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I realized that it was time for me, a practicing musician and a person without musical education, to explain music theory in simple human language so that you can immediately understand what to do. I Last year I missed people’s requests to explain pieces of music theory, thinking that everything could be easily Googled and read on Wikipedia. YEAH, *****, NOW! Would you like to take a look at the Wikipedia article entitled "Tone" ?!

Tonality (Greek τόνος - tension, tension; tone) - 1) the principle of mode, the central category of which is the tonic. The remaining categories and functions of tonality (primarily the dominant and subdominant) are directly or indirectly related to the tonic.

Does it make sense to copy-paste further, or has the audience already plunged into a coma? I've been writing songs for 6 years and now I'm at my wit's end. spinal cord from this definition. So I realized that I had to explain elementary things in elementary words. Without "central categories" and "tonality functions".

I wrote this text for people who are just starting to write music on a computer and understand that some of the music theory will still be useful to them. For people who have already tried to bite into books from music schools and colleges and realized that these books are made of a mixture of granite, marble and diamond, and there will be nothing left but broken teeth after these books.

I don’t know yet which format will be the best, so I’ll just start with one. As Napoleon said, the main thing is to get involved in battle, and then we’ll see. Perhaps the text below will even lead to the capture of Europe, who knows. However, let's begin. Let this be the format of a conversation between a student and a teacher.

What is a chord?

A chord is the sound of several notes at the same time. Usually three, sometimes four or five - or at least ten. You can call the sound of two notes a chord. One note is no longer a chord.

How are the notes of a chord related to each other? On what basis are they selected? Can any three notes be considered a chord?

Yes. Any three notes can be considered a chord. A chord is simply the name for a phenomenon where you play several notes at the same time. But if you play arbitrary notes, they will most likely sound disgusting. To make everything sound decent, there are special laws for constructing chords. For example, the C major chord is considered classical. Music schools usually start studying chords with it, it’s easy to take and it sounds normal, i.e. fun and without pretensions.))

C major:

Why is it called "C major"?

Because it is built from note C. And we return to the previous question about the connection between the notes in a chord. What does it mean that a chord is built from note C? This means, firstly, that we have decided that the C note in the chord will be the main note. That's why, in fact, it's called before major, not horseradish major. And secondly, this means that the next note, according to the laws of major chord construction, should be 4 semitones higher than the original note C, and the next one after it should be 7 semitones higher original note to (or 3 semitones above the second note).

What is a halftone?

A semitone is the distance between any two neighboring notes. Look at the picture above. To the right of the note C is a black key labeled C# (C sharp)/Db (D flat). This note is adjacent, which means it is higher than the note C by a semitone (a semitone). To the right of this black note is the note D - it is higher to sharp by another semitone. This means that D is higher than C by two semitones. Two semitones is a tone. D sharp is higher than D by a semitone. Next comes E. We find that E is 4 semitones higher than C. This is what we need to build a major chord. Let's crawl further. E (+4 semitones from note C) - F (+5 semitones) - F sharp (+6 semitones) - G (+7 semitones). Here comes the second note. And the C major chord looks like in the picture. Do-mi-sol.

Is this a universal scheme about how to take a note, then take it 4 semitones higher, and take it 7 higher, or is there a different formula for each chord?

This is a universal scheme. In the same way, you can build a major chord from any note. What major chord do you want to build?

A sharp major.

A good choice. Over the course of his career, every musician must cultivate an imitator, cultivate a voice and build an A sharp major. So where do we start doing this? What is the main note in A sharp major?

This is a question for idiots. In A sharp major, the main note is A sharp.

Exactly. By the way, the "main note" is called the term t O Nika. So the tonic is A sharp. What's the second note?

A sharp - B (+1 semitone) - C (+2 semitones) - C sharp (+3 semitones) - D (+4 semitones). This is the note D.

Exactly she. What's the third one?

D (+4) - D sharp (+5) - E (+6) - F (+7). F.

