Open University
-
Upload
emily-agostini -
Category
Documents
-
view
20 -
download
1
description
Transcript of Open University
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 1/52
PrintablepagegeneratedSunday,15Mar2015,20:45
Anintroductiontomusictheory
IntroductionThisunitintroducesyoutothebasicconceptsofwesternmusicnotationandmusictheorythatyouneedtoknowbeforeyouembarkontheOpenUniversitycourseInsidemusic(A224).ItcoversgroundsimilartothatfoundinthesyllabusoftheAssociatedBoardTheoryGrades13(ABRSM,2011).
Commoncompatibility/technicalissueswhichstudentshaveencounteredwhenusingAnIntroductiontoMusicTheory
AllofthemusicnotationexamplesincludedwithinAnIntroductiontoMusicTheoryareprovidedwithinSibeliussScorchPlayer.Thisallowsyoutolistentotheexampleswhilstfollowingthenotation.
IfyoudonotalreadyhavetheScorchplugininstalledonyourcomputer,youwillbepromptedtodownloaditatthefirstexampleyouuse.YouwillneedtohavetheScorchplugininstalledtoplaythemusicnotationexamples.ScorchisnotcurrentlycompatiblewithGoogleChromeorFirefox4.
SomestudentshavereportedexperiencingcompatibilityandtechnicaldifficultieswhentryingtoviewandusepartsofAnIntroductiontoMusicTheorywithInternetExplorer9orGoogleChrome.ThematerialworksbestwhenviewedwithInternetExplorer8orFirefox3.6.
TheOpenUniversityisconductingasurveyinvestigatinghowpeopleusethefreeeducationalcontentonourOpenLearnwebsite.Theaimistoprovideabetterfreelearningexperienceforeveryone.SoifyourearegularuserofOpenLearnandhave10minutestospare,wedbedelightedifyoucouldtakepartandtelluswhatyouthink.PleasenotethiswilltakeyououtofOpenLearn,wesuggestyouopenthisinanewtabbyrightclickingonthelinkandchoosingopeninanewtab.
LearningoutcomesAfterstudyingthisunityoushouldhave:
asatisfactoryunderstandingofthebasicbuildingblocksofmusicaltheoryandnotation
anunderstandingofmusictheorycomparabletothatdemandedbyGrade3oftheAssociatedBoardoftheRoyalsSchoolsofMusictheorysyllabus
anunderstandingofmusictheorythatenablesyoutomoveontoOpenUniversityLevel2andLevel3Musiccourses,e.g.A224InsideMusic.
1ThecontentTheunitbeginswithabriefintroductiontothefundamentalelementsofwesternmusicnotationthestaff,clefsandnotenames.Itthenmovesontoconsiderthenotationofrhythmandofpitch.Inaddition,thebasicformofthechord(thetriad)isincluded,togetherwithalistofthemostfrequentlyusedperformancedirectionsthatyouwillfindonnotatedmusic(scores).Eachsectionendswithinteractiveactivitiesthatwillhelpyouassesshowfaryouunderstandindividualtopicsorconcepts.
Evenifyoufeelthatyouarealreadyfamiliarwiththeseconceptsitisworthwhilereadingthroughthesectionsofthisunitsystematicallytofindoutwhetherthereissomethingthatyouhadntcomeacrossbeforeorthatyouhadforgotten.
Anintroductiontomusictheory
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9G5JS2Yhttp://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/music/introduction-music-theory/content-section-0http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/a224.htm
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 2/52
1.1WorkingthroughtheunitIfyouarestartingthisunitcompletelyfromscratchwithnoknowledgeofmusictheory,tackleeachsectiononebyone,andspendaslongasyouneedworkingoneach.Bepreparedtoundertakealittlestudyeachdayoralternatedayalittleoftenisagoodguideline.Thiswillprovemuchmorebeneficialthanstudyinglargechunksatatime.
Inaddition,makesurethatyouunderstandeachofthetopicsyouhavestudiedbeforeyouattemptthefollowingone.Learningaboutstaffnotationandotherfacetsofmusictheoryisacumulativeprocess.Spendareasonableamountoftimeoneachtopicsothatyoucanmasteritbeforegoingontothenext.
Althoughthisunitcontainsinteractiveactivitiesthattestyourknowledge,itissuggestedthatyoureinforceyourknowledgewiththeuseofeartrainingactivities(oftencalledtrainers),wheremusicalsoundsarelinkedtovisualsymbols.Onceyoufeelyouhaveunderstoodatopic,youcouldtryusingatrainertoreinforceyourknowledgethroughpractice.Theirusewillcreateoasesinthelearningprocesswheredoingwillhelpfacilitateunderstanding,andwillalsoprovidefeedbackastohowyouaregettingon.
Thereareseveralsitesontheinternetthatprovidetrainers.Theseincludeactivitiessuchasinteractivedrillsthatfocusonspecificareasofstaffnotationrangingfromastraightforwardnamingofnotestorecognisingcomplexrhythmsandchords.AlistofeartrainersisprovidedattheendofthisunitinSection10.
HowtouseSibeliussScorchPlayer
AllofthemusicnotationexamplesforthisunitareprovidedwithinSibeliussScorchPlayer,allowingyoutolistentothemwhilefollowingalong.YouwillbepromptedtodownloadtheScorchpluginatthefirstexampleifyoudonothaveitinstalledalready.Usetheplay,stopandpausebuttonsonthetopbartolistentoeachexample.Youwillnotberequiredtouseanyoftheotherbuttons.
2Thebasics2.1ThestaffTheideaofplacingnotesonasetofhorizontallinesthestafftoshowtherelationshipofvariouspitcheswitheachotherstaffnotationemergedinwesternmusictowardstheendoftheninthcentury.Originally,eachpitchwasallocateditsownline,buttheItalianmusictheorist,GuidoofArezzo,wholivedduringtheearlyeleventhcentury,suggestedthatlinesshouldbedrawnforeveryotherpitch,sothatalternatepitchessatonthelinesandtheremainingpitcheswereplacedintheinterveningspacesbetweenthelines.
Thisprinciplewassoonadoptedandhasremainedinforceintraditionalwesternmusicnotationtothepresentday.Thenumberoflinesincludedinthestaffhasvarieddependingontherangeofthemusicbeingnotated.However,thenormhasevolvedasthefivelinestaff,showninExample1.
Example1
AsshowninExample2,ifweplacepitchesintheformofnoteheadsonthestaff,informationabouttherelationshipofthepitcheswitheachotherisproduced.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 3/52
Example2
2.2ClefsAsitstands,thefirstnoteinExample2couldbeanypitchwecaretochoose.
Example2(repeated)
Soifwewishtospecifyaparticularpitchorseriesofpitchesweneedsomesortofguideasignthatwillenableustoindicatethespecificpitch.Thatsignissuppliedbyaclef(fromtheLatin,clavis,meaningkey).Fromtheeleventhcenturyonwards,severalRomanletters,includingcandf,wereusedsystematicallyforclefs,withgsubsequentlybecomingincreasinglycommon.Inastylisedform,g,withflamboyantcurlsandflourishes,isstillusedasthetreble orGclef,andsignifiesthatanoteplacedonthesecondlinefromthebottomisG(seeExample3).
Example3
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
AndthisisnotanyG,butspecificallytheoneabovemiddleC.(WellcometoanexplanationofmiddleCinamoment.)
AsExample4shows,theothernotesarenamedwithlettersfromthealphabet,AG,withAreturningafterGhasbeenreached.
Example4
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Noticethatasthenotesareplacedhigherandhigherupthestaff,thepitchbecomeshigherandhigheraswell.Noticetoothatwereadmusicfromlefttoright,andwithawholepageofmusic,fromtoptobottom.Thisreflectsthewaywereadwordsinwesternculture.
Theletter,f,inastylisedformandinamirrorimage,isnowusedasthebassorFclef.ItsignifiesthatanoteplacedonthesecondlinefromthetopisF,andspecificallytheFbelowmiddleC(seeExample5).
Example5
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
2.3ThegreatstaffWecancallastaffwithatrebleclefatreblestaffforshort,andastaffwithabassclefabassstaff.Andifweplacetheformerabovethelatterandinsertanadditionallineinbetween,wecreatewhatiscalledthegreat(orgrand)staffasshowninExample6.
Example6
YouwillneedtodownloadScorchtoseeandheartheseexamples.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 4/52
2.4MiddleCandledgerlinesSometimeskeyboardmusichasbeennotatedusingverylargestaves.However,ifyouhavetoomanylines,thestaffisnoteasytoread.Therefore,withkeyboardmusic,thetrebleandbassstavesareconventionallyseparatedoutthereisasubstantialgapbetweenthebottomlineofthetreblestaffandthetoplineofthebassstaffandthereisnomiddleCline.Instead,middleCisnotatedusingaledgerline .MiddleChasitsownlittlesectionofstaff,longenoughtomakethepositionofthenoteclear,andthishastobewritteninforeachofitsappearances.
Whilethisseparationoftheupperandlowerstavesisagoodideabecauseithelpsvisualorientation,ithasadrawback.AndthatisthatmiddleCcanbenotatedonbothstaves,indifferentpositionsoneachstaff.Example7showsthat(i)thedifferentvisualpositionsofmiddleConeachstaffrepresentoneandthesamesoundand(ii)thegradualinclineofthepatternofthenotesasthepitchrisesisfracturedtemporarily.
Example7
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
OthernotesclosetomiddleCcanalsobenotatedoneitherstaffbyusingmoreandmoreledgerlines(Example8).
Example8
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Choosingwhichstafftousedependsonthecontext.Forinstance,ifyouwerenotatingaviolinpart,youwouldneedthetreblestaff.Soifyouwantedtowritethelowestnoteontheviolin,thelowerGonthetopstaffinExample8,youwouldneedtheGthatsitsbelowtheupperstaffandhastwoledgerlines.
Theconceptofledgerlinescanalsobeappliedatthetopofthetreblestaffandatthebottomofthebassstaff(Example9).
Example9
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
However,themoreledgerlinesyouuse,themoredifficultitistoreadthenotesataglance,andyouhavetocountuptheledgerlinestogetherwiththespacesbetweenthemtoworkoutwhatthenoteis,andthiscanbealaboriousprocess.
Example10showsallthenotenamesmentionedabove.
