Lesson 18: "Simplified Notation" (簡譜)

Sometimes, the songs that we have to play are only available in what is called the "simplified notation", or 簡譜 in Chinese. Instead of using the staff and notes described in the first few lessons, it uses numbers to represent the melody and rhythm. 簡譜 is something that both musicians and singers in a worship team should learn to be able to read it instantly (except for those who can learn a song much faster by listening), so that the practising process can be streamlined.

Musical Notes & Accidentals

The numbers that you will see in 簡譜 are 1 to 7, each number represents a musical note in the major scale:

• 1 = do
• 2 = re
• 3 = mi
• 4 = fa
• 5 = so
• 6 = la
• 7 = ti

The use of accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals) in 簡譜 is exactly the same as that in standard notation. If you want to raise a note by a semitone, you write the "#" in front of the note, e.g. #4 means the note "fa" is being raised a semitone.

If a note is in a higher octave, it will have a dot above it. On the other hand, if a note is in a lower octave, it will have a dot below it.

Note Duration & Rests

• Quarter notes (or 1 beat) in simplified notation are represented by an unmodified number.
• Longer notes in whole beats are represented by the addition of hyphens following the number. E.g.
  5 - 6 - means the notes so and la are both 2 beats, and
  7 - - 6 means ti is 3 beats and la is 1 beat.
• Longer notes of other durations can be written as two notes joined together by a tie, just like in standard notation.
• Eighth notes (half beats) are written with one line underneath. E.g.
  1 2 3 2 1 1 : the first two beats consist of eighth notes, and the 3rd and 4th beats are quarter notes.
• Sixteenth notes are written with two lines underneath. Basically, the lines underneath the notes are equivalent to the flags on the 8th and 16th notes in standard notation.
• The concept of dotted notes in standard notation applies in simplified notation as well, except for the half note, since a dotted half note = 3 beats, has to be represented by hyphens in simplified notation.
• Rests are written as "0" in simplified notation. Each unmodified "0" represents a quarter rest. E.g.
  1 0 0 0 means the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th beats have no sound.
  1 - 0 0 means the 3rd and 4th beats have no sound.
  Extended rests must be represented by writing multiple "0"s instead of writing hyphens after the first "0". So, the first example above cannot be written as 1 0 - -
• 8th rests and 16th rests are written as "0" with the corresponding number of lines underneath it.

Key Signature & Time Signature, etc.

• Since there is no staff in simplified notation, the key signature (調號) in standard notation cannot be written out. Therefore, the key of the song is usually declared at the beginning. E.g. "Key: C" means the song is in C major. "D#m" means the song is in D# minor. (The part "Key:" is sometimes omitted)
• The time signature (拍號) of the song typically comes immediately after the key at the beginning of the song, and is written in the form of a fraction. E.g. "4/4" or "3/4".
• Bar lines, double bar line (at the end of a song), and repeat sign are used in the same way as standard notation in simplified notation.

Simplified Notation: Real Life Example

It is the responsibility of the musicians and vocalists in a worship team to learn how to read the simplified notation, because the leaders and vocalists may not all know how to read music (although I still think that everybody in the team should learn how to read music, for their own sake). As a pianist, it is important to be able to play the melody smoothly from any kind of score you are provided, be it in standard notation or simplified notation. In fact, any pianist should slowly become able to play by ear, i.e. be able to play the melody on the piano after hearing it several times.

Lesson 17: Tempo (速度)

Tempo is an Italian word for "speed". It is typically specified at the beginning of a piece. The tempo of a piece defines its mood and difficulty to play. It is very common in classical music to have changes of tempo or mood (or both) in the middle of the piece, although this is less common contemporary worship music. In contemporary worship music, the tempo changes usually take place when we want to flow to the next song flawlessly.

Tempo is either given in words or in beats per minute (BPM). All classical music described their tempos in words, because the metronome (拍子機) was not invented back then. Although the modern prints of most classical music would include the mathematical tempo (BPM) as well, for convenience. Here are some examples of tempo markings:

• Largo: very slow (最缓板)
• Allegro: fast and bright (快板)
• "♪ = 120": 120 eighth notes per minute

As a member in a worship team (whether you are singing or playing an instrument), it is very important to learn how to keep a steady tempo, because the congregation will have a hard time following an unsteady tempo. The person playing the instruments may not notice that he/she is playing at an unsteady tempo, especially if he/she is playing something that unfamiliar, because he/she is focused on trying to figure out what to play next, and not keeping count of the beats.

The key to learn how to keep a steady tempo is: practise, practise, PRACTISE! Your ultimate goal is to be able to keep a steady tempo inside you. Here are some suggestions:

• Know the songs well: listen to it over and over again, and try to count the beats while listening. It is even better if you can figure out its time signature and count accordingly. (In my opinion, “knowing a song well” means you are able to sing that song with accurate rhythm and melody when you are not listening to it.)
• Practise with a metronome: start from a slow tempo first and slowly increase it to the level you want. You must play the song WITH RHYTHM even at the slowest tempo, NEVER play the easier part faster and the harder part slower, because that will only make it harder for you to learn the rhythm in the whole song. (You should keep doing this until you can start to keep a steady tempo on your own.)
• Play along with the CD/MP3: to practice songs for which you have the CDs or MP3s, you can play the song on your CD player or computer, and then try to play the chords on your instrument simultaneously, matching the chords in the song itself. One good thing about playing along is that the CD or MP3 will not stop for your mistakes, so you are forced to keep moving on. This is the best way to learn how to respond to your own mistakes without lagging a beat in real time. However, it is not very helpful to do this exercise when you are not familiar with the song yet.

At the end of the lesson, I want to stress the distinction between tempo and time duration of notes (see Lesson 5 and Lesson 6). The tempo of a song and the length of a note are two completely different concepts, and should not be regarded as the same concept at any time.