Reading Sheet Music (Mnemonics)

If you are beginning to learn to read sheet music check out my quick-and-dirty articles about getting your feet wet.

Once you understand the basic layout of the notes you can start reading a score. You will soon notice though that like any other language getting fluency in reading music takes time.

Often you will find yourself counting lines on the treble or bass clef to figure out which note to play.

Here are some simple mnemonic devices to help you quickly recognize the notes on the grand staff.

Reading sheet music made easy (Part 2)

This is a continuation from Part 1

The aim is to get to a point to be able to read the following piece:

Seeing how written music maps to the piano extremely well, leads me to believe that modern sheet music was invented first for the piano (or maybe the piano was invented with sheet music in mind... Who knows???).

This sheet music to keyboard mapping is so intuitive that it is the logical place to start (at least in my opinion :P)

Step 2 (Marching forward)

Reading sheet music made easy (Part 1)

The above is the opening from "Für Elise" ('For Elise' in English) which is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. The above lines contain all the information required for a pianist to be able to render this well known extract of the timeless melody written more than 200 years ago in April 1810. 

The skill required to render this music as a balm for the soul, takes years of practice. However, getting to a point where one is able to understand that these unfathomable glyphs are  part of the tune is easy. 

The ability to read music allows us to start practising and play the millions of scores from Pop, Rock, Classical, Jazz etc genres which get published as sheet music. 

This is the first in a series of tutorials (and by series I mean 2 maybe even 3) about the basics of reading sheet music. At the end of these tutorials you should be able to make sense of most of what is written on this opening lines from For Elise. 

A note of caution for everyone! I like to figure out most things myself and am not classically (or infact even otherwise) trained. So whilst this is an easy way to learn reading music it might not be the correct way of going about things.  

Step 1 (Lets start from the very beginning...)

Tiger in Acrylic

This Jungle Cat is nearly life sized and painted on an A1 sized canvas board. I am, sort of, happy with the result even though I was lazy and did not put in enough details.

I think tigers are the most beautiful creatures in the big cat family. They look so adorable that you just want to hug them.

Just has a random thought!

First caveman to ever see a tiger:

Caveman: OOOOh such a cute kitty! Let me give you a hug!
Tiger:  Hmm ...Tempting but  I just ate!  

:D

William Blake wrote those immortal lines in praise of this cat:


TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
   
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

A beautiful poem someone quoted

I walked a mile with pleasure
she chatted all the way
but left me none the wiser
for all she had to say

I walked a mile with sorrow
and ne'er a word said she
but oh! the things i learned from her
when sorrow walked with me

Lowly Laureate

I came across this poem and was surprised at how much it resonates with my thinking:

O Sacred Muse, my lyre excuse! -
My verse is vagrant singing;
Rhyme I invoke for simple folk
Of penny-wise upbringing:
For Grannies grey to paste away
Within an album cover;
For maids in class to primly pass,
And lads to linger over.

I take the clay of every day
And mould it in my fashion;
I seek to trace the commonplace
With humor and compassion.
Of earth am I, and meekly try
To be supremely human:
To please, I plan, the little man,
And win the little women.

No evil theme shall daunt my dream
Of fellow-love and pity;
I tune my lute to prostitute,
To priest I pipe my ditty.
Through gutter-grime be in my rhyme,
I bow to altars holy. . . .
Lord, humble me, so I may be
A Laureate of the Lowly.

By
Robert William Service

To be or not to be

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?"

From Hamlet by William Shakespeare


Like most people I've heard this phrase a thousand times without sitting down and pondering on it even for a minute. Recently though I got round to thinking about it and could not but marvel at its simplicity and depth.

"To be" or "not to be" is it our choice? Can we truly "not be" once we are? Is "to be" ever truly in our control?

A host of such questions that require a lifetime to answer and all from a phrase which needs less than a second to read...

Walrus and the carpenter

My favorite weird poem! This hilarious piece by Lewis Carroll "Walrus and the Carpenter)

This is the link to the full poem

here is my favorite part:

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright—
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done—
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"

The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead—
There were no birds to fly.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
"If this were only cleared away,"
They said, "it would be grand!"

"If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

Leisure by W.H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Awesome form, I was quoting the first two lines to someone over lunch and realized that I did not remember the full piece any more so am rendering it here to refresh my memory.

Horatius's Heroism

Here I'm copying my favorite section of the awesome poem Horatius, I cannot but read it with tears welling in my eyes at some point.

written by Thomas Babbington Macaulay

find the complete poem here

Thrice looked he at the city;

Thrice looked he at the dead;

And thrice came on in fury,

And thrice turned back in dread:

And, white with fear and hatred,

Scowled at the narrow way

Where, wallowing in a pool of blood,

The bravest Tuscans lay.

