Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Letter c over the treble clef, what does it mean?

I cant seem to remember what it means, if I ever knew. Sorry if this is covered somewhere else.
The note that the letter c is over is an f.

Welcome to the forums!

Do you refer to this?



If so, this is a common time signature equal to 4/4 time signature. More on time signatures here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature


Best regards,
M.

I'm thinking Slowbiefatwanna (thank the designer of copy/paste!) might be referring to the bass clef sign.

The "C" with the two dots. The line between the two dots is an "F" note.

[edit] well, backwards C type thing [/edit]

well, edit again...

OK, he might be referring to that Common Time (aka 4/4 time signature now that I read the question again.

I really should read things more carefully.

If it's *over* a note, could it be a C that's turned in its side face down - a fermata*? (Looks like a round eyebrow with a dot in the middle). If so, that means you hold the note.

[*wrong term corrected in post-edit]

I wish i could scan this in for you all to see, but its not a time sig ,, it is over the -top- of the treble clef,, not at the beginning.

if it is a tenuto, that would explain it for the c,, thanks, but on the next phrase there is an F over the top of the treble clef, in the same spot where the c was for the first phrase.. Sorry to be a pain, im only 1 month into this. I took lessons as a child for like 2 minutes,lol.

I put the question on yahoo answers too, there is two answers to it, both of them said it is a chord sign, top let me know what chords go well with that section of melody. Does that sound right?

This is intriguing. What is the name of the piece? Is there a key signature (grouped sharps or flats in the beginning)? Is this from a method book or what kind of source? I'm wondering whether they're indicating chords or the key, or a modulation and not using the regular signs.

It seems it might be a chord if it is over the treble staff. Having F afterwards can only further that possibility.

What piece of music are you looking at? I bet it's an indication that the measure is in the key of C...and the next measure is in the key of F.

Are other measures labeled G and G7?

Keystring,

The "eyebrow with a dot in the middle" is actually called a fermata.

A tenuto is a horizontal dash you put over or under a note to indicate a slight accent.

Oops, thanks. I think I've mixed up those names before.

What is the meaning of the word "fermata"? It seems to mean to "close" something, so you don't think if it as "holding" a note. Or does this have to do with the way it's used in Bach chorales, for example, where it seems to close or end a phrase?

The piece is "Day Tripper"
and yes there is a d7 and e7 and then a c again for the last phrase,,, heheh
. Looks like we have an answer. Thank you all very much. Now if I can just get the rhythm

For the record, a tenuto can also indicate a fermata-like rubato. Rachmaninoff used it as such in the opening bars of his c# prelude (Op. 3 No. 2).

I have several pieces with fermata. I believe it means to hold the note or chord in question for a longer time than one would do normally based on the duration of the notes. The performer can AFAIK hold the note as long as desired.

Simply "pause". Doesn't fermare mean "stop" in Italian?

It's just a chord marking. It means that the measure is accompanied by a C chord. This is very common in popular music, but not in classical.

Don
Kansas City

THanks, Currawong. I was after the Italian meaning and maybe a clue as to why that word has been chosen for the musical action indicated by the fermata sign. You see, I keep mixing up the term and calling it "tenuto" because that Italian word means "to hold", and when I first encountered the symbol I learned it meant to "hold" the note or rest. I made the mistake again today.

Babelfish says "fermare" = "to stop" and "fermata" = "stopped". So is the fermata sign also related to stopping, or do we create a feeling of stopping? "Pause" as you've defined it gives that idea of stopping and I like it better than "holding the rest/note" if that's so. It might help fix the name of the term in my mind.

Hi all,

Below is a link to the most complete Internet dictionary of musical terms and symbols I've come across. Perhaps you'll all find it as informative as I find it. Immediately to the right of "Z" you will find "Symbols". One can search alphabetically or by symbol. I think it's a fantastic resource. Many terms are displayed in more than one language.

http://www.dolmetsch.com/musicalsymbols.htm

Regards,

Lisztener

Thank you, Lisztener - that link is invaluable as a resource.

keystring, "fermare" does mean "to stop" but "fermata" can also be used as a noun to mean "stop" as in "bus stop".
Ironically, here in Italy that sign is called "corona" ("crown") so it goes after the icon rather than the meaning. :-/