Completed Along Comes A Bard... II

[Tazrae]

Timestamp: 50th of Summer, 512 A.V.
Continued From: Along Comes A Bard...

The lesson continued, now that they had the beginnings of their song. Xander, in full instructor mode, began speaking again. This time he was making a list. "There are many styles of music. Here are just a few...." Xander went on to explain the types, and gave her a brief rundown on what they were.

Tazrae took careful notes.

1. Band
   
   These are the songs written for groups of musicians normally playing altogether. Generally, they have a heavy emphasis on the brass and wind family, though stringed and percussion instruments are often included in lesser roles.
   
   
2. Choral
   
   These types of songs are written for groups of singers. Usually unaccompanied by music, these songs have to include the breadth and range of the vocal capabilities of the species they are written for.
   
   
3. Classical
   
   Very similar in type to band styles, classical is instead written for primarily stringed and wind instrument groups. Brass and percussion is included but in a lesser role.
   
   
4. Courtly
   
   Emphasizing traditional music and songs associated with the nobility, this style of music is generally factored in for every aspect of the life of nobility and society elite. Songs comprising chivalry and courtly love are also included in this division.
   
   
5. Dance & Festival
   
   Bright upbeat songs fall into this style category. Each and every festival throughout Mizahar generally has its own traditional music associated with it. Those songs are normally lively tunes designed to lift the spirits of the crowds enjoying these events.
   
   
6. Ethnic
   
   These are the songs associated with race. Many cultures throughout Mizahar have their own set of songs. The Svefra, for example, have a ton of sea shanty and freedom songs. They mix origin songs with their ethnic songs and you'll find music unlike it anywhere else. All the races have their own songs. The Vantha about Morwen, the Benshira about the desert... even straight humans do though they rarely recognize them as such.
   
   
7. Folk Hearth & Home
   
   These are the teaching songs of simple people. These songs are the songs of mothers to their daughters and fathers to their sons. Seasonal songs, songs about the weather, crops, about baking bread, and the simple things in life are always included in these groups.
   
   
8. Heart & Soul
   
   These include all the deeply emotional songs. Most love songs fit in here. Soul songs can often be cross-styled into other songs as well. You can have heartfelt songs that move one on a deeply emotional level, and yet they are still military songs because they are about ones country or city.
   
   
9. Military & Marching
   
   Any anthem of battle or war, including patriotic and nationalistic songs are included in this style. In Mizahar, sometimes each faction or army has its own theme, march or anthem. Each city army does, and so do the milita and smaller splinter groups like the private guards to the leaders themselves.
   
   
10. Opera
    
    This is the classic form of solo and duet voice performances. Always considered a to be drama set to music, opera usually consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes.
    
    
11. Religious
    
    Any sort of song of faith, be it vocal or instrumental... or a combination of the two can be placed into this style. The religious style is probably one of the most prominent and varied groups in existence.
    
    
12. Tavern
    
    Tavern songs are the bottom of the barrel songs of Syka, though Tazrae wouldn't understand that having rarely stepped foot in one. They are the dirges sailors sing, and the debase drunken meanderings often repeated in taverns and bars throughout the world. They don't have to have a particular rhythm, cadence, or any sort of structure to them. Often they originated as drunken poetry. And yet, these very simple songs often persist where other forms of music die out and are lost to history.

Tazrae's hand was cramping by the time Xander was done with this particular lecture and paused to let her catch up with her notes. She was wary though when Xanther took a big drink of his juice and look thoughtful. He was about to ask her a question; she just knew it.

Word Count: 748

[Tazrae]

The old bard’s question came almost immediately. "So, which style does Syka's song fall into?” He asked Tazrae, his eyes curious on her thoughts. He assumed she wouldn’t actually know because places were hard to pin down. People could place them anywhere in any genre. For this girl though, that song fit only one place…

“I'm thinking my song belongs in Heart & Soul." Tazrae answered after a long pause.

Xander nodded approvingly. "Now, with that being said, we need to think about all the things that heart and soul encroaches. It’s a yearning, a passion, a pull like you can't believe, Tazrae girl. Not only do you need powerful music, but you need memorable lyrics. Understand?" Xander stressed his words drawing each one out.

Tazrae nodded. She really did understand.

