Intro to Theory
The Nuts & Bolts of Music
Music Basics
 All sound is caused by vibration
 Parameters of Sound :
– Pitch: How high or low a sound is.
– Volume: How loud or quiet.
– Duration: How long a sound lasts.
• sustained vs. decaying
– Timbre
Musical Elements
 Rhythm: The timing of music
– Pulse: a steady beat
– Tempo: speed
– Meter: Arrangement of beats in patterns- measures
 Melody: A series of tones forming a musical statement.
 Harmony: Two or more sounds happening at the same
time. Usually as background.
 Form: Organization or structure of music.
 Texture: How the musical parts are woven together.
 Timbre (Tone): The unique individual characteristics of
each sound.
Music Notation
 Rhythmic value: How long a sound lasts
– Whole note = 4 beats
– Half note = 2 beats
– Quarter note = 1 beat
– Eighth note = ½ beat (usually in pairs)
– A dot after a note extends its value by half.
 There is a corresponding rest for each note
Music Notation
 The Staff: The five lines and four spaces on
which music is written.
– Each line and space has an alphabet name
 Clefs: Determines if the written notes will
sound high or low.
– Treble clef (G clef)
– Bass clef (F clef)
 The Great Staff: A treble clef staff joined
with a bass clef staff.
The Piano Keyboard
 88 keys – 52 white & 36 black
– Black keys are in groups of 2 & 3
– White keys follow the musical alphabet
 ABCDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFG…..
 Two landmark keys are:
– C: to the left of 2 black keys
– F: to the left of 3 black keys
 Black keys are indicated by 2 symbols:
– Sharp (#) This raises a key ½ step
– Flat (b) This lowers a key ½ step
Scales
 A scale is a series of tones in a row, usually
made up of whole steps & half steps.
– The most common scales are:
 Major scales
 Minor scales
– Other scales include:
 Chromatic
 Whole tone
 Pentatonic
Major Scales
 A major scale is made of seven notes (plus
the octave) in alphabetical order.
 The notes are all a whole step apart except:
– Between 3&4, 7&8 which are half steps
 A major scale is named by the starting and
ending pitch.
– Eg. C scale goes from C to C
–
F scale goes from F to F
Major Key Signatures
 Key Signatures are sharps - # or flats – b
written at the beginning of each staff.
 They tell you:
– What notes are # or b throughout the piece,
– The key or tonal center
Reading Key Signatures
 For sharp keys:
– Go up ½ step from the last sharp written
 For flat keys:
– The next to last flat is the key
 One flat = Key of F
 Sharps & Flats are always written in a
specific order
– Sharps: Fat Cats Get Drunk At Every Bar
 Flats are in reverse order
Intervals
 Intervals : The distance between two notes.
– Melodic Intervals: One note at a time.
– Harmonic Intervals: Two notes at once.
– Arithmetic Distance: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.
– Interval Quality: There are 5 types:
 Perfect
 Major
 Minor
 Augmented
 Diminished
Intervals
 In a major scale, there are only two kinds of
intervals:
– Perfect 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th
– Major 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th
Intervals
 Perfect intervals can become Augmented or
Diminished
– If the interval is # (raised ½ step) it becomes
Augmented
– If the interval is b (lowered ½ step) it becomes
Diminished
Intervals
 Major intervals can become Augmented or
Minor
– If the interval is # (raised ½ step) it becomes
Augmented
– If the interval is b ( lowered ½ step) it becomes
Minor
Minor Key Signatures
 Each major key has a relative minor key
located 3 half-steps ( a minor 3rd) below.
 Relative Minor Keys:
– Share the same key signature
– Have the same notes in their respective scales
– Have different roots
 Parallel keys have the same root, but
different key signatures.
Minor Scales
 Three types of Minor Scales
– Natural: These use the same notes as the
relative Major Key
– Harmonic: The 7th note is raised ½ step
– Melodic: The 6th & 7th notes are raised ½ step
ascending and Natural descending
 Natural Minor Scales have half-steps
between: 2&3, 5&6
Triads
 Triads are groups of 3 tones sounding
simultaneously (chords)
 Triads are built using the 1st, 3rd, & 5th notes
of the scale
 Four types of Triads:
– Major
– Minor
– Diminished
– Augmented
Triad Construction
 You can build Triads by counting ½ steps
from the Root:
– Major: Root + 4 + 3
– Minor: Root + 3 + 4
– Diminished: Root + 3 + 3
– Augmented: Root + 4 + 4