Example10
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Therearetwopointsaboutthegreatstaff.Firstly,itdemonstratestherelationshipbetweenthebassandtreblestaves.Secondly,theadditionallineatthemidwaypointisthelineformiddleC.ThecentralimportanceinthegreatstaffofthemiddleClineisonereasonformiddleCsname,anditspositionroughlyhalfwayalongthekeyboardisanother.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 5/52
2.5WritingnotesAlthoughmuchofthenotewritinginInsidemusicinvolvesusingthesoftwarepackage,SibeliusStudent,itisworthwhileconsideringbrieflytheconventionsusedwhenwritingstaffnotationbyhandonmanuscriptpaper(thenameforpageswithstavesprintedonthem).Fundamentally,whenwritingmusic,youaretryingtocommunicatewithareaderandlegibilityisthereforeimportant.
Youshouldbearinmindthefollowingguidelineswhenwritingnotesonpaper.
Noteheadsareovalinshape(someopen,somefilledinwellseethereasonforthislater)andshouldsitcentrallyonalineorinaspacesothatnoconfusioncanariseastothepitchnotated.Mostnotesalsoneedstems,andtheseshouldbeverticalandshouldberoughlythesameheightastheheightofthestaff.Inaddition,notestemsshouldgodownonthelefthandsidefornoteheadsonthetoptwolinesofthestaffandinthetoptwospaces,andupontherighthandsidefornoteheadsonthebottomtwolinesandinthebottomtwospaces.Stemsfornoteheadsonthemiddlelinecangoupordown.Ledgerlinesshouldrunparalleltothelinesofthestaff.
Example11providesexamplesofthesepoints.
Example11
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 6/52
2.6ReadingnotesHowdoyoubecomeproficientatreadingnotes?Thistakestimeandpractice.Youreallyneedtopractiseforafewminuteseachday,identifyingnotesonboththetrebleandbassstaves,includingnotesthatarewrittenbothaboveandbelowthesestaveswithuptothreeledgerlines.
However,thereisatraditionwithstaffnotationofusingmnemonicstorememberthenamesofthenotesonthestaves.Twooftheseareimpossibletobeat:FACEforthespacesonthetreblestafffrombottomtotop,andAllCowsEatGrassforthespacesonthebassstafffrombottomtotop(Example12).
Example12
Forthelinesonthestaves,frombottomtotop,perhapsyoucouldcreateyourownmnemonicbasedonthelettersEGBDFforthetreblestaffandGBDFAforthebass.
Mnemonicsareusefulandhelpacceleratethelearningprocess.
2.7Review1Onceyoufeelyouarefamiliarwiththepositionofthenotesonthetrebleandbassstaves,trythefollowingactivities.
Ifyoufindtheseactivitiesdifficult,donotbedisheartened.Rememberthatinordertobeabletoreadthe
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 7/52
namesofnotesataglancerequirespracticeoveraperiodoftime.Somepeoplefindreadingsymboliclanguageseasierthanothers,buteveryonehastospendsometimeinordertobecomefamiliarwithnotenames.Ofcourse,ifyouplayaninstrumentandreadnotationonadailybasis,thenthatisagreathelpwhenlearningnotenames.However,dontforgettheusefulnessofmnemonicsandtrainers(Section10).Inaddition,regularapplication,alittleatatime,isthebestapproach.
Group1testsyourknowledgeofwritingnotes,Groups24testyourreadingofnotenamesonthetrebleandbassstavesandGroups5and6testyourreadingofnoteswithuptothreeledgerlines.
Group1:writingnotes
Activity
Whichofthefollowingstatementsiscorrect?(Thereareseveralcorrectanswers.)
Group2:identifyingnotenamesonthetreblestaff
Activity1
WhichnoteisC?
Activity2
WhichnoteisD?
Activity3
WhichnoteisG?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 8/52
Activity4
WhichnoteisF?
Group3:identifyingnotenamesonthebassstaff
Activity1
WhichnoteisE?
Activity2
WhichnoteisA?
Activity3
WhichnoteisD?
Activity4
WhichnoteisA?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 9/52
Group4:identifyingclefsfornotesonboththetrebleandbassstaves
Activity1
MatchTrebleclefandBasscleftothenotestomakethemAandD.
Activity2
MatchTrebleclefandBasscleftothenotestomakethemCandF.
Activity3
MatchTrebleclefandBasscleftothenotestomakethemEandA.
Activity4
MatchTrebleclefandBasscleftothenotestomakethemGandF.
Group5:identifyingnotenamesofnoteswithledgerlines
Activity1
WhichnoteisA?
Activity2
WhichnoteisE?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 10/52
Activity3
WhichnoteisD?
Group6:identifyingmorenotenamesofnoteswithledgerlines
Activity1
Arethetwonotesbelowatthesamesoundingpitch?
Activity2
Arethetwonotesbelowatthesamesoundingpitch?
3Rhythmandmetre3.1TimevaluesAswellasapitchname,eachnotehasarhythmicvalue,calledatimevalue,notevalueorduration.ThosemostcommonlyfoundinpresentdayusageareshowninExample13.
Example13
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 11/52
Noticethatinordertodifferentiatethesesymbolsfortimevalues:
allhavestemsapartfromthesemibrevethenoteheadsofthesemibreveandminimareopen,whereasthosefortheshortervaluesarefilledinthequaverhasaflag(ortail),alwaysdrawnontherighthandsideofthestem,thesemiquaverhastwoflagsandthedemisemiquaver,three.
Youwillprobablyhavenoticedtoothatthedurationofeachtimevalueishalfthatoftheoneabove.Thereforetwominimslastthesamedurationasasemibrevetwocrotchetslastthesamedurationasaminimandsoon.Thisalsomeansthatfourcrotchetslastthesamedurationasasemibreve,asdoeightquaversorsixteensemiquavers.Example14mapsouttheserelationships:
Example14
3.2TripletsInSection3.1,Example14,yousawthatasyoumovedownthelistoftimevaluesfromsemibrevetosemiquaver,eachsuccessivetimevalueishalfthelengthoftheoneabove(forexample,yousawthataquaverishalfthelengthofacrotchet).However,youcandivideatimevaluenotonlybytwobutbyanynumberyouwant.Themostfrequentdivisionyouwillcomeacross,thenextinfrequencytothedefaultdivisionoftwo,iswhereatimevalueisdividedintothreeequalcomponentssayacrotchetdividedinto
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 12/52
threequaversoraminimdividedintothreecrotchets.Thisiscalledatriplet.AsyoucanseeandhearinExample15,thecrotchetisdividedintothreetripletquavers,theminimintothreetripletcrotchets.
Example15
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Atthisstage,youneedntworryaboutthisinanydetail.However,noticeinExample15howtripletsarenotatedwithafigurethreeoverorundertherelevantnotes,thefigureoftenbeingcombinedwitheitheracurvedlineorsquarebracket.
3.3TimesignaturesTherhythmofapieceofwesternmusicwhetheritissimpleorcomplexisunderpinnedbyasteadypulseorbeat,andthesebeatsaregroupedtogethertogivethemusicsmetre .Themostcommongroupingsareintwos,threesandfoursandthesegroupingsarecreatedbyapatternofstrongerandweakerstresses.Thus,athreebeatpatternwouldconsistofstrongweakweakbeats.Innotatedmusic,eachgroupismarkedoutbyabarline sofromnowonwewilltalkabouthowmanybeatsthereareineachbar.
Timesignatures,whichconsistoftwonumbersalignedvertically,areplacedattheopeningofapieceofmusictosignifywhichmetreisbeingused.(Thetimesignatureisthenomittedfortherestofthepiece,unlessitischangedtoanother.)Inthetimesignaturesdiscussedinthissection,thelowerfigurecanbeunderstoodasthevalueofeachbeatexpressedinrelationtoasemibreve(wholenote).Thenumber2representsaminim(halfnote),4representsacrotchet(quarternote),8representsaquaver(eighthnote),andsoon.Theupperfiguretellsyouthenumberofbeatsinthebar.
In2/4therearetwocrotchetsperbar.Thelowernumber,4,representsacrotchetbecausethereare4crotchets(quarternotes)inasemibreve(wholenote),andtheuppernumbertellsyouthatthereare2beats,i.e.twocrotchets,inabar.In3/2therearethreeminimsperbar.Thelowernumber,2,representsaminimbecausethereare2minims(halfnotes)inasemibreve,andtheuppernumbertellsyouthatthereare3beats,i.eminims,inabar.In3/8therearethreequaversperbar.Thelowernumber,8,representsaquaverbecausethereare8quavers(eighthnotes)inasemibreve,andtheuppernumbertellsyouthatthereare3beats,i.e.quavers,inabar.
Example16summarisesthemeaningofthesethreetimesignatures.
Example16
Example17showsvariousstraightforwardrhythmsindifferenttimesignatures.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 13/52
Example17
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
NoticeinExample17that4/4canalsobewrittenasC(Commontime),and2/2asaCwithaverticalstrokethroughit(allabreve).Noticetoothateachbarincludesthecorrectnumberoftimevaluestomakeuptherequirednumberofbeatsshownbytheuppernumberofthetimesignature,andthateachbarsgroupofbeatsismarkedoffwithabarline foreaseofreading.Finally,theconcludingbarlineiswrittenasadoublebar.
ConsiderExample17carefully,spendingasmuchtimeasyouneedinordertobecomeproficientataddingtogetherthenumberofbeatsineachbar,assignifiedbythetopnumberofthetimesignature.(Payparticularattentionwhenthereareshortervaluespresentsuchasquaversandsemiquavers.)Additionally,makesurethatyouhaveidentifiedthebeatcorrectlyasshownbythebottomnumberinthetimesignatureisitaminim(2),acrotchet(4)oraquaver(8)?
3.4Review2ThefollowingactivitiesbeginwithGroup1aseriesofactivitiesthatasksyoutoidentifynotevalues.InGroup2,oneormoretimevaluesfromabarhasbeenomitted,andyouwillthereforehavetoworkoutwhattheyare.Youneedtobeabsolutelysureastothelengthofeachtimevalueandhoweachfitstogetherwiththeothertimevaluesineachbar.
Group1:timevalues
Activity1
Whichofthefollowingstatementsiscorrect?
Group2:identifyingomittedtimevalue(s)
Activity1
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredattheplacemarkedwiththeasterisk?
Activity2
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredattheplacemarkedwiththeasterisk?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 14/52
Activity3
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredattheplacemarkedwiththeasterisk?
Activity4
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity5
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity6
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity7
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredattheplacemarkedwithanasterisk?
Activity8
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredattheplacemarkedwithanasterisk?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 15/52
3.5DotsandtiesInSection3.1,Example14weoutlinedthetimevaluesofeachtypeofnote.Hereisareminderofthosenotevalues:
Example14(repeated)
However,atimevalueofeachtypeofnotecanbelengthened(andthereforechanged)throughtheuseof:
adotoratie .
