! 😀

[smokingboot]

There I was thinking it would be like re-learning Spanish. I just did my first basic worksheet and it bent my brain!