Music Theory


Note Reading



A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four spaces. staff
Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet (A B C D E F G).
keyboard
A clef is a musical symbol placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the letter names of the lines and spaces.
The two main clefs are the treble and the bass:
treble clef bass clef


A grand staff is a combination of both the treble and bass clefs connected by a vertical line on the left side of the staves (plural staffs).
grand-staff
Ledger Lines are an extension of the staff. They are additional lines both above and below which are parallel to the staff. Each ledger line contains one note.

ledger lines bass ledger lines


Note Values

Each note has a specific duration. note values




Meter


    Meter is the regular recurring pattern of strong and weak beats of equal duration; also known as time. The meter or time signature in a musical composition is indicated by a fraction, and located at the beginning of a piece of music. The lower number of the fraction tells what kind of note receives one beat. The upper number tells how many beats are in a measure. In Western music there are two types of meter, simple and compoud. In simple meter the upper number is either 2, 3, or 4. Each beat is subdivided by two. Simple Meter
In compound meter the upper number is either 6,9, or 12. Each beat is a dotted note and subdivided into groups of three beats.


Compound Meter

Intervals

     An interval is the distance between two notes. Intervals are always counted from the lower note to the higher one, with the lower note being counted as one. Intervals come in different qualities and size. If the notes are sounded successively, it is a melodic interval. If sounded simultaneously, then it is a harmonic interval.
     The smallest interval used in Western music is the half step. A visual representation of a half step would be the distance between a consecutive white and black note on the piano. There are two exceptions to this rule, as two natural half steps occur between the notes E and F, and B and C.
     A whole step is the distance between two consecutive white or black keys. It is made up of two half steps.



Keyboard


Qualities and Size
Intervals can be described as Major (M), Minor (m), Perfect (P), Augmented (A), and Diminished (d).
Intervals come in various sizes: Unisons, Seconds, Thirds, Fourths, Fifths, Sixths, and Sevenths.
2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths can be found as Major and Minor.
Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and Octaves are Perfect.



Staff
When a major interval is raised by a half step, it becomes augmented.
When a major interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes minor.
When a major interval is lowered by two half steps, it becomes diminished.
When a minor interval is raised by a half step, it becomes major.
When a minor interval is raised by two half steps, it becomes augmented.
When a minor interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes diminished.
When a perfect interval is raised by a half step, it becomes augmented.
When a perfect interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes diminished.
INVERSIONS OF INTERVALS
     Intervals can be inverted, which basically means you turn them upside down. The lower note is raised up an octave so that the top note/bottom note relationship is reversed. The chart below shows the inversions of intervals.

Qualities
  • Major becomes Minor
  • Minor becomes Major
  • Perfect remains Perfect
  • Augmented becomes Diminished
  • Diminished becomes Augmented
Size
  • 2 becomes 7
  • 3 becomes 6
  • 4 becomes 5
  • 5 becomes 4
  • 6 becomes 3
  • 7 becomes 2

Interval Identification
     It is important to be able to hear and identify intervals. This is a very important thing for musicians to do. Here is a list of familiar songs that will help you to identify the intervals.
m2- Stormy Weather m2
M2- Happy Birthday M2
m3- The Impossible Dream m3


M3- Halls of Montezuma M3
P4- Here comes the bride P4
A4- Maria from West Side Story A4
P5- Star Wars P5


M6- NBC theme music M6
m7- Somewhere from West Side Story m7
M7- Bali Hai from South Pacific M7
Octave- Over the rainbow Oct.

Scales

     There are many different types of scales. They are the backbone of music.      A major scale is a series of 8 consecutive notes that use the following pattern of half and whole steps.



W W ½ W W W ½
     Minor Scales come in three forms: Natural, Melodic, and Harmonic.      Natural Minor scales use the following pattern of half and whole steps.



W ½ W W ½ W W
     Melodic Minor scales ascend and use the following pattern of half and whole steps. When descending, they do so in the natural minor form.



W ½ W W W W ½       W ½W W ½ W W
     Harmonic Minor scales use the following pattern of half and whole steps: 


W ½ W W ½ W+ ½  ½
     Chromatic Scales are made up entirely of half steps. When ascending, the scale uses sharps, when descending it uses flats.



Chromatic scale
     Whole Tone Scales differ from the other scales because it only has 6 tones. It uses the following pattern.



W W W W W W
     A pentatonic Scale is a five-tone scale, which has its beginning in antiquity. There are traces of this scale in Oriental and American Indian music. This scale does not have a leading tone, which gives the scale it's unique sound. The scale has two forms. The first one uses the group of two black keys followed by three black keys. The pattern is as follows.



W W+ ½ W W
      The second one used the group of three black keys followed by two black keys. The pattern is as follows.