Adotafteranyvalueextendsthatvaluebyhalfasmuchagain.Thereforeadottedcrotchetlastsforacrotchetplusahalfacrotchet(i.e.aquaver).Inotherwords,asshowninExample18,itlastsforthedurationofthreequaversintotal.
Example18
Thedotisplacedtotherightofthenotehead,inthesamespaceifthenoteheadisinaspace,orabovethelineifanoteheadisonaline.Example19summarisestheseprinciples.
Example19
AsyoulearnedinSection3.3,barlinesmarkoffgroupsofbeatsaccordingtothetimesignature.In4/4time,therefore,therecannotbeanymorethanfourbeatsperbar.Ifwewanttoextendatimevaluewherethelengthenedvaluecrossesabarline,atiecanbeused,asshowninExample20.Inthisparticularexample,theeffectofthetieisthesameasifwehadusedadot:thevalueoftheminimisincreasedbya
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 16/52
half(becauseitisjoinedtoacrotchetwhichishalfthevalueofaminim).
Example20
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
However,asshowninExample21,atiecanalsobeusedtoincreaseavaluebyadifferentfraction.SoasExample21(a)shows,aminimcanbetiedtoaquaver,thequaverbeingaquarteroftheminimsvalueandasshowninExample21(b),acrotchetcanbetiedtoasemiquaver,thesemiquaverbeingaquarterofthecrotchetsvalue.Eithercantakeplacewithinabaroracrossabarline.
Example21
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Youcantieanynumberofadjacentnotestogetherinthiswaybutthetiednotesmustalwayshavethesamepitch.ThetiesmustalsobeplacedontheoutsideofthenoteheadsasyoucanseeinExample21.
3.6GroupingandbeamingnotesSofar,whenwritingnoteswithflagssuchasquaversandsemiquavers,eachonehasbeenwrittenseparately.However,foreaseofreading,groupsofquaversandsemiquaversarejoinedorbeamedtogether.Thus,thepreviousexampleshouldmoreproperlybewrittenasshowninExample22.InExample22(a)thetwoquaversarebeamedtogetherwithasinglebeam,andinExample22(b)thefoursemiquaversarebeamedtogetherwithadoublebeam.(Demisemiquaverswouldneedatriplebeam.)
Example22
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
InExample22(a)and(b)thebeamingjoinstogethernotesthatbelongtoasinglebeat,andthisisausefulruleofthumbtofollowwhenbeamingnotestogether,especiallywithmorecomplexexamples,asdemonstratedinExample23,whichshowsonelineofmusictwiceonceunbeamed(Example23[a])andoncebeamed(Example23[b]).
Example23
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
However,thefollowinggroupingsshowninExample24arealsoused.Althoughthesegroupingsbreaktheshoweachbeatrule,theyaretreatedasconventions.
Conventionsthatbreaktheshoweachbeatrule
Example24(a)Wherethereisacompletesetofquaversinabarof2/4,thesecanbebeamedtogetherwithonebeamratherthanwithtwobeamsastwosetsoftwoquavers.Asimilarconventionisallowedforacompletesetofquaversinabarof3/4onlyonebeamisneeded.Example24(b)In3/4,wherefourquaversreplaceaminim,onlyonebeamisneededinsteadoftwo.Example24(c)Similarly,in4/4,wherefourquaversreplaceaminim,onlyonebeamisneededinsteadoftwo.However,in4/4,thebeamjoiningthefourquaverscannotextendacross
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 17/52
themiddleofthebar.Example24(d)In3/8,allquaversandsemiquaversinabarcanbebeamedtogether.
Example24
Thereareseveralexceptionstotheshoweachbeatrulehereanditwilltakeyoutimetoabsorbthem.PerhapsthebestwaytotacklethisistopauseforamomentortwoandexamineExamples23and24carefullyoncemoresothatyoubecomefamiliarwithhowthebeaminglooksvisually.Sometimesvisualinformationcanbeeasiertoaccessthanverbalinformation,particularlyifthelatterisextensiveanddetailed.Sopauseforalittlenow,andmakeanefforttofamiliariseyourselfvisuallywiththebeamingpatterns.
3.7Review3NowtrytheactivitiesinGroup1ontimesignaturesandbeamingcoveredsofarinthissection.Whatisthetimesignatureforeachofthefivebars?Firstofall,identifythebeatisitaminim,crotchetorquaver?Thencounthowmanybeatsthereareinthebar.Whererelevant,thinkingaboutthebeamingmighthelpyou.
Group1:identifyingtimesignatures
Activity
Matchthetimesignatures,3/2,2/4,3/4,4/4and3/8tobarnumbers15.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 18/52
3.8Moretimesignatures:compoundtimeThetimesignaturesconsidereduptonow2/4,3/4,4/4,2/2,3/2and3/8areallexamplesofsimpletime .Insimpletime,eachbeatcanalwaysbedividedintotwos,ormultiplesoftwo.Andsimpletimesignaturesaredescribedfullyaccordingtohowmanybeatsinabarthereareasfollows:
2/4and2/2arecalledsimpledupletime sincetherearetwobeatstoeachbar3/8,3/4and3/2arecalledsimpletripletime sincetherearethreebeatstoeachbar,and4/4iscalledsimplequadrupletimesincetherearefourbeatstoeachbar.
Example25ashowsabarof3/4time,wheretherearethreebeatstothebar,andeachbeatisdividedintotwo.
Example25(a)
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Whenthebeatisdividedintothrees,thetermcompoundtime isused.
Forexample:
in6/8,thereare6quaversperbar,butthese6quaversaregroupedintwogroupsofthreesoitiscalledcompounddupletime .6/4isalsocalledcompounddupletime,thereare6crotchetsperbarandthese6crotchetsaregroupedintwosetsofthree.In9/8thereare9quaversperbar,groupedinthreegroupsofthreesoitiscalledcompoundtripletime .In12/8timethereare12quaversperbar,groupedinfourgroupsofthreesoitiscalledcompoundquadrupletime .
Example25(b)showsabarof6/8time.Therearetwobeatstothebar,andeachbeatisdividedintothree.
Example25(b)
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Butwhatisthereasonforthisdifferentwayofgroupingthenotesineachbeatincompoundtime?Thisisbecauseincompoundtimesignatures,thebeatisadottednotesuchasadottedminim(insay,6/4)oradottedcrotchet(in,say,6/8)ratherthanaminimoracrotchetinsimpletimesignaturessuchas3/2or3/4.Wecanseehowthisaffectsthebeatdivisionifweconsiderthebarsof3/4timeand6/8timetogether.
Examples25(a)and(b)
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Ifwecountthenumberofquaversinabarof3/4andinabarof6/8,theansweristhesame,six.However,in3/4therearethreecrotchetbeatsperbar,eachbeatdividedintotwoquavers.In6/8therearetwodottedcrotchetbeatsperbar,eachbeatdividedintothreequavers.So3/4issimpletripletimeand6/8iscompounddupletime.Inbothartandpopularmusic,composershaveexploredthevariablebeatproducedbymovingbetweenthesetwotimesignatures.
3.9Groupingandbeamingnotesincompoundtime
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 19/52
Aswithgroupingnoteswithinasinglebeatinsimpletime,beamingtogetherquaversandsemiquaversthatbelongtoasinglebeatisausefulguidelinetofollowwhengroupingnotestogetherincompoundtime.Asyoulearnedintheprevioussection,thebeatinsuchcompoundtimesignaturesas6/8or9/8isthedottedcrotchet(equivalenttothreequavers),sowiththesetimesignaturesallquaversandsemiquaverswithinabeatmustbebeamedingroupsofthreequavers.Example26showshowseveralnotesthatcompriseasinglebeatarebeamedtogetherin6/8time.
Example26
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
AsyoucanseefromExample26,theextentofthebeatisalwaysshowninthebeamingeachgroupofbeamednotesaddsuptothreequavers(adottedcrotchet).Beamingtogetherquaversingroupswhichdonotadduptothreequaverswouldsuggestadifferenttimesignaturewheretheextentofthebeatisadifferenttimevalue.Thustherhythmin6/8inExample27(a)cannotbewrittenasinExample27(b),becauseExample27(b)suggests3/4time.InExample27(b)thequaversarebeamedtogetherintwosratherthanthrees,andthissignifiesacrotchetbeatandhence3/4.
Example27
Whenweconsidertimevaluesthatlastfortwobeatsratherthanasingleoneincompoundtime,theshowthedottedbeatrulenolongerapplies.Forinstance,timevaluesthatlastfortwobeatsin6/8,9/8and12/8arewrittenasExample28(a)ratherthanExample28(b).
Example28
Hence,anotelastingafullbarin6/8iswrittenasshowninExample29.
Example29
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Finally,noticethatanotelastingafullbarin9/8timeiswrittenasshowninExample30,andin12/8timeasinExample31.
Example30
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 20/52
Example31
Aswithbeaminginsimpletime,youcanseethatthereisasetofconventionstofollowwhenbeamingincompoundtime.So,onceagain,takeafewmomentstostudycarefullythevisualpatternsinvolvedinExamples26and27.
3.10Review4Thefollowingthreegroupsofactivitiesfocusonidentifyingsimpleandcompoundtimesignatures,andtimevaluesincompoundtime.
Group1:identifyingcompoundtimesignatures
Activity1
Matchthetimesignatures,6/8,9/8and12/8tobarnumbers13.
Whenidentifyingcompoundtimesignatures,counthowmanydottedcrotchetbeatsthereareinabar.Dontforgetthatadottedcrotchetisequivalenttothreequaversandthatthinkingaboutthebeamingmighthelpyou.
Group2:identifyingsimpleandcompoundtimesignatures
Activity1
Whenidentifyingsimpleandcompoundtimesignatures,identifythebeatfirstisit,forexample,aminim?Thencounthowmanybeatsthereareinthebar.Remember,too,toconsiderthebeaming.
Matchthetimesignatures,3/2,2/4,3/4,4/4,6/8,9/8tobarnumbers16.
Group3:identifyingomittedtimevaluesincompoundtime
Activity1
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity2
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 21/52
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity3
Whichsingletimevalueisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
4Rests
4.1ValuesanddotsJustassoundisimportantinmusic,soissilence,andthereforeeverytimevaluehasanequivalentsymbolforsilencearest.HeretheyareinExample32:
Example32
Noticethatthenumberofflagsonthequaver,semiquaveranddemisemiquaverrestsisthesameasthenumberofflagsfortheirrespectivetimevalues.Inaddition,thecrotchet,quaver,semiquaveranddemisemiquaverrestssitinthemiddleofthestaff.
Thesameprincipleregardingdotsappliestorestsaswellastotimevaluesthedotmakestheresthalf
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 22/52
aslongagain.Andthedotisplacedaftertherestinthethirdspacefromthebottom.Example33showstheseprinciplesinaction.