LIII

But meanwhile axe and lever

Have manfully been plied;

And now the bridge hangs tottering

Above the boiling tide.

``Come back, come back, Horatius!''

Loud cried the Fathers all.

``Back, Lartius! back, Herminius!

Back, ere the ruin fall!''

LIV

Back darted Spurius Lartius;

Herminius darted back:

And, as they passed, beneath their feet

They felt the timbers crack.

But when they turned their faces,

And on the farther shore

Saw brave Horatius stand alone,

They would have crossed once more.

LV

But with a crash like thunder

Fell every loosened beam,

And, like a dam, the mighty wreck

Lay right athwart the stream:

And a long shout of triumph

Rose from the walls of Rome,

As to the highest turret-tops

Was splashed the yellow foam.

LVI

And, like a horse unbroken

When first he feels the rein,

The furious river struggled hard,

And tossed his tawny mane,

And burst the curb and bounded,

Rejoicing to be free,

And whirling down, in fierce career,

Battlement, and plank, and pier,

Rushed headlong to the sea.

LVII

Alone stood brave Horatius,

But constant still in mind;

Thrice thirty thousand foes before,

And the broad flood behind.

``Down with him!'' cried false Sextus,

With a smile on his pale face.

``Now yield thee,'' cried Lars Porsena,

``Now yield thee to our grace.''

LVIII

Round turned he, as not deigning

Those craven ranks to see;

Nought spake he to Lars Porsena,

To Sextus nought spake he;

But he saw on Palatinus

The white porch of his home;

And he spake to the noble river

That rolls by the towers of Rome.

LVIX

``Oh, Tiber! Father Tiber!

To whom the Romans pray,

A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,

Take thou in charge this day!''

So he spake, and speaking sheathed

The good sword by his side,

And with his harness on his back,

Plunged headlong in the tide.

LX

No sound of joy or sorrow

Was heard from either bank;

But friends and foes in dumb surprise,

With parted lips and straining eyes,

Stood gazing where he sank;

And when above the surges,

They saw his crest appear,

All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry,

And even the ranks of Tuscany

Could scarce forbear to cheer.

LXI

But fiercely ran the current,

Swollen high by months of rain:

And fast his blood was flowing;

And he was sore in pain,

And heavy with his armor,

And spent with changing blows:

And oft they thought him sinking,

But still again he rose.

LXII

Never, I ween, did swimmer,

In such an evil case,

Struggle through such a raging flood

Safe to the landing place:

But his limbs were borne up bravely

By the brave heart within,

And our good father Tiber

Bare bravely up his chin.

LXIII

``Curse on him!'' quoth false Sextus;

``Will not the villain drown?

But for this stay, ere close of day

We should have sacked the town!''

``Heaven help him!'' quoth Lars Porsena

``And bring him safe to shore;

For such a gallant feat of arms

Was never seen before.''

LXIV

And now he feels the bottom;

Now on dry earth he stands;

Now round him throng the Fathers;

To press his gory hands;

And now, with shouts and clapping,

And noise of weeping loud,

He enters through the River-Gate

Borne by the joyous crowd.

Ours is not to question why

I was so sure that the correct quote was "ours is not to question why" but it seems like I was mistaken. The correct quotation is:

"Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:"

Here is the verse in the original poem:

Charge of the Light Brigade

by Lord Alfred Tennyson


Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Poems: If...

A Poem by Rudyard Kipling

Here a really high ideal is set with very simple words. This also happens to be one of my all time favorite poems and there was a time when I remembered it verbatim.

IF...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And which is more; you'll be a Man, my son!

Translation: Sarang Hae Yo

This is a Korean song which I don't understand but can still connect with. It served as the inspiration of 'Phali Nazar' which is also quite good but not as good as the original in my opinion.

I'm putting down a loose translation I've managed using google and other tools and improvisation:

Sarang Hae Yo (I Love you)
Lyrics by Kim Hyung Sup

Can I love you right now?
If you take a little bit of me in your embrace and leave
You know how much pain that will cause my heart

I love you, let's start again
All I've ever done was make things hard for you but
I love my friend
I can't go on without you
Our love is like fate

I will repay all of the tears that made things difficult to you
I'm happy that your smile currently mirrors mine

I love you, let's start again
All you've ever done was make things hard for me but
I love my friend
I can't go on without you
I will make you forget everything and be happy instead

I love you, let's start again
All I've ever done was make things hard for you but
I love my friend
I can't go on without you
Our love is like fate

Poems: Where the mind is without fear

A great poem by the great Tagore. I memorized it in school but don't believe I ever manged to learn it.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore

Starting Versecraft

There was a short time a very long time ago when I did some poetry. My interpretation of poem writing was often carefully constructed rhymes built around abstract or ambiguous allegory. Needless to say like a lot of other things it fell through the rafters as time went by and I was resigned to never again stringing words together in an aesthetic endeavor.

