Music Theory Overview 1
Music is the organization of sound, the mind searches for patterns and if the patterns are not found the song becomes boring.
Basic building blocks of music: Tones (or notes)
Four main qualities of musical tone:
1: Length
2: Loudness or Softness
3: Color (what instrument basically)
4: Pitch
As well as how sharply it begins and ends, whether it wavers, etc.
Music theory is about how pitch and groups of pitch are organized.
The A above middle C vibrates at a frequency of 440 and is the standard for musical instruments (at lest for western instruments). A note one octave above another vibrates at twice the speed as the previous, so the A4 (440 A) vibrates twice that of A3 (220 A)
An octave in western music is separated into 12 (13 if you count the octave) parts (known as half steps) while Asian music is separated into twenty-five parts. Therefore a chromatic scale is when you play 13 notes, the beginning note all the way to the note one octave higher, including the sharps.
EX:
/=half step
C/C#/D/D#/E/F/F#/G/G#/A/A#/B/C8va (8va means 1 octave higher, just there now for clarification)
Two half steps is a whole step. A to A# is a half step while A# to B is another half step but A to B is a whole step. A diatonic scale is 8 notes (ex: A B C D E F G A8va) which is 6 whole-steps and 2 half-steps.
EX:
+=whole, /=half
C+D+E/F+G+A+B/C
Most music is built on two diatonic scales, the major and minor scales.
*Major Scale: The half step is between the 3rd & 4th notes and the 7th & 8th notes. See the example above for a diatonic scale.
*Minor Scale: There are three different versions of this, each with their own purpose but here is the natural minor scale: Half steps between the 2nd & 3rd notes and the 5th & 6th notes.
Example: C+D/Eflat+F+G/Aflat+Bflat+C
There are more ways to organize half steps and whole steps, here are some examples:
Dorian Scale (used a lot in rock and sometimes in Jazz): C+D/Eflat+F+G+A/Bflat+C
Hungarian Scale (used to imitate Slavic folk music by composers): C+D/Eflat+/F#/G/Aflat+/B/C (notice the "+/" is 1 1/2)
Whole-tone scale has no half steps and only 7 notes: C+D+E+F#+G#+A#+C (No B!)
Major-minor system!
Scales can start on any note up and down the chromatic scale, such as D, G, and Bflat but the half steps stay in the same spots.
Key signatures are there so the composer does not have to put the sharps and flats all throughout the sheet music which keeps it nice and organizaed.
Order of Sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E, B
Order of Flats: B, E, A, D, G, C, F
WHY ARE THESE THINGS NOT IN ORDER?!?!?!
Basic building blocks of music: Tones (or notes)
Four main qualities of musical tone:
1: Length
2: Loudness or Softness
3: Color (what instrument basically)
4: Pitch
As well as how sharply it begins and ends, whether it wavers, etc.
Music theory is about how pitch and groups of pitch are organized.
The A above middle C vibrates at a frequency of 440 and is the standard for musical instruments (at lest for western instruments). A note one octave above another vibrates at twice the speed as the previous, so the A4 (440 A) vibrates twice that of A3 (220 A)
An octave in western music is separated into 12 (13 if you count the octave) parts (known as half steps) while Asian music is separated into twenty-five parts. Therefore a chromatic scale is when you play 13 notes, the beginning note all the way to the note one octave higher, including the sharps.
EX:
/=half step
C/C#/D/D#/E/F/F#/G/G#/A/A#/B/C8va (8va means 1 octave higher, just there now for clarification)
Two half steps is a whole step. A to A# is a half step while A# to B is another half step but A to B is a whole step. A diatonic scale is 8 notes (ex: A B C D E F G A8va) which is 6 whole-steps and 2 half-steps.
EX:
+=whole, /=half
C+D+E/F+G+A+B/C
Most music is built on two diatonic scales, the major and minor scales.
*Major Scale: The half step is between the 3rd & 4th notes and the 7th & 8th notes. See the example above for a diatonic scale.
*Minor Scale: There are three different versions of this, each with their own purpose but here is the natural minor scale: Half steps between the 2nd & 3rd notes and the 5th & 6th notes.
Example: C+D/Eflat+F+G/Aflat+Bflat+C
There are more ways to organize half steps and whole steps, here are some examples:
Dorian Scale (used a lot in rock and sometimes in Jazz): C+D/Eflat+F+G+A/Bflat+C
Hungarian Scale (used to imitate Slavic folk music by composers): C+D/Eflat+/F#/G/Aflat+/B/C (notice the "+/" is 1 1/2)
Whole-tone scale has no half steps and only 7 notes: C+D+E+F#+G#+A#+C (No B!)
Major-minor system!
Scales can start on any note up and down the chromatic scale, such as D, G, and Bflat but the half steps stay in the same spots.
Key signatures are there so the composer does not have to put the sharps and flats all throughout the sheet music which keeps it nice and organizaed.
Order of Sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E, B
Order of Flats: B, E, A, D, G, C, F
WHY ARE THESE THINGS NOT IN ORDER?!?!?!