Can you read music?

[Kail]

I've been playing guitar for 30 years, but never learned how to read music properly. I recently bought a program called Guitar Pro6 and am trying to score some of my original songs, and am having trouble getting them to sound right. Would anyone be willing to take a look at my bars and tell me where I am going wrong? How I get notes to sound on the off beat for instance. Here is my first measure, the bars in red indicate something is wrong, but it does not tell you what. When it plays, it sounds right.
Thank you, any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Shazam!]

If when it plays it sounds right, what's the problem?

 

[Kail]

Because it's not right. I want someone else to be able to pick it up and play it. Also, this is not my only problem.

 

[Jadzia]

You need to add dots to extend the duration of your notes, or rests.

Your first bar is:
1/4 1/8 1/4 1/4 = 7/8 of a beat. You're 1/8 short.

Second bar is:
1/4 1/8 1/4 1/8 1/8 1/4 = 9/8 of a beat. You're 1/8 too long.
(The bracket around the last note indicates it is a ghost note, such as a bend on a guitar.)

Third bar is:
1/4 1/8 1/4 1/4 = 7/8 of a beat. You're 1/8 short.

Fourth bar is:
1/2 (1/8 1/8) (1/8 1/8) = 8/8 of a beat. Okay.

.

 

[Kail]

Thank you! Can you explain to me how I get a note to sound just before the beat? My first note is on the beat, the second note sounds just before the third. No matter what I try, I can't get it to sound at the right time. Thanks again for your help!

 

[thestrangequark]

Thank you! Can you explain to me how I get a note to sound just before the beat? My first note is on the beat, the second note sounds just before the third. No matter what I try, I can't get it to sound at the right time. Thanks again for your help!

If I'm reading this correctly you need to put the dot on the first note. You want that first not to be longer than a quarter note, right? The dot will at another 1/8th to your note, and will even out the measure. Also, you might want to invest in a theory book, it should help a lot with your writing.

 

[Kail]

Actually the dot fix the problem when placed after the fourth note of the first bar. Any suggestions on a beginners musical theory book?

Still not able to make the note sound on the 2.5 beat.

Thanks!

 

[thestrangequark]

If you want the second note on the 2.5 beat it should look like this:

As for a book, I'd love to make a suggestion, but I learned to read music as a little kid, and for the life of me couldn't remember any of the books I used. I'd suggest going to a music store and asking the pros.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Alternatively (make TSQ draw it if you don't know what I'm talking about ) you could have an eighth rest after the first quarter-note if you want a slight pause before that second note hits just off beat.

You still have to fix the second measure somehow as well.

ETA: Change the last note in the second measure to an eighth note. Have the same eighth note appear in the next measure with a tie between them. That should take care of the rest, I believe. Although I haven't played any instrument in several years, so I could be missing something obvious.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I can only read tab. I used to be able to read drum music, but that was a lifetime ago. I play guitar now and know nothing about writing music. Don't know why I even replied because the answer is negative.

 

[think]

I have given up trying to realize midi music in normal notation and have ,, gone beyond ,, .

this is the state of the system notations last summer, at this point I am much further, but have not uploaded anything recent yet.

 

[Jadzia]

Thank you! Can you explain to me how I get a note to sound just before the beat? My first note is on the beat, the second note sounds just before the third. No matter what I try, I can't get it to sound at the right time. Thanks again for your help!

It's hard to say because I don't know how it's supposed to sound.

Is the second note sounding too early or too late (as written above)?

If it's too early, then try dotting the first note to extend it by another 1/8. That would also make the the first bar the right length.

If the second note is sounding too late, then you'll need to shorten the first note, either to 1/8 (a note with a wisp on it's tail) or 3/16 (a note with a wisp on it's tail and a dot after it).

 

[Kail]

You need to add dots to extend the duration of your notes, or rests.

Your first bar is:
1/4 1/8 1/4 1/4 = 7/8 of a beat. You're 1/8 short.

Second bar is:
1/4 1/8 1/4 1/8 1/8 1/4 = 9/8 of a beat. You're 1/8 too long.
(The bracket around the last note indicates it is a ghost note, such as a bend on a guitar.)

Third bar is:
1/4 1/8 1/4 1/4 = 7/8 of a beat. You're 1/8 short.

Fourth bar is:
1/2 (1/8 1/8) (1/8 1/8) = 8/8 of a beat. Okay.

.

Can you explain how you added up these beats?

I have discovered grace notes, which solves the off beat problem.

 

[thestrangequark]

^They're just fractions. In 4/4 time you need to have what amounts to 4 quarter notes in each measure. This could be done by having one whole note, two half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 1/2 notes, etc.

 

[Jadzia]

an infinity sign oo lasts two full beats/bars. It is called a breve. You don't usually see one of these in a song. Only sometimes at the end of a song.

A hollow note o is a full beat. It is called a semibreve.

A hollow note with a tail d p is 1/2 beat. It is called a minim.

A black note with a tail is 1/4 of a beat. It is called a crotchet.

A black note with a tail and a wisp is 1/8 of a beat. It is called a quaver. When you see two black notes with their tails joined together by a line, like you have in your fourth bar, those are quavers.

A black note with a tail and two wisps is 1/16 of a beat. It is called a semiquaver. When you see two black notes with their tails joined together with a double line, those are semiquavers.

A dot after a note means *1.5
Dotted breve = 2 * 1.5 = 3 beats
Dotted semibreve = 1 * 1.5 = 3/2 beats
Dotted minim = 1/2 * 1.5 = 3/4 of a beat
Dotted crotchet = 1/4 * 1.5 = 3/8 of a beat
Dotted quaver = 1/8 * 1.5 = 3/16 of a beat.

Your first bar has crotchet-quaver-crotchet-crotchet = 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/4 + 1/4 = 7/8 of a beat.

 

[Kommander]

If 6 is anything like 5, if you click on one of the notes in the red areas, it'll tell you how many notes you need to add or remove. In Guitar Pro 5 it would say something like "3.500 : 4.000 Incomplete Bar" near the bottom-left of the window. Which, in 4/4 would mean you need another eighth note.

As for playback, it works fine for incomplete bars, but with exceeded bars, it won't play the extra notes.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I have discovered grace notes, which solves the off beat problem.

I'm not sure if grace notes are what you want. The way they're played are virtually like afterthoughts. Think of hitting two piano keys, but, instead of hitting them at the exact same time, one finger strikes first. That's about how much attention a grace note gets.

 

[Kail]

I have discovered grace notes, which solves the off beat problem.

I'm not sure if grace notes are what you want. The way they're played are virtually like afterthoughts. Think of hitting two piano keys, but, instead of hitting them at the exact same time, one finger strikes first. That's about how much attention a grace note gets.

Yes, grace notes are not right. I will continue to search for an answer to that problem.

Thank you again Jadzia, and I will look for that Kommander.

How does a rest figure in with the timing?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Rest is a slight pause. If you want the first note to hit on beat one and the second note to hit a half beat off of beat two, you would want an eighth rest in between (or, alternatively, make the first note slightly longer by having a dotted quarter note).

 

[Jadzia]

Rests work just like notes.

The bar dangling from a line is a rest for a full beat/bar
The bar sitting on a line is a rest for 1/2 of a beat
The zigzag is a rest for 1/4 of a beat
The y is a rest for 1/8 of a beat.
The double y is a rest for 1/16 of a beat.

You use these things if you want a note to end early. Otherwise one note ends where the next note comes in.

So if you want a crotchet (1/4 beat) to end early, replace it with a quaver (1/8 beat) and a quarter rest (1/8 beat).