W W W+½ W



 
Key Signatures
      There are 15 major and 15 minor key signatures. The sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff indicate the main tone (diatonic) to which other tones are related.



Circle of 5ths



Db-C#, Gb-F#, Cb-B, are enharmonic keys, meaning that they are written differently, but sound the same. There are 15 major and 15 minor key signatures. The sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff indicate the main tone (diatonic) to which other tones are related.



Key
 Signatures



Relative Minor




Chords & Symbols

Triad     A triad is a group of three notes having a specific construction and relationship to one another. They are constructed on 3 consecutive lines or three consecutive spaces. Each member of the triad is separated by an interval of a third. The triad is composed of a Root, Third, and Fifth.



Triad
     There are four types of triads: major, minor, diminished and augmented.



MajorMinorDiminishedAugmented
Inversions of Triads
     All triads have three positions that they can be arranged in. The root, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversion.
Root Position Triad
     If the triad root is in the lowest voice then the triad is in Root Position.



Root
1st Inversion Triad
     If the third of the triad is in the lowest voice the triad is the 1st inversion.



1st Inversion
2nd Inversion Triad
     If the 5th of the triad is in the lowest voice, the triad is in the 2nd inversion.



2nd Inversion
Figured Bass
     Figured Bass was developed in the early Baroque period. It was a system of musical shorthand that made the writing of keyboard parts easier. It was customary for the composer to write out the bass line and to place Arabic numerals above or below the figured bass to indicate the harmonies. The keyboard part was called the continuo, which was improvised by the player.
     In figured bass the Arabic numerals represent the intervals that sound above a given bass part. Certain abbreviations have become well known.



Figured Bass
Figured Bass 2
Figured Bass 3
Alterations
     Alterations from the given key signature are indicated by placing an accidental before the Arabic numeral.
     An accidental, such as a sharp, flat, or natural that appears by itself under a bass note indicates a triad in root position with the third interval above the bass note sharped, flatted or naturaled.
Any sharp, flat, or natural sign beside the Arabic number indicates that this interval above the bass note should be sharped, flatted, or naturaled depending on the symbol.


#6,   b6,   6,    #6
  4                   b4

Sometimes, composers used a slash through the Arabic number instead of a sharp. They both mean the same thing.


     Roman Numeral Analysis
     In the early 1800's, German composers started to use roman numerals to symbolize harmony. Each note in a scale can have a triad or chord built above it. Upper case (Major) and lower case (minor) Roman Numerals are used to indicate the type of chord. I, IV, V are major triads/chords, ii, iii, vi are minor triads/chords, and vii is diminished.



Staff with Numerals 
 



Expression Marks

   Tempo
Largo Very slow
Larghetto Not as slow as largo
Adagio Slow, leisurely
Lento Slow
Moderato Moderate
Andante Moving with a moderate tempo
Andantino Faster than andante
Allegretto A little slower than allegro
Allegro Moderately fast
Vivace Lively, animated, brisk
Presto Fast, rapid
Prestissimo Very rapidly

   Dynamics
Pianissimo Very soft
Piano Soft
Mezzo piano Moderately soft
Mezzo forte Moderately loud
Forte Loud
Fortissimo Very loud


Crescendo Increasing in loudness
Decrescendo decreasing in loudness
Diminuendo diminishing in loudness
Rinforzando sudden increase in loudness
Sforzando play the note with sudden emphasis
   Style
Amoroso tender and affectionate
Animato animated; lively
Calando gradually softer and slower
Cantabile in a singing style
Con Anima with life and animation
Con Brio with vigor and spirit
Con Fuoco with energy or passion
Deciso decisively
Detache detached
Dolce sweetly
Doloroso sorrowfully
Espressivo expressively
Furioso furious
Giocoso humorous
Grandioso with grandeur
Grazioso gracefully
Legato smooth and connected
Leggiero lightly
Maestoso majestically
Marcato marked and stressed
Marzial in the style of a march
Morendo dying away
Perdendosi dying away
Pesante heavy
Religioso religious, solemn
Rubato taken out of tempo
Semplice simple
Sempre always, continuously
Sostenuto sustained
Soto voce in an undertone
Staccato short and detached
Tenuto sustained, held for full value
Tranquillo tranquill
   Articulation

Staccato a dot placed above or below a note means to play it short
Slur a curved line either above or below notes that connects two different pitches that are to be played smoothly
Tie a curved line either above or below two of the same notes indicating not to attack the second note
Tenuto a line above or below the note means to play the full value of the note
Accent an accent placed above or below the note means to emphasise the not
Breath Mark an apostrophe placed above the staff means to take a breath
   Clarity Terms
Assai very
Con with
L'istesso tempo same tempo
Meno less
Mosso moved, agitated
Non troppo not too much
Piu mosso faster
Poco little
Poco a poco little by little
Sempre always
Simile in the same manner
Subito suddenly