Review of Music Rudiments Music 1133 Pages 3-38. The essence of music Music essentially has two...
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Transcript of Review of Music Rudiments Music 1133 Pages 3-38. The essence of music Music essentially has two...
Review of Music Rudiments
Music 1133
Pages 3-38
The essence of music
Music essentially has two basic components
Sound - pitch, timbre, spaceTime - distribution of sounds over
time Modern Western notation system
plots these two components in a Cartesian-like graph
X and Y axis
Time
Space - pitch, combinations of pitches, and distance between pitches
5-line Stave
Revolutionary notation technologyAllows for maximum number of
pitches to be represented while still allowing instant identification of pitch
Each line and space of the stave represents a different “letter name” of pitch
Alphabet for Musicians
In Western music, pitches are designated names corresponding to the first 7 letters of the alphabet
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, - corresponds to white keys on a piano keyboard
Note C is a reference
A0 C1 C2 D2 etc. C4 - Middle C
Clefs
Clefs are symbols used to indicate reference pitches on the 5-Line stave
Bass Clef (Also F Clef)
Treble Clef (Also Soprano Clef or G Clef)
G4
C4 - Middle C
F3
C Clefs
Alto
Tenor
C4 - Middle C
Scale and ModeSuccession of pitches known as a scale - begin
on one pitch and end on pitch above or below with the same letter designation (A ascending to A etc.)
On piano keyboard, distance between successive white keys is not always the same
Some adjacent white keys have black keys between them, which are separate pitches
Semitones - pitches with no pitch in betweenTones - Pitches with one pitch in betweenSuccession of tones and semitones determines
mode
Tone - Whole Step SemiTone - Half Step
Sharps and Flats Black Keys are named according to their adjacent
white keys Black key to the right of C is C sharp - sharp
symbol raises pitch by 1 semitone Same pitch could also be called D Flat - Flat
symbol lowers pitch by one semitone B Sharp sounds same as C F Flat sounds same as E Pitch Class - Word used to determine pitches
which are enharmonically equivalent (sound the same) or octave equivalent (same name in different octave)
White Key Modes Any scale using the white keys only contains 2
semitones and 5 whole tones For example: A to A - T, ST, T, T, ST, T, T Order of Tones and Semitones determines Mode Greek Names (early church modes): A (Aeolian/Minor), B (Locrian), C (Ionian/Major), D
(Dorian), E (Phrygian), F (Lydian), G (Mixolydian) These modes can also involve black keys - For Example
Phrygian Mode beginning on A - A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G, A - same order of tones and semitones as “white key mode” beginning on E
Tonal Modes
Tonal Music Utilizes two of these modes: Ionian or Major and Aeolian or Minor
Succession of Tones and Semitones most conducive to harmonic function
Other Western music traditions use other modes more freely (fiddle music, pipe music, plainchant)
Major Mode and Scale The Major Mode contains the following succession of
Tones and Semitones: T, T, ST, T, T, T, ST White key mode from C to C Major Scales use this succession of Tones and
Semitones starting on any pitch For Example: D Major = D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. Key of D
Major - uses this scale melodically F Major: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E. Key of F Major uses this
scale melodically Notice how in both scales, all letter names are
represented. F major would not be written as F, G, A, A# etc.
Key Signature
It turns out that key centres 7 semitones apart (a fifth) differ in their scales by only one sharp or flat.
G Major (fifth above C) - 1 sharp (F#)D Major (fifth above G) - 2 sharps (F#, C#)The additional sharp or flat is also separated by
a fifth above (sharp) or below (flat)F Major - (fifth below C) - 1 flat (Bb)Bb Major - (7 semitones below F) - 2 flats (Bb,
Eb)
Cycle of Fifths
Minor Scales Natural Minor Scales correspond to the white key mode
beginning on A (Aeolian) T, ST, T, T, ST, T, T A minor considered the relative minor of C major
because it has the same number of sharps and flats (none)
Relative minor always 3 semitones below the relative major - eg. A major/F# minor
Relative major and minor have the same key signature Two other variants of the natural minor scale are more
commonly used Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor
Harmonic Minor
Natural minor scales end with a whole toneBasic principle of tonal music is the ti/do
semitone motion as last interval in scale (to be discussed later)
Raising the last note creates this semitone so harmonic minor has a raised 7th scale degree
G Natural MinorG Aeolian
G Harmonic Minor
Whole Tone
Semitone
Melodic Minor
Harmonic Minor contains an augmented 2nd interval (to be discussed shortly) between 6th and 7th pitch
In Western tonal music, this melodic interval is not often used
Melodic minor raises 6th scale degree as well on the way up to eliminate the Aug 2nd
Descending, both the 6th and 7th return to natural state
G Harmonic Minor
Augmented 2nd
G Melodic Minor
Intervals
Intervals refer to the “space” between pitchesMeasured between letter namesF-A is a third - three letter names - F, G, AG-E is a sixth - six letter names G, A, B, C, D, EC to C, A to A etc. called an octave Intervals above an octave (9th, 10th etc.) called
compound intervalsA 10th also called a compound 3rd
Third (melodic) Sixth (melodic) Third and Tenth (Harmonic)-also octave E-E