So, A sharp major is A sharp - D - F?

Yes. This is what A sharp major looks like:

So far everything is very simple. I also heard there are minor chords. How do they differ from major ones?

The location of the second note. If in a major chord to build the second note we count 4 semitones from the tonic, then in a minor chord we count 3. And the third note remains the same - seven semitones above the tonic. This is the only difference between minor and major chords. Now try to build a G minor chord.

Tonic - salt. G - G sharp (+1) - A (+2) - A sharp (+3). The second note is A sharp. We count the third. A sharp (+3) - B (+4) - C (+5) - C sharp (+6) - D (+7). G minor: G - A sharp - D.

Right.

I don't ask, I affirm!

I saw the boys in the yard playing songs on guitars. Yesterday they played Noise's song From the Window. I Googled it and found out that the chords for this song are C G Am F. What does that even mean and how do I use it?

The pictures above show english letters over every note. These are foreign chord symbols. We have A, they have A. We have D, they have D. And so on. So the chords for From the Window are C, G, A, F. The A chord has a postscript - a small letter m. This means the chord is minor. If this letter is not present, like the other chords, then these are major chords.

Well, did I understand correctly? The chords on Noise are C major, G major, A minor, F major?

Yes, you said the truth.

Is it that simple?

It couldn't be simpler. Read Wikipedia less. Some articles there seem to be written specifically to demotivate people trying to figure something out.

Fine. Then let's move on. I wrote a chord sequence in Cubase, like Noise's - C G Am F. They sound to me through the Galaxy II piano plugin. Now I want to write a bass line. I tried to do it myself, but I can clearly hear that some notes don't fit and ruin everything. And some notes sound good. Is there some kind of system here?

This is a great question. There really is a system. It's all about the first chord. In our case it is C major. The first chord sets the tone of the song.

The key of the song? Isn't this by any chance a principle of mode, the central category of which is the tonic? I heard something similar somewhere. It seems just before falling into a coma.

Listen to me carefully. A tonality is a network of notes that sound simultaneously with a given chord without obvious dissonance.

Soooo, stop, stop, stop! What does note grid mean? Fishing net? Or a tennis net? Well, be specific.

You are right. Vague expression of thoughts is what I will shoot people for when I come to power. So let's play a C major chord. The key for this chord is determined by two things: the root and the major/minority of the chord. Our tonic is C, and the chord is major. This means that the key will be called C major.

I still don’t understand what tonality is, but for now I’ll ask another question - does tonality always coincide with the name of the first chord?

Not always, but in most cases. In Noise’s song it coincides with the first chord, and let’s not talk about “Always” for now, but let’s gradually move from small specific examples to universal generalizations and world domination. So, our key is C major. Now let's go back to the grid. A grid is a sequence of notes uniquely defined for a given chord that sound without dissonance.

What other dissonance?

Dissonance is when it sounds bad and pathetic. This, at first glance, is a subjective feeling, but when you miss the notes, this subjective feeling just happens to everyone, so you can consider it objective.) So, the major key is built according to the following scheme: take the tonic, this is the first note of the key. A tone has been added to this note - this is the second note. To it (to the second note) we added another tone - this is the third note (this is the second note of the chord, if you remember), to this note we add a semitone - this is the fourth note. We add a tone to the fourth - this is the fifth note (it is also the third note of the chord). We add a tone to the fifth - this is the sixth note. We add a tone to the sixth - this is the seventh note. If we add a semitone to the seventh, we will again return to the original note, but it will already be an octave higher than the tonic.

Octave?

Yes, octave. An octave is the distance between two notes, equal to 12 semitones. Physically, this means that the higher note has a vibration frequency that is exactly twice as high. The name remains the same. If the original note was C, then there will also be a C an octave higher.

So, the scheme for constructing tonality... How can it be formulated briefly and clearly?

Tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone.

Yes, that's already good.

