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 ARCHIVED TOPIC: Natural notation question


Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/404946

sethb - Posted - 09/03/2025:  17:21:36

I have a question about natural notation.  My understanding of the "natural" sign is that it cancels out any otherwise required sharp or flat of a note -- but only for the measure in which the sign appears.



Here's two measures of "I've Got The World on a String" (see attached PDF file).  The song is in the key of F, so there's one flat (Bb) in the key signature.  In the first measure, the Bb note has a natural sign, so I would play a B rather than a Bb, and only for that measure.  But --- that natural B is tied to the same note in the second measure.  So is that tied note in the second measure supposed to be a B or a Bb?  Thanks in advance for helping out with this!  SETH 


Notation example


 

Culloden - Posted - 09/03/2025:  17:59:05

A tie carries the natural note over to the next measure.

Edited by - Culloden on 09/03/2025 18:00:12

sethb - Posted - 09/04/2025:  08:16:11

Thank you!  That's what I suspected and also what my own ear told me, but I'm just trying to learn and follow the musical rules!!  My concern was that, as I understand it, a tie is usually concerned with time (tying two notes together rhythmically) and not note values.  So that's why I wondered if the tie also affected that note value, but apparently it does.  SETH

Edited by - sethb on 09/04/2025 08:21:00

Corwyn - Posted - 09/04/2025:  12:13:48

We put up with a lot of confusion in order to spare the poor people who need to engrave music by hand with little engravers...
Oh ,wait.

Thank you kindly.

Culloden - Posted - 09/04/2025:  21:50:35

I know how to read notation as long as it's in treble clef, but I never got the hang of reading the other clefs. Tablature, to me, may as well be written in Sioux. I'm not saying it's not a valuable learning tool, but I never took to it.

sethb - Posted - 09/06/2025:  08:29:20

Reading the bass clef isn't any more difficult than reading the treble clef, it just takes a little more practice.



Here's a good tip for quickly figuring out a note in bass clef if you can't or don't want to learn the names of the notes on the bass clef staff (see attached PDF).  SETH


Bass clef tip


 

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