Example33
4.2GroupingrestsWhengroupingnotes,wesawthatthemainaimwastoachieveeaseofreading.Thesameapplieswhengroupingrests,althoughtherearesomeexceptionstothisrule,whichareexplainedbelow.Generally,however,theruleofshowingeachbeatstillapplies.Thus,inabarof3/4,acrotchetisnotfollowedbyaminimrest,butbytwocrotchetrests,asshowninExample34(a).Andacrotchetandquaverarefollowed,notbyadottedcrotchetrest,butbyaquaverandacrotchetrest,asshowninExample34(b).Eachbeatisshownclearly.
Example34
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Groupingrests:theexceptionstotheshoweachbeatrule
Inabarof4/4,iftwocrotchetsareeitherprecededorfollowedbytwocrotchetsworthofrests,thenaminimrestcanbeusedasExample35(a)shows.Thisrulereflectstheruleforbeamingfourquaversin4/4,since,aswenotedinSection3.6,youcanbeamtogetheraminimsworthofquavers.
In4/4,youalsocannotgrouprestsacrossthemiddleofabar.Crotchetsateachendofa4/4barareseparatedbytwocrotchetrestsandnotaminimrest,asshowninExample35(b).Thisisasimilarconcepttotherulesforbeamingquaversin4/4youcannotbeamacrossthemiddleofabar.
Example35
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Whererestsareincludedthattotallessthanabeat,youneedtogroupinhalfbeats.Therefore,twosemiquaversateachendofacrotchetbeatshouldbeseparatedbytwosemiquaverrests,notaquaverrest,asshowninExample36(a).Andasingleopeningsemiquavershouldbefollowedbyasemiquaverrestandthenaquaverrest,asshowninExample36(b).
Example36
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Again,aswiththepreviousdiscussionsofgroupingnotevalues,thisgroupingofrestsmightseemunnecessarilycomplicated.Buttheoverallaimwithgroupingbothnotevaluesandrestsistotrytoensurethatthegraphiclayoutonthepageisaseasilyreadableaspossible(once,thatis,youhavelearnedtherulesandtheexceptionstotherules!).Therefore,thedesignofstaffnotationhasevolvedsothatthereadercanrecognisenotonlyeachindividualnote,butblocksofinformation,suchasthatcontainedin
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 23/52
eachbeat,orevenineachbar.Thishelpstofacilitatethereadingprocess,whichisparticularlyimportantinfasttempos.
4.3GroupingrestsincompoundtimeIncompoundtime,youshouldfollowtheshoweachbeatprincipleasinsimpletime.AsyoulearnedinSection3.8,whendealingwithsuchcompoundtimesignaturesas6/8,9/8and12/8,thebeatisadottedcrotchet,soeachbeatsrestcanbewritteneitherasadottedcrotchetrestorasacrotchetrestfollowedbyaquaverrest,asinExample37.
Example37
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
However,in12/8,whichhasfourbeatsperbarlike4/4,twodottedcrotchetbeatrestsateitherthebeginningortheendofthebarcanbewrittenasdottedminimrests,asinExample38.
Example38
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Youcanseetheparallelwith4/4Example39showsthe4/4example(Example35)comparedwiththe12/8example.
Example39
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
4.4MoreongroupingrestsIngeneralitisbettertowriteasfewrestsaspossiblebearinginmindtheshoweachbeatrule(andwithsuchsmalltimevaluesassemiquaverrests,theshoweachhalfbeatruleshowninSection4.2inExample36).Whenyouhavetoreadmorethanthreeorfourquaverorsemiquaverrestsinarow,orindeedamixtureofthese,itisdifficulttoassessquicklyjusthowlongthecumulativelengthoftheserestsshouldbe.Therefore,providingyoufollowtherulesforgroupingandtheexceptionstothese,useasfewrestsaspossible.
Occasionally,andratherintriguingly,youcanhavearestwithinabeatthatisbeamed,asshowninExample40.Thismakesthebeateasiertoread.
Example40
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Finally,theonlysavinggraceaboutgroupingrests,is:
Foreverytimesignaturewevediscussed,arestforawholebarisasemibreverest,evenforcompoundtimesignatures.
Withthegroupingofrestsittakestimetobecomeadeptatorganisingeachbeatcorrectly.Aswithbeaming,youwillbecomefamiliarwithhowrestsaregroupedthroughlookingatmusiconaregularbasis.Youwillfindthatyougraduallyabsorbthevisualpatternscreatedbythegroupingofreststothepoint
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 24/52
whereyoucanspotimmediatelyarestthathasbeenusedincorrectly.Butthistakestime,ofcourse.Evenso,trythefollowingthreegroupsofactivitiesinwhichyouareaskedtoidentifymissingrests.Theseexerciseswillhelpyoutocometogripswithatleastsomeoftheconventionsinvolved.
4.5Review5Group1:identifyingasingleomittedrestinsimpletime
Activity1
Whichsinglerestisrequiredattheplacemarkedwiththeasterisk?
Activity2
Whichsinglerestisrequiredattheplacemarkedwiththeasterisk?
Activity3
Whichsinglerestisrequiredattheplacemarkedwiththeasterisk?
Group2:identifyingtwosingleomittedrestsineithercompoundorsimpletime
Activity1
Whichsinglerestisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity2
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 25/52
Whichsinglerestisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Group3:identifyingthreesingleomittedrestsineithersimpleorcompoundtime
Activity1
Whichsinglerestisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity2
Whichsinglerestisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
Activity3
Whichsinglerestisrequiredateachoftheplacesmarkedwithasterisks?
5Pitch5.1Notesofthebassandtreblestaves:areminderHavingconsideredrhythm,metreandrestsinSections3and4,wecannowreturntothediscussionofpitch,beguninSection2,andexaminehowscalesandkeysignaturesareformed.
InSection2youllrememberthatwelookedatthetrebleandbassstavesandtheroleofclefs.Wealsoidentifiednotenamesfromthebottomofthebassstafftothetopofthetreblestaff.Finallywelookedattheuseofledgerlinesuptoamaximumofthree,bothaboveandbelowthetrebleandbassstaves.Here,asareminder,isthecompleterangeofnotesthatweidentified.
Example10(repeated)
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 26/52
5.2Semitonesandtones,andthescaleofCmajorIfwetakeasectionofthecompleterangeofnoteswenamed,startingatmiddleCandproceedinguptooneoftheotherCs,wehavetheascendingscale ofCmajor(Example41).
Example41
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Visually,thesteadyprogressionofthenoteheadsclimbingupthestaffsuggeststhatthenoteheadsandthesoundsthattheysignifyareequidistantfromeachother.ThisideaseemsreinforcedifyouplaythescaleonakeyboardyousimplyplayupthewhitenotesfrommiddleCuptothenextC.
However,youwillspotimmediatelyfromExample42thatthereareblacknotesonthekeyboardaswellasthewhiteones.Youwillalsonoticethatalthoughthesearesetbackfromthewhiteones,theyalternatewiththewhiteones,oratleastdosoformuchofthetime.
Example42
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Forinstance,youcanseefromExample42thatthereisablacknotebetweentheCandtheD,andthenanotheronebetweentheDandtheE.ButthereisntonebetweentheEandtheF.Asweshallseeinamoment,thisiscrucial.
Thedistancebetweentwonotesiscalledaninterval,andtheintervalbetweentheCandtheblacknotesetslightlybackandtoitsrightisasemitone .TheintervalbetweenthisblacknoteandtheDisalsoasemitone.Twosemitonesadduptoalargerinterval,calledatone ,andso,becausewehavegoneuptwosemitonesintotal,theintervalbetweenCandDisatone.TheintervalbetweenDandEisalsoatoneweveseenthatthereisalsoablacknotesetbetweenthesetwonotes.However,betweenEandFthereisnoblacknote,andsotheintervalhereisonlyasemitone.
IfwenowcontinueupthescaletothenextC,wecanidentifytheintervalsbetweeneachpairofnotes:
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 27/52
NotesoftheCmajorscale
CD Tone
DE Tone
EF Semitone noblacknoteinbetween
FG Tone
GA Tone
AB Tone
BC Semitone noblacknoteinbetween
ThispatternoftonesandsemitoneswecanrepresentitsymbolicallyasTTSTTTSprovidesthestructureoftheCmajorscale,andallmajorscales.Itisthereforeagoodideatomemorisethisstructure(whichiscalledtheintervallicstructure ofthemajorscale).
5.3Semitonesandtones,andthescaleofGmajorWesawintheprevioussectionthatifwestartatmiddleCandfollowtheTTSTTTSpatternwegeneratethescaleofCmajor.MiddleC(andanyotherC)intheCmajorscaleiscalledthetonicorkeynote ittellsyouthekey.Whatifwestartonadifferentnote,adifferenttonic?IfwebeginonGinsteadandfollowthesameintervallicstructure,wegeneratethefollowingnotes:
NotesoftheGmajorscale
GA Tone
AB Tone
BC Semitone
CD Tone
DE Tone
EF Tone
F G Semitone
ThenotesgeneratedarethesameasforCmajor,exceptforone.ThereisanF insteadofanF.(Example43).
Example43
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Thequalifyinglabel,sharp,indicatesthatthenotehasbeenraisedasemitone,andthisisrepresentedbythesymbol,#,placedbeforethenoteandonthesamelineorinthesamespaceasthenotehead.WeneededtoraisetheFasemitonetoF becausetheintervalrequiredatthispointinthepatternisatone.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 28/52
EF,asweknowfromourexaminationofthescaleofCmajor,isonlyasemitonewethereforeneedanadditionalsemitonetomakeupthetonerequiredbythepattern,TTSTTTS.AndatoneaboveEisnotF,butF .
Summary:tones,semitonesandscales
5.4MajorscaleshavingkeysignatureswithsharpsExample44showsthemajorscalesstartingonC,G,D,AandE.
Example44
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Notice,firstly,that:
Ifwecomparetwoscalesthatlienexttoeachotherinthelist,forinstance,CmajorandGmajor,theonlydifferentnoteinthelowerscaleistheseventhnote .
BothscalescontainCs,Ds,Esandsoon,butinGmajor,wehaveF (andnotFasinCmajor)andthisFistheseventhnoteuptheGmajorscale.Similarly,thenoteinDmajorthatisdifferentfromthoseinGmajorisC ,alsotheseventhnote,andsoon.
Secondly,noticethat:
Ineachscale,thenumberofnotesprefacedbysharpsincreasesbyoneeachtime .Cmajorhasnone,Gmajorhasonenoteprefacedbyasharp,Dmajortwo,AmajorthreeandEmajorfour.