Try, using this formula, to find notes in the key of C major.

Okay man. Hold on to the handrails! Everyone from the screw, I'm building in C major!

1. tonic - up

2. + tone - re

3. + tone - mi

4. +semitone - F

5. + tone - salt

6. + tone - A

7. + tone - si

8. + semitone - do

It?

It! Here's what it looks like on the keyboard:

Yes, everything is clear. Just two questions. First. Why do you draw pictures like this, as if the pianist’s fingers were cut off above this keyboard and the keys were painted with his blood?

I buried my talent in notes. I'm not a photoshopper.

Clear. OK. Second question: did I understand correctly that the key of C major includes all the white notes on the keyboard?

Yes! All white notes and only them are included.

This looks like cheating. Let's do something more difficult.

With pleasure. Let's take my song The Story of a Murderer for a change.

Let's. How can I determine the key of this song?

This is a valid question. Fit. Ask 99 more questions like this and you will go to heaven. The easiest way, which is rough, though, and in rare cases inaccurate, is to use the Virtual DJ program. The tone will be determined instantly, however, this will not make you any smarter, just as, for example, you cannot build up your leg muscles if you take the elevator home every day. However, you and I are in the business of learning, so let's dig deep. So, how to determine the key of a song. To do this, you need to determine the harmony of the song.

Pfjppppvwfjfwwwf *the sound made by a person who has taken a mouthful of, say, soup, suddenly sees something unacceptable, and now part of the soup has covered the surface of family and friends* WHAT IS HARMONY?

Harmony is the sequence of chords used in a song. For example, in the song From the Window the harmony is C G Am F. C major - G major - A minor - F major. You can say not “define harmony”, but “select chords” - this will be, in essence, the same thing.

Those. what can be found on the Internet by searching for “Chords of the Russian anthem” - will it also be harmony?

OK. How to determine the harmony of a song?

This difficult question, I myself am not ready to answer it for you. It's no use telling me how I do it. I turn on the song, take the guitar, start playing along with the song and in 5 seconds I get into key and after a couple of seconds I determine the harmony. The key here is my ability to hear the relationship between the music and the notes I produce. I developed it slowly over 12 years, just playing and choosing songs that I liked. This option is not suitable for you, because you want to learn quickly and without unnecessary actions. I understand you and will be happy to help you with this, but so far I can’t formulate the most shortcut for this. Therefore, we will now define harmony more in a simple way. Let's go to the Chords section and look at it there.

I don’t understand what kind of attitude this is, but in any case, it’s all impudent.

Certainly. So, harmony:

Introduction

C#m G#7sus4 E F#m

Oh, I wish I could die.

One day it will happen, believe me.

When we analyzed Noise, we found that the key is usually the same as the first chord. Is the key here F sharp minor?

No. The intro here is in one key, and the first verse is in another.

Those. Can the key change as the song progresses?

Maybe, although this is a rare occurrence. Only fans of the musical Notre Dame de Paris like me do this. In this musical, key changes occur several times in some songs.

Okay. What should I do then? What key should I build?

Both. F sharp minor and C sharp minor.

Hm. How is a minor key constructed? Since minor and major chords are different, then the keys are probably different?

This is a valid question. You have 98 questions left to get to heaven. The minor key is indeed different from the major key. Its scheme looks like this: tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone. The construction principle itself is the same. Try to build tones knowing this.

Come on.

1. Tonic - F sharp

2. + tone - G sharp

3. + semitone - A

4. + tone - si

5. + tone - C sharp

6. + semitone - D

7. + tone - mi

8. + tone - F sharp

It?

Yes. It looks like this:

Now give me C sharp minor.

Hold on.

