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Chitra’s Musical Notations System
The CMN System Notations can be marked on any Musical Instrument. Let us mark it on a KeyBoard, and, a Spanish Guitar! Marking for a normal MouthOrgan has been done in the CMN/013 issue and is also explained at this site. Marking on Keys / Frets / Positions etc. of other musical instruments can be done by comparing with KeyBoard markings. This you can do yourself, or, write to us informing your Musical Instrument & its Tuning Pattern, and, we’ll do it for you.
Step 1(a) - Marking Notations on a KEYBOARD [ Piano / MIDI / Synthesiser / Harmonium / Accordian / Banjo etc ] :
Mark the keys of your KeyBoard as per the diagram given below with a marker-pen or stickers. Note - the LOWER Keys are marked in BLACK Color, and, the UPPER Keys in RED Color. Also note that Keys towards the Middle of the KeyBoard do not have any Dots above or below them, the Keys towards the 'Left' side with low frequency sounds, have Dots "Below" them, and the Keys on the 'Right' side with high frequency sounds have Dots "Above" them.
Step 1(b) - Marking Notations on a Spanish Guitar:
Mark the frets of your Spanish Guitar as per the diagram given below with a marker-pen or stickers.
Spanish - Guitar marked with
Chitra's Musical Notations System
Step 2 - Understand
the various SYMBOLS used for writing Notations:
The various Symbols used for the CMN System are:
(1) ~
:
Prolong playing of the Note followed by this sign.
(2) C
F A
: Notes
underlined to be played for Short Duration only.
(3)
(
G )
F
: Play note in the bracket 'G' only
momentarily and move on to next note 'F'.
(4) ,
/ -
: A ‘Comma’ / 'Hyphen'
indicates a brief ‘Pause’ / 'Rest'.
(5) [ C D E ] II x 2
: It means, the Notes-String in the
bracket are to be played Twice.
(6) {
C+F+A }
: Its a Chord.
Play all the Notes in the Bracket Simultaneously.
(7)
<C> /
<Cm> /
<C7>
: Its a Major / Minor / Seventh
Chord -
play the Notes as per given
Explanations.
Caution : It's a
Bi-Color-Notation-System and Xeroxed or Faxed Notations will result in
Erroneous playing.
All Rights for Usage of the
Chitra’s Musical Notations System,
devised by us, are
RESERVED and
its usage by anyone else / any other agency is STRICTLY PROHIBITED .
EXPLANATORY NOTES :
CMN vs Western Music System:
C D
E F G A B
indicate
Natural Notes.
C indicates C - sharp
( D - flat ) .
Likewise D = D - sharp ( E
- flat ),
F = F
- sharp ( G-flat ),
G = G-sharp
( A- flat ), A = A -
sharp ( B - flat ).
Dots below
indicate Lower Octave.
Dots above indicate Upper Octave.
No Dots indicate Middle Octave.
CMN vs Indian SARGAM System:
For those conversant with SARGAM -
it is not required to convert the CMN-System to SARGAM for playing the melodies.
However, if one wishes to do so for any reason - it can be done.
The Western Sheet-Music-System ( Staff-Notations ) is a FIXED system where 'C'
takes only a particular position on a Piano.
SARGAM System is a shifting system. Depending upon the Scale of the song - 'Sa'
can take 12 positions on the 12 keys in an Octave ( 'Saptak' ) of a Keyboard. Eg.,
for the C-major / C-minor scales - 'Sa' gets located on the C-Note. Likewise for
F-major / minor scales - 'Sa' gets located on the Note-F; and so on.
Thus to mark SARGAM on a Keyboard - we'll have to make 12 diagrams with 'Sa' on
each of the 7 white and 5 black keys.
As an example we have indicated how the marking is to be done when the Scale is
C-major / C-minor and 'Sa' is the Note-C. We'll add more of the diagrams if
necessity is felt by the visitors to this Site.
Click Here for Diag of Keyboard with 'Sa' on Note-C
Step 3 - Follow the Instructions being explained below:
Before you begin to reproduce the melody of your favorite song on your Keyboard / Musical Instrument, listen intently to the song being played on your audio-system many times. Then again, piece by piece listen to song’s portions, and, try to play the melody of these pieces on your instrument with help of Chitra’s Musical Notations for the song. After you have learnt to play the song at a slow, unsteady pace - to correct your timing - try to play the melody along with the song played on the Audio-System. Chitra’s Musical Notations are mostly based on the original pitch of the songs hence you can practise along with song being played on your audio-system.
Step 4 - Some Tips on Proper Fingering for playing KeyBoards:
Do not get tied down by any Rules for using Fingers. As
long as you can perform to the enjoyment of yourself and others - you’re doing fine. A famous
Pianist enthralled his audience by performing on the Piano with his feet - standing above
it! But for your guidance we suggest certain Tips to be kept in mind as
under:
(1) Use
All the Five fingers of your hand for playing, do not leave out the small finger.
(2) Remember -
later you’ll have to play with both the hands. Hence after you have
practiced with your most used hand,
try to
play with the other hand. Thus all your all ten fingers
have to become free ultimately.
(3) Avoid using
Thumb for playing Upper Keys of the Keyboard.
(4) Cross
the Thumb UNDER the Fingers - not Over them.
(5) Cross the
Fingers ABOVE the Thumb - not Under them.
(6) Unless
you are playing 'Stucco', lift a finger from a key only after another finger is
already placed on the next key so
as to maintain continuity of playing.
(7) Just as it
is important not to have an unintended Break in playing - it is equally important
to avoid pressing two keys simultaneously
(unless you are playing a Chord). Hence lift the
finger from a key at the same instant as
you press the next one.
MOUTHORGAN ( HARMONICA ) LEARNERS:
You can also learn to play Old
& New Popular Hindi Songs with the help of Chitra’s Musical Notations.
For understanding "How" - Click Here.
for any
clarifications, e-mail to:
musicalnotations@hotmail.com
with a copy to:
musicalnotations@yahoo.com
Now that you have understood the CMN System -
RELAX & ENJOY with your KeyBoard / Spanish-Guitar / Musical-Instrument and
Chitra's Musical Notations. Lets try to
practice playing some
popular Melodies with
the help of Sample Notations on this Site.
here to continue for the "Practice"
session ............