InordertoavoidwritingasharpbeforeeveryFin,say,apieceinGmajor(thatis,apiecebasedonthescaleofGmajor),akeysignature ,asshowninExample45,issuppliedatthebeginningofeachstaff.Attheopeningofapiece,thekeysignaturecomesaftertheclefbutbeforethetimesignature.Thepatterningofthesharpsinthekeysignaturesislogical,atleastasfarasfoursharps.However,onlytheFonthetoplineofthetreblestaffisshown,nottheF inthebottomspace,and,similarly,onlytheC inthethirdspacefromthebottomiswrittenin,nottheC onthefirstledgerlinebelowthestaff.Althoughthisisfarfromlogical,itatleastsimplifiesthevisualinformationbeingpresented.
Example45
i. TheintervallicstructureforallmajorscalesisTTSTTTS.ii. Wecanthereforeusethispatterntogenerateamajorscalestartingonanynoteafterour
examinationofCmajor,wetriedaG.iii. Themajorscalesgenerated,apartfromCmajor,willuseamixtureofwhiteandblacknotesona
keyboard.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 29/52
Beforeleavingthissection,haveanotherlookatExample44,andconfirmhoweachscaleisgeneratedbytheTTSTTTSpattern.Also,identifywhichnotesneedsharpsinthedifferentscales.ThenconsiderthekeysignaturesinExample45andhowtheserelatetothescalesinExample44.
5.5SemitonesandtonesandthescaleofFmajorSofar,thescaleswehavediscussedhave,apartfromCmajor,includednotesprefacedbysharps.However,ifwestartascaleonnotesdifferentfromthosewevealreadytried,thegeneratingpatternTTSTTTScaninvolvetheuseofflatsinsteadofsharps.Youllrememberthatasharpraisesanotebyasemitoneconversely,aflat,shownbythesymbol, ,lowersanotebyasemitone.Aswiththesharpsign,#,theflatsign, ,iswrittenbeforethenotetowhichitapplies,andisplacedonthesamelineorinthesamespaceasthenotehead.BothsharpsandflatsarecalledaccidentalsandwillbecoveredinmoredetailinSection6.
HereistheseriesofnotesgeneratedifwestartonF:
NotesoftheFmajorscale
FG Tone
GA Tone
AB Semitone
B C Tone
CD Tone
DE Tone
EF Semitone
Here,theonlynotethatisdifferentfromthoseinCmajoristheB .(CmajorhasB.)ButB wasnecessaryherebecausethethirdintervalintheTTSTTTSpatternisasemitone,notatone,andthereforethenoteasemitonebelowBisrequired,i.e.B ,notB.Onakeyboard,asyoucanseefromExample46,thisistheblacknotesetbackbetweenAandB.
Example46
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Youmayhavewonderedwhyoneblacknoteisasharp(aswesawwithF )andanotherisaflat,theB .Theansweristhatnotesonakeyboardcanbecalleddifferentthingsdependingontheircontext.Major(and,asweshallsee,minor)scalesaresevennote(heptatonic)scales,andeachnotehasadifferentlettername.Thus,thesevenletternamesinFmajorareFGAB( )CDE.TheyarenotcalledFGAA( )
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 30/52
CDE,becausethiswouldmeanAcomestwiceandthereisnoB.Onthekeyboard,then,B andA arethesamenote,butwhenwritingthescaleofFmajor,B isused,notA .
5.6MajorscaleshavingkeysignatureswithflatsExample47showsthemajorscalesstartingonC,F,B ,E andA .
Example47
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Again,aswiththegroupofmajorscaleswithsharpsinExample44,therearetwopointsworthnoting.
Firstly:
Ifwecomparetwoscalesthatlienexttoeachotherinthelist,forinstance,CmajorandFmajor,theonlydifferentnoteinthelowerscaleisthefourthnote .
BothscalescontainCs,Ds,Esandsoon,butinFmajor,wehaveB (andnotBasinCmajor),andthisBisthefourthnoteuptheFmajorscale.Similarly,thenoteinBflatmajorthatisdifferentfromthoseinFmajorisE ,alsothefourthnote,andsoon.
Secondly:
Ineachscale,thenumberofdifferentnotesprefacedbyflatsincreasesbyoneeachtime .Cmajorhasnone,Fmajorhasonenoteprefacedbyaflat,Bflatmajortwo,EflatmajorthreeandAflatmajorfour.
Example48showsthekeysignaturesforthesekeys.
Example48
Nowthatwehavediscussedthemajorscaleswithuptofoursharpandfourflatkeysignatures,havealookatthesummarychartofthesescalesandtheirkeysignaturesinExample49.Workthroughthischartatapacethatallowsyoutopassquicklyoverthosescalesthatyoufeelyouknow,butspendmoretimeoverthoseyouarelesssureof.AlwaysbearinmindtheoverridingprincipleTTSTTTS.
Example49
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Nowtrythefollowingtwoactivitiesthatassessyourknowledgeofkeysignaturesofuptofourflatsorfoursharps,andofthemajorscalesthathavethesekeysignatures.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 31/52
5.7Review6Group1:identifyingkeysignaturesofuptofoursharpsorfourflats
Activity1
MatchthekeysofCmajor,Gmajor,Dmajor,Amajor,Fmajor,Aflatmajortothekeysignaturesbelow.
Group2:identifyingmajorscaleswithkeysignaturesofuptofoursharpsandfourflats
Activity1
Matchthekeysignaturesofonesharp,twosharps,oneflat,twoflatstothemajorscalesbelow.Witheachactivity,dontforgettocheckwhichclefisbeingused.Eachscalestartsonitstonicorkeynote.
5.8Minorscales:thenaturalformThemajorscaleisonlyoneofthegroupofscalesusedinbothwesternartandwesternpopularmusicasthebasisofcomposition.Anotheristheminorscale .Asweveseen,themajorscalehasonlyoneformgeneratedbytheintervallicpattern,TTSTTTS.Bycontrast,theminorscalehasthreeforms,whichallusethesamekeysignature:
1. natural2. melodic3. harmonic.
WeknowthatthekeysignatureforCmajorhasnosharpsorflats.FortheAminorscale,thisisthesame.Hereisthenaturalformofthescale:
Example50
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Youllnoticethatitissimilartothemajorscaleinthatitcanbeplayedonakeyboardusingonlythewhitenotes.TheonlydifferenceisthatitbeginsnotonC,butonA.However,thisalterstheintervallicstructure.InsteadofTTSTTTS,weget:
TheintervallicstructureofthenaturalformoftheAminorscale
AB Tone
BC Semitone
CD Tone
DE Tone
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 32/52
EF Semitone
FG Tone
GA Tone
WecanrepresentthissymbolicallyasTSTTSTT.
5.9Minorscales:themelodicandharmonicformsThesecondformoftheAminorscale,themelodicform,hastwotypesofintervallicstructuretheascendingstructureisdifferentfromthedescendingstructure.Thedescendingpatternisthesameasthenaturalformcoveredintheprevioussection.Theascendingpatternisasshownbelow:
TheintervallicstructureofthemelodicformoftheAminorscale(ascending).Thedescendingstructureisthesameasforthenaturalformoftheminorscale
AB Tone
BC Semitone
CD Tone
DE Tone
EF Tone
F G Tone
G A Semitone
Symbolically,thisascendingstructurecanberepresentedasTSTTTTS.
Example51showstheAminormelodicscale,bothascendinganddescending.
Example51
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Intheascendingversion,noticethattheneedtoraiseboththeFandtheGtoF andG respectivelydoesnotaffectthekeysignaturethesesharpenednotesaresimplyignored.Instead,whenF sorG sarerequiredinthemusic,thesharpshavetobewritteninforeachnote,oratleastasoftenasisnecessary.WellconsidertheguidelinesforhowtodealwiththisinSection6onaccidentalsandwellalsodiscusstheroleofanotheraccidental,thenatural,shownbythesymbol .InExample51,thebracketednaturalsremindusthat,whereasintheascendingscaletheFandGbecomeF andG respectively,inthedescendingformtheGandFremainasGandF.
ThethirdandfinalformoftheAminorscaleistheharmonicminor(whichhasthesameintervallicstructurebothascendinganddescending).Itcontainselementsfromboththeascendingformofthemelodicminor(theG )andthedescendingform(theF).TheconsequenceofthisisthattheintervalbetweenFandG isatoneplusasemitone,anintervalthatwehaventmetinascalebefore:
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 33/52
TheintervallicstructureoftheharmonicformoftheAminorscale.Thestructureisthesamebothascendinganddescending
AB Tone
BC Semitone
CD Tone
DE Tone
EF Semitone
FG Tone+semitone
G A Semitone
Symbolically,thisascendingstructurecanberepresentedasTSTTST+SS.
TheAminorharmonicscaleisshowninExample52.Again,theneedtoraisetheGtoG doesnotaffectthekeysignature,which,asyouknow,hasnosharpsorflats.
Example52
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Itistruethatminorscalesaremorecomplicatedthanmajorones.However,thedifferencesbetweenthethreeformsarelesscomplexthanaquickglancemightsuggest.IfwecomparethethreeformsoftheAminorscale(seeExample53),youcanseethatthesedifferencesrelatetoonlytwoquestions:(i)whetherthesixthnoteand/orseventhnoteupthescaleissharpened,and(ii)whethertheascendinganddescendingformsofthescalearethesame.Sothedifferencesarenotasgreatasitmightfirstappear.Thefirstfivenotesofeachofthethreeforms(whenascending,andthelastfivenoteswhendescending)areexactlythesame,and,asnotedearlier,thedescendingformofthemelodicminorhasthesameintervallicstructureasthenaturalminor.
Example53
5.10RelativeminorandrelativemajorBecausethescalesofCmajorandAminorhavethesamekeysignature,theyareclearlyrelated.Indeed,thekeyofAminoriscalledtherelativeminorofCmajor.Conversely,Cmajoriscalledtherelative
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 34/52
majorofAminor.IfwelookattherelationshipbetweenCandAonakeyboardinExample54,wecancountthenumberofsemitonesbetweenthem(itsquickertodothiscountingfromCdowntoAratherthanCuptothehigherA).TheresultisthreeCB,BB ,B A.Sotherelativeminorofamajorkey,andtheminorkeythathasthesamekeysignature,isthreesemitoneslowerthanitsmajorcounterpart.
Byfollowingthisprinciple,wecanworkouttherelativeminorkeyofGmajor,thesecondmajorkeyweexaminedinSection5.3.LookatExample54again.ThreesemitonesdownfromG,namely:GF ,F FandFEisE.EminoristhustherelativeminorofGmajorandhasthesamekeysignature,onesharp.