Interval Quality
Intervals are oddly classified as either perfect or imperfect
Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves are considered perfect
2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths are imperfectImperfect Intervals can be either major
or minorAll intervals can be augmented or
diminished
Major vs. Minor Imperfect intervals are considered major when the higher
pitch is part of the major scale of the lower pitch Imperfect intervals are considered minor when the higher
pitch is one semitone below the major inyterval Both intervals below are sixths In the first case, the higher pitch B is part of the major
scale of the lower pitch D so it is a Major 6th In the second case, the higher pitch Bb one semitone
lower than B – the major 6th
Major 6th (M6)
Minor 6th (m6)
Augmented and Diminished
Augmented intervals are perfect or major intervals that are raised an additional semitone
Diminished intervals are Perfect or minor intervals that are lowered an additional semitone
Augmented 6th (A6)
Diminished 6th (d6 or 06)
Augmented 5th Diminished 5th
Inverting Intervals Interval distances are always measured from the
lower pitch Inverting an interval involves changing the lower
pitch to become the higher pitch (transposing up an octave)
The new interval is then read from the new lower pitch
Inverting always reverses interval quality - major/minor, aug/dim, perfect remains perfect
The sum of the original and inverted interval distances always equals 9
m7 inverts to M2
Minor to Major 7+2=9
A4 inverts to d5
Augmented to Diminished 4+5=9
Tritones
Consonance and Dissonance These are complicated and culturally-influenced terms Loosely meaning “pleasing to the ear” and “not pleasing to
the ear” Can refer to a number of musical parameters For now, we will apply these terms to intervals Consonant intervals are perfect intervals (4ths are a
special case), and major and minor 3rds and 6ths Dissonant intervals are 2nds, 7ths, and tritones
(sometimes considered neutral) P4ths are considered dissonant if the 4th is above the bass
note - more later Describing intervals as dissonant does not mean that they
sound bad - they are considered harmonically unstable in this system
Resolution of dissonance to consonance is a fundamental process in tonal music
Rhythm and Metre
These terms refer to the temporal component of music
Music exists in time Metre refers to the way we measure time
in music - normally in beats or pulsesRhythm refers to the series of note
durations that fill in this time and the patterns that these durations create
Note Durations
Our musical system contains a set of symbols for relative note durations
There is a temporally equivalent set of symbols to represent rests (silences)
The value of each duration symbol may change depending on the musical metre
The relative durations are always fixed - each symbol represents a duration twice as long or twice as short as the next duration level
See p. 27 in text
Dots and Ties
Dots and ties are used to create note durations that are greater or lesser than those represented by individual duration symbols
Dots add half of the value of the notes they follow
A note that is “tied” to an adjacent note assumes the duration of both notes
Musical MetreMetre is defined by regular beats of a fixed
lengthBeats are grouped into bars or measuresThe number of beats in each measure is
determined by the time signatureThe time signature also identifies the next level
of subdivision of each beat It is important to remember that barlines and
time signatures are convenient notational symbols that allow us to measure music
Real music simply exists in time without these artificial divisions
Simple and Compound Time
Beats are often subdivided into smaller divisions
These divisions can be any prime number (2, 3, 5, 7)
In Western music, beats are divided by 2 or 3
Division by 2 is called simple time Division by 3 is called compound time
Metrical Number
The number of beats in each measure is determines the overall metre
Duple time features 2 beats per measureTriple time features 3 beats per measureQuadruple time features 4 beats per
measureAdditional beat numbers are possible
though they are found less frequently in Western tonal music
Simple Time Signatures Time Signatures indicate the number of beats per
measure and the subdivision of each beat Simple time signatures include 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 - also 2/2, 3/2,
4/2, 2/8, 4/8, 2/16, 4/16 In 2/4 time there are two beats per measure and each
beat is a quarter note in length. This implies that each beat can be divided into two 8th
notes - called simple duple time 3/4 is simple triple time (so is 3/2) 4/4 is simple quadruple time (so is 4/2) Time signatures with shorter beat durations (8 and 16)
depend on context to determine whether simple, compound, or something more complex
Compound Time Signatures In compound time, each beat is divided into three subdivisions Duration symbols feature division by two so each beat in
compound time is usually a dotted value Compound duple time features two dotted-quarter (or dotted
half, eight etc.) note beats per measure Each beat is therefore divisible into three 8th note
subdivisions Time signatures use numbers to represent note values
(4=quarter, 8=eighth) There is no number that can represent a dotted value Compound duple time uses the number 8 in the denominator =
6/8 Though this indicates six 8th notes per measure, three eighth
notes are grouped into two dotted-quarter note beats Compound Triple = 9/8 Compound Quadruple = 12/8