1. Tonic - C sharp

2. + tone - D sharp

3. + semitone - E

4. + tone - F sharp

5. + tone - G sharp

6. + semitone - A

7. + tone - si

By the way, since you so diligently number each note of the key, I can’t help but tell you about one interesting point. These numbers that you put to the left of the notes are indeed very actively used in music theory. They are called steps. Let's take the same key of C sharp minor. C sharp is the first step, it is also the tonic. D sharp is the second step. Mi is the third stage. F sharp is the fourth, G sharp is the fifth, and so on. Taking into account this sacred knowledge, we can assume that in any key a chord is simply a combination three stages: first (tonic), third (above I called it the second note of the chord) and fifth (Indian name - Third Note of the Chord).

Is this made for convenience? So as not to say “the third note of the chord”, but to say the fifth degree?

Yes, this is for convenience. For example, since ancient times it has been noted that the fifth stage sounds very beautiful. I can, for example, not really come up with a bass line, but just tell the bass player the harmony (for example, Am F C G) and say: play 1-5-1-5 straight through, and he will understand me instantly.

Come on, explain so that I can understand first.1-5-1-5 - what is it?

These are just steps. This means that the bassist must play in turn the 1st step, then the 5th, then the 1st again, then the 5th again. And so on every chord.

Mmmm. Wait. If we play an A minor chord, the notes are A-D-E. A tonic, first step. Do is the third step and E is the fifth. Those. when the A minor chord sounds, the bass player will play la-mi-la-mi, right?

And then the F major chord will begin to sound. Should the bassist really keep playing la-mi-la-mi? Given that there is no E note in the F major chord and it will most likely sound bad?

Logical question. The point is that degrees are a relative thing that is “attached” to a chord. While A minor is playing, we have the tonic of A. Once we moved to F major, we now have the tonic of F!

Oh no shit! And when were you going to tell me about this?!

Only after you've asked a question. Until you ask the question, you are not ready for the answer, and you simply will not hear it.

A bold assumption. However, it seems to be true.) Okay, that means the chord has changed - the steps have changed. So, now we need to find out what the fifth degree of F major is.

You will do this without my help. Do you remember the diagram for constructing a major key?

Scheme for constructing a major key tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone.

Brilliant memory!

This is the only way someone who wants to become a master should have it! So, fa (I step, tonic) - G (II step) - A (III) - A # (IV) - C (V). This means that for the F major chord the fifth degree is C. Does this mean that on an F major chord the bassist will play F-do-fa-do?

In the “Music Theory” section, you will find out what it is, why it is needed and who needs it. Also below there will be separate free lessons for both beginners and pros. There we will discuss in detail the theoretical issues of this topic.

is a certain set of educational and scientific disciplines of musicology that deal with theoretical aspects music. All this forms the main basis for.

Here are just some disciplines (sections of music theory):

• Instrumentation - the study of musical instruments
• Orchestration - presentation of music for orchestra
• Harmony is a discipline about the organization of music
• Polyphony - the study of polyphonic compositions
• Rhythmics - studies meter and rhythm
• Musical form is a discipline about the structure of a work

This also includes additional courses on the theory of musical content, modern composition, musical textual criticism and much more.

There is also such a concept as elementary music theory. This is a simplified version of a set of theoretical principles about music. As a rule, it is intended for the initial development of musical literacy.

Despite the fact that there is a lot of information now, many still have a mess in their heads of scraps of some knowledge. As a result, some people think that it is all very easy. After all, they seem to understand the information, but cannot apply it. That's why they think it's easy.

For some, on the contrary, it seems very difficult. As a rule, they open classical textbooks on music theory and think - “Why do I need all this, what is it and how can I apply it in practice?”

We have many textbooks on music theory. Many of them are already 50 years old. At the same time, they do not lose their relevance because they are designed for the classical school.

What we are studying now, we don’t even have as many genres as in classical music. We don't have anything global right now. We don't write operas, symphonies and so on.

Therefore, music theory is the main basis, which no one has yet canceled. Everything there is very well written and systematized.

But if you are involved in modern music, you still have to learn this base and start moving on.

Why is it important to know music theory?

