GRADE THREE THEORY REVISION
Note Pitches
Use flashcards to make sure you know all your notes including leger lines.
Whenever you name a note remember to check the clef, keysignature, and
for accidentals on the same letter name in the same bar.
Time Values
Make sure you know both names for all these notes & rests and how many
crotchet beats they last for.
Note Rest English
American
Crotchet beats


Semibreve
Whole Note
4
.
.
Dotted Minim
Dotted Half Note
3


Minim
Half Note
2
.
.
Dotted crotchet
Dotted Quarter
1½


Crotchet
Quarter Note
1


Quaver
Eighth Note
½


Semiquaver
Sixteenth Note
¼
Triplet quavers = 1/3 of a crotchet each. Triplets mean 3 notes
played where two usually fit. 3 triplet quavers = 1 crotchet.
Time Signatures
Remember the top number is how many beats in a bar and the bottom
number tells you what type of beats they are.
2 on the bottom = minim beats
4 on the bottom = crotchet beats.
8 on the bottom = quaver beats or 3 quavers making up dotted crotchet beat.
6/8 = 2 dotted crotchet beats
9/8 = 3 dotted crotchet beats
12/8 = 4 dotted crotchet beats
Simple time signatures have plain beats that divide evenly in two.
Compound time signatures have dotted beats that divide into thirds.
Make sure you space notes in a bar evenly. Imagine the bar is divided into
boxes, one for each beat. If you write a 2 beat note put it at the beginning of
the first box and leave the second one empty, a pair of quavers should fit
evenly into 1 box if you have crotchet beats, etc.
Grouping Notes & Rests
Grouping notes & rests is easy! Look at the time signature and see what type
of beat it is. Beam together quavers & semiquavers, join tied notes or rests if
they are in the same beat. Leave a gap between each beat. If you need to
draw a box around each beat and write in the counting.
There are a few places you can join more than one beat. These are:
*
In 2/4 & ¾ you can join a full bar of quavers.
*
In ¾ & 4/4 you can beam 4 quavers at the beginning or end of the bar.
*
In ANY time signature use a semibreve rest for a whole bar of silence.
*
If there are 3 beats in a bar (3/4, 3/2, 9/8, 3/8) use separate beat rests.
*
If there are 4 beats in a bar (4/4, 4/2, 12/8) you can use a 2 beat rest at
the beginning of the bar or the end of the bar but not across the middle.
*
In 3/8 join all quavers & semiquavers.
*
For dotted crotchet beats only use a crotchet rest at the beginning of
the beat (in place of the note, not the dot).
*
Beam or bracket groups of quaver triplets including rests to make
crotchet beat. Use only quaver rests in these triplets.
Anacrusis
Music with an anacrusis (or up-beat) starts on a weak beat part way through a
bar. The first strong beat (down beat) is on beat 1 after the bar line. The last
bar won’t be a full bar, it will be missing the length of the anacrusis. Phrases
and sections of songs can also start on an upbeat or anacrusis, starting and
finishing part way through a bar.
Key Signatures
Make sure you know the following key signatures and can draw them all
accurately.
Writing Scales – Melodic & Harmonic Minors
Read the question carefully and double check treble/bass clef, going up/down,
what type of notes to use, key signature/accidentals, double bar line, stems
going in the correct direction.
Natural minor = uses just the notes of the key signature.
Harmonic minor = key signature + raise the 7th note going up and down.
Melodic minor = key signature + raise the 6th & 7th going up, (going down
make them the same as the key signature, like a natural minor).
Arpeggio’s & Broken Chords
Check the question carefully. Is it going up/down, what type of notes?
Bass/treble, key signature/accidentals. Don’t forget with broken chords to
check how many notes in each pattern (3 or 4) and to add bar lines if there is
a time signature. Work out the letter names of the chord first and write them in
the margin, be careful to use only these notes.
2nd Inversion Chords
Tonic & Dominant Triads
Finding Mistakes
CIRCLE the 5 mistakes before you start trying to write out the correct version.
Check: Clef, key signature & time signature (in that order).
Grouping of notes & rests and remove unnecessary ties.
Spelling and placement of words.
Dynamics go below the staff directly under the note they change on.
Articulation marks go above or below the note head (not the stem).
Double bar line, repeat marks, stems of notes and any other symbols.
Intervals
To work out if an interval is Major or Minor look at the lowest note of the pair
and think of its major scale (never use the minor scale!). If the top note is in
that scale it is major, if it is a semitone lower than the note in the scale it is
minor. Remember 4ths, 5ths & octaves are called Perfect, and two of the
same note is a unison.
Real & Tonal Sequences
Real Sequences repeat the original tune using the exact intervals
(major/minor or tone/semitone) up and down.
Tonal Sequences repeat the original tune going up and down the same
number of notes (e.g. only using the number of the intervals between the
notes but not worrying if it is major/minor tone/semitone). They use the notes
of the key without adding accidentals.
Transposition
Make sure you draw the clef, key signature & time signature correctly. Check
each letter name, don’t just count up or down! Space your notes correctly, the
easiest way to do this is to line up each note & bar line directly under the
original tune.
Writing a Melody to a given Bass Line
Make it sound like a tune – try to sing it in your head.
In any register – means you can use low or high notes of these letter names.
Make sure you use the notes of each chord and no others. For each bar there
are three possible notes, you don’t have to use all 3!
Avoid intervals of consecutive octaves & 5th between the bass & your tune.
End on the tonic for the whole last bar & the note before it a step up or down.
Try to move by step over the bar lines from one chord to another.
Make a nice shape by using some repeated notes and not using lots of jumps.
Keep within the range of an octave.
Writing a Bass Line
Keep it really simple!! You are only allowed to use the root of the chord, i.e.
its naming note (for C chord use only the note C).
Writing 4-Part Chords
Work out the root of the chord & write this in the bass first.
Use the 3 notes of the chord for the other parts in any order you like.
Check that it is the root you have used twice and used the other 2 notes once.
Keep the tenor part high and don’t allow more than an octave between the
tenor & alto, or the alto & soprano parts.
Make sure your stems point correctly (soprano & tenor up, alto & bass down).
Don’t use leger lines below the bass, these notes are too low to sing.
Don’t use leger lines above the soprano, these notes are too high to sing.
Don’t forget the raised 7th in chord V in a minor key.
Analysis and Terms & Signs
Learn the terms & signs flash cards for Grades 1, 2 & 3.
Try to imagine how the music would sound, this is what the questions are
about.