Klavar Explained
Klavar Explained
Klavar Explained
Introduction
For something like 1000 years Western music has been written on a horizontal stave resembling a ladder with the high sounding notes on top and the low sounding notes at the bottom. The earliest of these had only four horizontal lines on which note-like symbols called neumes were written. This stave was sufficient for the 7-note tones that were in use for singing, in church, at the time around 1000 A.D.. From about 1400 AD the five line stave was introduced to cope with a wider range of notes. As more notes and various instruments came into use, and with the introduction of the semitones the notation was asked to carry even more complex symbols indicating duration, dynamics and chords . So the modern staff often appears, as in the third example below, crowded with different clefs, sharps and flats, naturals and double sharps, double flats, naturals as well as key signatures.
This notation is difficult to read and difficult to write. It takes years to learn, so many people, adults as well as children, give up the struggle before they have made much progress. The Klavar notation, invented by Cornelis Pot in 1931 after years of research, provides an alternative that dismisses many of these difficulties. More than 30,000 pieces of music are available in Klavar in all styles from Bach to the Beatles. You can also transcribe the music yourself, by hand or by computer. If you wish to be able to read music as easily as you can read a book then the Klavar method is an excellent choice. All superfluous signs and symbols are swept away leaving simple patterns of black and white on the paper that correspond exactly to what you can see on the keyboard : What you see is what you play When you go through this trial lesson you will notice how quickly you progress from one concept to the next. Even after just one lesson you will be able to play some attractive music.
We wish you much enjoyment with Klavar! The Klavar Music Foundation
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The keyboard
Above, you can see a picture of a keyboard. Maybe your keyboard, piano or organ has more or fewer keys, but in principle all keyboards are organized in the same way in that the black keys lie in alternating groups of two and three, the full length of the keyboard. Keep these groups in mind as they are fundamental to the Klavar method.
The middle C
We start by finding the note called Middle C. This is the white key just on the left of the central group of two black notes near the centre of the keyboard. When you have found it you can stick a small label on it so you can find it easily.
Congratulations!
You now know the basics of the Klavar method and you are ready to play your first song
Big Ben
Now you are going to play the chimes of Big Ben Using only the five black keys. Start at the top and read downwards in the sequence indicated by the arrows. You may play the notes with any finger. You may find it convenient to start with finger 4 ( the ring finger ) of the right hand to play the first note. Play it again ! This time play the notes on the group of three with the right hand and the note on the group of 2 with your left hand; experiment ! Strike the keys slowly and regularly in groups of four notes, extending the duration of the sound of the fourth note in each group for one more beat by holding down the key. Relax when you hold the long note ; there is no need to press the key hard. Practise several times until you can play freely and fluently and the tune really sounds like the chimes of Big Ben . this one first... than this one... and so on
Big Ben
B
If you found them, you can start playing the tune on the white keys, as before when you played the Big-Ben tune. Again read from the top to the bottom. Start very slowly and attentively. It will gradually become more fluently. Finally you should try to play all notes one after another without interruptions. Next to three lines
Summary
The Klavar stave consists of groups of two and three lines corresponding to the black keys on the keyboard. The music is read from top to bottom. Black keys = black notes, through the lines White keys = white notes, between the lines The Centre of the keyboard is indicated by two dotted lines. The position of Middle C, just to the left of the two dotted lines, is indicated by a
Fingering
The key to fluent playing is practicing; but only in practicing in an effective manner, which means practicing using efficient fingering, To refer to the fingers we have given each finger its own number. In the exercise on the right some small numbers have been placed on top of some of the notes. These are finger numbers. The number 1 indicates that this note is to be played with the thumb; a 2 means that you play this note with your index finger, a 3 refers to your middle finger (finger 3) and so on. As a beginner make it a habit to follow the fingering instructions given. When you have gained mastery you may alter the fingering to suit your own hand. Fingering is given only where necessary to ensure a good hand position, that is why only some of the numbers are given. Play the unnumbered notes with the finger that is already in the correct position to play it.
1 o
4 3 2 1 1
3 4
o p p p3 p o4 o
2
5 o
o o4 o p3 p
Notice that the white note heads are below the stem and the black note heads are above the stem.
LEFT HAND
RIGHT HAND
1 o
p p
p3 o
Timing
Each piece of music is divided into a number of bars. The example on the right shows a stave with only two bars. A medium thick black line is at the start of each bar while a very thick line occurs at the end of the last bar of the music. The bars themselves are divided into a number of beats or counts with horizontal dotted lines. These are called counting lines. In the two-bar example, the numbers down the left hand side of the first bar of the music show that there are four beats to each bar. Bars can also be divided into many other sub-divisions such as 2-beats to the bar, 3-beats, 6-beats, 5-beats etc
1 2 3 4 1
Now play the tune on the far right and count at the same time. Note that this exercise is to be played with the right hand only as all the stems of the notes point to the right. Notice that the final note to be played ( at the beginning of bar 7) lasts for two bars; so keep the note down while you count the full length of the bar number 8.
In a three beat bar you count 1-2-3; 1-2-3-; 1-2-3 etc With the heavy accent falling on the first beat of each bar
In a 4-beat bar count: 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4 and so on with a heavy accent on beat 1 and a medium accent on beat 3
o v p v
1 2 3 4 1
5 o
v o4 v
3
rests; do not stop counting just because you release a key. Although you do not start using your left hand before bar 5 it is advisable to hold it ready over the keys it will play, so that you can play the music without any interruption . Notice the rest signs in bars 2 ,3 and 8 and pay attention to bar 7: a note of 2 beats duration followed by two notes of 1 beat each
Every note lasts until it is time for the next note to be played: unless a rest sign v indicates that it should stop.
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Experienced musicians
If you are already an experienced musician you might like to try the music on the next page. It is the famous Lullaby by Bernard Flies in the key of Gb, (formerly attributed, by mistake, to Mozart) If this is your first time to play from Klavar music you may have problems finding the right keys and you may think that the white notes should last longer than the black notes (mistaking them for minims and crochets of the traditional system.) But persevere and you will soon discover that these difficulties soon disappear. You will have no difficulty reading pieces in any key and you will not be disturbed by clef changes, sharps and flats and naturals, double sharps and double flats etc. After studying ten lessons, pieces like the Lullaby by Flies will be easy to play at first sight. Being an experienced musician you do not have to start from the beginning again. You will have a well developed sense of rhythm, good co-ordination, you have mastered fingering and the use of arm weight and have a good touch. All you lack is sight reading practice. But it will not take long before a new world of music will be open to you; a world without sharps and flats; a world with clear bars and beats and a world in which every note has its own position on the stave. You will even be able to compose with ease. In short a world of musical pleasure.
Course information
The Klavar method course for piano, keyboard, or organ consists of six books each of 13 lessons, that is totally 78 lessons. With regular practice the course takes about one year and a half to complete. With every book there is a listening CD containing the music of that book, so you can listen to hear how the music sounds when correctly played. These CDs are optional and cost 39,00 each. If you pay in advance for the complete course of 78 lessons ( 6 x 13 lessons) You get a 15% discount and pay only 199,00 instead of 234,00.
Application : via our Klavar-website,www.klavarskribo.nl Or write to Stichting Klavarskribo, PO Box 39, 2980 AA Ridderkerk, Netherlands. Or by phone: + 00 31 180 41 23 39 Or by Fax : + 00 31 180 41 21 13 Or by e-mail: [email protected]
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Lullaby
Bernard Flies
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