Music Theory

Lesson 1 Music Theory and Musical Dynamics

- music theory is the study of the structure of constructed music

Lesson 2 Pitch in Music

- pitch is the rate at which these variations occur
- the rate is called the frequency of the sound
- if the pattern repeats 440 times per second, the perceived pitch is A above middle C (most
orchestras tuned)

Lesson 3 Time in Music

Lesson 4 Notes
Lesson 5 Rests
Lesson 6 The Music Keyboard
Lesson 7 Musical Staves
- a musical staff is made up of five lines and four spaces

Lesson 8 Treble Clef and Staf

- treble clef is a symbol from a very old way to write a G

Lesson 9 Bass Clef and Staf

- bass clef is a symbol from a very old way to write a F

Lesson 10 The Grand Staf

- the bass clef and treble clefcombined
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Lesson 11 Meter in Music

Lesson 12 Measures and Bar Lines
Lesson 13 Time Signatures
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Bottom number refers to the type of note that will get a beat
Top number refers to the amount of those notes per measure
Cut time aka alla breve
Simple meter refers to a meter in which each beat is subdivided into two equal note values
Simple meter: top number always indicates the number of beats in the measure and the
bottom number indicates the type of note that takes one beat

Lesson 14 Tempo
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largo-broad= extremely slow

larghetto= slightly faster than largo
lento= very slow
adagio= slow (at ease)
andante= walking
moderato= moderate
allegretto= fast, but not too fast
allegro= fast (cheerful)
presto= very fast
prestissimo= as fast as possible
varying the tempo throughout a piece of music is called rubato

Lesson 15 Rhythm
Lesson 16 Intervals: Numeric Size
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musical interval= the distance between two notes

each line and space is counted until you reach the other note
A to C is a third
C to E is a third

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- second interval=step

Lesson 17 Intervals: Major and Minor Seconds

- white keys that are side by side and do not have a black key between them are half steps or
minor 2nd

- Minor seconds on the white keys are between B and C and E and F
- whole steps are all the other white keys that do not have a black key between them aka major
seconds

major seconds are always two half steps

white-key major seconds include: C to D, D to E, F to G, G to A, and A to B
all can be written on the grand staff
Frere Jacques starts with ascending major seconds

Lesson 18 Intervals: Octaves

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an octave is an interval between a note and the next note with the same letter name
oct means 8
octaves are eighths
frequency is the rate of vibration of the sound pressure waves that produce the sense of pitch
ratio of two notes that are an octave apart is 2:1
unison is 1:1

Lesson 19 Accidentals: Sharps

Lesson 20 Accidentals: Flats
Lesson 21 More Accidentals
- enharmonic notes are two notes of the same pitch written differently like E double flat and D
sharp are enharmonic

Lesson 22 The C Major and G Major Scales

- a scale in music is a group of notes that are an ordered set
- scales are used for melodies and harmonies in music
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scales tend to vary with the different time periods

different cultures also tend to use different scales in their styles of music
in our western culture, the most common scale is the major scale
major steps= whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half
G Scale is G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G

Lesson 23 The F Major and B-flat Major Scales

- F major scale has one flat, B flat
- B flat major scale has two flats

Lesson 24 More Major Scales in Sharps

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D Major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D

A Major: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A
E Major: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E
B Major: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B
F# Major: F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#, F#

Lesson 25 More Major Scales in Flats

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Eb Major: Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D Eb

Ab Major: Ab, Bb, C, Db, E, F, G, Ab
Db Major: Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db
Gb Major: Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb
Cb Major: Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb
when 2 scales are enharmonic it is usually best to use the one that has the least amount of
sharps or flats

Lesson 26 Naming Scale Degrees

- a scale degree is the name of a particular note
- tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone, tonic
- solfege or the movable do system

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Lesson 27 Introduction to Key Signatures

- the key of a piece of music comes from the sense that a particular note is emphasized
throughout a piece of music

- there are different styles of music varying from culture to culture, periods in history and even
musical composers

tonal music is one of the styles with Western influence

it has been around since about the 16th century
this style of music emphasizes a particular note, and usually a particular scale
this sense of a particular emphasize note is where the key of the piece comes from
a piece of music then has a major or minor scale built on this tone and then we will say that
this piece is written in a certain key

- a musical piece that is written in a key can be altered by using accidentals, sharps, or flats
- if a composition is written in the key of G, and the composer wants the F to be sharp, he/she
could put the sharp just after the clef and it would hold true not just for one measure but for
the whole piece of music