Example54
IfwenowfollowtheintervallicpatternswediscoveredinthevariousformsoftheminorscalethepatternofthenaturalformwasTSTTSTT,forinstancewecangeneratethethreeformsoftheEminorscaleshowninExample55.Fundamentally,wehaveonlyonedifferentnotefromthosewehadinthescaleofAminor,theF .However,withthethreedifferentforms(natural,harmonicandmelodic)thesamequestionariseswithregardstothesixthandseventhnotesupthescaleshouldoneorbothbesharpenedornot?
Example55
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
YoucanfindasummarychartoftheminorscaleswithuptofoursharpandfourflatkeysignaturesinExample56.Studythiscarefullyminorscales,especiallythosewiththreeorfourflatsorsharps,aremoredifficulttograspthantheirrelativemajorcounterparts.Sotaketimeoverthis.
Example56
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Thefollowingtwoactivitiesassessyourknowledgeofminorkeysignaturesofuptofourflatsandfoursharps,andoftheminorscalesthathavethesekeysignatures.Trythemnow.
5.11Review7Group1:identifyingminorkeysignaturesofuptofoursharpsorfourflats
Activity1
MatchthekeysofCminor,Gminor,Dminor,Eminor,Bminor,Fminortothekeysignatures.
Group2:identifyingminorscaleswithkeysignaturesofuptofoursharpsandfourflats
Activity1
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 35/52
Matchthekeysignaturesofonesharp,twosharps,oneflat,threeflatstothescalesbelow.
Witheachactivity,dontforgettocheckwhichclefisbeingused.Eachscalestartsonthetonicorkeynote.
6Accidentals,degreesofthescaleandintervalsDuringthediscussionofscales,severaltopicsweretoucheduponthatnowneedalittlefurtherexplanation:
1. accidentals2. degreesofthescale3. intervals.
Wellbeginthissectionwithaccidentals.
6.1AccidentalsWhileexaminingthestructuresoftheGmajorandFmajorscales,wenotedthatthesymbolforthesharpisa#,andthatfortheflat,a .Thesesymbolsarecalledaccidentals.Withthediscussionofminorscales,youdiscoveredthethirdaccidentalyouneedtoknow,thenatural, .Youwillhavenoticeditinsomeofthemusicexamplesandinthechartofminorscalesintheprevioussection(Example56).
Whiletheroleofthesharpistoraiseanoteasemitone,andtheflatistoloweranoteasemitone,thenaturalcancelsaprevioussharporflat.Itlowersasharpenednotebyasemitone,orraisesaflattenednotebyasemitone.Naturalscanthereforebeusedinaparticularbartocancelsharpsorflatsthathaveappearedearlierinthebar.Naturalscanalsobeusedtocancelsharpsorflatsthatappearinthekeysignature.Asyouknow,sharpsorflatsinakeysignaturedictatewhichnotesaresharpenedorflattenedthroughoutapiece(unlessthekeysignatureischangedatsomepoint),butyoucanusenaturalstocancelthesharpsorflatsofnotesasyouproceed.
6.2AccidentalsinpracticeLetslookatsomeexamplestoseehowaccidentalsworkinpractice.InExample57(a),thekeysignatureisforCmajor(nosharpsorflats),butwewanttohaveE s.WethereforeaddaflatbeforethefirstEtoloweritasemitonetoE .Accidentals,unlesscancelled,lastthroughoutabar,andsothesecondEwillalsobeanE .
IfwewanttowriteanE ratherthananE laterduringthebarasinExample57(b),wehavetocanceltheearlierflatbywritinganaturalbeforethesecondE.
Example57
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Example57(c)willproduceexactlythesamemelodyasExample57(b),butusestheCminorkeysignature.ThefirstEwillbeE becauseoftheE inthekeysignature(anddoesnotthereforeneedaflat),butthesecondEwillneedanaturaltoraiseitasemitonefromE toE .
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 36/52
Finally,inExample57(d),thefirstFneedsanaturaltocanceltheeffectoftheF inthekeysignature,butthesecondFthenneedsasharptocanceltheeffectofthenaturalbeforethefirstF.
Threefinalpoints(whichmostlyreinforcewhatyouvelearnedalready):
Accidentalsinpractice:summary
Noticethatweusesharpentomeanraisebyasemitone.So,wecansay:WeneedtosharpenA tobecomeA .Butwecanalsosay:WeneedtosharpenA tobecomeA .(Wesawthisprincipleinoperationinthepreviousactivity,intheDminoranswerforGroup1Activity1inthepreviousreview.)Conversely,weuseflattentomeanlowerbyasemitone.Whenidentifyingnoteswithoutaccidentals,itistemptingtosaysimply,ThisisC.However,alwaysrememberthatthisisashorthandforsaying,ThisisC .Keysignaturesconsistofgroupsofaccidentalsthatareeithersharpsorflats.Thereisneveramixture.
6.3IdentifyingthedegreesofthescaleDuringthediscussionofscalesIneededtotalkaboutnotonlyaccidentalsbutalsodegreesofthescale.Ineededtobeabletoidentifycertaindegreesofthescale,andthereforeusedaphrasesuchassixthorseventhnoteupthescale.However,thereareseveralwaysofreferringtothedegreesofthescale:
theordinalnumbersalreadynotedcardinalnumberswithcaretsaboveandnamesthatreflecttheimportanceofaparticularnotewithinascale.
Herearethedifferentsystemsdisplayedsidebyside,assumingthatthescaleisascending:
Relationshipsofthenamesforthedegreesofthescale
Ordinals Cardinals,withcaretsabove Names
Firstdegree Tonic,orkeynote
Second Supertonic
Third Mediant
Fourth Subdominant
Fifth Dominant
Sixth Submediant
Seventh Leadingnote
Thenamesofthenotesinthescaleneedexplanation.Intonalmusicthemostimportantnoteinthescaleisthetonicorkeynote .InthescaleofCmajor,forinstance,thetonic,asyouknow,isC:thetonicsignifiesthekeyofthescale.Thesecondmostimportantnoteisthedominant,thefifthdegreeofthe
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 37/52
scale(seeExample58).NotethatinthisexampletheCmajorscaleisnotatedfromF,viaCuptoGsothattherelationshipsbetweenthenamesforthedegreesofthescalearemoreclearlyexpressed.
Example58
Nextcomesthesubdominant,whichhasamirrorpositiontothatofthedominant.Thedominantisfivenotesabovethetonicthesubdominantisfivenotesbelow(sub,Latinforunder).Themediantsitsbetweenthetonicandthedominant(medius,Latinformiddle),andthesubmediantbetweenthetonicandthe(lower)subdominant.Thesupertonicliesimmediatelyabovethetonic(super,Latinforabove,over),and,finally,theleadingnote risesuptothetonic(seeExample59).
Example59Namesforthedegreesofthescaleinascendingorder
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
6.4IntervalsThefinaltopicthataroseduringthediscussionofscaleswasintervals.Wenotedhowmajorscalesareconstructedfromtwointervals,thesemitoneandthetone,andhowtheharmonicformoftheminorscaleincludesanotherinterval,thetoneplussemitone,i.e.threesemitones.Thereisnoreasonwhyyoucouldnt,intheory,countuplargerandlargerintervalsinsemitones.However,asthesizeofintervalsincreases,identifyingthembycountingsemitonesbecomesimpractical.
Tomakethingseasier,intervalsareidentifiedbylabelsthatconsistoftwodeterminants,qualityandnumber.Youcancalculatethenumberofanintervalbyregardingthelowernoteasthetonicandthencountingupthedegreesofthescale.Thus,asshowninExample60,theintervalCEwouldbeathird,CGafifthandCBaseventh.CtothesameCisaunisonCtotheCeightnoteshigher,anoctave .Notethatthetwonotesintheintervalcanbesoundedtogetherasaharmonicinterval,orinsuccessionasamelodicinterval.
Example60
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Thequalityofanintervalcanbeperfect,major,minor,augmentedordiminished.
So,forinstance,youcanhaveaperfectfourth,amajorthird,anaugmentedsixth.
However,forourpurposes,hereIcommentonlyontheperfectfifth,whichconsistsofsevensemitones,e.g.CGintheCmajorscale,andtheminorthird,whichconsistsofthreesemitones,e.g.ACintheAminorscale(seeExample61).
Example61Theperfectfifthandtheminorthirdintervals
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 38/52
6.5Theperfectfifth,theminorthirdandthecircleoffifthsTheperfectfifthWhilediscussingscales,youmighthavewonderedwhyIdescribedthemintheorderIchose.FromastartingpointofCmajor,thepatternformajorscaleswithsharpkeysignatureswasG,D,AandE,withthekeysignatureforeachscaleaddinganadditionalsharptothepreviousone.ThepatternformajorscaleswithflatkeysignatureswasF,B ,E andA ,withthekeysignatureforeachscaleaddinganadditionalflattothepreviousone.Youmighthaveguessedthatthisgradualincreaseinthesizeofthekeysignaturesgovernedmychoice.Andyouwouldhavebeenright.
Butmychoicewasalsogovernedbytherelatedfactthateachsuccessivemajorscalewithasharpkeysignaturestartsonthenoteaperfectfifthabovethepreviousone,andeachsuccessivescalewithaflatkeysignaturestartsonthenoteaperfectfifthbelowthepreviousone.SoGmajor,withonesharpinitskeysignature,beginsonthenoteaperfectfifthaboveC,whichhasnosharpsorflatsinitskeysignature.AndDmajor,withtwosharpsinitskeysignature,beginsonthenoteaperfectfifthaboveG.Andsoon.Conversely,Fmajor,withoneflatinitskeysignature,beginsonthenoteaperfectfifthbelowC,andBmajor,withtwoflatsinitskeysignature,beginsonthenoteaperfectfifthbelowF.Andsoon.
Thissequenceofkeys,extendedtocoverawholeseries,isbetterunderstoodasadiagram,thecircleoffifths,showninFigure1.
Themajorkeyssitoutsidethecircleandtheircorrespondingrelativeminors(whichhavethesamekeysignature)insidethecircle.Youshouldtakealittletimetoexplorethisdiagram(althoughbearinmindthatyouneedaworkingknowledgeofmajorandminorkeysofonlyuptofoursharpsandfourflatsbeforeyoustartInsidemusic).
Figure1Thecircleoffifths
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 39/52
TheminorthirdAsyoumayremember,andasshowninthediagramofthecircleoffifthsabove,thetonicofarelativeminorscalecanbefoundbycountingdownthreesemitonesfromthetonicofitsmajorequivalent,forinstance,thetonicofCmajordowntothetonicofAminor.Thisinterval,AC,consistingofthreesemitones,wecannownameasaminorthird.