Music theory is a must-know for anyone who plays music. And it doesn’t matter if they are vocalists, guitarists or drummers! Anyone who plays any instruments, sings, or composes songs must know the basics.

Unfortunately, you can often hear from many musicians that they record their parts by ear. So they don't need to know notes and intervals and things like that.

There are also drummers who have been playing for more than five years and have not learned the notes during all this time. Not only have they not learned it, but they are not even going to do it. They believe that this is not at all necessary.

But it's a must! And it doesn’t matter for whom. Music theory for dummies or for pros. All the same, you need to know it and constantly refresh your memory.

In classical performance, the musical material is called musical text. The word “text” appears here for a reason. After all, in essence, a musical text is the same as books or textbooks with ordinary printed text. And it's called sight reading because it's really, really similar to simple reading.

Once you know the notes and know how to play, in fact, it becomes very easy. You can even hear what is written without losing it.

Considering that sheet music is called text, imagine that you are a student in a public school and cannot read. That is, you don’t know the letters.

There is no doubt that you can learn something. For example, watch various training videos. But you still don’t know how to read.

And you still won’t learn much until you can read properly. Indeed, in this case, a large layer human knowledge it will simply not be available to you.

The same applies to music. Especially when you don’t know the theory of at least some basic things. Here it will be absolutely the same as in the above example.

What is important in music theory for beginners and professionals

Now I will tell you what you need to know in music theory for beginners and professionals. Those who study vocals, play musical instruments and those who write music. Very often they ask - “ What do I need to know, what to read, etc.?»

Let's start with the vocalist.

I said above that knowledge of notes- this is, roughly speaking, knowledge of letters. But you must understand that knowing only the letters will not be enough for you. You need to learn how to put these letters into syllables, and then put them into words. Only then will you have a complete picture.

Once you know musical notation, you should move on to studying intervals. This is the most important thing for vocalists!

It is clear that you, as a vocalist, will not sing in chords and so on. Therefore, you must master the intervals stage perfectly.

You know, people who sing and don’t know intervals (for example, they can’t write backing vocals for themselves) will always go in blind. It's like sailing in the ocean without a map or compass.

In general, spacing is very important! We immediately play them and eat.

In addition to the harmonic component (what we mean by the pitch of the sound, the note), there is a second very important branch in music. This time component. These are what are called durations.

IN different times there were more trends. For example, somewhere in the harmonic component, new harmonies appeared in the era of romanticism. We experimented very often in this direction.

Now is the time when the rhythmic component is very important in modern music.

The most basic example is when they came up with a breakdown from scratch. Many people think that this is noticeable. But in fact it’s brilliant because no one came up with anything new!

On the contrary, they removed the unnecessary and only the rhythm remained. There is no harmony there. There's actually only one note. There is only one dimension left and that is rhythm.

In fact, this is also very important and must be mastered perfectly. And the vocalist needs to understand this. After all, they also sing with a metronome (most often they are recorded).

For instrumentalists this is even more important. And for drummers this is absolutely super important because they actually have a conditional note height.

Naturally, drums have a pitch. They all differ in sound and so on. But in general, the drummer has a minimum of harmonic means, but at the same time more rhythmic ones.

Music Theory for the Composer

Now let's talk about music theory for a composer. Very often people ask me what I need to know to start writing music. How, where to start, and so on.

Let's get back to music theory for dummies again. Let's imagine that you not only know it, but can freely use it.

In this case, you will fully master the instrument. That is, you can immediately play something freely.

To do this, you will not need to rehearse, sit for a long time and tune in. That is, you are already playing completely freely.

Same thing in terms of theoretical knowledge and application, this also applies to the composer. That is, at a minimum, he should be able to freely play a chain of chords. Only in this case will he have a normal instrument for writing music.

After you have studied music theory to such a sufficient extent, you need to do the following. If you want to write your own song, then open any example you like and then analyze it.