Lesson 28 Perfect Fifths and Perfect Fourths

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a perfect 5th always has 3 whole steps and one half step or seven half steps
G to A-whole, A-B-whole, B-C-half, C to D-whole
every 5th is not a perfect 5th
a perfect 4th always has 2 whole steps and 1 half step or five half steps
D to E-whole, E to F-half, F-G-whole
not every 4th is perfect

Lesson 29 All Major Key Signatures in Sharps/Flats

- key signatures are written on bass and treble staves just after the clef symbol, before the time
signatures

each keys tonic note is up a P5th from the one right before it
when a new sharp is added it is written up a 5th or down a 4th from the one before it
C Major=no sharps
G Major=E#
D Major=E#, C#

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A Major=E#, C#, G#
E Major=E#, C#, G#, D#
B Major=E#, C#, G#, D#, F#
F# Major=E#, C#, G#, D#, F#, A#
C# Major=E#, C#, G#, D#, F#, A#, B#
sharps are written down a 4th or up a 5th
clean and clear is C Major
to find the name of the key when you have a sharp in the key signature, go a half step up from
the last sharp to the right

F Major=Bb
Bb Major=Bb, Eb
Eb Major=Bb, Eb, Ab
Ab Major=Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
Db Major=Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
Gb Major=Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
Cb Major=Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb
flats are written up a 4th or down a 5th
to find the major key look find the second to last flat
one fabulous flat is F major

Lesson 30 The Circle of Fifths: Enharmonic Keys

- circle of fifths shows the relationship between the major keys
- clockwise each tonic is up a P5th, you will add a sharp or remove a flat
- enharmonic keys are keys that sound exactly the same but spelled differently

Lesson 31 Ties
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a tie in music is a curved line that connects the head of two notes of the same pitch
tie is used when you would like to hold a note over to the next measure
2 ties in Cole Porters Ive Got You Under My Skin
Scott Joplins The Entertainer uses ties within a measure

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Lesson 32 Dotted Notes

- dots are placed after note heads to change the duration of the note
- dot adds half the duration of whichever note it follows

Lesson 33 General Articulations

- articulations in music are notations that tell a performer to produce a certain effect by the way
a tone or group of tones is produced

accent, slur, staccato, trill, fermata

an accent is placed over or under the note that is supposed to be accented
the symbol > tells the performer to put a special emphasis on a note
legato is another name for slur
legato is Italian for smoothly so when a slur is placed over notes, they should be played
smoothly

- slurs connect notes of different pitches

- staccato is Italian that means detach
- staccato is a dot above or below the note and is written so that a musician will play the note
crisply and distinctly

- Mozarts Twinkle Twinkle Little Star starts with staccato

- trill (tr) tells a performer to play the written note and the one just a step above it alternating
rapidly

- trill in Minuet by Paderewski

- fermata is a symbol that tells an instrument to play a note longer than it is written

Lesson 34 Specific Articulations

- pizzicato/arco, down bow/up bow, tremolo, pedal
- pizzicato and arco relate to bowed stringed instruments
- pizzicato means to pluck the string and arco tells an instrumentalist to go back to using the
bow

- down bow and up bow apply to stringed instruments that use a bow
- down bow looks like a flag with two poles, up bow V, drags bow upward or downward
- tremolo used for stringed instruments, quickly using a succession of down and up bows, a
note with 3 dashes on stem

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Lesson 35 Interval Size

- an interval in music is the distance between pitches

Lesson 36 Perfect Intervals

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there are 4 perfect intervals, unison, P4, P5, and P8

P8 aka perfect octave, 5 whole steps and 2 half steps, 12 half steps or 6 whole steps
G-A whole, A-B whole, B-C half, C-D whole, D-E whole, E-F half, F-G whole
famous example of P8 beginning of Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen
P5 contains 3 whole steps and 1 half step or 7 half steps
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has a P5 in beginning
P4 contains 2 whole steps and 1 half step or 5 half steps
Here Comes the Bride has a P4
unison is two notes of the same pitch written on the same line or space
unison 1:1, octave 2:1, P5 3:2, P4 4:3,
rations come from Classic Greek period and todays ratios are very close to the older ones
change came about so that musicians could play a selection that changed keys without
having to tune their instruments in the middle of the piece

Lesson 37 Major and Minor Intervals

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minor thirds have 1.5 steps between them

major thirds contain 2 whole steps
a major sixth has 4.5 steps, a whole step wider than a P5th
minor sixth has 3 whole steps and 2 half steps or 8 half steps
major seventh has 11 half steps
minor seventh contains 10 half steps
octave has 12 half steps so a major seventh is just one half step smaller than an octave
minor 7th is one whole step smaller than an octave