7Harmony:thetriadOurdiscussionofintervals,notablyharmonicintervals,isthefirsttimeinthisunitthatwehavemovedfromdiscussionofonesoundatatimetotwosoundingtogether.Buttheexplorationofthecombinationofsoundstoformharmonyisoneofwesternmusicsmajorcontributionstomusicworldwide,andwethereforeneedtoconsiderabasicfeatureofharmony,thetriad.
Atriadis,asitsnameimplies,acollectionofthreenotessoundingtogether.Triadsareconstructedfromtwothirdsplacedoneontopoftheother.StartingfromC,forinstance,andinCmajor,atriadwouldalsoincludethenotesEandGstartingfromG,thenotesBandD.Triadscan,infact,beconstructedonanynoteofthescale,asshowninExample63.Inordertoidentifythesetriads,youcansimplyusethenamesofthedegreesofthescaleonwhichtheyareconstructed.ThereforeCEGinCmajoristhetonictriadsinceitisbuiltonthetonic,CDFAinCmajoristhesupertonictriadsinceitisbuiltonthesupertonic,D.Andsoon.
Example63
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 40/52
Interactivecontentappearshere.Pleasevisitthewebsitetouseit.
Thethreenotesinthetriad,fromthebottomup,arecalledtheroot(sincethisisthebasisofthetriad),thethirdandthefifth.Thefifthis(exceptinonecase,inthetriadontheleadingnote)aperfectfifth.
NoticeinExample63thattheintervalsofathirdthatareusedtoconstructtriadsaresometimesmajor(i.e.consistingoffoursemitones)orminor(i.e.consistingofthreesemitones).Thuswiththetonictriad,CEG,thelowerinterval,CE,isamajorthirdbuttheupperinterval,EG,isaminorthird.However,withthesupertonictriad,DFA,thelowerinterval,DF,isaminorthirdbuttheupperinterval,FA,isamajorthird.Triadsarelabelledasmajororminordependingonthisarrangement.
Wherethemajorthirdisthelowerinterval,asinthetonic,subdominantanddominanttriads,thetriadisamajortriad.Wheretheminorthirdisthelowerintervalasinthesupertonic,mediantandsubmedianttriads,thetriadisaminortriad.
ThetriadsinaminorkeyfollowadifferentpatternofmajorandminorthesewillbeexplainedinInsidemusic,aswillthetriadontheleadingnote,whichinbothmajorandminorkeysisadiminishedtriad.
AgooddealofthematerialinInsidemusicdealswithharmony.Sospendsometimefamiliarisingyourselfwithtriads,theirnames,andhowtheyareconstructedfrommajorandminorthirdsitwillbetimewellspent.
8Scores:performancedirectionsSofar,wehaveconsideredsuchelementsofnotationaspitchandrhythm,butthereareotherinstructionsonscores(notatedmusic)relatingtoperformancethatyouneedtobeabletounderstand.Thesecanbedividedintofivemaincategories:
1. dynamics2. tempo3. articulation4. expression5. specialsigns.
Thefirstthingtonoteaboutperformancedirectionsisthatalmostallofthemarerelativeratherthanabsolute.Thismeansthatwhilebearingtheirmeaninginmind,performersinterpretthemwithinlimits.Thesecondthingtonoteisthatthemeaningofsomeperformancedirectionshaschangedovertime.Indeed,someperformancedirectionshaveevenhadmorethanonemeaningduringaparticularperiod.Forinstance,fromtheseventeenthcenturytothemiddleoftheeighteenthcentury,prestocouldmeaneitherfast,orfasterthanallegro.And,finally,althoughtheperformancedirectionslistedhereareselectedfromthetraditionalItalianones,acomprehensivecollectionwouldhavetoincludeperformancedirectionsinotherlanguagestoo.
8.1Aselectedlistofperformancedirections
Dynamics
Direction Interpretation
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 41/52
fff louderthanff
ff(fortissimo) veryloud
f(forte) loud
mf(mezzoforte) (literally)halfloud
mp(mezzopiano) (literally)halfsoft
p(piano) soft
pp(pianissimo) verysoft
ppp softerthanpp
crescendo(cresc.) graduallybecominglouder
decrescendo(decresc.) graduallybecomingsofter
diminuendo(dim.) graduallybecomingsofter
sf/sfz(sforzando) (literally)forced:suddenloudnessaccentuatinganote
Tempo
Direction Translation Interpretation
largo large,broad veryslowly
larghetto diminutiveoflargo slow,butnotasslowaslargo
grave heavy,serious veryslow,solemn
adagio atease,leisurely slowly,orveryslowly
lento slow slowly
andante atawalkingpace atamediumwalkingpace
andantino diminutiveofandante slightlyfasterthanandante,althoughsometimesslightlyslower
moderato moderate,restrained moderately
allegretto diminutiveofallegro fairlyquick,butnotasquickasallegro
vivace flourishing,fulloflife lively
allegro merry,cheerful fast
presto ready,prompt veryfast(althoughoriginallyonlyfast)
Direction Interpretation
accelerando(accel.) graduallybecomingquicker
atempo intime
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 42/52
manontroppo butnottoomuch
rallentando(rall.) graduallybecomingslower
ritardando(rit.orritard.) graduallybecomingslower
ritenuto(rit.orriten.) (literally)heldback:amorelocalisedslowingdown
Articulation
Direction Interpretation
legato smoothly
semistaccato alittledetached,lesssothanstaccato
staccato(stacc.) detached
tenuto held
Expression
Direction Interpretation
agitato agitated
cantabile inasingingstyle
dolce sweet
espressivo(espress.orespr.) expressive
grazioso graceful
leggiero light
molto very,much
poco alittle
semplice simple
senza without
sostenuto sustained
subito sudden
Specialsigns
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 43/52
8.2FollowingpianoscoresThemusicexamplesyouhavestudiedsofarhavebeenwrittenononlyonestaff,andyouhavebeenabletohearthecorrespondingsoundsformanyoftheexamples.However,asyoubecomeproficientatreadingmusic,youmaywanttotacklescoressuchaspianoscores,whereyouneedtobeawareoftwostavesbeingusedsimultaneously.Furthermore,youmaywanttofollowpianoscoreswhilelisteningtothemusic.
Whatdoesfollowmeaninthiscontext?Well,itcertainlydoesntmeanthatyouhavetoregisterconsciouslyeverynotateddetailofthepassageinthescoreasyoulisten.Rather,itmeansthatyouneedtobeabletosynchroniseinageneralwaywhatyoureyeisseeingonthescoreandwhatyourearishearinginthemusic.Atfirst,eventhatmightnotbepossible.Therelentlessprogressofthemusicmightbetoomuchforyoutocopewith.Thisistobeexpected.Evenatabasiclevel,followingascoreneedspractice.Youneedtobecomefamiliarwiththeideaofscanningthenotationasyouhearthemusic,offocusingonthemelodywhilebeingawareoftheaccompaniment,ofidentifyingonthescorepointsatwhich,forwhateverreason,themusicdoessomethingsubstantiallydifferentfromwhatithadbeendoingpreviously.
Inordertoprepareyourselfforfollowingascore,thinkaboutthefollowing:
Whatistheextentofthepassageyouwishtofollow?Glancethroughthepassagequicklynotingtheopeningandclosingbars.
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 44/52
Whatisthespeedofthemusic?seethetempomarkingandhowmanybeatsarethereinabar?seethetimesignature.Arethereanyrepeatedpassages?Thesewillbemarkedintwoways,either(a)withrepeatmarks(iftheplayerhastorepeatapassagefromthebeginning,theopeningrepeatmarksareomitted)or(b)firstandsecondtimebars(Example64).Doyouneedtoturnapage?Ifso,trytoimaginewhatishappeninginthemusicforafewbarsafterthepageturnsothat,whenyouturn,youarenotcaughtout.
Example64
8.3FollowingpianoscoresinpracticeAsyoufollowthetwostavesofapianoscore,theupperstaffwilluse,forthemostpart,thetrebleclef(andbeplayedbythepianistsrighthand),andthelowerstaff,thebassclef(andbeplayedbythepianistslefthand).Basically,youneedtofollowtheupperstaff,becausethisisusuallywherethemelodyis.Concentrateonthewaytheriseandfallofthemelodyisreflectedinthehigherorlowerpositionofthenoteheadsonthestaff.Theupsanddownsofthemelodyshouldcorrespondtotheundulationsofthenotatedmelodyline.Asyoubecomefamiliarwithboththesoundandsightofapassage,youwillbeabletokeepaneyeonboththemelodyandtheaccompanimentasthemusicprogresses.Youwillalsobeabletospotifthemelodymovesdowntothelowerstaff,whichhappensfromtimetotime.
Inaddition,keepalookoutonthescoreforthechangesindynamicsthatyouhear,orforplaceswheretherearerestsinbothstaves.Suddenchangesofloudnessinthemusicormomentsofsilence,mighthelpyoutokeepabreastofwhereyoushouldbeonthescore,orhelpyoufindyourselfifyouarelost.Beprepared,too,forapossiblechangeofclef,particularlywiththelowerstaff.IfthemajorityofnotesthatappearonthelowerstaveareabovemiddleC,thenacomposerwillmorethanlikelychangethecleffromthebasstothetreble.
Dontbedisheartenedifyoucantfollowascoreatyourfirstattempt.Youwillneedseveralattempts(foreachscore)simplytobecomefamiliarwithboththemusicandthescore,andthisneedsalittletime.Butasyoupractisefollowingscores,youwillgraduallybecomemoreproficient,andyouwillbeabletounderstandmoreandmoreofthenotationyouarereadingandhowthisrelatestothesoundsyouarehearing.
9Review8Asafinalreview,thefollowingfourgroupsofactivitiescontainquestionsthatrelatetoaselectionofthedifferentfeaturesofstaffnotation.
Group1:identifyingvariousdifferentelementsMozart,PianoConcertoinCminor,K491
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 45/52
Activity1
WhatisthemeaningofthetempoindicationLarghetto?
Activity2
Whatkeyisthemelodyin?
AllthenotesinthemelodyarecontainedwithinthescaleofEflatmajor,andBnaturalsareabsent,suggestingthatCminor,theminorkeywiththesamekeysignatureasEflatmajor,isunlikely.Aflatmajorisincorrectsinceithasakeysignatureoffourflats,notthree.
Activity3
Whichmelodicinterval(numberonly)occursbetweenthelastnoteinbar2andthefirstnoteinbar3?
ThelastnoteinthesecondbarisaB andthefirstinbar3,aG.IfwecountupthescalestartingfromtheBflat(B CDE FG)wefindthattheintervalisasixth.