It was only recently that I was moved to write again and enjoyed myself so much that I've decided to not let go of it again. For better or for worse, good or passable or maybe even unbearable for anyone but me I am going to write more.

Whatever I concoct, and as I get time my old stuff, will be put up on versecraft.blogspot.com

Lyrics for Soulshine by Gov't Mule

I love the Warren Hayes version of this Allman Brothers Band track. I know I'm not adding any value here because there is no translation or interpretation but I could not resist.

Soul Shine

When you cant find the light
That guides you through a cloudy day

When the stars ain't shining bright
And you feel like you've lost your way

When the candle lights of home
Burn so very far away

Well you got to let your soul shine
Just like my daddy used to say

He used to say soul shine
Its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain

Hey now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

I grew up thinking that I had it made
Gonna make it on my own

But life can take the strongest man
And make him feel so alone

Now and then I feel a cold wind
Blowing through my aching bones

I think back to what my daddy said
He said Boy, in the darkness before the dawn

Let your soul shine
Its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain

Yeah now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul

A woman too, God knows,
she can feel like this

And when your world seems cold
You got to let your spirit take control

Let your soul shine
Its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain

Lord now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

Music and my life

Music reflects the mood of the times, it reflects the experiences, hopes and dreams of its people and it provides windows into the souls of the artists and opens the doors to the hearts of the audience.

It can at once uplift the spirit, touch a deep chord in our being and give shape to dreams. It is consoling for those seeking solitude and festive for those yearning for companionship. It takes the edge off of the trials of life and also infuses zest into its dreariness.

We turn to music when we are happy, sad, lonely, loved, tired or ready to face life at its terms. We grow up with music and it enriches and influences our lives in innumerable ways, some subtle and others more blatant.

I have a large library of music that I have collected over the years (digitized now) and recently stirred to organize it.

At first I was completely flummoxed and I did not know how I wanted it done. I could not decide whether I wanted to arrange it according to genre or alphabetically according to artist names. I tried arranging it according to the 'raga' principles (basing it on moods and the time of day I would typically listen to it) but none of these methods were satisfying.

After much consideration I've finally found my way of organizing my music.

It’s organized now according to the stages of my life. I've collected this library over years and fell in love with each of the pieces at different times in my life. Each song, therefore, evokes a unique sense of nostalgia and comes with its own rich memories.

Spend some time thinking about 'why' you've liked a certain kind of music at a phase in your life and be rewarded by vivid recollection of forgotten feelings, disappointments, hopes and dreams.

Translation: Phir Dekhiye

This is the literal translation of 'Phir Dekhiye' from the soundtrack of the movie 'Rock on' it's sung by Caralisa Monterio and the Lyricist is Javed Akhtar

"Those who have some dream in their eyes
The ones who are happy are the ones who are a little restless

In your life let yourself have something you desire
and then see...

Those who have a song on their lips
Even when they lose they still win

Allow yourself to hum the song that's in your heart
and then see...

Those who have someone in their memories
Every evening is like a dream for them

Let there be somebody, who, you give your heart to
and then see...

Weave a few dreams, hear a few songs, pick a few flowers
and then see..."

Now part of my morning play list

Dance

Had an interesting discussion about dancing. The question was 'what is dancing?' and we were looking at was what it means to us rather than what it means in a book. Some of the more interesting definitions were:

1. Expression feelings and the mental and emotional state

2. An extempo interpretation of the beat, melody and lyrics of the music

3. A, sometimes, involuntary reaction to music

4. A sophisticated and multi-layered social interaction

5. A healthy and fun pastime

6. A display of bodily-kinesthetic, inter-personal and intra-personal intelligences

7. A practiced aesthetic performance

Please feel free to leave your own definition in the comments

Translations: Bhor

This is the literal translation of 'Bhor' by Indian Ocean (at least its my interpretation)

"
As dawn breaks
a tired flying bird
lands on a scented branch
The sweet perfume
captures his heart
magical with myriad hues

Breath by breath
love works its magic
And time and again
it does the unexpected
Why choose this branch?
What of reason and will?

The bird contemplates
which sky to fly
Where is better than this branch
a warm golden honey
seems to cover his wings
mind loses the will to move

Even his murder is such
he dies wealthy and contended
By strange machinations of fate
the hunter throws such a net
It scatters him to the winds
One with the sky, high
He finds his real flight
"

I guess it does seem a bit lost in translation