“Frequency basically just consists of the musical spaces and pauses in one’s music, Tazrae. It's often overlooked by would-be songcraft, but in essence, it’s one of the most important features to a song." Xander said, smiling slightly. Tazrae nodded, wrote down more notes, and then was back watching him as he continued.

"A note has a specific pitch specified mainly by its vertical position on a stave, which can hold one or more parts of music. A stave has a clef and an optional key signature at the beginning. This specifies the key of a piece of music and the notes used make up a scale. The interval between two notes of a normal scale is diatonic, but accidentals can be applied to individual notes to make chromatic scales or intervals. Notes can be put together to make a chord and the most common type of chord is a three-note triad. Frequency or pitch can be used to build a scale from scratch. " Xander added.

He took a moment to sketch out the musical scales… so he’d have something to refer to. He used her notebook to do it.

"Now, before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s review a few terms. First, notes. The word "note" has two distinct meanings." Xander said, looking at her thoughtfully. Tazrae dutifully wrote the meanings down.

The Two meanings of Notes.

1. A single sound (one that is heard)
2. A single notated symbol for a sound (one that is written)

"Although these are physically two different things, they have a one-to-one relationship. My definition of note is a single pitch that is heard for a certain amount of time. Traditional music notation is structured around this definition of a note. The music consists of a gathering of many notes." He added. Again, Tazrae wrote down what he said, listening carefully. She added the smiley face by the title for a decorative touch.

Notes on Notes

• Sometimes notes come after each other in time (sequentially, e.g. in a sung melody).
• At other times many notes are heard at once; this is usually because many instruments or voices are each playing or singing a different part.
• When music is written down, each individual note is individually represented, both those which are heard sequentially and those which are heard all at once.
• Each individually represented note has a single frequency or pitch and lasts for a certain amount of time.
• During the length of a note, whether it be short or long, it may change its loudness, or sometimes even it's quality (or tone), but it is still considered to be the same note.
• It follows that a single note in a single part is played or sung by only one type of instrument or voice.

At this point, Xander paused for more tea, and Tazrae asked her first question. "Whats pitch mean exactly?" She said, looking puzzled. Xander nodded, and that set him off into yet another explanation. "The pitch is just the frequency of notes, Tazrae dear. Its just another word for what we are speaking of. Now, lets talk about the parts of the music. You need some definitions there." He nodded saXandery before he continued. Tazrae tried to keep up, but she could tell it would take a lot of reviewing of her notes.

Word Count: 739

[Tazrae]

Xander launched into an explanation of music parts in terms of the parts of a play. She smiled and understood immediately. "A part in music is very much analogous to a part in a play. In a play, one person plays one part throughout. The part may not on stage all the time. The part may be on stage at different times, with different other parts. It works exactly the same for music. The parts might be different instruments coming and going, or perhaps vocals." He added, and Tazrae nodded, adding too her notes.

Then the older wizened bard continued. " A musical part normally consists of all the notes (and rests) on a single stave which is intended for a single type of instrument or voice. It is common for many individuals to be playing or singing the same part, for example, the three clarinets in an orchestra, all the basses in a choir, or the two female singers in a folk band, so they will all be reading the same line on similar copies. However, it is also quite common for more than one part to be written on one stave." Xander took a breath and continued as Tazrae took notes in rapid succession.

"Two is common (e.g. soprano and alto in a choir, first and second oboes in an orchestra, bass drum and snare drum in a drum part), three or more is very rare, simply because it gets too confusing. When there are two parts sharing the same stave, one part is written with the stems of the notes pointing upwards, and the other with the stems pointing downwards. The part which is generally higher in pitch and therefore higher on the stave (e.g. first oboe, soprano) has the stems upwards, the lower one has the stems downwards". He added.

Once that was said, Xander realized that he'd better review basic note reading for Tazrae, and all the terms therein. Once they'd done that, they could move on to Rhythm.

At this point, Xander pulled Tazrae's journal over to where he could read it and indicated the drawing he'd made moments ago. It was marked with groups of five lines, a space, then five lines, then a space, then five lines... all down the length of the paper. He smiled and passed it over to Tazrae. "I know you've seen written music before, but lets review all this anyhow. These lines are called staffs." He said, then added. "A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four spaces. Staffs organize notes into groupings or pitches. Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet. A..B..C..D...E...F...G" He added, indicating his diagram.

Tazrae nodded and looked at the paper curiously.

