Music Theory Introduction

You should be able to edit the "course material" for that particular assignment an upload your assignment there. This will keep each weeks material together in one place. If you are still have problems let me know.

It may be better to post your questions with in the actual assignment that your question pertains to. This might help any one else who might have the same question.

Great question.

What you are referring to is difference between "fixed do solfége" and "moveable do solfége". In moveable do, the note "do" changes depending on the key you are in. There are many problems with the moveable do system. One being encountered when you play a song that doesn't stay in one key. It can become quite confusing, especially considering the extra names for raised and lowered notes. Also, there is not always an exact point when a key change occurs so when to switch note names can add to the confusion. Atonality, also presents some problems.

What I have been taught and what most of the conservatories throughout the world use is fixed do. In fixed do, the note C is always "do". The note D, is always "re" etc.. The note C# would still be called "do" but would be sung or played as a C#.

I hope this answers your question. I am going to repost this on the assignment page.

Erik,

Generally speaking, you would want to use a combination of rests that fits the time signature as well as the pulse of your music. You also want to make sure that it is clear and easy for the person reading your music to understand what you mean. For instance if you are in 4/4, and you wanted a full measure rest, you wouldn't use two eight rests, a quarter rest and a half rest. You would simply use a whole rest.

If you have a quarter note on beat 1 and the rest of the measure will be rests, it may be best to use all quarter rests to keep clear the pulse of 4:

It should be said that a quarter rest and a half rest or even a dotted half rest would work but may not be as clear depending on the context. Whatever you decide to use, be consistent. If the same type of measure comes up more than once in your song, use the same combination that you used in the previous measure.

If your measure starts with a dotted quarter and then rests it would most likely look like this:

I hope this helps. If you have a specific example I might be able to better answer your question. I think the main rule is to be clear and consistent when you are writing to leave as little room as possible for misinterpretation.