For example, analyze the form of the song itself (verse, chorus). That is, you first take it apart into its components and create a certain form. After that, analyze how many squares there are. Classically, the chorus goes four squares. These are four musical phrases or four lines of text.

Here you analyze all this in more detail. For example, somewhere there are transitions, somewhere there may be modulation, and so on. As a result, you are already stocking up on such instruments, from which you will later compose your song.

After this, analyze the harmony.

After all, there are many masterpieces in which there are two chords and two notes on the vocals. But in the end it all looks brilliant. This is where compositional skill lies.

What do those who write music miss?

In principle, it is not difficult to come up with a vocal melody. But for it to sound, there must be a so-called arrangement. And this is exactly big set tools that can be used wisely.

Of course, today you need to have your own musical taste and talent. After all, composing is a creative process. You can only approach it with intelligence and imagination.

In modern music, unlike classical music, there are no boundaries. In fact, you can do whatever your heart desires.

But at the same time, you must understand that many people want to come up with something that has not yet been done. For example, I will do something that should not be done because no one has done it before. And thus I will come up with something new.

I will say that you won’t come up with anything new!

They haven’t done this before, not because they haven’t thought of it before, but because it just doesn’t sound right. Therefore, try to gain knowledge, apply it wisely and listen to a lot of different music.

One last thing before studying

Now you know what music theory is and why it is so important for everyone involved in this art.

Perhaps you've recently started working with music editors and now want to learn more about how music is organized.

Maybe you are a sound engineer and have been recording and mixing sound for many years. Now you want to improve your musical literacy.

Or maybe you are a composer and want to diversify your arrangements. Maybe you want to learn how to read and write scores. Or you just want to refresh your memory of the material you studied at music school.

Regardless of the above, we will cover for you all the basics of music theory from A to Z. Below are free lessons in the form of articles. They will give you the necessary knowledge base that everyone should have.

Say thanks using the buttons below:

In this material we will take a closer look at what sound is, its speed, volume and others. important definitions. We will also talk about frequency, pitch and notes.

Those who decide to learn at least something serious about music cannot avoid getting acquainted with various musical notations. From this article you will learn how to learn to read notes without memorizing them, but only by understanding the logical principles on which musical notation is based.

What is included in the concept of musical notation? This is all that relates, one way or another, to writing and reading notes; This is a unique language that is understandable to all musicians in Europe and America. As you know, every musical sound is determined by 4 physical properties: pitch, duration, volume and timbre(coloring). And with the help of musical notation, the musician receives information about all these four properties of the sound that he is going to sing or play. musical instrument.

I propose to understand how each of the properties of musical sound is displayed in musical notation.

Pitch

The entire range of musical sounds is built into a single system - scale, that is, a series in which all sounds follow each other in order, from the lowest to the highest sounds, or vice versa. The scale is divided into octaves s – segments of a musical scale, each of which contains a set of notes with the same name – do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si.

Used to write and read notes stave- this is a line for writing notes in the form of five parallel lines (it would be more correct to say - rulers). Any notes of the scale are written on the staff: on the rulers, under the rulers or above them (and, of course, between the rulers with equal success). Rulers are usually numbered from bottom to top:

The notes themselves are indicated by heads oval shape. If the main five lines are not enough to record a note, then special additional lines are introduced for them. The higher the note sounds, the higher it is located on the rulers:

An idea of ​​the exact pitch of a sound is given by musical keys, of which the two most familiar to everyone are - violin And bass. Music notation for beginners is based on studying the treble clef in the first octave. They are written like this:

Read about ways to quickly memorize all notes in the article, follow the suggestions there practical exercises and you won’t notice how the problem will disappear by itself.

Note durations

The duration of each note belongs to the area of ​​musical time, which is a continuous movement at the same speed of equal fractions, comparable to the measured beat of the pulse. Usually one such beat is associated with a quarter note. Look at the picture, you will see graphic image notes of different durations and their names:

Of course, music also uses smaller durations. And you already understood that each new, smaller duration is obtained by dividing the whole note by the number 2 to the nth power: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. Thus, we can divide a whole note not only into 4 quarter notes, but with equal success into 8 eighth notes or 16 sixteenth notes.