Activity4
Whatisthenotenameofthefourthnoteinbar3?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 46/52
OnthetreblestaffthenotesittingonthefirstledgerlineabovethestaffisaB.However,thekeysignatureofthreeflatssignifiesthatallBsinthisextract(unlessmodifiedbyaccidentals)areB s.
Activity5
WhichdegreeofthescaleistheDinthefourthbar?
SincethemelodyisinEflatmajorwithE asthetonic,DistheseventhnoteupfromE (E FGA BCD).Itisthereforetheleadingnote.
Group2:identifyingvariousdifferentelementsGershwin,Igotrhythm
Activity1
Whatkeyisthemelodyin?(Theasterisksignifiesamissingrest,whichyoullbeaskedtoidentifyinActivity5.)
ThetwoflatkeysignaturesuggestseitherBflatmajororitsrelativeminor,Gminor.ThereisnoF ,theleadingnoteinGminor,andthereforeBflatmajorseemsmorelikely.Fmajorisincorrectsinceithasakeysignatureofonlyoneflat.
Activity2
WhatdoesthetimesignatureofCwithaverticalstrokethroughitmean?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 47/52
Activity3
WhichdegreeofthescaleistheFinthefirstbar?
SincethemelodyisinBflatmajorwithB asthetonic,theFisthefifthnoteupfromB (B CDE F).Itisthereforethedominant.
Activity4
WhatisthecurvedlineabovethetwoCsinthesecondbar?
Atiejoinsconsecutivenotesthatarethesame,andisarhythmicdevice.ItsuseheremeansthatthefirstC,aquaver,istiedtothenextCgivinganoveralltimevalueofquaverplusminim.
Activity5
Whichrestisrequiredattheplacemarkedwithanasterisk?
Group3:identifyingvariousdifferentelementsBeethoven,SymphonyNo.6inFmajor,Op.68(Pastoral)
Activity1
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 48/52
WhatisthemeaningofthetempoindicationAllegromanontroppo?
Activity2
WhichdegreeofthescaleistheDinthefirstbar?(Identifythekeyofthemelodyfirst.)
Correct.SincethemelodyisinFmajorwithFasthetonic,theDisthesixthnoteupfromF(FGABCD).Itisthereforethesubmediant.
Activity3
WhatdoesthedotunderthemiddleCinthesecondbarsignify?
Thepositionofthedotiscrucial.Beloworabovethenoteheadsignifiesthatthisdotisasignforstaccato.Adotafterthenoteheadmeansthatitisassociatedwithrhythmthenotesrhythmicvaluewouldthenbelengthenedbyahalf.Atenutomarkisashortline,notadot,eitheraboveorbelowthenotehead.
Activity4
Whichmelodicinterval(numberonly)iscreatedbythemiddleCandthefollowingnote?
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 49/52
Thesecondnote,itsnoteheadplacedinthelowestspaceofthetreblestave,isanF.ThereforeifwecountupthescalefromthemiddleCtotheF(middleCDEF)wefindthattheintervalisafourth.
Activity5
WhatdoesthesignabovetheGinthefinalbarindicate?
Group4:identifyingtriadsinmajorkeysNotethatyouwillneedtoworkoutwhichmajorkeyisbeingusedfirst.
Activity1
MatchTonictriadinEflatmajor,SubdominanttriadinAmajor,TonictriadinDmajortothetriadsbelow.
10TrainersforeyeandearIfyousearchformusictheorysitesontheinternet,youllfindseveralthatprovideinteractivedrills,oftencalledtrainers.Theseaimtohelpyouimproveparticularskillsthatareinvolvedwhenusingstaffnotation.Theyareusefulforcoordinatingyoureyeandyourear,thatis,coordinatinglookingatnotationwhilelisteningtosounds.Admittedlyyouneedregularpracticetomakeheadwaywiththedrills.However,withsteadyapplication(andadegreeofpatience)youwillfindthat,throughusingthesedrills,youreyeandearwillbecomemuchmoreproficientatidentifyingdifferentaspectsofthemusicyouarelookingatandlisteningto.
Indeed,manyaspectsofstaffnotationlendthemselvestodrills.Itisarelativelystraightforwardprocesstocreatedrillsfornotenaming,identifyingrhythms,scales,keysignatures,intervals,chordsandsoon.Inaddition,drillsforimprovingaparticularskillcanvaryinscope.Withnotenaming,forinstance,adrillmightaskyoutoidentifynotesonthetreblestaff,oronthebassstaff,orbothitmightalsoincludenotes
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 50/52
withledgerlines.Adrillforaparticularskillcanalsohavedifferentlevelsofdifficultyfromwhichyoucanchoose.
10.1HowtousetrainersBeforeyoustarttopractiseadrillyouneedtobecomefamiliarwiththevariouspossibilitiesavailable.Onawebsitethesearesometimesdefinedinaseparatewindow/webpagecalledSettings(orsimilar).Onceyouvelocatedthispage,andyouaresurethatthechoicesyouhavemadewillproducethedrillthatyourequire,youwillhavetomakearealisticassessmentofthelevelofdifficultythatyoucancopewith.Dontbeoverambitious!Itisbettertounderestimateyourproficiencytostartwith,otherwiseyoumaywellfindthedrillstoodifficultandyouwillsoonloseheart.
Evenwheneverythingissetup,itmighttakealittletimetobecomefamiliarwiththewayadrillworksandhowyoushouldrespond.Somedrillswhereyouarerequiredtoenternoteswithpitchandrhythmicvaluesonastaveneedalittleprepractice.Sobepreparedtohaveoneortwotrialrunsjusttobecomeathomewiththedrill,beforeyoustartinearnest.
NotethattheprogramsthatmakedrillspossibleonwebsitesareassociatedwithFlashorJava.SoyouwillneedAdobeFlashPlayerand/ortheJavaRuntimeEnvironmentinstalledonyourcomputer.
10.2WheretofindtrainersandrecommendedreadingWebsitescurrentlyavailable(2011)thatcontaindrillsforeyeandeartraininginclude:
Notethatthesesitesandothersalsoprovidetutorialsonmanyaspectsofstaffnotation,whichyoucouldusetosupplementyourknowledge,orreinforcewhatyouhavelearnedalready.However,aswithallwebsites,itisprudenttocomparetheinformationonafewdifferentsitesinordertoassesstheaccuracyandreliabilityoftheinformationfoundonthem.
RecommendedreadingRatherthantheinternet,youmightliketoconsultreferencematerialinhardcopy.Inwhichcaseyoucouldtry:
Taylor,E.(1989)TheABGuidetoMusicTheory,PartI,London,AssociatedBoardoftheRoyalSchoolsofMusic.
TheAssociatedBoardalsopublishesgradedworkbooksandbookletswithmodelanswers.TheworkbooksforGrades13wouldberelevantforthisunit.Youcanfindalistoftheseworkbookshere:http://www.abrsm.org/publishing/instrument/46
11Whatnext?Theaimofthisunithasbeentoprovideyouwithabasicunderstandingofstaffnotation.Thematerialisnotmeanttobecomprehensive,andevenwithinthenarrowconfinesofthetopicsdiscussed,manydetailshavebeenomitted.Nonetheless,abroadrangeoftopicshasbeenexamined,asyouwillappreciatefromthefollowingchecklist.Asyoureadthelist,pauseateachtopicandconsiderhowwellyoucancopewithit:
i. RicciAdams'Musictheory.net.http://www.musictheory.netwhichrequiresFlashii. teora:MusicTheoryWebhttp://www.teoria.comwhichalsorequiresFlashandiii. eMusicTheory.comhttp://emusictheory.comwhichrequiresJava.
http://emusictheory.com/http://www.teoria.com/http://www.musictheory.net/
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 51/52
notenamesonthetrebleandbassstavesthenamesofnoteswithuptothreeledgerlinesbothaboveandbeloweachstaffwritingnotesdowntimevaluesfromthesemibrevetothedemisemiquavertimesignaturesbothsimpleandcompoundtheuseofdotsandtiesgroupingandbeamingnoteswithflagsrests,semibrevetodemisemiquaver,andhowthesearegroupedmajorandminorscalesofuptofoursharpsandflatsandhowtheseareconstructedtheroleofaccidentalsdegreesofthescaleintervalsthetriadperformancedirectionsonscoresguidelinesforfollowingpianoscores.
Ifyoufeelthatyouneedpracticewithsomeofthetopicsinthelistthenthereisnoharmintacklingthemagainsothatyoucansharpenyourskillsandimproveyourproficiency.Ontheotherhand,ifyoufeelyouhaveareasonablegraspofthetopicsabove,thendonthesitatetoconsiderenrollingforInsidemusic(A224)
TheOpenUniversityisconductingasurveyinvestigatinghowpeopleusethefreeeducationalcontentonourOpenLearnwebsite.Theaimistoprovideabetterfreelearningexperienceforeveryone.SoifyourearegularuserofOpenLearnandhave10minutestospare,wedbedelightedifyoucouldtakepartandtelluswhatyouthink.PleasenotethiswilltakeyououtofOpenLearn,wesuggestyouopenthisinanewtabbyrightclickingonthelinkandchoosingopeninanewtab.
ReferencesAssociatedBoardoftheRoyalSchoolsofMusic(ABRSM)(2011)ABRSMexammusicfinder[online],London,ABRSM,www.abrsm.org/publishing/instrument/46(Accessed10January2011).
Taylor,E.(1989)TheABGuidetoMusicTheory,PartI,London,AssociatedBoardoftheRoyalSchoolsofMusic.
AcknowledgementsDon'tmissout:
1.Joinover200,000students,currentlystudyingwithTheOpenUniversityhttp://www.open.ac.uk/choose/ou/opencontent
2.Enjoyedthis?FindoutmoreaboutthistopicorbrowseallourfreecoursematerialsonOpenLearnhttp://www.open.edu/openlearn/
3.OutsidetheUK?Wehavestudentsinoverahundredcountriesstudyingonlinequalificationshttp://www.openuniversity.edu/includinganMBAatourtripleaccreditedBusinessSchool.
ThisunitwaswrittenbyTrevorBray.
http://www.abrsm.org/publishing/instrument/46http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/a224.htmhttp://www.open.edu/openlearn/?LKCAMPAIGN=ol_course%26MEDIA=olhttp://www.openuniversity.edu/?LKCAMPAIGN=ol_course%26MEDIA=gdhttp://www.open.ac.uk/choose/ou/open-content?LKCAMPAIGN=ol_course%26MEDIA=ouhttps://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9G5JS2Y
-
3/15/2015 Anintroductiontomusictheory:Viewassinglepage
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=1791 52/52
Copyright2013TheOpenUniversityAnintroductiontomusictheory
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/music/introduction-music-theory/content-section-0