Lesson 38 The Diminished Fifth and Augmented

Fourth
- a tritone is an interval of 3 whole steps
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tritone is also called a diminished fifth because it is a half step smaller than a perfect fifth
to make a diminished fifth the top note can move down or the bottom note can move up
an augmented fourth is created by enlarging a perfect fourth by one half step
moving the top note up or the bottom note down
dim5 and +4, both called tritones

Lesson 39 More Augmented and Diminished Intervals

- all perfect or major intervals can be augmented without changing their numeric size
- all perfect or minor intervals can be diminished

Lesson 40 Inverted and Compound Intervals

- 12 pitch classes matching the 12 keys that are within an octave
- an interval is inverted when you move one of the two notes from the original interval an octave
up or down, passing the other note

inverted 2nd becomes a 7th

inverted 3rd becomes a 6th
inverted 4th becomes a 5th
numeric sizes add up to 9 because you start counting intervals with 1
invert a minor it becomes major
invert a perfect interval you will get a perfect interval
inverting a diminished interval gives you an augmented interval
m2, M7, M2, m7, m3, M6, M3, m6, P4, P5, +4, 05, 03, +6, 04, +5
octave plus a 2nd is a 9th, octave plus a 3rd is a 10th
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, M10th=P8+M3
any interval larger than an 8th is a compound interval

Lesson 41 The Structure of Major Scales

- half steps are between scale degrees 3 and 4, 7 and 8
- 5th scale degree is called dominant and is a perfect 5th from the first note, scale degree 1,
also called tonic

- 3rd scale degree is called mediant, and is a major third above the first degree
- transposing a scale happens when the scale is started on a different pitch
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- Bb scale is up a major second from C and transposed from it

Lesson 42 The Natural Minor Scale

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half steps between 2-3, 5-6

5th scale degree is a P5th above the first note (tonic)
3rd scale degree is a a minor 3rd above tonic
C natural minor, C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C
7th scale degree is a whole step down from 8 and is not as strong as when it is a half step
away so it is called subtonic instead of leading tone

Lesson 43 The Harmonic Minor Scale

- harmonic minor scale occurs when the 7th scale degree of a natural minor scale is raised,
making the interval from 7 to 8 a half step

now, this minor scale has 3 half steps instead of 2

interval between 6 and 7 is augmented 2nd, whole, half, whole, whole, half, augmented half
C harmonic scale, C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B natural, C
diatonic scale is one in which all the notes, in one transposition, can be played on the white
notes of the keyboard

- natural minor scale is an example of this, because if you begin on A, all the notes can be
played on the white keys

- harmonic minor scale has to have one black key so it is said to be non-diatonic

Lesson 44 Forms of the Melodic Minor Scale

- melodic minor scales have 2 forms, ascending and descending
- many times in a melodic minor passage, the 6th and 7th scale degrees will be sharped when
ascending

- on the way back down the scale reverts back to a natural minor scale
- if the passage is ascending, then descending and going right back up, it will stay in the
ascending melodic minor mode

- it is more likely to use the natural minor on the way back down if it goes on down to 5 or lower
after going up to 8

- whole, half, whole, whole, whole, whole, half and revert back down to whole, whole, half,
whole, whole, half, whole

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C melodic minor scale up, C, D, Eb, F, G, A natural, B natural, C

C melodic minor scale down, C, Bb, Ab, G, F, Eb, D, C
when the 7th scale degree is a half step away from the 8th, it is referred to as leading tone
happens in both harmonic minor scale and the ascending melodic minor scale
when there is a whole step between 7 and 8, the 7th scale degree is called the subtopic
tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant

Lesson 45 Minor Keys

- interval pattern is different for major and minor scales, but each major key has a relative minor
key

- music written in a minor key has a different sound and mood, and a composer might choose it
to create a more solemn or moody piece

- Major C=Minor A, Major G=Minor E, Major D= Minor B, Major A=Minor F#, Major E=Minor C#,
Major B=G#, Major F#=Minor D#, Major C#=Minor A#

- Major C=Minor A, Major F=Minor D, Major Bb=Minor G, Major Eb=Minor C, Major Ab=Minor
F, Major Db=Minor Bb, Major Gb=Minor Eb, Major Cb=Minor Ab

- major key is a minor third above its relative minor key, another way to look at that is the tonic
note for any minor key is a minor third below the tonic for its relative major

- major and minor key that has the same tonic note, not the same key signature, are called
parallel keys (C major and C minor)

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