Musical time is very well organized, and in its organization, in addition to shares, larger units participate - so you, that is, segments that contain exactly a given number of parts. Measures are distinguished visually by separating one from another by a vertical bar line. The number of beats in measures, and the duration of each of them is reflected in notes using a numerical size.

Both sizes, durations, and beats are closely related to such an area in music as rhythm. Music notation for beginners usually operates with the simplest meters, for example, 2/4, 3/4, etc. See how musical rhythm can be organized in them.

Volume

How to play this or that motive - loudly or quietly - is also indicated in the notes. Everything is simple here. Here are the icons you will see:

Timbre

The timbre of sounds is an area that is almost completely untouched by musical notation for beginners. However, as a rule, the notes have different instructions on this matter. The simplest thing is the name of the instrument or voice for which the composition is intended. The most difficult part is related to playing technique (for example, turning the pedals on and off on a piano) or with techniques for producing sound (for example, harmonics on a violin).

We should stop here: on the one hand, you have already learned a lot about what can be read in sheet music, on the other hand, there is still a lot to learn. Follow the updates on the website. If you liked this material, recommend it to your friends using the buttons at the bottom of the page.

Many diseases can be diagnosed with one drop of blood per day. in a matter of minutes. The Foundation for Advanced Research (API), together with the Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, created and tested a technological prototype of a “laboratory on a chip.” The device, a few centimeters in size, analyzes blood characteristics and provides a diagnosis. The test sample is already capable of diagnosing a heart attack. According to experts, if clinical trials are successful new technology can change the entire system of Russian medicine.

As FPI told Izvestia, a prototype of the sensor showed good results during testing.

In November, the first stage of the Fund’s project to create “laboratories on a chip” was successfully completed, the press service of the fund said. - The prototype has been tested. The correctness of the selected technological solutions was checked and the main characteristics were confirmed.

The goal of the project is to diagnose diseases in conditions where there are no specialized laboratories, for example in hard-to-reach mountainous areas or the Far North, on ships and vessels of the Navy during voyages, and during armed forces operations far from the main troops. The prospects for using such a device by space station crews are being considered.

The patient or samples taken from him will not have to be transported to medical centers. Diagnostics can be carried out on site.

The device consists of a tablet on which scanning results are displayed, and an optical biosensor. Appearance And specifications FPI does not disclose new products. But general principle the operation of such systems is known. The biological fluid is applied to a sensor consisting of a light-transmitting transparent base and a reflective coating. A special device passes light through the sensor. The characteristics of reflected rays are analyzed.

If the project is successful, the system will allow diagnostics to be carried out using one drop of blood within a few minutes. The prototype is capable, for example, of identifying markers in the test sample acute heart attack myocardium. In the future, it will be possible to analyze up to 50–100 blood parameters. This will provide information about diseases associated with metabolic and inflammatory processes, about the state of immunity.

As FPI project manager Fyodor Arsenyev explained to Izvestia, in the future biosensors may be created for placement inside the body.

“The main problem is that the artificial system, unlike the natural one in the body, is not updated,” said Fyodor Arsenyev. - If a solution to this problem is found, we will get implantable biosensors. They will be able to effectively monitor a person’s health throughout his life.

According to the director of the Institute of Personalized Medicine of Sechenov University, Philip Kopylov, the implementation of the project conceived by the participants means a revolution in diagnostics.

If this works, the entire healthcare system will be simplified. This, of course, will be a major breakthrough,” Philip Kopylov told Izvestia. - The ability to make a diagnosis in a few minutes will allow you to quickly send the patient to the right place for treatment. Today, to determine the diagnosis, they often drive him around in circles, collecting all kinds of tests. But first you need to make sure the effectiveness of the technical solution, carry out clinical trials on a large number of people.