"When you read and write music, you need to know about the symbology placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the letter names of the lines and spaces. These are called clefs. There are two types. The two main clefs are the treble and the bass. A clef is simply a symbol indicating the pitch represented by one line of the staff, in relation to which the other pitches of the staff can be. Treble clefs puts the G above middle C on the second line of staff, while a bass clef puts the F below middle C on the fourth line of a staff." With that he drew out how all the notes worked on each clef in neat diagram form, and showed her what a bass and what a treble clef looked like.

Tazrae nodded and copied the diagrams to her own notes.

Word Count: 602

[Tazrae]

Tazrae’s head was briming full of information. She absorbed it like a sponge, delighted in this new more formal education that would allow her to be more of a bard than she’d thought she could be, especially self-educating like she was. Xander was a true gift to her and a resource she never expected to come her way. Syka had many gifts for Tazrae, that much was for sure, and they came along unexpectedly… like fruit on an unknown vine. Taz checked and rechecked her notes, asking the old bard more and more questions, supplementing what she had learned and filling in the gaps between things he’d spoken to her about. Some of her questions he shook off, saying they’d get to them later. Other questions he simply smiled a knowing smile and let her know that the information would come with time and experience.

But her lessons on music, songcraft, and singing continued.

“Studying music can be daunting, Tazrae. That’s why we see so few formal bards in the world in these dark days. Before the Valterrian when society was at its height, an educated bard was a person of prestige. It takes years of hard work and practice, infinite patience, and a true sense of creativity to gain a formal musical education. You can’t do that without learning to read music. Once that mystery unfolds for you and opens like a flower, you can actually study music the way it was intended.” Xander pointed out, looking thoughtful.

“And it will help your social life. Being able to read and write music opens so many doors. It builds bridges and makes common ground between two unknown groups. You can join a band or a choir and find yourself thoroughly inundated with new friends in a new community like you are in here. Inviting someone to listen to music or share music with you can invite them to a friendship they might otherwise not welcome.” Tazrae smiled at this, knowing Xander was reaching to actually make her feel included.

“Musical educations aren’t just about music. This form of knowledge will teach you about history and allow you to immerse yourself in new aspects of culture you might never otherwise experience. Music all has its period. Each time in history has slightly different styles of music, and if you can figure out why the styles varied, you can learn a great deal about that history itself. Sometimes it was because of poverty or war or even because times were abundant. You never know until you research and link together world events and the music of the times.” Xander finished off… then smiled.

“I think we’ve had enough of a break. Lets continue…” He added, and gestured for her to settle down again and be ready to take notes.


At this point, Xander pulled out the diagram that was marked with groups of five lines, space, then five lines, then a space, then five lines... all down the length of the paper. He smiled and passed it over to Tazrae.

"I know you've seen written music before, but lets review all this anyhow. These lines are called staffs, and this paper is called staff paper." He said, then added. "A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four spaces. Staffs organize notes into groupings or pitches. Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet. A..B..C..D...E...F...G." He concluded.

Tazrae nodded and looked at the paper curiously.

"When you read and write music, you need to know about the symbology placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the letter names of the lines and spaces. These are called clefs. There are two types. The two main clefs are the treble and the bass. A clef is simply a symbol indicating the pitch represented by one line of a staff, in relation to which the other pitches of the staff can be. Treble clefs put the G above middle C on the second line of a staff, while a bass clef puts the F below middle C on the fourth line of a staff." He indicated.


With that, he drew out how all the notes worked on each clef in neat diagram form and showed her what a bass and what a treble clef looked like. Tazrae nodded and copied the diagrams to her own notes.

Continued In: Along Comes A Bard...III

Word Count: 728
Total Thread Count: 2805

[Tazrae]

Grading

Tazrae-

Songcraft +5, Writing +4, Interrogation +3, Research +3

Songcraft: Styles of Music, Songcrafting: Reading Music, Songcrafting: Musical Scales, Songcrafting: What A Note Is, The Two Meanings Of Notes, Songcrafting: Notes on Notes, Songcrafting: Staves, Songcrafting: Musical Crafting, Songcrafting: The Part In Writing Music, Songcrafting: Staffs, Songcrafting Pitches, Songcrafting: Basics of Music Writing, Songcrafting: Basics of Reading Music, Songcrafting: Clefs, Songcrafting: How Music Reflects History and Culture, Songcrafting: Treble and Bass Clefs, Songcrafting: Staffs