NYAA Entry - Overview for Febuary - Guitar

Participants: Boon Kiat, Calvin, Edmund, Jiawei, Joseph

Venue: Victoria School

Dates: 2^nd, 9^th, 23^rd Feb 2007

Each of us did our own research on basic music theory and basic guitar music theory and tuning, and had a group sharing and discussion of our research findings.

Basic music theory

Three kinds of information written music conveys:
- Pitch
- Duration
- Expression and articulation

Elements of the music notation

Reading pitch:
- Staff
- Clef
- G note
- Ledger lines
- Accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals)
- Key signature

Reading duration:
- Whole note
- Half note
- Quarter note
- Eighth note
- Sixteenth note
- Rest
- Tempo heading
- Time signature
- Bar line
- Double bar line
- Measure (bar)
- Tie
- Augmentation dot (also called a dot)

Reading expression, articulation, and miscellaneous terms and symbols:
- Dynamic marking
- Crescendo and Ritardando
- Slur
- Staccato dot
- Accent
- Repeat sign
- Ending brackets


Basic guitar music theory

Strings: Strings are numbered consecutively 1 through 6. The 1st string is the skinniest, located closest to the floor (when holding the guitar in playing position). Working upwards, the 6th string is the fastest, closest to the ceiling. The letters of the music notes of the open strings are E, A, D, G, B, E, from 6th to 1st. An easy way to memorize the open strings order is to remember the phrase “Eddie Ate Dynamite; Good Bye, Eddie.”

Frets: Fret can refer to either the space where the left-hand finger is placed or to the thing metal bar running across the finger-board. Whenever dealing with guitar fingering, fret means the space in between the metal bars – where it can comfortably fit a left-hand finger. The first fret is the region between the nut (the thing, grooved strip that separates the head from the neck) and the first metal bar. The fifth fret, then, is the fifth square up from the nut – technically, the region between the fourth and fifth metal fret bars. (Most guitars have a marker on the fifth fret, either a decorative design embedded in the finger-board or a dot on the side of the neck, or both.
Open string: A string that is played without pressing down on it with a left-hand finger.
Fretted string: A string that is played while pressing down on it at a particular fret.

Different methods of tuning the guitar, using relative principle:
- Tuning the guitar to itself using the fifth-fret method
- Tuning to a fixed source, which includes:
- Tuning relative with a piano
- Tuning relative with a tuning fork
- Tuning relative with an electronic tuner

More about electronic tuners: The quickest and most accurate way to get the guitar in tune is to employ an electronic tuner. This handy device seems to possess witchcraft-like powers. Newer electronic tuners made especially for guitars can usually sense what string is being played, telling the guitarist what pitch is nearest, and indicate whether it is flat (too low) or sharp (too high). About the only thing these devices don’t do is turn the tuning keys for the guitarist. Some older, graph-type tuners feature a switch that selects which string the guitarist wants to tune. The guitar can either be plugged into the tuner (if an electric guitar is being used) or the guitarist can use the tuner’s built-in microphone to tune an acoustic. In both types of tuners – the ones where the strings have to be selected and the ones that automatically sense the string – the display indicates two things: what note it is closest to (E, A, D, G, B, E) and whether it is flat or sharp of that note. Electronic tuners are usually powered by 9-volt batteries or two AAs that can last for a year with regular usage (up to two or even three years with only occasional usage). Many electronic tuners are inexpensive and are thus well worth the money.

Finally, We familiarized ourselves with the playing position for guitar, the hand position, sitting position and posture for easier and better playing of the guitar. We also did our own research on tabulatures, a form of notation system that graphically represents the frets and strings of the guitar, how to read them, and shared and discussed our research findings. From the tabulatures, we learnt the fingering of some basic notes and chords.

(With reference from Guitar for Dummies 2nd Edition)