Work on creating a “laboratory on a chip” was started by the Fund in the spring of 2016. For this purpose, a specialized laboratory was created at the Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

An improved version of the chip for sorting blood cells. The new model not only better separates white blood cells and more accurately counts their number, but also preserves white blood cells undamaged. This opens up broad prospects for both clinical rapid tests and medical research with pure cell fractions.

WITH general analysis blood begins almost any diagnosis. Based on its results, it is possible to narrow down the number of suspected diseases with similar symptoms and recognize many pathological conditions. In modern medical laboratories In large cities, counting the number of blood cells and determining its indicators are as automated as possible.

However, this diagnostic equipment quite expensive, and clinics in developing countries, where the prevalence and duration of the disease are higher, are unable to purchase it. This leads to untimely provision medical care, an increase in the number of chronically ill people and contributes to the formation of persistent epidemic foci.

The problem can be partially solved by the laboratory-on-a-chip research program, which Computerra discussed earlier. One of the objectives of this initiative is to develop reliable and available methods automated express diagnostics.

MIT specialists for a long time were working on a chip that could do more than just sort and count shaped elements blood without bulky and expensive equipment, but also to isolate cells of the same type from a sample.

The created chip does all the work literally in one pass, content with microscopic amounts of blood. The developers explain the secret of its effectiveness by the fact that they were able to use biomimicry technologies - imitation of processes in living systems.

Normally, a certain number of leukocytes are constantly present in human blood. When inflammation occurs, they penetrate the affected tissue, leaving the bloodstream through the pores of the vessels. The direction of movement is determined by the presence of signal molecules - attractants.

The chip uses a similar filtration mechanism, imitating endothelial clefts and marker substances that activate chemotaxis in the porous microchannel material. In particular, the protein P-selectin (CD62P), which is involved in weak adhesion of neutrophil leukocytes, is used.

The previous model, created in 2012, placed P-selectin on ridges etched into the channel. Leukocytes reversibly associated with them and were carried away into separate branches. Despite the high throughput of the chip, it experienced unwanted effects mixing, which made it unsuitable for analytical work.

A year later, two researchers proposed a new chip design. Instead of etching micro-ridges, they used the thinnest gold strips. They were positioned diagonally to the flow of the blood sample, placing P-selectin along the entire surface.

The video below shows how, due to weak adhesion, neutrophil leukocytes move along the gold stripes, while the rest of the blood cells move chaotically in the general flow.

After analyzing the results of a series of experiments, the study authors developed a mathematical model to calculate the optimal location of adhesive strips. Latest version The chip allows you to capture more than 99 percent of leukocytes from a blood sample. This excellent result, especially considering that they are found a thousand times less frequently than red blood cells.

After passing through the channel of the chip, all leukocytes smoothly flow through artificial pores of a strictly defined size, remaining intact and functional.

Further work is being carried out towards integrating the created microchips into portable diagnostic devices. With their help, it is planned to regularly perform rapid blood tests in regions of developing countries. At the first stage, the simplest signs will be determined inflammatory diseases, such as an increase in the number of leukocytes and disruption of their binding to P-selectin.

The latter situation is typical for sepsis, in which, in addition to the infectious agent, a large number of interleukins and inflammatory mediators. These changes in blood composition were simulated in laboratory conditions. In all modified samples it was observed a sharp decline percentage of leukocytes captured by the chip. Thus, the number of free leukocytes remaining after passing through the chip serves as a reliable diagnostic sign and allows you to assess the severity of the disease.

For laboratory diagnostics Using the created chip, several times less amount of patient's blood is required than is required today in any other method. We are talking literally about hundredths of a milliliter. Therefore, one of the advantages of the “lab-on-a-chip” is the possibility of its implementation in pediatric practice, where more high frequency control and the most atraumatic procedures.